A Remnant, Chosen by grace
1I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,a a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.7What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8as it is written,“God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear,down to this very day.”9And David says,“Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,and bend their backs forever.”
O God, You foreknew us and set in motion the perfect plan of salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Your promises abound through Your words. The power of Your holiness to save us is unbelievably superior to any gods of this world. Your grace rests solely on Your Sovereignty. I’m blessed that You saved me and grafted me in Christ.
Salvation to the Gentiles
11So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusionb mean!
13Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing rootc of the olive tree, 18do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
All my transgressions have been forgiven through Jesus Christ’s sacrificial blood atonement. My reconciliation with God has cost Jesus Christ’s life. A debt I could never repay Him. How wonderful and gracious are You, my God. You’ve provided me with the certainty of my salvation through Your trustword and by faith, I believe.
I’m thankful for His severity of condemning all my sinful habits that will lead me away from Him. I’m grateful for the warnings from His word that provided plenty of grace and mercy to come to Him in a preventive heart. He forgives all my debts! God’s kindness poured on me, shooting and comforting my heart, mind, and soul while I was faced with trials of various kinds.
O God, forgive me when I failed to be:
- Read Your word
- Meditate on Your law and precepts
- Pray everyday
- Seek the heavenly things
- Live as an example of a like-Christ
- Bear no fruit of the Spirit
- To let temptation rule over me
- To compromise my faith.
God’s Calling
25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; 27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now[e] receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
Your calling is irrevocable! In You shall I trust and obey, for there is no other God before me. Forgive my iniquities of actions and minds. Let the Holy Spirit search my heart and call me to You.
God Unsearchable
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
Oh the beauty of God. Your ways are inscrutable, and your judgments are unsearchable. The depth of your riches, wisdom, and knowledge are superior to any man and woman. From Him comes my salvation.
Prayer written in journal April 12/23
This week, I prayed over Psalms 70-76, and it has been a real test of my heart not to be emotionally disturbed by those prayers of the psalmist. How they prayed for divine intervention and trust in Him in difficult situations. To wait upon God’s perfect timing for His righteous judgment to come upon all people, the righteous and the wicked.
Let’s Go Pray!
PrayingOverScripture 