City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”

Mark 8:29 (ESV)

⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹ because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

Romans 10:8-9 (ESV)

⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2: 9-11 (ESV)

Reflection

Here we have a scene from the Perry Mason show, circa late 1950’s.  Perry Mason was a defense attorney, who never lost a case.  The show was known for the big dramatic finish, when the killer would confess in court.  After guessing all show long, you could finally see who the killer was, and you would say “I knew it all along” or “oh, my.  I would not have guessed.”

But why would the murderer confess?  Ultimately, it was because they couldn’t keep the truth inside any longer.  Being confronted internally with the truth of their ill deeds, they just could not hold it in.  So, their confession would come out like an explosion.  Often the guilty person might say, “yes, I did it! And I’m glad I did it!  I’ve been suffering for so long.  Now I am rid of them.”  Perhaps if they were honest with their feelings sooner, they would not have committed the crime, and something better could have been worked out.  It is funny how even in corruption we find that acknowledging the truth will put you on a more livable path.

We are neither the owners nor the makers of truth.  We do not have personal truths, and we can not dictate to others what their truth might be.  We can only observe it according to our best efforts.  Truth is a universally consistent and united thing, held in the hand of God.  The Holy Spirit reminds us of it, and as we obey His leading, we benefit from it.  When we do not obey, we suffer the consequence of going against it.  Hence, the Bible tells us to maintain a good confession.  That is to say, we are to keep the truth at the forefront of our minds and to live accordingly.  God’s word is the truth, and we must confess it continually.  It is through our confession of the truth that we are fashioned into beings that live it.

So, when we fall to sin, we confess it, and the truth works a forgiveness and healing.  When we receive a blessing and thank God for it, the truth works a clean heart within us.  And when we serve a lost soul, the truth provides a light and a path to a good result.  The truth is not just the result of some formula or a computer program.  In fact, when we build models, the first thing we do is to say that this model is not the truth, only our best guess at it.  Even though we cannot model it perfectly, knowing that the truth exists is essential for making a model that will be useful.  So, confess the truth and you shall find freedom.

Application

I want to leave you with something practical that you can do.  Here are some suggestions for prayer time.

1. For a week, speak a blessing over people you know every day.  You should do at least one person for every year of your life.  If you are in college, double it.  Hey, I must do 59, so you’ll probably still be behind me.  Not that this is a competition.
2. For a week, speak out a psalm (at least 10 verses long) twice a day, pausing after each line.  The purpose is not to read it quickly, but to understand and think on what it means.  Extra credit if you do Psalm 119.
3. Take a week and memorize a chapter in one of the gospels, then recite it to a friend.  Extra credit if you get a friend to memorize a different chapter and you recite them over a meal.

Do these sound like events in some kind of “Christian Olympics”?  Perhaps, but the training of one’s heart and mind is consistent with the intentions of Christian life.  The intent is not to create a work of salvation, for that is the work of Christ alone.  Rather, the purpose of such confessions is to renew the mind, to think God’s thoughts after Him, and to learn what it is like to live in the Kingdom of God. If I were to suggest any of them to a Christian 300 years ago, they would seem normal.  It is the affluent modern mind that bulks at such effort of self-improvement.  C. S. Lewis talks about how our Christian forbearers often prayed by their bedsides, on their knees, for they realized that there was wisdom in actually causing your body to bend to the will of the Lord.  In their obedience to command their bodies, they were confessing their obedience to the Lord.

Prayer

91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
    and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his pinions,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
    nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes
    and see the recompense of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
    the Most High, who is my refuge—
¹⁰ no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
    no plague come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the adder;
    the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
    I will protect him, because he knows my name.
¹⁵ When he calls to me, I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble;
    I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

Psalm 91 (ESV)