Verse of the Day 4/14

 

Verse of the Day 4/14

 

 Romans 11:19 

Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."  English Standard Version (ESV)

 

As I write this it is still Good Friday.  As I mentioned yesterday my wife Jean and  I are on a tour of  Israel and today on Good Friday we went to the Western wall to pray.  Perhaps my heart was not in the right position before approaching the wall.  But as I followed everyone  else with the ceremonial hand washing, prayed and approached the wall I stood amazed at the sight and thought of it all.  Praying here in Jerusalem on Good Friday at the same time other Christians of all denominations lifting praise, adoration and  prayers to the God of all creation at the temple in Jerusalem was beyond my previous comprehension. 

 

As I stepped to and laid my hands and eventually my head against the wall I  was moved by the  sound  of the prayers from those  around me.  I could not understand them but rather that what I would normally have considered a "jumble" of words, these prayers lifted my spirits and I was led to pray for forgiveness and then many things, not the least of which was the peace of Jerusalem.

 

Prior to coming  here I had no idea of the clash of cultures, religions, ethnicities and ways of life that are part of everyday life here. There are tensions, misunderstanding, confusion and uncertainty while at the same time some  of the most devout people on the face of the earth.

 

I read today's verse after walking past a shop near the Via Dolorosa and seeing a banner with the statement from verse 19 saying "branches were broken  off that  I might  be grafted in".  Above the verse was a Menorah with a Christian symbol of the fish underneath and at their intersection they formed the Star of David. 

 
What a perfect verse for the day and the experience and one that should not be lost on us as Christians each and every day of our lives.  A few verses later we read:

 

Romans 11:25   Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:^[a] a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  English Standard Version (ESV)

 

May we be thankful to our God that we have been grafted in.  May we not think too much of ourselves and  may we never look down on any other, but pray, if they are Gentiles to be grafted in and that any who had been "broken off " may be restored, for the peace of Jerusalem.

 

Psalm 122:6

 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
    "May they be secure who love you!  English Standard Version (ESV)

 

 

 

Blessings,

 

Mike

 

Romans 11:19-20 The Message (MSG)

^19-20 It's certainly possible to say, "Other branches were pruned so that I could be grafted in!" Well and good. But they were pruned because they were deadwood, no longer connected by belief and commitment to the root. 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.

 

Romans 11:25-29 The Message (MSG)

A Complete Israel

^25-29 I want to lay all this out on the table as clearly as I can, friends. This is complicated. It would be easy to misinterpret what's going on and arrogantly assume that you're royalty and they're just rabble, out on their ears for good. But that's not it at all. This hardness on the part of insider Israel toward God is temporary. Its effect is to open things up to all the outsiders so that we end up with a full house. Before it's all over, there will be a complete Israel. As it is written,

A champion will stride down from the mountain of Zion;
    he'll clean house in Jacob.
And this is my commitment to my people:
    removal of their sins.

From your point of view as you hear and embrace the good news of the Message, it looks like the Jews are God's enemies. But looked at from the long-range perspective of God's overall purpose, they remain God's oldest friends. God's gifts and God's call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded.

 

 

 

 

 Follow the verse of the day at mikesvotd.blogspot.com