Unashamed Reading Plan – W1D2
Check out all the previous Unashamed readings here.
Unashamed Reading Plan | Week 1 | Day 2
Prayer
Allow some silence for your soul to catch up with your body. Thank God for time to spend with Him and ask Him to meet with you.
Bible Reading: Romans 1:1-7
Read these verses three times slowly.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflection & Questions
Today, we read the whole of Paul’s introduction to his letter. We saw yesterday that the first four verses were Jesus saturated and (surprise, surprise!) the rest of the introduction is also full of Jesus.
Having introduced himself, Paul turns to his readers. They are Jews and Gentiles in the central town of Rome. It’s important to remember we’re reading someone else’s mail when we pick up Romans. It wasn’t written to us. That doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it – God preserved all Scripture for us to learn (2 Tim 3:16). However, we’ve got to remember the people it was written to and the context they lived in. We will see this come into play in the next few weeks especially.
What does Paul say about the Romans? They are loved by God and they are called “to belong to Jesus” and to “be his holy people.” It is so rich, that each of these elements emphasizes the Christian’s identity. If you are a believer, you can answer the question “who are you?”, saying, I am someone loved by God. I belong to Jesus. I am one of his holy people. This entire world is looking for belonging. There is no better person to belong to than Jesus! If that’s you, what do you do with that new identity? “Be his holy people.” Holiness means set apart. We often associate this with moral actions and not sinning. But to “be his holy people” means so much more than “not sinning”, it means to be distinguished from the world by our love. Our love for God and love for people. As Jesus said, “they will know you are my disciples by your love.” We’re to go and do as much good as we can, loving people well, so that they will also look to Jesus and belong to him too!
- What does it mean to you that you belong to Jesus? Why?
- How could you love others today? Talk to God about it and ask Him for opportunities to show others love. Be ready to take those opportunities!
Prayer
Talk to God in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Bible Reading: Romans 1:1-7
Read these verses three times slowly.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflection & Questions
Today we are re-reading the first part of Paul’s introduction to the Romans and adding a few more verses to complete his letter’s intro, and those are also full of Jesus!
After introducing himself, Paul addresses the people, both Jews and Gentiles, who live in Rome. It is important to remember that we are reading someone else’s mail when we read through this letter/Book of Romans. It wasn’t written to us. That doesn’t mean that we can’t learn from it – all scripture is from God for us to learn from. (2 Tim 3:16) However, we’ve got to remember the people it was written to (the Romans) and that their lives at that time were different from ours today. We will especially see this in the next few weeks of our devotions.
What does Paul say about the Roman people? They are loved by God and they are called “to belong to Jesus,’ and “be his holy people.” If you are a child of God, you also belong to Jesus and are loved by God. You are one of His holy people!
The whole world is looking to belong somewhere. There is no better person to belong to than Jesus! If that’s you, what do you do to show that you belong to Jesus? “Be his holy people.” Holiness means being set apart, not like everyone else. We often think that being holy means not sinning. But to “be his holy people” means so much more than “not sinning.” It means to be different from the rest of the world by our love. Our love for God and our love for people. As Jesus said, “they will know you are my disciples by your love.” We’re to go and do as much good as we can, loving people well, so that they will also look to Jesus and belong to him too!
- What is something that you can do to show someone Jesus’ love?
Prayer
Thank Jesus for His love for you and ask Him to show you different ways that you can show that love to others.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate