Romans 15 - Steve Wiggins Daily Devotional

“Now I say that Messiah has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of G_d, to confirm the promises to the fathers, and so that Gentiles may glorify G_d for His mercy. As it is written: ‘Therefore, I will praise You among the Gentiles and I will sing psalms to Your name.’ Again it says, ‘Rejoice you Gentiles with His people!’ And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles. All the peoples should praise Him!’ And again, Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse will appear, the One who rises to rule the Gentiles; in Him, the Gentiles will hope.’” Romans 15:8-12

G_d’s heart has always been for Jews & Gentiles to know & worship Him in unity. Even in the days of His covenant with Abraham, the L_rd’s articulated desire has been for the whole world to enter into a saving relationship with Him.

“I will bless those who bless you. I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3

Again, through the Prophet Isaiah, G_d communicated His heart for the nations.

“No foreigner who has converted to the L_rd shall say, ‘The L_rd has excluded me from His people.” Isaiah 56:3a

I recall a few years ago, leaving Israel and traveling to the predominantly Moslem country of Jordan. I always leave Israel with sadness for the millions of Jews who are yet to acknowledge Y’shua (Jesus) as Messiah. This time was no different. None of our tour guides were believers, and although I share a common Jewish heritage, there was a massive spiritual disconnect because of our views on Yeshua as Messiah.

I have never been to a Moslem country, so I was expecting even more of a spiritual disconnect from my Jordanian guides. Ironic, they were all Jordanian believers!! From the moment our guide began leading us, I felt at home. Was it his attitude, comments, or demeanor? Frankly, it was the presence of the Holy Spirit. We connected as followers of Messiah, even though we are Jew and Arab, in a way that I could not connect with the of non-Messianic Jews.

As the Joel Chernoff song goes, my guide and I were truly: “Jew and Gentile, one in the Spirit, one in Y’shua’s love”. In our pursuit of the L_rd as “Messianics” let us never forget Yeshua’s prayer that all believers would be ONE, as He and the Father are One…and that we continue to share the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles and not value one people group over another. Yeshua is the salvation of the World! John 3:16

Blessings,
~Steve Wiggins, Associate Leader, Worship Leader
Shuvah Yisrael
Daily Devotional, Thursday, August 29, 2013