Day 37 - Romans 9:27 - 9:33

27 And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out,“Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore,    only a remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth    quickly and with finality.”
29 And Isaiah said the same thing in another place:“If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies    had not spared a few of our children,we would have been wiped out like Sodom,    destroyed like Gomorrah.”
30 What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. 31 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. 32 Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. 33 God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said,“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.”

Tori's Comments:

Verse 32 is awesome. It really shows the difference between living by the law verses living by the Spirit. The stone in the path in my life is definitely fear of people's opinions of me.

Anyone have anything different that hinders you from trusting God?

Terrie's Comments:

I think many people in the church have a set of rules that they live by in their heads.  A set of "God's laws" or what they think God expects.  We need to learn to live by the leading of the Holy Spirit so those laws are not a stumbling block in our lives... I am guilty of this... anyone else with me?  Love the Lord your God with all of your Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength and Love your Neighbor as yourself... I want to become more unconditionally loving and live a life filled with compassion for others no matter what other people think of me.  Those of you that know me can keep me accountable to this!

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 36 - Romans 9:19 - 9:26

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? 22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. 23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. 24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.25 Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea,“Those who were not my people,    I will now call my people.And I will love those    whom I did not love before.”
26 And,“Then, at the place where they were told,    ‘You are not my people,’there they will be called    ‘children of the living God.’”

Terrie's Comments:

The thing that stands out in this passage is that the bottom line is that everyone has a choice to be Children of the living God.  Verse 25 and 26 see a switch between the old and new covenant.  Through the Blood of Jesus Christ we are all saved, loved, cherished, God's people, God's children.  He has made a way where there wasn't a way before for anyone to be reconciled to Himself.... More great news!

Tori's Comments:

Does this go back to our whole purpose in life? (Which is glorifying God, right?)

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 35 - Romans 9:14 - 9:18

14 Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! 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.

Tori's Comments:

I remember struggling with this for a long time, about how unfair it seemed. But then I realized my definition of fair is from a human perspective. He is God, for goodness sake. And we are already given mercy from what we deserve!

Terrie's Comments:

God honors our heart condition.  If our hearts are set on Him it cannot be hardened.  It is when we turn from God and have our hearts set in other places that we are vulnerable for our hearts to be hardened towards Him.  Pharaoh was not approaching God or God's people from a heart that honored or feared God.  He was vulnerable to a hardened heart and he was used by God to show God's glory to those who were soft to Him.  So no matter where our hearts are at, God is able to use everyone for His purposes and to turn people back to Himself.

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!