His Choice…

Romans 9:1-21 NLT

First thing that hit me:

2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief 3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.

OK. Could I say that? Would I give up my relationship with Christ, would I go to Hell, in order for “my people” – whomever that might be – to be saved and spend eternity in Heaven? I don’t know that I could. I so love my relationship with the Lord. That’s a really hard question. I realize that I certainly don’t deserve the grace He affords me. God has been growing my love for people over the last few years. Honestly, there was a time not too long ago, that I really didn’t care about the eternity of others, particularly people I didn’t know. But He’s working on me. Seeing what Papa does when He really gets a hold of a man’s heart continues to soften my heart for the salvation of others and burdens me for the health of men as husbands and fathers.

Second thing that hit me:

15 For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” 16 So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. 17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” 18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen. 19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?” 20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?

WHO AM I? “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose,” says the Lord God. He chose to show me both. He chose to show me what he showed me why? “… to spread my fame throughout the earth.” How’s that working in my life? Am I spreading His fame? Am I spreading His renown? Am I spreading His glory?

Sometimes.

Daddy, I’m glad you chose me to be a recipient of your mercy and compassion. I surrender control of it all. Use me in whatever way brings your fame on the earth. Whatever that looks like, I’m all in. I love you. Amen.

Church Study #5…..Clarification

Marshall asked a question in the last post that i wrote.  OK here is my answer without actually answering it. 

Is a practice right just because “everyone is doing it”? Often we are told that some widely accepted practice must be good because “all these people can’t be wrong.”  Even I have said to my  parents, “All my friends are doing it!”

Perhaps the fact that our government is a democracy leads people to think that the majority is right in religion. But the truth is that people who are faithful in serving God have always been in the minority.

In Noah’s day God sent the flood to destroy thousands of people for their sins. Only eight people were saved (Genesis 6:5-8; 7:23). Would you have wanted to be doing what “everybody was doing” then?

Of all the thousands of adult Israelites who left Egypt, only two entered the Promised Land. All the rest died in the wilderness for their sins (Numbers 14:26-30). Would you have wanted to be with the majority then?

In 1 Kings 18 the prophet Elijah stood alone facing the 450 prophets of Baal. Was the majority right then?

When Jesus was crucified, no one remained faithful to Him. All His disciples forsook Him and fled (Matthew 26:56). Would it have been right to do what “everybody was doing” then?

Isaiah 55:8,9 says: “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” God does not think like men think; this is true for all men. So if most people – even all people – think a practice is good, that does not necessarily prove God thinks it is good.

The way to determine truth in religion is not by taking a opinion poll among people, but by studying the will of God revealed in the Bible. Read 2 Timothy 3:16,17.  The people at the FBI, or wherever they try to find false bills, sit and stare at a real bill for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours…..you get it. They study the real one and become experts on that so when a fake one passes by them they can spot it.  They do not study the false bills because there are so many and they are always changing.  So it is with this, study the real one, so when a false one passes you can spot it.