Today’s Verse – Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. —Isaiah 9:2 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… God fulfilled this great promise of the prophet Isaiah with the coming of John the baptizer and Jesus (Matthew 4:15-16; Luke 1:76-79). Jesus came as the Light of the World (John 9:5) to cast out the darkness of Satan, evil, and death (John 12:31). So, as darkness falls tonight, find a street light and capture it in your memory to remind you to do two things every time you see such a light: Thank God for sending his Light, Jesus, to cast out our darkness. Commit to sharing that Light with those you know trapped in darkness. My Prayer… Loving and eternal God, thank you for shining your Light into my heart through Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6). I ask you, dear Father, for the Holy Spirit’s help as I use my words and actions to bless those around me. I want them to see the Light of your grace and salvation that Jesus brings. My heart yearns for others to find their hope in him, your Son, our Savior. So, I pray in Jesus’ name, hoping my influence helps others see Jesus more clearly as the Light for their lives. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Credited as Righteousness
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, The promise of today’s verses focuses on your answer to one question: Do you believe? Do you believe that I AM the Father’s Son and that the Father took My lifeless body and raised Me back to life as the conqueror over sin, death, and hell? Believing that the Father can bring life out of death as well as beauty and order out of nothing is a fundamental aspect of Christian faith. This belief is the kind of faith Paul talks about in the verses you will read today from his letter to Roman Christians. When you base your life on faith in My resurrection, everything changes. However, having faith in My resurrection in the face of life’s most difficult challenges is not easy. Like the philosophers in Athens did with Paul, some in your day will laugh “in contempt” at you because of your faith (Acts 17:32 NLT). You may find yourself doubting, like My apostle Thomas, who wanted physical proof of My resurrection (John 20:24-29). You may find yourself like some of My disciples who “disbelieved for joy” (Luke 24:41 ESV). After all, if something seems too good to be true, then you assume it can’t be true. Some of My disciples doubted all the way up to My ascension (Matthew 28:16-17). You may be like the father who had a son controlled by a demonic spirit (Mark 9:17-29). He wanted Me to help his son… if I could! I told that man, and I am telling you today, “Everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23 NIV). If you struggle with believing in My resurrection, that man’s prayer can become your own: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NIV). The kind of faith the Father calls you to have is not easy, but it is life-changing. This faith also comes with a blessing. When Thomas finally came to faith after I showed Myself to him, he confessed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28 NLT). I told Thomas: “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” (John 20:29 NLT) I know that believing in My resurrection will be hard for some of you. But please know that your commitment to believe comes with My promised blessing! My closest disciples had been afraid and failed Me during My trials, crucifixion, and burial. However, they were made strong, bold, and fearless when they became convinced of My resurrection by spending time with me after My resurrection. Their testimony was spread across the Roman Empire as they gave their lives to tell the world that My resurrection was true and that they were witnesses of this truth (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:32-36). As Peter so eloquently said to disciples years after My resurrection as they were about to face bitter persecution for their faith: You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9 NLT) Paul explained to the Christians in Rome that the Father counted them as righteous because of their faith. Today, I tell you that your righteousness, your “right standing before God,” comes from the same place that Abraham’s did: faith. For Abraham, the Father credited his faith as righteousness because he believed that the Father could take his old and impotent body and Sarah’s lifeless womb and create a new nation through the gift of a son out of his seed and Sarah’s womb. Like Abraham, your faith is credited as righteousness. All who stand before the Father as His righteous children do so because they believe as Abraham believed. Like Abraham, you believe that your Father “creates out of nothing and holds the power to bring to life what is dead.” You believe that this is what the Father did to raise My dead and lifeless body and liberate Me from the tomb. As Paul wrote: The story of how faith was credited to Abraham was not recorded for him and him alone, but was written for all of us who would one day be credited for having faith in God, the One Who raised Jesus our Lord from the realm of the dead. He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and raised so that we might be made right with God. Your faith in Me is powerful, life-transforming, sin-forgiving, hope-restoring, and righteousness-giving. Verses to Live Paul wrote in the verses below about Abraham’s great faith in the Father Who is also the One Who did the humanly impossible and raised Me from the dead. Your faith in the Father’s action means He receives you as His righteous child! The promise given to Abraham and his children, that one day they would inherit the world, did not come because he followed the rules of the law. It came as a result of his right standing before God, a standing he obtained through faith. If this inheritance is available only to those who keep the law, then faith is a useless commodity and the promise is canceled. For the law brings God’s wrath against sin. But where the law doesn’t draw the line, there can be no crime. This is the reason that faith is the single source of the promise — so that grace would be offered to all Abraham’s children, those whose lives are defined by the law and those who follow the path of faith charted by Abraham, our common father. As it is recorded in the Scriptures, “I have appointed you the father of many nations.” In the presence of the God Who creates out of nothing and holds the power to bring to life what is dead, Abraham believed and so became our father. Against the odds, Abraham’s hope grew into full-fledged faith that he would turn out to
Today’s Verse – Psalm 9:1
I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. —Psalm 9:1 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… The words of Jessie Brown Pound’s old hymn, “Will You Not Tell It Today?” say it best: “If the light of his presence has brightened your way, O will you not tell it today?” Prayerfully select someone who needs to know of the goodness and graciousness of God, then please, lovingly, share Jesus with that person. A heart filled with praise to God will not only praise him but will lead others to do so as well. I can’t think of a better example of this than Andrew, who heard about Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was tell his brother Simon Peter and bring him to Jesus (John 1:40-42). My Prayer… O LORD, I praise you from the bottom of my heart. In addition, dear Father, please bless me today as I seek to bring others to know and honor you more fully by following Jesus. In Jesus’ name, I pray, asking for your power and grace to be with me as I seek to lead others to Jesus. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
The Only Way for All
Note from Jesus Dear Believer, No one can rightfully boast about being more righteous than others. No one can rightfully claim to be righteous because of the superiority of his or her race, religious heritage, religious law, or even religious behavior. Each person has failed to be what the Father called people to be. No one measures up to the Father’s righteousness. All people need My sacrifice as the sin-offering that paid for their sins and opened the door for a new way to be righteous based on their trust in Me and in what I did to save them. Paul wanted both Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome to know, and I want people in your day to know, that all “people are justified, that is, made right with God through faith, which has nothing to do with the deeds the law prescribes.” Law-keeping cannot make anyone righteous. The Jews needed to admit this. Law can convict of sin. Law can make clear what the Father’s standards are for people. The law can make clear how they have fallen short. However, law cannot pay the price for sins. Trying to live without the law isn’t better. Non-Jews have to acknowledge this. No one has lived up to the Father’s standards with or without the law. The only way to be righteous before the Father is the same for both Jew and Gentile alike: So since God is one, there is one way for Jews and outsiders, circumcised and uncircumcised, to be right with Him. That is the way of faith. My death satisfied the Father’s justice. I paid the atoning price for sin and provided grace for all who receive the Father’s gift of mercy and grace by faith. For the next several days, you will join Paul as he explains this amazing grace — how it is provided for you out of the Father’s love and how you receive this grace. For today, it is enough for you to know and believe these words of Paul: [T]hat He [God] is just and righteous and that He makes right those who trust and commit themselves to Jesus. That’s the bottom line. That’s the standard of all standards. That’s the ultimate gift of grace purchased through My cross, celebrated at and validated by My resurrection, and received by faith. Verses to Live The words below that Paul wrote to the Romans come after he has strongly emphasized that all have sinned. No one has measured up to the righteousness of the Father. Jews had failed to live up to the Mosaic law. Gentiles had failed to live up to the righteous demands of the Father that they knew in their hearts as true goodness. Every person who has lived has fallen short of being holy and righteous. With the words that follow, Paul began to shift the focus of his letter toward salvation that is found in giving My life as a sin-offering for all people. Salvation is the gift of God’s grace and is accepted by faith. Paul acknowledged that the penalty of Adam’s sin has been passed on to everyone: everyone sins and everyone will die — or meet Me in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Everyone needs mercy and grace, so the Father provided mercy and grace through Me. Now for the good news: God’s restorative justice has entered the world, independent of the law. Both the law and the prophets told us this day would come. This redeeming justice comes through the faithfulness of Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King, Who makes salvation a reality for all who believe — without the slightest partiality. You see, all have sinned, and all their futile attempts to reach God in His glory fail. Yet they are now saved and set right by His free gift of grace through the redemption available only in Jesus the Anointed. When God set Him up to be the sacrifice — the seat of mercy where sins are atoned through faith — His blood became the demonstration of God’s own restorative justice. All of this confirms His faithfulness to the promise, for over the course of human history God patiently held back as He dealt with the sins being committed. This expression of God’s restorative justice displays in the present that He is just and righteous and that He makes right those who trust and commit themselves to Jesus. So is there any place left for boasting? No. It’s been shut out completely. And how? By what sort of law? The law of works perhaps? No! By the law of faith. We hold that people are justified, that is, made right with God through faith, which has nothing to do with the deeds the law prescribes. Is God the God of the Jews only? If He created all things, then doesn’t that make Him the God of all people? Jews and non-Jews, insiders and outsiders alike? Yes, He is also the God of all the outsiders. So since God is one, there is one way for Jews and outsiders, circumcised and uncircumcised, to be right with Him. That is the way of faith. So are we trying to use faith to abolish the law? Absolutely not! In fact, we now are free to uphold the law as God intended. (Romans 3:21-31) When the law came into the picture, sin grew and grew; but wherever sin grew and spread, God’s grace was there in fuller, greater measure. No matter how much sin crept in, there was always more grace. In the same way that sin reigned in the sphere of death, now grace reigns through God’s restorative justice, eclipsing death and leading to eternal life through the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord, the Liberating King. (Romans 5:20-21) Response in Prayer O Father, I believe that You sent Jesus as the sacrifice for my sin. I believe that Jesus is my atoning sacrifice providing what no one else and nothing else but His
Today’s Verse – Mark 8:31
[Jesus] then began to teach [his disciples] that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. —Mark 8:31 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Knowing Jesus is God’s Messiah is one thing. Following Jesus as our LORD is quite another. Getting our minds, hearts, and lives to line up with Jesus is always a challenge. Once Jesus’ disciples confessed him as the Christ, he knew he had to teach them the real road to glory. Each of the Gospels reminds us that this road led to the cross of agony before it led to the crown of glory. The early church captured it in a song that reminded them that they, too, must walk that same road of the cross as their Savior and LORD walked (see Philippians 2:5-11). We are heaven-bound people, but we can be sure that we will encounter potholes and bumps along the road and face some steep hills to climb as Satan tries to derail and defeat us. Our Savior, however, has already walked this road triumphantly. He is our great reminder that the path of the cross also leads us to share in our LORD’s glory! My Prayer… Dear Father, I know several believers who are struggling to follow Jesus faithfully. I ask that you give them strength and courage to endure. Please use me to encourage them and to help them through this dark time in their lives. May my life and my words point them to Jesus. I want to specifically mention several people by name, people who are struggling… [Insert the names you want to mention.] and ask you to bless them. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Everyone Needs Grace!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, Unfortunately, much of the world has repeatedly given up honoring the Creator. Most in the world have chased after worthless and depraved things. In addition, even those who seek to honor the Creator have also sinned. However, some of these religious people think that their religious knowledge and rules will save them. Many of the Jews in Paul’s day had this belief. Unfortunately, some religious people in your day also have this belief. They think because they have made a religious confession and have read My book and have gone to religious meetings that they are somehow better. They forget my own words: “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NLT) Paul wrote the parts of Romans that are now chapters 2, 3 and 7 to remind all people — religious and non-religious, Jews and non-Jews — that their deeds, their rules, their book, their religious pedigree, and their church attendance will not get them into My grace. Salvation is by the Father’s grace (Romans 3, Romans 5). This grace is received through faith (Romans 4). You share in this grace by participating in My death, burial, and resurrection through baptism (Romans 6). This grace is empowered by the Holy Spirit, Who brings the Father’s will to life in you (Romans 8). So the collection of verses today is a reminder of what Paul said in Romans chapters 2 and 3. He was emphatic: nothing and no one except Me can make you right — not law, not Scripture, not race, not religious pedigree. Ultimately, all of these things have failed to enable people to live up to the Father’s perfect standard of holiness. When you fail in one part of law-keeping, you are guilty of all (James 2:10). If you break one law, you are a lawbreaker. Paul wanted the Roman believers, and other believers who came after them, to understand that no one can be saved without the Father’s gift of grace purchased by My death on the cross and empowered by the Holy Spirit. By their failure, all people stand condemned to live righteously without flaw and have missed Our holy standard. Jews have failed to live up to the full standards demanded by the Mosaic law. Gentiles have failed to live up to the righteous standards of holiness. Everyone needs a Savior. No one can claim religious superiority. Everyone needs My grace! Verses to Live Tomorrow you will read verses about grace. Today you will be reminded in the verses below that, without that grace, no one can stand justified before the Father. All people need Me. I AM the only true Savior, Who can bring God’s grace to anyone, including you. So you can see there are no excuses for any of us. If your eyes shift their focus from yourselves to others — to judge how they are doing — you have already condemned yourselves! You don’t realize that you are pointing your fingers at others for the exact things you do as well. There’s no doubt that the judgment of God will justly fall upon hypocrites who practice such things. Here’s what is happening: you attack and criticize others and then turn around to commit the same offenses yourselves! Do you think you will somehow dodge God’s judgment? Do you take the kindness of God for granted? Do you see His patience and tolerance as signs that He is a pushover when it comes to sin? How could you not know that His kindness is guiding our hearts to turn away from distractions and habitual sin to walk a new path? But because your heart is obstinate and shameless, you’re storing up wrath that will count against you. On the day of His choosing, God’s wrath and judgment will be unleashed to make things right. As it goes, everyone will receive what his actions in life have cultivated. (Romans 2:1-6) Here’s my point: just because a person hears the law read or recited does not mean he is right before the one True God; it is following the law that makes one right, not just hearing it. (Romans 2:13) Listen, if you claim to be a Jew, count on the law, and boast in your relationship with God; if you know His will and can determine what is essential (because you have been instructed in the law); and if you stand convinced that you are chosen to be a guide to the blind, a light to those who live in darkness, a teacher of foolish wanderers and children, and have in the law what is essentially the form of knowledge and truth — then tell me, why don’t you practice what you preach? (Romans 2:17-21) So what then? Are we Jews better off? Not at all. We have made it clear that people everywhere, Jews and non-Jews, are living under the power of sin. Here’s what Scripture says: No one is righteous — not even one. There is no one who understands the truth; no one is seeking after the one True God. All have turned away; together they’ve become worthless. (Romans 3:9-12) We want to be clear that whatever the law says, it says to everyone who is under its authority. Its purpose is to muzzle every mouth, to silence idle talk, and to bring the whole world under the standard of God’s justice. Therefore, doing what the law prescribes will not make anyone right in the eyes of God — that’s not its purpose — but the law is capable of exposing the true nature
Today’s Verse – John 8:30
Even as [Jesus] spoke, many put their faith in him. —John 8:30 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… While we often talk about Jesus as our LORD and Savior, we can also find it easy to ignore his voice, or worse, hear Jesus’ words and ignore them. Our obedience to what Jesus says demonstrates that we have put our faith in him. To foolishly disobey, ignore, or neglect to do what Jesus says is to show that we don’t believe him to be our LORD to DO what he says to us as our LORD! Jesus promised a very rude awakening at judgment for those who take this attitude (Matthew 7:21-27). So, let’s commit to reading through each of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) before the end of the year. As we read about Jesus’ life and teachings, let’s do it as a search for the heart of Jesus and ask God to help us know him better and follow him more thoroughly and more obediently as the Holy Spirit conforms us to be more like him (2 Corinthians 3:18)! Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Be with me, dear Father, as I seek to know Jesus better and obey his words more faithfully as I read your holy Scriptures, which find their center in him. So, I pray for obedience in my daily life in the name of my LORD, Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, and my Savior. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
The Destructive Path
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, What you find in the verses below from the early part of Romans will appear to be a collection of harsh words and strong language. It is certainly not what you might expect from the premiere letter of Paul about the Father’s grace, My sacrifice, the Holy Spirit’s power, and your faith that connects you to salvation. And yes, I acknowledge these words are hard words, bold words, and frank words. But, dear child of the Father, these are true words. Part of what Paul was doing was demonstrating the need for the salvation and spiritual blessings that We offer. He will discuss these matters at length later in this letter. First, however, Paul needed to address what happens when folks worship created things instead of the Creator! Paul had powerfully proclaimed the nature of the one true God — Us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — in his sermon in Athens. He had called on people to turn away from idols and had told them that they must seek after the One Who “made the universe and all it contains, the God Who is the King of all heaven and all earth” (Acts 17:24). We made the universe and all that is in it so that all people would seek after Us and find Us. We are close to you, not far away (Acts 17:27-28). Unfortunately, much of humanity has often refused to believe in Us even after seeing the evidence in nature of Our glorious presence and the indications in the universe of Our eternal existence. In fact, people have often drifted into celebrating and worshiping the things that We created to bless them instead of celebrating Us, the source of all their blessings! Paul told the Roman believers that people became so caught up in chasing the thrills of their existence that they had forgotten about the Father’s love, My creative attentiveness, and the Spirit’s work throughout creation. They then gave themselves so completely to reveling in the created things and celebrating the created experiences that they abandoned the love, grace, and power of their Creator. They gave themselves over to all sorts of depraved distortions of Our creative gifts because they forgot the origin of these gifts. They failed to see that their ravenous desire for more of these gifts is the sinfully destructive hook repeatedly baited by Satan to enslave them in their own depraved desire for more. They experienced one thing after another, but never had enough and never found satisfaction in what they had because they lost sight of the Father. Their hearts grew so cold to the Father’s love and grace that He turned them over to their own lustful desires and to the destructive consequences they bring. Beloved, things that are very similar to what Paul described are prevalent in your own culture and are happening before your own eyes. The Creator has largely been forgotten in your world. Those who have been created have forgotten their Creator and become more and more self-absorbed. The result has been the exaltation of created things and special experiences to the point that they are made common. They have become debased because they have lost their grounding in the intent of the Creator and the purpose of their being created. So what was the punishment for those who pursued this “counterfeit” path of self-indulgence? The Father stepped out of the way of these sinners and “turned them loose to follow the unseemly designs of their depraved minds and to do things that should not be done.” They were allowed to lose themselves in the depravity they pursued. Their destruction was of their own making and breaks the heart of their Creator! Be warned. What was true in Paul’s day is also true in your own day. Verses to Live I challenge you as you read these verses not to assign them to long ago and far away. Think of how your own time and culture are reflected in the following verses. Then, choose to give thanks, praise, and your devotion to the Father, your Creator, as the One from Whom all good and perfect gifts have come (James 1:17)! For the wrath of God is breaking through from heaven, opposing all manifestations of ungodliness and wickedness by the people who do wrong to keep God’s truth in check. These people are not ignorant about what can be known of God, because He has shown it to them with great clarity. From the beginning, creation in its magnificence enlightens us to His nature. Creation itself makes His undying power and divine identity clear, even though they are invisible; and it voids the excuses and ignorant claims of these people because, despite the fact that they knew the one true God, they have failed to show the love, honor, and appreciation due to the One Who created them! Instead, their lives are consumed by vain thoughts that poison their foolish hearts. They claim to be wise; but they have been exposed as fools, frauds, and con artists — only a fool would trade the splendor and beauty of the immortal God to worship images of the common man or woman, bird or reptile, or the next beast that tromps along. So God gave them just what their lustful hearts desired. As a result, they violated their bodies and invited shame into their lives. How? By choosing a foolish lie over God’s truth. They gave their lives and devotion to the creature rather than to the Creator Himself, Who is blessed forever and ever. Amen. This is why God released them to their own vile pursuits, and this is what happened: they chose sexual counterfeits — women had sexual relations with other women and men committed unnatural, shameful acts because they burned with lust for other men. This sin was rife, and they suffered painful consequences. Since they had no mind to recognize God, He turned them loose to follow
Today’s Verse – Mark 8:29
“But what about you?” [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” —Mark 8:29 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… The sweetest confession any of us will ever make is this: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and I want him to be LORD of my life.” Let’s repeat it, out loud, to the glory of God the Father: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and I want him to be LORD of my life.” What other people say about Jesus and what they believe about Jesus is not the focus of the LORD’s question to Peter. Who do I say that Jesus is? Will you answer like Peter? I think we should. So, let’s say it again for the third time: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and I want him to be LORD of my life.” Now, let’s commit that before the year ends, we will invite someone else to say these words for the first time in their life! My Prayer… Thank you, LORD God Almighty, for having a plan that brought me your Messiah, Jesus. I believe, dear God, that he is your Son, and I want him to be the LORD of my life, and I want him to be my LORD for the rest of my days. I pray this in the name of Jesus, your Son, and my Savior. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Paul’s Reasons for the Road
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved Disciple, Paul had many reasons to be on the road. He traveled extensively all over the regions bordering the northern and eastern Mediterranean Sea. He traveled to share the good message of the Father’s grace with people who had never heard it. He strengthened house churches he had helped plant on previous trips. He matured and appointed leaders in those house churches. He carried communication from one group of disciples to another. As Paul left for Jerusalem on the trip described in the verses below from Acts, he was bringing a special financial gift to Jerusalem. He wanted to bless the impoverished Jewish disciples in Jerusalem with a gift from Gentile Christians. He was hoping to tie together the whole brotherhood through this project. As you read the verses below, you will find all of those reasons for Paul’s travels through Asia Minor (with key cities of Troas & Ephesus), Macedonia (with key cities of Philippi, Berea, & Thessalonica), and Greece (with key cities of Corinth & Athens) on his way back to Syria (Antioch) and ultimately to Judea (Jerusalem). Paul was determined to go to Rome, the capital of the empire, after going to Jerusalem. Then from Rome, he planned to go to Spain to share My story and the good message of salvation. The first set of verses below (from the book of Acts) is a very simple summary of a few years when Paul wrote the incredible letter of Romans while in Greece. (We will be reading parts of Romans together over the next several days.) As you read from some of the beginning and ending verses of Romans today, you will also find information and hints about Paul’s travels and what motivated him to take these trips. Underneath all of these travels during this stage of Paul’s life, there were three predominant influences: Paul was My chosen emissary (apostle), especially to the non-Jewish peoples of the world. For I [Paul] am not the least bit embarrassed about the gospel. I won’t shy away from it, because it is God’s power to save every person who believes: first the Jew, and then the non-Jew. He was passionate about fulfilling this call. He had a special fervor to take the good news to people who had never heard it: I have dreamed of preaching the gospel in places where no one has ever heard of the Anointed so that I do not build on a foundation laid by anyone else. Paul wanted to bring the brotherhood of Jews and non-Jews together through the offering from the Gentile churches for their brothers and sisters in faith in Jerusalem: But right now I [Paul] must make the journey to Jerusalem to serve the saints there. Those in Macedonia and Achaia decided it was a good idea to share their funds to help the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. I must tell you that they were thrilled to be able to help. They realize that they are indebted to the believers in Jerusalem. If the nations share in the Jews’ spiritual goods, then it’s only right that they minister back to them in material goods. Since some people were seeking to stop and, if necessary, kill Paul, he could and would alter his travel strategies based on their hostility. However, he was determined to complete his travels: He [Paul] spent three months there [in Greece], and then he planned to set sail once again for Syria. But he learned that a group of Jewish opponents was plotting to kill him, so he decided to travel through Macedonia. While in Greece, he wrote about possible additional opposition he would face when he returned to Jerusalem: Pray that I [Paul] will be rescued from those who deny and persecute the faith in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem will meet the approval of all the saints there. As Paul traveled to share My good news, he wrote the nearest thing to a complete document on grace, faith, baptism, the Holy Spirit, and holy living in his letter called the book of Romans in your Bible. This is the letter we will share together in the coming days. First, however, I want you to get a feeling for the passion that drove Paul along the many roads he traveled! Verses to Live As you read today’s verses, you will find much more depth of emotion than can be highlighted in this short note. So I want you to read through these verses several times listening for the passion of Paul to fulfill his call to share the gospel. As you read, also pray for the Spirit to release this same kind of passion in you and through you in your day! As soon as the uproar ended [in Ephesus], Paul gathered the disciples together, encouraged them once more, said farewell, and left on foot. He decided to pass through Macedonia, encouraging believers wherever he found them, and came to Greece. He spent three months there, and then he planned to set sail once again for Syria. But he learned that a group of Jewish opponents was plotting to kill him, so he decided to travel through Macedonia. … Paul: Now I feel that the Holy Spirit has taken me captive. I am being led to Jerusalem. My future is uncertain, but I know — the Holy Spirit has told me — that everywhere I go from now on, I will find imprisonment and persecution waiting for me. But that’s OK. That’s no tragedy for me because I don’t cling to my life for my own sake. The only value I place on my life is that I may finish my race, that I may fulfill the ministry that Jesus our King has given me, that I may gladly tell the good news of God’s grace. (Acts 20:1-3; Acts 20:22-24) Paul, a servant of Jesus the Anointed called by God to be His emissary and appointed to