July 28, 2010

7-28-10 Wednesday, 5:43 am Springfield, 72 degrees, bright ¾ moon in the southwest, birds just beginning to sing.

Audrey and the team heading to Honduras should be just about ready to board their 6:10 flight out of Kansas City en route to Houston. They will be in Tegucigalpa before noon. It is quiet here. As hard as it is for me to get out of bed on any given morning, I appreciate and enjoy the early morning. For the next few days I will be doing the work of planning and preparing the preaching schedule for the next few months. For the last three years I have done this from a state park in Kentucky, and this year I will do so from Springfield. Now for the Word.

Romans 11:13-36

Paul continues to write about the Jews, as he addresses the gentile recipients of his letter. He reminds them that they have been grafted in because of the unbelief of God’s chosen people. In verses 20-24 Paul makes the point that the natural branches of the cultivated olive tree, broken off for unbelief can certainly be grafted in again into their own tree. “Thus all Israel will be saved” (verse 26) So, through the belief in God’s saving power, made available to us beyond God’s original chosen people, those chosen people, the Jews will also have access through faith.

Dan Sered spoke to us at Wesley this spring about the work of Jews for Jesus in Israel. He is a son of Israel, his father fighting for Israel in their wars from 1967 forward. His father and mother are secular Jews. I continue to hold loosely the questions of the role of modern Israel in the overall plan of God. Even so, I hold fast and am motivated to pour all my strength and energy into building God’s kingdom through the church, which is clearly his people and his plan for this generation. Guide me today Lord as I plan and discern and prepare for the preaching of your word in the coming months.