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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Saturday, November 17, 2018
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Subjecta:Paul’s Regret for Judaism Bible Verse:Romans 9:1-5 "I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." Message:
For once, a passage from Romans is easy to understand. Paul is in anguish over the plight of his people, the Jews. After thousands of years of strife, the Messiah has finally come to them — but many of them have failed to take advantage of the fulfillment of their effort. They had dropped the ball an inch short of the goal line.
Even worse, one must remember, “The chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death.” (Matthew 27:1.) And much responsibility falls on Paul himself! In his early days, there was nobody more zealous in his persecution of Christ’s followers than Paul (Saul). His anguish is made more heartbreaking by remembrance of his own guilt.
Ancient mosaic, Tabgha, Israel
Paul traces the history of God and the Jews in a list of words: Adoption, i.e., God literally adopted the heirs of Abraham as his children; Glory: God glorified the Jews, making them the most important people on earth; Covenants: It was the Jews and nobody else who, for the preceding thousands of years had made covenants with God; Giving of the Law: it was the Jews who received the Ten Commandments and the law of Moses; the Worship: It was the Jews who had first worshipped God in their temples, and even at the birth of Christ almost all of the worship of God was centered on Judaism; and the Promises: God promised that the Jews would be redeemed, that they would be his children.
Why does Paul interrupt his discussion of Christian theology with such an abrupt and incongruous statement of personal emotion? For one thing, a large part of his audience was Jewish. Christianity has always had a direct personal element; Christ put his own body on the cross. The personal relationship, the totality of commitment of one person to another, is a defining aspect of Christianity.
Secondly, Paul is about to explain God’s treatment of the Jews. The thousands of years during which the Jews single-handedly carried the torch of God were not in vain. Paul expresses a wish that he could magically bring Judaism to Christ, but of course, he cannot. But what he cannot do with magic, he can try to do with argument, by showing the Jews how they have been rewarded for their service.
And this is what he will do, in the remainder of Romans 9.
Meditation : Prayer : Lord, pour your love into my heart, that I may love you above all things, and my neighbors as myself. Through Christ our Lord.....Amen |
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