THE BOOK OF ROMANS Saturday – June 29, 2013 – Romans 9:33 “As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” As we finish up our study of chapter 9, Paul again quotes from the Old Testament, the only scriptures of the time. This time he turns to Isaiah for his inspiration, (Isaiah 8:14) “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” and (Isaiah 28:16) “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” To the Jews, faith without works is a stumbling stone: How can even the Son of God forgive me unless I do something good to earn His trust? To the gentile, faith in the cross is the stumbling stone: Why would God send His Son to die for me, He doesn’t even know me, I wasn’t even born yet? Faith trusts God, believes God without reservation. Faith believes that God is everywhere at all times and knows all that there is to know. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), trust that all He says in the scripture is true, in spite of all that man can come up with to ‘prove’ it is wrong. Faith reads the Word of God and knows that it is the Word of God, passed down by the Holy Spirit to Godly men who wrote it down for us. Faith in God is also faith in His timing, faith that when tragedies and events occur that we do not understand, God is in control. “The just shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11). When Thomas required ‘proof’ that Jesus had risen, Jesus gave him that proof and then said, “…Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29). True faith believes God, without seeing, touching, tasting. Psalm 139 says, “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” Faith is believing that God sees all, knows all, controls all. Faith is trusting that God knows my innermost secrets and nothing is or can be hidden from Him. He knows when I am serving Him and He knows when I am not. He knows when my heart aches and when it is full with joy. He knows when something causes me to doubt Him and He knows when my faith is strong, yet He has promised to never leave me or forsake me. Psalm 66:18 tells me that if I harbor iniquity (sin) in my heart, God will not listen to my prayers, but faith is knowing that His ear is still tuned to my prayer of repentance and that one He will hear. His desire is to have fellowship with us, each and every one of us, and He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9). He knows that many will stumble and fall, that many will follow the broad path to destruction and not the narrow path that leads to heaven. He knows that even after we are His, we will come up with more excuses not to serve Him than reasons to serve Him, that His house will be relatively empty on days of Worship and that even many of those who are covered in the blood of His Son, Jesus, will often make excuses for not serving. The fact is that most of our excuses are relative to our own abilities and strengths and do not rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13), and that includes getting up early for Sunday church, staying up a little later for Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services. There are physical limitations that will limit some in their attendance, but they only account for a small percentage of those who choose to stay home. A stumbling stone? Sometimes that stumbling stone in my life is me! My prayer for today- May Your house be filled to overflowing with Your children, Lord, and may we live only to serve You. May our faith be that You will provide for us in every way, whether it be needed sleep, finances, health, time, or whatever our hearts can conceive as a reason to not serve You. “My God shall supply ALL your needs, according to HIS riches in glory” (Ephesians 4:19), All of my needs, Lord. May I learn to know the difference between wants and needs. For these daily devotions/studies to truly apply to your life, you must first belong to God. He will welcome you because He loves you, even before you love Him. He loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Scripture tells us that if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation, (Romans 10:9-10). Won’t you confess today and ask Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior? He is waiting with open arms…
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 10:44:21 +0000
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