"The Seed"

 "Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:" (Hebrews 11:18 KJV)

  "Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God's people! Being descendants of Abraham doesn't make them truly Abraham's children. For the Scriptures say, "Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted," though Abraham had other children, too. This means that Abraham's physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham's children. For God had promised, "I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."" (Romans 9:6-9 NLT)

 The thing that is important for us to realize, is that God is the one who makes the rules! As much as we think that we have the ability to make changes on our own, if we do anything without His approval, or His say-so, then we deal with whatever happens, down the road. I'm not saying this because I faithfully do pray for all that I do; but I am saying it because I know it is something I don't do, quite frequently! 

 I can say with all honesty that I don't even realize when I do not ask Him first before I decide to do certain things; mostly because they don't involve church or ministry. If I am buying a new truck, I will just buy a new truck, not even thinking about praying about it first, to get His approval. I know that doesn't sound like it is a really big deal, to some people; but everything we own or have belongs to God!

 Really, the things we plan and the things we do, always should be things that are prayed over first; yet there are things we might think are ours to do on our own, without even asking Him if we should. If it sounds as if it isn't really that important, the little things we do on our own, all add up; before you know it, you are stuck with a pile of garbage! 

 You have sung that song, at least you heard it: "He gives and takes away," He can do that because it is rightfully His! We really own nothing in this world; when we die, we leave just as we came, with nothing but a soul. And guess what, He owns that too...

"So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, "I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth." So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen. Well then, you might say, "Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven't they simply done what he makes them do?" No, don't say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, "Why have you made me like this?" When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn't he have the right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those whom he shows mercy, who are prepared in advance for glory. And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles." (Romans 9:16-24 NLT)