"Been Chosen" -Too

"And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the Highest himself shall establish her." (Psalms 87:5)
I might have one more reason I like the NLT, that part in Romans 9:5 which says, "And He is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise!" If you missed it, that was speaking of "Christ himself," which is just one more example of His divine nature as the Eternal One. I had something else I need say regarding this verse, which involves the establishment of Zion. The way that I have come to understand this, Zion is more a transformation that an actual place; although it too is a place, it's a protected place which cannot be altered. It's a lot like being born; once you are born, you cannot change your mind and say I don't want to be born, because it's already happened. In a strange sort of way, I don't think we can actually walk away from the Lord, once we have been born again. To put it another way, our spirit is what experienced the New Birth, not our flesh; so in a way, the flesh no longer controls our spirit, but the spirit the flesh, by reckoning it dead. Just because the flesh might resist, does not discount the fact that the New Life has been established; and once it has been established, it's locked up and secure for eternity; way out of reach of anyone and everyone, including our flesh. This flesh will pass away and disappear, but our spirit lives on in the presence of the Lord. There is another picture that suits what I am saying, one that I think I need to add to my collection; it has a man who looks like he has been through a fight, holding a nail and hammer in his hands, and he is being held up by Jesus, and they our pictured in heaven. That's pretty much the point that I am trying to make; we can never undo what Jesus has done; we can never change what He has established! If you have been born again, then you are born into the family of God; and once you are in the family of God, all bets are off, there is nothing else at chance; you are now the property of Christ Jesus, and He is not letting go of you...
"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." This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, "Your older son will serve your younger son." In the words of the Scriptures, "I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau." Are we saying, then, that God is unfair? Of course not! For God said to Moses, "I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose." So, it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it." (Romans 9:6-16) NLT