Israel's Mistake

Romans 10:1-4

"Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

It would be reasonable if someone asked: Why do we spend time in modern, 21st century thinking about the problem with Israel– especially the problem with ancient Israel in biblical times? It seems so remote – so distant from persecution in Iraq and Sri Lanka, and from terrorism in USA and from starvation in Ethiopia, and from budget deficits and depressed economy and low interest rates.
In Romans 9—11 Paul deals mainly with the problem of Israel’s failure to find righteousness before God and, therefore, salvation and eternal life. The rest of the world – the Gentiles (or us) – come into view starting in Romans 9:24 and stay in view the rest of the time, but they are secondary in Paul’s attention in these chapters. The main issue is, again and again: Is Israel God’s chosen people, and what went wrong?
Now why should this matter to us?

Do Not Worry

Matthew 6:34

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Lamentations 3:22–23

"Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness."

There is a natural and strong impulse in our hearts to want to feel sufficient strength and ability for the future encounters we might face. We want to be able to look to the future dwell on it. What will my life be like in 10 years? Will I have a wife and children? What will my health be like? What will our church be like? What will tomorrow bring? Will I have the strength to live the day wisely and to the glory of God? So often we can be uncertain and worrisome about the future. We can go on desperately needing to feel the strength for tomorrow. However God has given us a great secret to the Christian life that will get us over that.

This Is My Name Forever

Exodus 3:14-15

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ ”


In Exodus 3, we’re given a special revelation about God’s personal name. When Moses tells God that the Israelites will want to know His name, God responds by firstly calling Himself ‘I AM WHO I AM’, then ‘I AM’, and finally ‘The LORD’. What significance is it that God has a name essentially meaning ‘I am’, and wants that name to be a memorial to all generations?

Reasons for Suffering

Acts 14:22

“We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”


All Christians suffer. You have suffered, you are suffering, or you will suffer (Acts 14:22). This reality is a stark reminder that we have not reached the new heavens and new earth. The New Jerusalem of no tears and no pain, of no mourning and no death, hasn’t arrived yet (Revelation 21:1, 3-4). But just because we experience suffering as we await the redemption of our bodies, it doesn’t mean that our suffering is random or without purpose. Here are five important biblical truths about the possible reasons behind your suffering:

I Will Not Cast Them Away

Leviticus 26:40-42, 44-45:

“But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me…if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land. Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.”


Judgment and exile are the consequences of disobedience to the Lord’s covenant (Leviticus 26:14–39), but they are not the whole story when it comes to looking at how God deals with the world and especially His covenant children. We can see from many scripture passages that our Creator promises to deliver from His wrath all those who put their hope in Him alone (Exodus 6:1–8; Psalm 130; Mark 10:42–45). And He does not stop acting for His people once He has delivered them from judgment, for He also promises to restore what they have lost in their exile. This is the great hope promised in Leviticus 26:40–45.

Evangelism: Prayer and Labour (2)

Wise Walking and Salty Speech

Colossians 4:5-6

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Paul, having dealt with prayer for the spreading of the gospel in the previous verses, now turns to each believer’s responsibility to labour in his or her own life for this dispersion of the gospel. 

Evangelism: Prayer and Labour (1)

Praying for the Open Door

Colossians 4:2-6

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.


This passage from Colossians outlines so clearly our personal involvement in evangelism and missions. Paul speaks as a missionary himself, and instructs the Colossians to engage themselves in earnest prayer for missions, but also to be actively involved in the important task of spreading the Gospel. This text is naturally split into two parts: verses 2-4 about each person’s involvement through prayer, and verses 5-6 depicting our direct involvement in evangelism through wise conduct and seasoned speech.