Romans 9:2-3
“That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:”
We have all had experiences that have saddened us. Sometimes the word ‘sad’ is too shallow to describe what we are feeling, we might say we are sorrowful or even consumed with grief. When a relationship comes to an end or someone we love dies, the sadness is often so deep it becomes difficult to manage.
I find it challenging as I read what saddened Paul so deeply. He does not describe himself as sorrowful when he writes of the great difficulties he faced while following Jesus. It was not shipwrecks, beatings, prison or hunger that broke his heart. Instead, it was the spiritual condition of his family and friends. When he writes of his countrymen, he is referring to the Jewish people. They were the ones he grew up with, went to school with, worked with and hung around, before coming to Christ. As he looks at the accomplishments of his years of serving Christ, he is still saddened by the fact that many, so close to him, have yet to come to Christ. The sadness is so deep, he states that were it possible (which of course it is not), he would trade places with them, taking the punishment of separation from God that they might be saved.
As he continues to pour out his heart for his friends, he gives us insight into the reason for their condition. He speaks of how years before they were born, God had planned for their salvation, yet they refused to believe in Christ and receive the pardon for sin.
Their unbelief was caused by a number of things. First, the message of the cross was a stumbling block to them, because Jesus was not the Messiah they were expecting. Their expectation had them looking for a powerful military leader who would overthrow the Roman oppression and restore the nation to the glory days. Instead, a humble Messiah arrived on a donkey and died on a cross. It is very common today for some to respond to Christ only to reject Him later, because their expectations are not being met. They assumed, following Jesus would mean their troubles would be behind them, their marriages fixed, or their financial burdens removed. When that did not happen, they turned from Christ, returning to the old life. Second, many rejected Christ because of popular opinion.
In the grand scheme of things, only a few of the Jewish people were responding to Christ. Most rejected Him, causing others to reject Him as well. This is still happening today. In a world where Jesus is looked down upon, and belief in the Bible is ridiculed, many refuse Christ because they want to be accepted by others. Third, another reason for refusing to believe in Christ was pride. Pride will always keep a person from Christ. We must humble ourselves and freely receive the gift of Christ to be saved.
Let’s pray we develop a heart like Paul’s, that would break at the thought of people rejecting Christ, and would compel us to share the love of Christ with a dying world.
Pastor Jim
There are times when the promises of God seem unlikely, and other times when they seem impossible. The scene in which Ezra is set is one of those, “it looks impossible”, kind of times. Judah had been defeated, the city of Jerusalem destroyed, and the people scattered throughout Babylonia. To complicate matters, the Babylonians were defeated by the combined forces of the Medes and Persians, led by King Cyrus. Set against these conditions, was a remote and seemingly impossible promise. Years earlier, Jeremiah the prophet, predicted a king named Cyrus would rise to power, and give a decree, allowing the Jews to return to their land and rebuild their city. I am sure, for the average Jew this promise seemed remote at best. I love that we read “in the first year of Cyrus.” God wasted no time in bringing His promise to fruition.
The final chapters of 2 Kings tell the story of the death of a nation. After having a glorious beginning, and being miraculously sustained for a thousand years, the nation of Judah is defeated, the Temple destroyed, and the people taken as prisoners of war. These chapters record their collapse from heaven’s perspective. It was not caused by economic failure, a weak foreign policy, or because Babylon was a superior foe. Judah’s demise was simply a consequence of national sin, “…because of the sins of Manasseh…”
Sometimes, our Christian life takes us down roads we have not traveled before. The Lord desires to take us to new heights in our relationship with Him, and to use us for the furtherance of His Kingdom. Joshua’s leadership, as he takes Israel across the Jordan, illustrates some very important principles on how to follow the Lord.
The story of Abraham is the story of God, that has been rewritten in the lives of countless thousands over the years. Abraham was an unknown shepherd living in ancient Babylon when he heard the call of God. He was to separate from the world he lived in, and commit himself to following the Lord. As he, daily, walked by faith, and took simple steps of obedience to God, his 
When Moses chose the men to spy out the land, he chose the leaders. Sadly, we know how that turned out. These supposed leaders, came back with an evil report, and stirred the hearts of the people against the mind of the Lord. I think there is a danger for someone who is naturally a leader; that danger is when they are not subject unto the Lord. I talk to my kids often about leadership. “Guys, you need to be leaders.” Then I’ll ask them, “What’s the most important thing about a leader?” I’ve trained them to respond, “To follow Jesus, Dad.” That’s the most important thing about a leader.
Zechariah wrote over 400 years before Christ, and yet, he refers to the cross.
Jim Gallagher 