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Day 32: Romans 11/Psalm 67
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Saturday March 27, 2004
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Choice of
the giver
Buried within this chapter of Romans is the reality check that our
strengths and abilities get us nowhere when it comes to God’s love for
us. He voted for us before we ever “impressed” Him with our Christian
“American Idol” performance. When Paul was writing his letter to the
Romans, many in Israel had forgotten this and they were trying to earn
God's approval. Ironically, many of us not naturally associated with
Israel are the better for it, which puts the whole self-righteousness
thing into perspective: if we can’t earn God’s acceptance,
then all the stress of being “perfect” goes out the window. We weren’t
grafted into the olive branch because we earned a right to be there; it
was only due to the fact that others rejected and we responded to God’s
mercy through faith in Jesus Christ. The Message Bible
captures this well in its translation of verses 17 and 18:
“The only reason you’re on the tree is
because your graft ‘took’ when you believed, and because you’re
connected to that belief-nurturing root. So don’t get cocky and strut
your branch. Be humbly mindful of the root that keeps you lithe and
green.”
Our only
responsibilities then are to always remember that God chose to love
us--from beginning to end--before we took our first breath in this
world, and that we must live a life centered on this understanding. If
we forget these things and try to become God’s “favorite” through our
performance, we risk losing sight of Him and begin to focus on our own
abilities. If this happens, then we will fail, and the pruning sheers
will cut us off like those before us. A life centered on this love
looks beyond itself and realizes that this love must be shared. It must
be communicated to a people who are weary running the treadmill of
human and spiritual accomplishments. When you serve someone else, the
message of God’s love is in the means. You communicate to the receiver
that the God kind of love is not earned by money or deed, rather it
comes through the choice of the giver. The great thing is that this
message is better communicated through action--sorry, street-corner
preachers.
Today’s
Prayer:
God, help me to understand Your love in a way I have never
understood before. Give me the boldness and desire to show someone else
love the way You have shown it to me. Amen.
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Memory Verse of the Week:
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit
of life set me free from the law of sin and death. "
Romans 8:1-2 (New International Version)
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For a complete
listing of all the previous devotionals in this "50 Day
Experience," click here.
To read the chapter or psalm of the day online, click on one of the
following links:
o
Romans
11
o
Psalm
67
Jason Oden, oden@cincyvineyard.com,
Operations Coordinator of Zone Team at VCC
Recommended
Reading: The Ragamuffin Gospel: Embracing the Unconditional Love of
God by Brennan Manning.
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