Saved

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)

This is a promise from God. Our sins are behind us when we confess to our Lord. Our mistakes are forgiven and forgotten when we turn to God. We are saved and there is nothing that can separate us from our Lord.

We don’t need to prove ourselves by doing great works. Great works are meaningless if they don’t first come from God.

We don’t need to redeem ourselves by paying off all we owe to God. That debt was already paid by Christ Jesus when he died on the cross.

We don’t need to force our way into favour with God. He already loves us.

All we need to do is trust him.

When we do this, we become richly blessed. We become God’s children. We become heirs to his Kingdom. We become saved.

Love One Another

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:18 (NIV)

Both friendship and love take time and effort. Neither are passive things. Neither are simply labels if they are genuine. We may feel good when we say we love others, but if we do nothing when they are in need then we have fooled ourselves.

We are asked not only to love our friends and family, but our neighbours also. We are asked to love the stranger, to love the foreigner, to love those we don’t understand. And, to love anyone is to take a certain responsibility for their well-being, both spiritually and physically, as we would for any of our closest friends.

It may seem daunting at first but through God we are given both the desire and the ability. When we focus on the love God has for us, for all the things He has done for us, all that He has sacrificed, it becomes difficult to keep that love contained. We discover that He has given us the grace to love others even if they seem difficult to love at first.

The power of God’s love is transformational.

Child of God

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
John 1:12-13 (NIV)

To be a child of God is to know that we belong to God, that we are dearly loved by God, and that we will inherit his kingdom.

To be a child of God is to know that we are God’s creation, that he chose the time and place of our birth, and that his individual plan for us began before even the world was born.

To be a child of God is to live refreshed and daily renewed in his Spirit. It is to be washed clean by Christ’s precious blood and to be set free from the shackles of sin and darkness.

To be a child of God is the greatest blessing we can know.

Be Holy

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."


Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
1 Peter 1:13-21 (NIV)

St Patrick’s Day

Even though this day is not a public holiday in Australia and the celebrations tend to only be seen in the local pubs, I have been known to wear a small amount of green for the day. It never really meant more to me than that. I didn’t know who this Patrick guy was, I didn’t know what he did to become a saint and I didn’t know why we wore green except that it was an Irish thing to do. And so I thought it was time I found out.

St Patrick was born into a wealthy Romano-British family in the fifth century. Apparently he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland to become a slave. He managed to escape, but, rather than hating or fearing the Irish, God called him to become a priest to convert them instead. He spread the word of God in Ireland for almost thirty years and is held in such high esteem that he is now the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland.

The tradition of wearing green on the day started by wearing a shamrock on clothing, since it was believed that St Patrick used a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. And so the celebrations began as a reminder of God’s work, God’s love and God’s grace. And it reminds me that through God’s guidance and God’s power, one person can make a difference to countless lives.

Below is a traditional Irish Blessing; origin unknown, although some attribute it to St. Patrick.

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

May the rains fall soft upon your fields,

And, until we meet again,

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.