God’s covenant began with Abraham. The Israelites were God’s chosen people…from the very beginning. Many of them turned from God, killed His prophets and tore down His altars. When Elijah complained to God about this, he said he was the only one left faithful to God. God corrected him and said there were still 7000 that were still His. It goes on to say in Romans that through God’s undeserved kindness, some still remain faithful to Him because He had chosen them. The rest, their hearts had become hardened. They did not have eyes to see or ears to hear. Out of their disobedience and non-belief, salvation was made available to us Gentiles. Those that disobeyed and did not believe, their branches from the holy tree of Abraham, God’s special olive tree were broken off. We, the gentiles, their branches from a wild olive tree, were grafted in, but only the ones that believe. God didn’t spare the original branches, they were broken off. Through unbelief, a way was made for us to be welcomed into a relationship of salvation with God. Now, God will use the Gentiles to make the Israelites jealous. They will see our relationship with God and be so jealous, they will want what we have. Through that, their hearts will be turned back to God.
Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. – Romans 11:11
But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. – Romans 11:17
I swear, God uses EVERYTHING!!
Now let’s ask ourselves, do we have a walk with God that someone would look at and be filled with jealousy? Are we so full of the Joy of the Lord that nothing can get us down? Do we walk in a peace that is beyond all understanding? A peace and joy that our circumstances can’t steal from us? Are we humble? I know for me, some days are better than others. Thank goodness God hasn’t stopped His work in me! If you are like me and still a work in progress, do you desire a walk with God that shines bright with an unfailing faith? I say I do and believe that I mean it. But how I walk out most days doesn’t always echo that. I need to spend more time with God each day. I need to make that more of a priority and not be so distracted by the cares of this world. I don’t want to be a broken branch. I don’t want to go back to the wild olive tree. I want to be a part of the SPECIAL olive tree.
Now, I believe the world has watered down the word so much that the typical Christian is lukewarm. They go to church every Sunday. They pray before each meal. They go on their retreats. These are all good things. But they aren’t enough. Please don’t be fooled by the watered-down word. Lukewarm and Jesus will say He never knew you. God wants our whole heart. He wants us to believe in Him so much that we can’t help but fall in love with Him. And you can’t love Him without being changed and becoming someone that can draw others to God because they want the relationship you have with God.
Do you want to do just enough and say you believe and hope you won’t be called lukewarm? Or do you want to go all in and be a testimony of what God can do in someone? If you want to go all in and have a walk that will impact others, then wake up each morning and start your day that way. If you fail, wake up the next morning and love Him enough to start again. Just don’t give up…you will be changed, and God will use that to change someone else.
Which Voice Will You Follow? 