Scripture Nugget 2.5.2017
Scripture Read Romans 9-10
Nugget Romans 10:8-17
“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.”
Devotional thought: In Matthew 5:13a, 14a, Jesus tells us we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Salt and light are powerless when not shared. A shaker full of salt will not season the pot of beans or plate of food if it just sits on the counter or the table next to those items. Salt must be poured and stirred into the beans and sprinkled on top of the plate of food to season the items in the pot or on the plate. Light inside a device; a bulb not switched on, a flashlight with no batteries, a candle not lit are useless. Once lit if any of these are blocked from casting light, to brighten a path, to light a blacked-out room they are a waste of energy. Those of us who confess belief in Christ as Savior, who do not share Jesus with others are like salt shakers that remain un-used, or lights never turned on. Over time, if we remain dormant, un-used, not turned on we will lose our seasoning and our power. “The man who is content to save his own soul, and is afraid to interfere with wickedness around him, is not even saving his own soul.” (The Pulpit Commentary, Matthew, pg 202)