Scripture: Romans 10:11-21
"Israel's Unbelief"
"Anyone who puts their trust in Him will never be put to shame." God releases us from shame, so even if others try to embarrass us, remind us of our transgressions, or highlight our weaknesses, we will not feel ashamed because He has transformed us. God promises to remove my shame, traumas, and fear of other people, which have prevented me from going to church, meeting new people, and engaging in conversations. He will also change the false belief that I am worthless, a belief that has been ingrained in me due to my current circumstances. When we repent and turn away from our sins, God makes us new creations. He covers us and cleanses us when we call upon Him, and if we make Him our Lord, He saves us.
When we believe in God, we call upon Him. He whispers in our ears to strengthen our faith. He sends His people to preach the message so that others may believe in Him. However, not everyone accepts the message of God. "The message is heard through the Word of Christ." The Word of Christ speaks, communicates, and talks.
The world will hear the gospel, but Israel has not yet understood. The word of God will be revealed to people who lack understanding and have not sought God, causing Israel to become envious and turn away from their disobedience and pride. Despite their disobedience, God continues to reach out to them and care for them.
Our zeal for God should be based on knowledge derived from the Word of God, which is "biblically-defined."
Our righteousness comes from Christ, and our holiness stems from our belief in Him. If we believe in Christ, we follow His examples and teachings.
Scripture: Romans 11:11-24
"Ingrafted Branches"
I have stumbled, but not beyond recovery. When my faith was lacking, God still poured His blessings upon the sinful people around me. Simultaneously, my lack of faith became a source of "riches" for them. However, God reminds me that if I am filled with Christ, I can be an even greater blessing to those around me.
God has allowed tempting voices to make me look at the progress of those who have been less gifted or less blessed than me in the past. These experiences serve as a catalyst for self-reflection, prompting me to ask myself what needs to be fixed within me and what areas I need to strengthen and perfect. However, my angel Limousine assures me that God also wants to demonstrate His control and His blessings of peace and love upon me, despite the evil surrounding me and the hatred directed towards me. Through these trials, God reveals His immense power and sovereign control.
God has revealed to me that I have failed to acknowledge that He is the source of my intelligence. Instead, I have credited my successes and accomplishments in life solely to my own hard work. In order to help me recognize His blessings, He has temporarily taken away my intelligence and opportunities for hard work. Through this, I am meant to realize how much He has blessed and continues to bless me, and that everything I possess, including the comforts in my life, is a gift from Him. I have never experienced a sense of poverty or lack, whether materially or financially, as everything has been provided for me since birth. He has diminished my passion for studying hard because I have failed to understand His will for my life and lacked belief in His power to provide a good career and life for me, even in my circumstances of poverty. He is correcting my worldly and humanistic beliefs—beliefs centered on self and unbelief in God. Now that much is being taken away from me by the forces of evil, God is calling me to depend on Him.
Solomon, too, transgressed greatly until he reached the conclusion that everything is meaningless and the purpose of life is to fear God and keep His commandments, as written in Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs towards the end of his life when he was no longer as powerful. However, God restored His wisdom. If God does not restore my opportunities in life, my response to such discouragement is to remind myself of those who faithfully held onto their hope and awaited their promised land, even though they did not receive what they hoped for. Spiritual riches are sufficient, and great rewards await in heaven. Although I am in Smyrna, a place full of suffering, God enables me and will continue to enable me to overcome, even to the point of physical death. God offers me salvation in place of an earthly life and teaches me true humility before Him.
"For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?" I was rejected so that others may experience the love of God. The negative voices that keep rejecting me serve to make people aware of the love of God, Jesus Christ, for them. They also demonstrate that God still loves me, even in the midst of my suffering, for my suffering is for the cause of Christ. God's acceptance of me feels like victory—a lifting from the dead, restoration, and the infusion of life and transformation in those who witness my life and testimony.
Jesus Christ, our holy root, shares His holiness with me when I become a part of Him and align myself with Him and His angels—the positive voices speaking in my head.
God rebukes me not to condemn sinful people, for Jesus, my root, is the one supporting me, not the other way around. He instructs me not to be arrogant, as He Himself has cut me off, despite being a natural branch raised in the Church. He is the only one who can graft me back and provide me with nourishment. Similarly, unbelievers were cut off from their wild olive tree so that they could be grafted back in. God does not spare the natural branches to instill fear in me, to make me afraid of being cut off again due to backsliding or circumstances where I do not feel God's grace and mercy. It is unbelief in God that separates me from my olive tree—Jesus Christ, who is my wisdom. God grafting me back to Himself is an act of kindness, and when He cuts me off, it is His discipline. The Gentiles whom He touches, reveals Himself to, and brings back to Himself, He blesses even more abundantly. He transforms them from their wild nature and makes them wise. How much more wisdom can He impart to me, whom He has cared for since I was young and who has known Him through biblical foundations.
Scripture: Romans 11:25-32
"All Israel Will Be Saved"
The people of Israel, who are God's chosen people, have experienced a partial hardening until the Gentiles whom He desires to save will also be saved. God is using this process to strengthen my faith and remove my sins, so that ultimately, as He has promised, I will be saved.
"God's gifts and His call are irrevocable." God is calling me and offering the gift of salvation. He has allowed me to disobey so that I may come to Him in repentance and experience His mercy. Due to the sinful nature of humanity, we are prone to disobedience. Through this, we come to recognize that God is a merciful God who desires to save us rather than condemn us.
While I was engaged in my artwork, God spoke to me. He revealed that there are paths of deliverance from my challenging circumstances—routes that He has specifically prepared for me. He assures me that even when it seems impossible to live and serve Him due to my disabilities, He has provided fallback options. God promises to bring about positive changes in my situation, and He only asks for my humility and trust in Him and in my own abilities. He encourages me to examine my heart, surrender control, and allow Him to work within me.
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