Am I Really Saved?

Last year I had the privilege of being in the Delivery Room when a young woman was born into the Kingdom of God. She recently approached me saying she wasn’t sure she was saved that day because she doesn’t feel any different.

            I asked her if she meant the words she said when she prayed the sinner’s prayer. She responded with, “Yes, I did.”  I told her we could pray the prayer again if it would make her feel better but I felt like, if she was serious the first time she gave herself over to Christ, then she was indeed saved. We talked for a while so I could assess what was happening. She was deeply bothered and needed assurance. I told her I would pray about it overnight and we would talk again the next day.

            My heart ached for this precious girl and the answers she needed from me, an older woman she has trusted for right answers many times. I prayed most of the night, sleeping fitfully at best. Here is what I feel God wants her, and us, to know:

Fireworks

            Not all salvation experiences are alike. Some people, especially those who have lived a rough life, can have a more dramatic conversion. When they turn from their old ways and start living a new life in Christ, the changes are evident to all who know them. Those who have lived a good life, obeying the laws of the land and being kind to the people in their lives, can have a more gentle change as they slip into their new life.

            Create an Ebenezer Stone. I encourage new Christians to write the date they were saved in the front of their Bible. Then when satan is whispering lies about their salvation, they can open the Bible and say, “You see here satan? This is the date that Jesus saved me from the likes of you. Go away and take your lies with you! I am a child of the King”

In the Bible, the Israelites built an altar at the places where God made Himself real to them. Later, when they doubted God, they traveled back to the last stone altar they had built and got a booster shot. They said, “We know God was real here. He hasn’t changed, so He is real where we live now.”

Start doing the things that Christians do. Rather than sitting around waiting for a “feeling” to overtake you, get busy being a Christian. Read your Bible every day, join a Bible study at church or in the community, learn to pray by practicing, look beyond yourself to the people around you. Bake cookies for the shut-in down the street or call someone with an encouraging word. It doesn’t have to be difficult. God has gifted you to make your ministry easy.

The fact that she wants to be different, shows she is different. My Sunday School teacher says that when we are saved, our “want to’s” change. We’re not the same because now we want what God wants. Our wants start falling into line with what He wants for us. We gain the mind of Christ and our thinking changes to be more like His.

What about you, Dear Readers? Has satan whispered lies to you? How did you handle it? What advice would you give to this young woman?

Have a joyfully blessed day-

Cathy