Romans 11 - 1.12.26
Scripture: Romans 11:11-24
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
Observation
In this Epistle, the Apostle Paul was writing to Jewish and Gentile believers in the Roman Church. He was addressing the unique and diverse relationship that had grown in the Church as more Gentiles were being saved by the Messiah who was Jewish, fulfilling the promise that God had made with Abraham in Genesis 22:18, “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Paul depicted the Israelites as the cultivated olive tree branches and the Gentiles as wild olive tree branches. Cultivated fruit trees tend to be more healthy due to proper watering, fertilization schedule and planted in the right area to get sunlight, so those branches should bear abundant fruit. Wild fruit trees must survive the elements without proper care and will produce fruit but the fruit may be substandard. Since the Israelites, who were the cultivated branches, did not produce fruit, many were pruned by being cut off due to their unbelief. We Gentiles were grafted into the healthy cultivated tree having the ability to produce quality fruit with the same growing conditions as the natural branches. The grafting process involves the cutting away of a branch from its entire source of life, location, environment, and even identity to be placed unto another. The grafted branch must then be placed and wrapped where the previous branch was cut off. It takes some time for the grafted branch to connect and merge with the tree. Once the grafted branch is established with the tree, it will no longer need to be protected and wrapped but will spring forth new stems and produce fruit. We read in this passage that unbelief will stop the production of fruit which is what the Father is seeking. If Christ is the Vine, the Trunk, and the Root, we all have life and connected to the Life Source, and every branch should bear fruit.
Application
Paul gives a warning to Gentile believers to not be arrogant about our part in our salvation because God can prune us and cut off just as He did the Israelites. We must bear the fruit that God is seeking. In Mark 11:12-13, Christ cursed the fig tree who did not have fruit growing at the proper time to be harvested later in the season; it looked the part and had the leaves but no fruit nor any indication of budding on its branches. Our requirement as Christians is to bear fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Our DSC mission statement also sums up fruit production by loving God, loving people and making disciples.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You for salvation. I thank You for cutting us off from the world (wild olive tree) and placing us among Your branches to be well watered, fed (fertilized), and placed in the light to produce the fruit that You are seeking. Help us to not be arrogant but pruned in areas of our life that we may not be completely cut off from You. Let us use our fruit that You’ve helped us produce to attract others to Your goodness. We thank You for fulfilling Your promises that You made thousands of years ago to Abraham to reconnect us all back to You. Help us to walk in our calling to ultimately glorify You, in Jesus name, Amen.
- Darrence Hamilton
Psalm 139 - 1.9.26
Scripture: Psalm 139:1-14
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Observations:
God is with us wherever we go. There is no place when can go that he is not present. He knows everything about us, even what we will say before we say it. He knit us together in our mother‘s womb. Knitting is a procedure that takes time. This shows that God carefully planned out who we are and the characteristics he would give us. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made”.
Application
I so enjoy God’s creation and marvel at His design. Yesterday I was at a botanical garden and ended up stopped every few steps to take a picture of a unique flower. That same beauty is in all of us. God knit us in our mother’s womb. Thinking on this makes me realize I need to look at myself and others with that same amazement. Everything God creates is wonderful and has a purpose. He loves us so much He will never leave us. He’s always by my side.
David declares, “I know that full well.” He had walked through hard times and recognized God’s hand on his life in the midst of it all, even waiting after being anointed king and having to run for his life.
Prayer
Father God,
Your handiwork is amazing. Thank you for all the variety and intricate design this earth contains. You created me wonderfully with the same care. Thank you that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Please help me remember this as I go about my day. As I look at others, even when I’m annoyed, please help me remember they are your creation. May I find the same beauty in them as I find looking at the ocean. Thank you for always being with me and surrounding me with your presence. Help me to look to your Holy Spirit for guidance throughout my day. May what I do honor you as shine to others how incredible you are.
Amen
- Cindy Howard
Ezekiel 21 - 01.08.26
SCRIPTURE
“The word of the Lord came to me: “Therefore groan, son of man!
Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief. And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.’
It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.””
Ezekiel 21:1, 6-7 NIV
OBSERVATION
Next to Job, Ezekiel is one of the most challenging books of the Bible, with Chapter 21 being particularly difficult. Here, the people stand at the brink of God’s impending Judgment, having received SO many warnings that have fallen on deaf ears, and still they are impervious to the Judgment that is Coming. They are choosing to Listen to what they “want” to hear rather than the “Truth”.
God’s severe judgment against Judah and Jerusalem—symbolized by a “drawn sword,” representing the Babylonian army—would bring complete destruction in the form of a national catastrophe. This judgment underscores the absolute certainty of God’s wrath in response to turning away from Him and continuing in persistent sin. The sheer magnitude and severity of what was coming would serve as a powerful revelation to the watching world, making it clear that only God Himself could be behind such a great reckoning.
Yet, God did not want Ezekiel to be an unemotional messenger of judgment.
God wanted the heart of the prophet to display the same breaking heart that God Himself had.
God told Ezekiel to “groan with a broken heart and bitter grief.”
Our sin and His punishment, though righteous—-breaks God’s heart.
APPLICATION
Lord Jesus—Break My Heart for what Breaks Your Heart
Why did Jesus weep when He saw Jerusalem?
His ministry was almost over. Time was short. He had healed their sick. He had raised their dead. He had cleansed their lepers. He had fed their hungry. He had forgiven their sins. Yet for the most part, He had been rejected. The same people who were shouting “Hosanna” soon would be shouting “Crucify him”.
“He came to—His own, and His own—did Not receive Him.” (John 1:11)
Unbelief and rejection breaks God’s heart, because He knows the consequences.
But when the door of the human heart is shut, He will Not enter by Force.
He will only knock—wanting to gain admittance.
He has given us the ability to choose.
But when we choose the wrong thing,
He knows the repercussions that will follow—in this life—and the one to come.
And His heart is broken.
As Followers of Christ Jesus we can also break His Heart by not caring deeply about what Breaks God’s Heart. The very Thing He Came to this earth for as He Lived, Ministered, and sacrificed His Life. The Good News.
““For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NLT)
The Good News is SO much MORE than gaining a place in Heaven for the Future. Salvation is not the end, it’s the Glorious Beginning of what it means to walk this discipleship journey FOLLOWING Jesus.
“Now this IS eternal life: that they may KNOW You,
the ONLY true supreme and sovereign God, and in the same manner KNOW Jesus as the Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3 AMP)
“And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk, and I will make you fishers of men.”” (Matthew 4:19)
“Then Jesus said to His disciples,
“If ANYONE wishes to follow Me as My disciple, he must deny himself—set aside selfish interests—and take up his cross—expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come—and follow Me—believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me.” (Matthew 16:24)
“The sheep that are MY own—HEAR My voice—and LISTEN to Me;
I know them—and they FOLLOW Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever by any means perish;
and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand.”
(John 10:27-28)
PRAYER
Lord Jesus,
Forgive me for so many wasted years. Thank You for Your mercy and grace and Love that is beyond Compare. Break my heart so deeply and fully for the people who are in such desperate need of knowing You. Only if You do this will it happen. We can do nothing apart from You. I am dust. Only by Your power and will am I living and breathing. Melt me Mold me FILL me and use me as You Will. Open my heart to Hear Your voice leading me each day. Teach me to Follow You as Your disciple. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Tina L Kudelka