A Closer Walk

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10: 9-10 NKJV

It is a little known teaching, even though it is to be found in scripture, that our risen Lord Jesus resides within each of us.  Many of us spend our lives simply looking for, as the old hym proclaims, "A closer walk with thee."  How can Jesus be any closer to us than if he resides within these earthly shells of ours?   Such a difficult concept is this to comprehend, that I know pastors whom also struggled with this truth.  We're taught that upon his resurection, that Christ rose into the heavens to sit once again with his Father who sent him.  After all, hadn't Jesus been sperated from God ever since he was sent to be among us?  Hardly.  For we often see the human Jesus in direct communication with his Father throughout the Gospels.  Jesus would often go  away to talk with his father, away from the crowds that would follow him.  As he faced the scourging and ultimate crucifiction that lay before him, Jesus retreated to the garden of Gethsemene to pray.  After all, we know that prayer is indeed communication with our Father.  For Jesus, this was just a closer walk with his Father.
It is here in Romans 10  that we see the single requirement  for the free gift of grace that God has extended to his creation.  Believe!

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
John 1:12 NKJV

The theory is pretty basic, if you believe in the Lord Jesus, then salvation is yours.  You will notice that this gift from God requires no physical efforts on our part.  We need not spend time in a penal colony, prison or any other institution designed to punish us for our past sins.  This isn't some "A HA!" moment where God springs that punishment trap that we all expect him to do.  No, for it is through Jesus that God turns our condemnation to salvation.  No longer are we guilty in Gods eyes, for the very bloood of Jesus has washed away every sin past, present and future.  Like a loving father who awaits the return of a lost child, God welcomes all who return to him.

And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'  And they began to be merry
Luke 15: 20-24 NKJV

Like the father who runs to  greet his lost son, so God rejoices with the confession of each of his children that Jesus is Lord!  No effort, no work and no condemnation!  If you're looking for a closer walk with our Lord Jesus, that journey begins with knowing in your heart that he died and that God has raised him from the dead.

~Scott~