Thank You, Father, for a beautiful summer day! Radiant sunshine filled our day and lifted our spirits! All praise to our Creator God!
Romans 9:30-10:4 (<<click here to read the passage)
We probably mow over 2 acres of our lot. Though we’ve done so for well over 30 years, it is not a smooth lot to mow. The many trees all have root systems and there are lots of roots. And though we’ve removed several trees near the house, where they used to be present problems in that over time the root systems have decayed leaving indentations everywhere – some large where the trunk used to be and others not so big, yet jarring, where roots ran under the ground for a ways.
And then there are rocks. Many have been moved but there are a couple that lie just above the surface and if you’re not careful and hit them just right…BAM! You hear the blades careen right into them!
Rocks can be problematic, to say the least…especially if you ignore their presence. The people of Israel, too, stumbled over the great rock in their path. v32b And they had been aware of it for generations!
God had warned them of this stone’s coming, through the Prophet Isaiah – 700 years before Jesus’ arrival!
The Apostle Paul shares God’s words to Isaiah,
“I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble,
….a rock that makes them fall.
But anyone who trusts in him
….will never be disgraced.” v33
God gave a warning but in the same breath, He gave hope!
They (and we for that matter!) may stumble but the answer is a simple matter of trust! It is clearly stated here in verses 3-4 of chapter 10
For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. NLT
To the Israelites and many today as well, just accepting God’s gift of “rightness” doesn’t make sense. We feel that we have to work for it. We have the stupid thought running through our minds that if it’s free it must not be legitimate. There must be blood, sweat, and tears to be worthwhile. And that is true, there was a great amount of blood, sweat, and tears, they’re just not ours… they are Christ’s…
The heavy price has been paid…and all we have to do is accept it, giving our lives to Him. Amen.
July 13th, 2023, Thurs, 9:31 pm
