Stumblingstone

ROMANS 9:32-33
32    Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
33    As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

After reading this scripture the Lord placed a message in my heart. Though I could not take this post to convey all that is in my heart, I wanted to briefly present a few points of interest. Jesus Christ is the stumblingstone that caused Israel to stumble at His first coming. I think most Christians would agree with that statement, and in looking at it we often question how anyone could miss Christ as the Messiah. He fulfilled all that was prophesied of Him in regards to His first coming.

What I find amazing is that God always provides a simple message for people to follow or to at least to help them get in tune with a future event. For instance, in the days of Jesus, he provided John the Baptist as a forerunner, who cried out for everyone to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand. In the day of Noah God provided the message of, ‘it’s going to rain’. Noah preached it and the people stumbled at the thought of rain. The people in Noah’s day fulfilled the same thing the nation of Israel did in Jesus’ days on earth. They both stumbled at the stumblinstones in their days.

Oh, how easy it is for us to look back into time and see the mistakes that were made by the people in Noah’s day and in Jesus’ days on the Earth. However, Jesus promised that as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man, which refers to His second coming. We must carefully consider that the mentality of these prior times will also exist today. Just as God did in prior times, He did today by sending a prophet with a message. John the Baptist had a message. Noah also had a message and today we have a messenger with a message to aide us in preparing for the rapture. My prayer is that we will not stumble at the stumblingstones for our day. Remember, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

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Pastor Jack E. Duff