Grafted-A Wild Olive Branch

I was reading the book of Romans last week. God is so amazing! He takes something "old" and makes it "new" as if to refresh our minds of His wondrous mercy!

Reading in Chapter 11 regarding the message being brought to the Gentiles... and it seemed as if my heart and mind "burst" with the thankfulness of what had occurred. If you let yourself really think about it, it's overwhelming the mercy He has bestowed upon us, the Gentiles.

I've heard this preached and taught all my life...I know the "principle" of the teaching... but somehow, after all these years it hit me "full force" exactly what God did for us, the Gentiles. Yes, "I've Got it, I've Got it, there's something about the Power of the Holy Ghost and I've Got it...".

Paul tells it like it is... and I'll paraphrase it... "... don't get haughty, arrogant, conceited or prideful about being grafted in...after all, you are grafted in as a result of the hardened hearts that were cut off because of their hard hearts... and the same can happen to you! You, a wild olive branch, were grafted in, in their place, but it is easier for the orchard tree to be re-grafted, so be careful... " Now, those are my words... read it for yourself and read from several different translations. The Message gives a powerful rendering of Romans 11.

Oh my, what a blessed people we are... only by the MERCY of God are we filled with His Spirit. We should be so thankful and cherish what we've been given.

On to 1 & 2 Corinthians... I'm anticipating what God will reveal or remind me of....

Do you ask God to show YOU something when you read His Word? He will if you ask him too! His WORD is new each day!

Have a blessed day with Jesus.

Count it all JOY...

“Deeper, Deeper every day in Jesus, Till all conflict past, Finds me conqu’ror and in His own image perfected at last.” Deeper, Deeper by C.P. Jones

In mulling over the testimonies last night and the message... I agree, I don’t want to ever NOT feel God’s conviction on my life. I want to know if I’m pleasing or displeasing Him. I want to be chastised if I’m wrong. That is the way to perfection. My imperfections are under the blood and I desire to keep them there. I’m not perfect, but striving to be perfect in His image. Christ-like living is not based on good intentions, but in consistent daily walking with the one who loves us with an immeasurable love. Yes, just like the old hymn above, I want to go deeper and deeper everyday with Jesus... until the end of time. Do I know what I’m asking for? Oh yes... (THE CUP) In my Bible reading this verse stood out to me:

Jesus said in John 15:18-19 (NIV)

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

So, what is the other verse... “Count it all joy...” Believe me, I’m not searching for persecution and conflict... but I know that the world that I live in hates the TRUTH of His WORD and because of this, if I stand for what I believe, I’m not going to win the “most likeable” person award! But we have a higher calling than rewards and awards on this earth. I’m striving daily to do, say, and walk in the “right” way. I live on a “daily basis” with the future in mind! What a HOPE we have in Jesus!

Blessings...have a GREAT day with JESUS!