Monday 18 Feb 2019

February 18: Romans 9:6-13

Key Verse: Romans 9:6
It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

Devotion:
How have you been brought up to understand what Christianity is about? Do you believe you are a Christian because you come from a long line of people who were Christians, or at least described as being so? Or do you have the understanding that Christianity is a choice which each one of us has to make a conscious decision to take on? You will be surprised at how the Christian community is divided! Just as it was in the times of Christ and way before that too…

This passage begins with the idea not all people from Israel were worthy of being described as being from Israel. Whether this is because of their beliefs or because of the physical descendancy is not what we are going to look at here. Jacob and Esau were twins with issues! Esau wanted to sell his birth right because he did not think much of it. Jacob wanted to buy it, but also did things in a very underhanded way – they both had issues… But God saw in their hearts and understood what they wanted.

Despite the way Jacob went about things and how Rebekah was the one behind the deception, he did have a heart for God. Esau apparently did not! That is what God looks at and what we need to realise. Nothing can be hidden from God. Each of them had to make a choice as to their own salvation and their own beliefs – just as we have to make that decision for ourselves. It is not up to what our parents think, believe or even do; it is up to what we believe and what we do.

Does this mean I am never going to be loved by God because I chose the wrong path in the beginning? Far from it. God is willing and able to forgive anyone for the things they do and think. He wants all of us to make the right choice and come to Him, but he also does know who is not likely to do so! If you are willing to make a choice and to find out more about God, then He is going to go out of His way to allow you to find out all you need to know to make an informed decision rather than something made by someone else in your past! Your choice, your time, now!

Points to Ponder:
Do you believe someone else can get you into heaven?

Are you willing to listen to Christ and His teaching?