Being number four was a bummer.

Wednesday   12-02-15      Modesto, California

Scripture reading:    Rom 9 - 12

S=Scripture  O=Observation  A=Application  P=Prayer  SOAP for the soul.

S.  Rom 10:9-10  For 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.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 

Rom 10:13  Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  NLT

O.  The gift of eternal salvation is extended to all who believe deep in their heart in the message of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection and who openly confess Him to be their Lord.  These will respond by calling upon Him and will be rewarded with the free gift of salvation.

A.  As I read these four chapters this morning, these words in Romans 10:9, 10 and 13 stood out like bold letters to me.  This is primarily because they were the first scripture verses I ever memorized long before I had learned to read. 

My mother’s first born, my brother, Mel, (11 years my senior) was taught by our mother to read fluently from the Bible and to do all basic mathematics before he was sent to the first grade.  But I was number four of her kids and mother barely had time to teach me to tie my shoes, let alone read.**  But she did teach me to memorize these key scriptures.  I could quote them without a hitch from the good old King James Version.  Why?  She obviously chose these verses because they contain in a few words the way to eternal salvation... for anyone... like me, for instance.

P.  Yes, Lord, You blessed me with a godly mother who wanted all of her children to make heaven their eternal home.  And by Your grace we will.  She poured the Word of God into our little hearts and led us to Your sacred feet to look up and call upon You.  And I thank You that You responded to that call from the lips of a small child that knew so little.  You gave me Your gift.  And I cherish it still today and want to share it with others.  Amen.

Ralph

**My mother kind of hung on to me too long.  I think she thought I was going to be the last one.  She kept me home until I was seven, going on eight before sending me to the first grade.  I had only been in classes a few days and we were being taught the sounds of the alphabet.  I was walking the half mile from school to home and I passed a house that had a sign out front: “FOR SALE”.  I stopped and pronounced each letter... then ran home telling my mother “I can read!  I can read!  I found a house that had a sign that said, ‘For Sally’.”  She broke the sad news to me gently.  “I think maybe the sign said, “For Sale” for the “E” is sometimes silent.  I was humiliated enough to never forget the moment.  Would you believe that she taught my little sister, Joyce, (number 5) to read the Bible fluently before she ever went to school?  Being number four was a bummer.