Daily Bible Reading - kindly provided by Premier and the Bible Society
Do have a look at the
Premier Daily Bible reading below. It is really so good.
My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.
Wednesday 11 December
Romans 9:2-3
The apostle Paul was proud of his Jewish heritage and was passionate that his Jewish brothers and sisters should share in the wonder of knowing Christ as their personal Lord and saviour. But look at the language he used! He was willing to be cursed forever if it meant that the Jews would find salvation. This is incredibly strong language and shows very clearly that it meant everything to him.
Paul knew that the Jewish people were in a very privileged position. They had been chosen to be God’s adopted children. God had revealed his glory to them, made covenants with them and given them the law. They had Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as their ancestors and Christ himself was a Jew. They had every advantage - and Paul couldn’t cope with the pain of seeing them reject Jesus.
I want to turn Paul’s words into a question to you and me. How desperate are we that our friends and family should find new life in Christ? It looks to me, much of the time, as if we have come to accept things the way they are. Of course, we would be delighted if other people came to believe in Jesus. We would be happy to encourage them to do so. But I rarely meet Paul’s level of passion that other people should become Christians.
I believe that we need to pray for our churches to become far more passionate about sharing the good news of Jesus. Christians are a small minority in our society - and that will not change unless we acquire some of Paul’s passionate longing for other people to follow Christ.
QUESTION
What do you learn from Paul’s burning desire to see his Jewish brothers and sisters follow Christ?
PRAYER
Loving Father, thank you that you have given me new life in Christ. May the wonder of knowing you give me a constantly deepening desire to see other people become Christians as well. Amen
BMS World Mission
At BMS World Mission we do mission differently. It’s not ‘us’ going to ‘them’, it’s partnerships growing from the ground up. We connect people in the West to the Global Church, empower communities and change lives at the margins, where Jesus Christ calls us to be. Click to find out about doing mission differently.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE.....
Be Still and Know Devotional podcastBring some Spirit-filled peace into your hectic schedule with the Be still & know podcast released every morning.
===========================================================
We also use this Daily Bible Study. It is an excellent all-rounder. Please
CLICK to see a new Bible Study every day. Don't forget you have a major faith resources section on this site. You can use it to find materials or to contact churches in Your Local or around Chippenham. You can find church services on holiday by changing the site Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
