Romans - Part 5: ELECTIONSample

Beautiful Feet and Santa Claus

In Romans 10:14, Paul asks us questions like “…How can we call on one we do not believe in?” and “How can they believe in the one they have not heard?”

Seems like good questions, albeit rhetorical ones. Let me consider a couple of points from this passage.

First, speak the truth - don’t just talk. When I was a child, I talked, thought, and reasoned as a child. I was told a lie then and believed in Santa Claus. But it was, in fact, a lie. Santa had no real power over my life. Truth matters and truth exists. God is Truth! The Word of God is the truth that saves.

I first heard the truth when I was young and baptized in my early 20s. By then, I was convicted the Bible is the source of God's reliable truth. That set me free and gave me clarity of life's purposes for why we are here: namely, to give Glory to God! This brought Peace like no other. Santa Claus, like every invention, or imagined alternative of man, simply does not satisfy.

There is a clear purpose he meant for us: to help others hear and believe. We are to preach, to speak, and to spread the truth of God. We read in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

So, to go means - well, to “GO”! We are to “reach out;” we are to support His mission(s) to reach the whole world. Even in this modern world, we can “go,” using many forms of communication to speak His truth. We broadcast our services; we share the Good News in messages and worship songs. We use TV, the internet, and many forms of social media to speak of the truth of The Word. However, these forms do not replace, nor circumvent, God’s ‘favorite’ tool to reach out to touch people: namely, YOU and ME.

So, remember that our lives, and our actions, do SPEAK louder than words! May we live a life that testifies that we really do love God, and we are loved beyond measure - living out the testimony of the reality of God for what He has done for us. Remember, people are literally dying to see in us proof that what we say we believe, we really do believe, and that it shows in our actions and words.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us, in Matthew 5:16, “…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Recall that when the disciples were joyfully praising God for all they had seen – the Pharisees began complaining about them. They even asked Jesus to rebuke them! Jesus answered them in Luke 19:40: “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Evidentially, we are indeed to “SPEAK” - so that the world, the lost, can “HEAR”, so they can “BELIEVE” and be SAVED.

Acts 16:31 says “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”

So then, we preach with our lives, and then, if we must – use words!

What Beautiful Feet we have!

-Rick Ripley