A Net in Time

Grace would no longer be grace ....

Wednesday, September 06, 2017

Today we are reading from Romans 11:1-10.

I have to admit, after yesterday's reading I have to wonder... is God rejecting this original chosen people? Is he turning his back on them or what is going on? Paul says this:
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!

Consider this: Paul is an Israelite himself! He hasn't been rejected by God. He's a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a descendant of Abraham himself.
For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.

God hasn't rejected any of the people that he foreknew. God always has a remnant of his chosen people who have been chosen by grace. For instance, when Elijah thought he was the only believer left, God reassured him that he really wasn't. Just as he had a remnant saved to himself then, he also has a remnant saved to himself NOW.
²God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” ⁴But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
Do you see it? It's not a chosen by works..it's chosen by grace. Even in the time of Elijah, these people were chosen by grace! Grace was at work even in the Old Testament!

I do love this line:
⁶But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Makes sense eh? Grace can't be grace if it's based off anything, otherwise it would no longer be grace.

⁷What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, ⁸as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”

⁹And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
    a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
    and bend their backs forever.”

Again.. it all comes down to God's choice.  God's choice alone.  If he has elected them (chosen them ahead of time) they obtain what they are seeking.  IF he hasn't, their hearts are hardened, and work as they might, they won't find what they are looking for. 

So what does that mean to me?

God's choice.

He's the one who leads us to seek for him.

That seeking is a sign of his grace upon our lives.

Those that are chosen of God will find what they seek... The Lord God himself and his saving work on our behalf.  

So if you are a seeker...know that you are the elect of God.  Destined to become one of his own.  That's a good thing no?  :)

What say you?    Click here follow along in my Romans Series.

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Art Book:1 2 3, I Can Sculpt

1,2,3, I Can Sculpt is colourful book geared to helping your young ones have fun creating sculptures. The book starts off explaining what a sculpture is

"a piece of art that has more than one side to look at".

Isn't that just the most straight-forward definition of a sculpture that you have heard?

Review: Is There Anything Better Than Candy? Box-Tract

Getting in interesting products to review is always a fun thing to do. And this one is a FUN one. Imagine having a fun way to present the gospel to children, in a way that is non-threatening and provides a double benefit? Is There Anything Better Than Candy? Box-Tract, produced by Let the Little Children Come come is one such a product, it comes as a ready made halloween tract.

How did we use it?
My lad and I made up three of them at a time, we took them with us on our weekly trips to the foodbank. This was our main way of using them. I also brought them along to a homsechool get-together and some of the teens put a few together to give to siblings.

They were really easy to put together, though if you look you'll see that one of them somehow got put together just a bit incorrectly. There's really no excuse though, as Let the Little Children Come provides an easy to follow diagram for putting it together.

Anyways, while at the foodbank we would hand them out to the youngsters who came by. It was fun to see their delight. It was such as easy way to bring the word of God into needy families. Such an easy way to share the gospel with children.

I was amazed at the amount of candy I could fit in and there was even room to spare! Chocolate, taffy, caramels, peppermints and more!

We reserved four of them for our annual trick or treaters! :)

My thoughts:

It holds a good amount of candy, I was surprised how much fit in and I still had room to spare.
In making them with a couple of young teens I discovered there was a bit of a learning curve in how to put it together and fill it. Some got the idea quicker than others, but once the pattern was learned, each pumpkin thereafter went easily.
It holds a good message, I loved that the message included a prayer. A nice message for doing child evangelism.
I can see a variety of ways to make use of these little pumpkins. They are big enough you could put in a small baked good (tartlets/cookies/donut holes) and bring them along to nursing homes, siblings can give to younger sibs, kids can use them as a surprise for their folks, as rewards at a harvest festival or Hallowe'en party, your imagination is the only limit.
How can you share the gospel with children in your life?

Comments from parents:
"This would be a fun craft before Hallowe'en with my girls club"
"Oh, that's such a cute idea!"
"Can I put one together? Are they hard to do? Oh! That's easy enough and oh.. they hold quite a lot don't they?!"

Comments from children:
"Mommy look! It's a pumpkin!"
"MOMMY I gots a chocolate!"
"Can I have one mom? Please?"
"Can I make one for the girl my mom babysits?"