Anglican Devotional 13 September 2022 – Merciful But Just

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 13 September 2022 – Merciful But Just

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TOPIC: Merciful But Just

READ: Romans 11:1-10 (NKJV)

1. I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin.
2. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying,
3. “LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”?
4. But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
5. Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
6. And if by grace, then [it is] no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if [it is] of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
7. What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
8. Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.”
9. And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
10. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.”

THE MESSAGE:

Israel – God’s chosen people – were disconnected from God due to the hardness of their hearts and unbelief. They were disconnected also by sin and that disconnection paved way for the Gentiles to be engrafted into God’s own plan. God’s chosen people would be provoked to seek their God by the liberty given to the Gentiles. However, God had not forgotten his people, Israel, and Paul’s earnest desire was that all Israel should be saved. Disobedience can disconnect us from God. When we look at the present Church, we can liken it to the situation in this text, where it seems God has rejected and forsaken His people.

The Bible shows that sin is a barrier between God and man and the act of disobedience creates a disconnection between God and His people. The Israelites allowed themselves to be carried away with the fact they were God’s chosen people. In their disobedience, a disconnection occurred. We must guard our salvation, otherwise we too might be cast away. The merciful God does not tolerate sin, He is also just!

PRAYER: Father, grant me the heart of obedience and help me to always trust in Your saving grace in Jesus’ name. Amen.