Month: February 2021

They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” Romans 9:32-33 One Sunday, when I was a kid, my mother wasn’t in church for some reason and so, my sister and I sat together near the front as…
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Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? Romans 9:20-21 I grew up wrestling in smalltown, South Dakota, where I did pretty well,…
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What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. Romans…
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For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring . . . Romans 9:6-7 When my kids were growing up, we loved to watch a semi-educational show in which the hosts tested various hypothesis, trying to prove or disprove them. One…
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They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. Romans 9:4 I’m quite sentimental, and so, I enjoy reminiscing about my kid’s childhood. I love looking back over photos and videos, being profoundly grateful for the time my wife and I…
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I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Romans 9:3 We recently watched a superhero movie in which two of the main characters literally fought each other to see who would get to sacrifice their own lives to…
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If God is for us, who can be against us? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:31,37 I remember, as a kid, asking God to help my favorite football team win. As an adult and parent, I’ve let slip a prayer or…
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Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Romans 8:30 In our struggles, we all fail repeatedly at something. For the addict though, those failures are usually more obvious, leading to much more spectacular destruction. He doesn’t just fail. He…
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And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 According to today’s passage, all things eventually work out for good for those who love God. Visiting jail, I’ve heard this passage misused to suggest that God would get…
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We do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 I was taught…
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