<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Romans 4;9-12<div><br></div><div><b>9. &nbsp;Is the blessing pronounced only upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised? &nbsp;We say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.</b></div><div><b>10. &nbsp;How then was it reckoned to him? &nbsp;Was it before or after he had been circumcised? &nbsp;It was not after, but before he was&nbsp;circumcised.</b></div><div><b>11. &nbsp;He received circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. &nbsp;The purpose was to make him the father of all who believed without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them,</b></div><div><b>12. &nbsp;and likewise the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but also follow the example of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Faith believes the promises of God,&nbsp;promises which said, <i>“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. &nbsp;And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. &nbsp;I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.” &nbsp;</i>Abram believed God and obeyed the command believing the promises..</div><div><br></div><div>Faith, has several&nbsp;parts, believing,&nbsp;obeying, and finally receiving<span>. &nbsp;As Abram went, the rest of God’s promises remained mostly unfulfilled.</span></div><div><span>It was many years before Sari bore him a son, Isaac. &nbsp;He died, having by faith seen the land, but&nbsp;not received the land, and by faith believed God’s power to raise the dead, but&nbsp;not seeing the&nbsp;<i>“blessing”, </i>(who is the resurrected Jesus Christ)&nbsp;to all nations…all that remained many generations away.</span></div><div>(see also Genesis 15;1-6)</div><div><br></div><div>Circumcision is described as <i>“a sign or seal.” &nbsp;</i>It is an outward reflection of an inner condition, an obedient faith.<u></u></div><div><br></div><div>At the heart of this,&nbsp; is love for God, greater even than love for family or worldly possessions. &nbsp;The promises of God imparted into Abram’s (and our) heart&nbsp;bring with them&nbsp;the very love of God. &nbsp;The love which is&nbsp;above&nbsp;all other things.</div><div><br></div><div>It was not Abram’s faith which ultimately made him righteous, but rather the promises of God.</div><div>Abram’s obedience was the result of the promises, not the cause of them. &nbsp; However, had Abram not obeyed the love of God given through God’s promises, &nbsp;He would never have received to fulfillments of the promises.</div><div><br></div><div>This is why Paul writes to the Romans saying, <i>“we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the <u>obedience of the faith</u>&nbsp;for the sake of His name among all the nations, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ” &nbsp;</i>(Romans 1;5&amp;6)</div><div><br></div><div>Notice how Jesus gives to His Bride the Church His promise, (it begins the very&nbsp;same way God commanded Abram),&nbsp;<i>“<u>Go</u>&nbsp;therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all what so ever ever I command you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. &nbsp;</i>(Matthew 28;19&amp;20). (Notice, <u>no commas</u>&nbsp;in <i>“the name,” &nbsp;</i>Father Son and Holy Spirit, are ‘<u>one</u> name.’)</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, by the promise You have given us through Christ Jesus, grant that by&nbsp;this gift of faith given into us, that we too be&nbsp;‘going.’ &nbsp;Deliver us from thinking the ‘going’ is to be done by someone else and not by us.&nbsp;&nbsp;Bless us to understand the new family You make us to be as Your own dear children, the land of the new heaven and the new earth also awaiting us, and&nbsp;the blessing of Christ in&nbsp;dwelling us and soon to be seen by all the world. &nbsp;Bless us Father to&nbsp;obediently be of a<span>&nbsp;“</span><i>Going”</i><span>&nbsp;heart and mind, ever making disciples, followers of Jesus by the Word and Spirit.</span></div><div><span>In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><i></i></div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</div><div><b><br></b><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Romans 4;9-12
9.  Is the blessing pronounced only upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised?  We say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.10.  How then was it reckoned to him?  Was it before or after he had been circumcised?  It was not after, but before he was circumcised.11.  He received circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.  The purpose was to make him the father of all who believed without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them,12.  and likewise the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but also follow the example of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Faith believes the promises of God, promises which said, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.”  Abram believed God and obeyed the command believing the promises..
Faith, has several parts, believing, obeying, and finally receiving.  As Abram went, the rest of God’s promises remained mostly unfulfilled.It was many years before Sari bore him a son, Isaac.  He died, having by faith seen the land, but not received the land, and by faith believed God’s power to raise the dead, but not seeing the “blessing”, (who is the resurrected Jesus Christ) to all nations…all that remained many generations away.(see also Genesis 15;1-6)
Circumcision is described as “a sign or seal.”  It is an outward reflection of an inner condition, an obedient faith.
At the heart of this,  is love for God, greater even than love for family or worldly possessions.  The promises of God imparted into Abram’s (and our) heart bring with them the very love of God.  The love which is above all other things.
It was not Abram’s faith which ultimately made him righteous, but rather the promises of God.Abram’s obedience was the result of the promises, not the cause of them.   However, had Abram not obeyed the love of God given through God’s promises,  He would never have received to fulfillments of the promises.
This is why Paul writes to the Romans saying, “we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of the faith for the sake of His name among all the nations, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ”  (Romans 1;5&6)
Notice how Jesus gives to His Bride the Church His promise, (it begins the very same way God commanded Abram), “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all what so ever ever I command you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.  (Matthew 28;19&20). (Notice, no commas in “the name,”  Father Son and Holy Spirit, are ‘one name.’)
Prayer:  Merciful Father, by the promise You have given us through Christ Jesus, grant that by this gift of faith given into us, that we too be ‘going.’  Deliver us from thinking the ‘going’ is to be done by someone else and not by us.  Bless us to understand the new family You make us to be as Your own dear children, the land of the new heaven and the new earth also awaiting us, and the blessing of Christ in dwelling us and soon to be seen by all the world.  Bless us Father to obediently be of a “Going” heart and mind, ever making disciples, followers of Jesus by the Word and Spirit.In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”


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