Jan 31, 2014
Today's passage: Romans 11
Hey y'all! Chase is at a conference in Charlotte today and won't be able to post for Romans 11. He just wanted you to know he didn't forget. Thanks for all the posts y'all have been doing. They've been a blessing! Also, please remember to pray for CALLAHAN MCNEIL and the Lord's will for her with all the surgery and back pain that I'm sure she's having. You're awesome! Have a great and godly weekend!!
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V5 There has always been and there will always be a remnant who follow God. I want to be counted in that number!
ReplyDeleteV29 The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. I take this to mean that even when we question the spiritual gift God has given us, or when we question what God has called us to do, that He is not questioning. He is not changing his mind.
V33: The depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! We can never fully understand God and all that He is and all that He does. It is comforting to know that He sees eternity past and eternity future and likes what He sees. That His plan is not being thwarted, neither will it be.
V16 "For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches." Ok, so obviously, this is taking about our lives. The second part is easier to share my thoughts on, so I'll just stick to that. The root is basically like the source of our lives, or what drives us day to day. Now, whatever comes the root, that is what the branches are gonna turn out like. Whatever the source of our life is, it's gonna show. For example, if we just love sports, we watch every game, know all the stats and stuff, that's going to show in our everyday lives. People will know that we love sports. But that's easy. What I feel this verse is challenging us to do is to make God the roots of our life. We need to study his word. We need to talk to him in prayer. We need to love him and serve him. If we do these things, then the branches of our lives will reflect it, and the world will know that we love God. What's a better testimony than that?
ReplyDeleteV18 "Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee." I might get a little out of context here, but it's what I got from the verse. This is just a very straightforward command to not brag about our works. But I think that this could go a little deeper than that. I think this is talking about not bragging about our works that honor Christ. I started thinking about this, and I realized that I probably struggle with this more than I first thought. First off, think being and pride go hand in hand. Bragging is just a more outspoken form of pride. So, in the context of the verse, if we sit back and are like "oh, I've witnessed more than them and study my Bible more than them. I'm better than them." Even without necessarily thinking we're better than them, we've already violated this verse. We are not supposed to brag about what we've done in Christ. But also, the second part of the verse is pretty humbling. Now, we're all sinners and we struggle with pride, so I think this is supposed to be taken by each person individually to examine their own hearts. But, if we do have that "I do so much more for Christ than you do" mindset, then we might not actually really abide in Christ. Again, this is, I think, supposed to be taken individually for everyone to study their own hearts, it is sad to know that some people say they are Christians due the sole reason that it makes then look good. We can't let that be us.
V33 "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" I think that we quite often forget just God's sheet magnificence. He's omniscient, he knows everything. There's nothing he doesn't have an answer for. I was at the Anchorage over the summer and my counselor put it in a unique way. God knows everything that will happen. He knows everything that could happen. He knows all the choices you could make, and the results of all those choices. He knows what could happen, but won't. I think that's just amazing. And his judgements, they are always right. They are always just. Nothing is wrong with them. God is never wrong. He is a just God, yet merciful, graceful and forgiving. I just love that about him. I heard this from my pastor. A guy told him that he didn't like God because he couldn't figure him out. Pastor told him "what kind of a God would he be if you could figure him out?" God's ways really never make sense to us, and not being in control is kind of frightening. But his ways are perfect and just. We can completely rely on him. He is everything we need. To the right were the tabs are, there are two called forgiveness and Jesus is enough. I strongly encourage you to watch them. They really touched my heart.
Wow Seth, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts in these verses. I liked the way you explained them in your first point.
ReplyDeleteV 33 I love how the chapter concludes with these verses. Honestly, that chapter really confused me. But what a great reminder at the end that we can't figure out God's ways. Like Seth mentioned, if we could, what kind of God would he be?
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