Day of Praise

Thur, 04/04/19, "Day of Praise"

"It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." - Romans 9:6 

It's not a riddle. 

To say that "not all who are descended from Israel are Israel" (Romans 9:6) is to say something about what "Israel" means. "Israel" means "one who wrestles with God," which more fully means "one who wrestles with God by wrestling with God's word, believing there's a blessing within it." 

So to say "not all who are descended from Israel are Israel" is to say "not everyone who is Israel by birth is also Israel by belief" because they don't believe there's a blessing in everything God says. 

That's why, in Romans 10:16, God says, "But not all the Israelites accepted the good news." They didn't believe the good news because they refused to believe there was a blessing within it. 

It doesn't make much sense, does it? How can anybody not accept good news? How can anybody not believe that there's a blessing in good news from God? 

It doesn't make much sense does it? 

And yet, every time we disregard God's word (and there are all sorts of ways to do it), then we ourselves are not believing that there's a blessing in God's word. 

Soooooooo... 

Read your Bible. Obey God. Love your neighbor as your cellphone (yes, I meant that!) Pray your prayers. Go to church and worship the Lord God on Sundays. Tell others about Jesus. Invite others to believe that God's life-giving and hope-filled Word is true for them...at least. 

Believing God at His Word is not a checklist to, well, be checked; it's a life to be lived. With others. Toward God. And with God. Toward others. 

Take God's word for it. There's a blessing waiting for you. 

Praise God!