Page 52 of Sing with Me

“Enough said. Rose is Rose. She gets her way.”

“Yeah. I didn’t know you bought your brother’s share of Saffron.”

“Long story. I was hoping to buy out Talia, but Jared showed up.”

Jared. Diehl didn’t like to hear Skye say his name. If anyone could seduce a woman and then spit her out, it was Jared. “I would advise you to avoid him at all cost. You know Jared. His reputation precedes him.”

“Your reputation also precedes you, Diehl.”

“I’m reformed.”

“Reformed or transformed?” Skye asked.

“Is there a difference?”

“One word implies that things get remixed into another shape, but the elements are still the same. The other implies an inside-out transformation, where you’re a totally new person. Only God can do that in your life—change you from the core of your being, giving you a new heart.”

“I want to be transformed.” Diehl meant it.

“Then ask Jesus into your heart. He will change your life. You will never be the same again.”

“I thought I did accept Jesus in college. I guess my lifestyle didn’t match up.”

“Whether you once did or not, what matters is whether you are savednow.”

“I have a lot of head knowledge, but I don’t feel Jesus in my heart.” Diehl adjusted the pillow behind his head.

“You know that salvation is not a feeling. You walk by faith in Jesus, not by feeling or an idea.” Skye paused. “Walk by faith, and your feelings will follow.”

“How many times do I need to pray to receive Jesus in my heart?” Diehl remembered only praying about salvation once in college.

“Salvation is once and for all. After that is sanctification, which is a lifelong process.”

“Which is which? That’s my question.” After he had supposedly believed in Jesus, he met Isobel, and he hadn’t been a Christian since.

Just because he remembered hymns and how church worked, it didn’t mean that he was a part of the flock. He knew that.

“That’s an easy question to answer, actually,” Skye said. “If salvation is an issue, then pray again to ask Jesus into your heart. It’s as simple as acknowledging that you are sinful and God is holy. As a result of that you are separated from God and are unable to have a relationship with Him.”

“I know that part.”

“Your sin is a debt that you cannot pay on your own. God bridged the chasm between you and Him by sending His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay the penalty for all of your sins, thereby paying off that debt completely. When He rose again from the grave, He gives you a new eternal life. Believe that Jesus has done that for you personally, and ask Him to give you a new life in Christ. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins. And you are thus saved.”

Diehl had to process it for a minute. He tried to recall what he had prayed in college, but he couldn’t. “I think I believed most of that.”

“You know you can’t be partially saved. Either you’re all saved or you’re not. You can’t be half-saved.”

“I hear you.” Diehl searched for “believe” on his Bible app. “I found a verse. ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ Acts 16:31. Does that mean my entire family?”

“Everyone in your family has the opportunity to individually believe in Jesus.” Her voice sounded tired. It must be past her bedtime. “After salvation comes the long process of sanctification, where God prunes you and puts you through the fire to see whether you’re gold and silver, or wood and hay.”

“Because if I am truly saved, then I would live my life like I am truly saved,” Diehl concluded.

“Exactly.”

“You have given me much food for thought.”

“I suggest you talk to Pastor Gonzalez or to your brother-in-law Ivan for more details,” Skye said.

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