Doubter or Believer?

I am a believer and not a doubter. I hold fast to my confession of faith. I decide to walk by faith and practice faith. My faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Jesus is the author and the developer of my faith. (Heb. 4:14, Heb. 11:6, Rom. 10:17, Heb. 12:2).


Growing up I knew about Jesus. I knew who He was and I knew I needed Him, but didn't know exactly how or what to do? So I lived in constant fear. During my very young years my family and I were involved in the church...very involved..but then during the elementary years...we just stopped going...and that's where the confusion set in... I knew I was "lost"...and thought I was too far gone to ever get found.


But in 1981, my parents had divorced by this time, and my mom remarried and we had moved to a new town.. my mom and pop decided we needed a fresh start or new beginning, so we went to church. My mom shared with me scripture from the Bible, probably the Roman Road...and I so desired to have Jesus in my life. I prayed confessing my sin, thanking God for sending Jesus to die for me...and I believed that He died and rose again. I was "saved" at age 13 and was baptized later that year.


Needless to say. I have been in church ever since 1981. I have been very involved with church, church activities etc...if the doors of the church are open I am usually there and at my present church if the doors are locked, I know the code and can still get in...lol


But even though I have been in church and doing church activities, singing, orchestra, teaching, serving, mission trips...etc etc etc...there have been times of doubt in my life...With doubt comes fear... Thoughts like, " Do I really know Jesus?"  Am I really saved? My goodness, I am saved, but I am still messing up...I have terrible thoughts...What's going on?


My mind was a battlefield. And it took a lot of tears and Bible study to understand this battle ground in my mind. I didn't want to doubt, but I did. I doubted my salvation. I think most every Christian can go through doubt. But when I have those doubting thoughts, the place to go is to scripture. When I was a youth, I would talk to mom and she would take me back to the scripture...and I would be reassured. When my own children have doubted, we go to scripture. When someone says that salvation is a "continuing process",we go to scripture.
Salvation is a free gift from God. He doesn't take it back. Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection was enough! We are saved one time and we continue to live for Him. We mess up. As I read once...our sin messes up our fellowship with Him, but not our relationship.  A scenario to explain this is: I did something my mom told me not to do; I am still her daughter...nothing changed that relationship...our fellowship is damaged, but our relationship is still the same nothing can change that. She's still my momma. Same with Jesus...He's still my savior.


Here are some of those reassuring verses. But to be reassured of salvation, one must be saved to begin with.

Romans 8:38-39

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 13:5-8 

 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money,being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"
 ⁶so that we confidently say,
         "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.
         WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"
 ⁷Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.
 ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 

 ¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
 ²⁰For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.


John 10:27-28

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them,  and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of the Father's hand.

Hebrews 11:6 

 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Acts 20:28

 ²⁸"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

As Christians, we may doubt our salvation from time to time, but we don't have to. Why live in fear?  God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He bought us with a price.  He keeps His promises.  Jesus is enough!

Here's my daughter being baptized several years ago. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water. Baptism is an act of obedience. It symbolizes the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, as well as  the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. Baptism doesn't "save" us or complete our salvation... Jesus is enough for salvation. Baptism is simply a symbol to show the world that we are believers in Jesus Christ and we are baptized out of obedience to Him.

Shek was baptized last December. Somewhere there's a photo of Zach's baptism from 1999. I need to find it.