Called Out of Darkness Romans 9:25-26 As he says in Hosea: I will call them my people who are not my people; and I will call her my loved one who is not my loved one, and, It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, You are not my people, they will be called sons of the living God. Thoughts for Today: In our passage today, verse 25 is a quote from Hosea 2:23, and verse 26 is from Hosea 1:10. Paul uses Hoseas prophesy (made 700 years before Jesus birth) to illustrate Gods intention to not only restore his chosen people (Israel), but also to bring the Gentiles (you and me) into His family. In a few short weeks I am leaving on an evangelical mission to one of the most remote parts of Sudan. We will be camping -- cooking our own meals and sleeping in tents -- as we bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to this unreached part of the world. One of my friends asked recently, Those are primitive people, do you really think they will be able to understand Christianity? I had to smile because Im sure that same question was asked of every missionary who has ever gone out in service to God -- including Paul. At the time Paul wrote this Epistle to the Romans, Europe for example, was not as it is today. Compared to Rome (or other parts of the Middle East) it was relatively barbaric. In fact, most of our European ancestors were still living in the forests -- an almost savage existence. Do you think God called our ancestors because they were superior in some way? I dont think so. I have no doubt the people of Sudan will not only understand and be open to the message of Jesus Christ, but will embrace it wholeheartedly. Why else would God send us? Peter said in 1 Peter 2, But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. In other words, God has reached into the whole world to extend His message of mercy and forgiveness of sin; not just to the civilized world, or to civilized people. Questions to Ponder: So often when I talk to people about Jesus they think they must clean up the sin in their life before coming to the Lord (in other words, become civilized). Nothing could be farther from the truth. God calls us from darkness into His light - not the other way around. We dont pull ourselves out of darkness. Do you know someone who is trying to get right before coming to the Lord? Remember Romans 9:16: It does not, therefore, depend on mans desire or effort, but on Gods mercy. Perhaps our perspective should simply be to listen to His call, then step into His wonderful light.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 04:06:15 +0000
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