Thursday Devotional - Where's Your Zeal?

We often describe James as very eager. He is zealous and passionate about so many things! However, he often needs redirected. 😊

Last week we saw how Paul grieved (in the first part of chapter 9) over the Jews’ lack of belief. Here, he continues to share his heart’s desire and prayer for their misdirected zeal.

Romans 10:1-4       Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. ² For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

(Romans 9:31-32   but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. ³² Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.)

Paul says Israel pursued righteousness by the law instead of by faith and submission to God. They were zealous, but not with the right focus!

Do you know anyone who is eagerly and passionately striving for something you know they will never attain or master? Maybe they have the wrong focus. Maybe it’s a kid with a particular sport. Maybe it’s a teen or adult pursuing a relationship that won’t turn into anything or won’t satisfy like they think.

What are you and I zealous about? If we eagerly and passionately pursue God through faith in Christ, our zeal won’t be wasted. He will give us lasting satisfaction!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Father Abraham

We talked last week about how God credits Christ’s righteousness to those who believe. We don’t earn it. The same was true for Abraham. He wasn’t righteous, but God credited him with Christ’s righteousness.

Paul goes on to explain this further.

Romans 4:9-12   Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰ Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹ And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹² And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Abraham was credited with righteousness not because of who he was or what he did, but because of his faith in who God is and what God would do! (As Kent talked about yesterday, God is faithful and can be trusted to do what He says He will do.)

Most of us are not Jews. However, as Paul says, Abraham is the father of all who believe (remember the children’s song “Father Abraham”??).

My chiropractor is a Jew, but I don’t think he is a true son of Abraham, yet. However, yesterday, he was the one who brought up Jesus in our conversation! I continue to pray for God to use me (and now my kids, too) as witnesses for Him. 

Do you view God’s promises as gifts or as standards to attain? 

Are you a son of Abraham?

Those who place their faith and trust in what God has done and what He’s promised to do in the future are true sons of Abraham!

Alice