Unashamed Reading Plan
Check out all the previous Unashamed readings here.
Unashamed Reading Plan | Week 16 | Day 5
Prayer
As you come to spend time with Jesus, calm your mind and body until you feel fully present. Thank Jesus that he came to save you!
Bible Reading: Romans 15:14-23
Read these verses three times slowly.
I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey Godby what I have said and done— by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written:
“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”
This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you.
Reflection & Questions
As Paul starts to wind up his letter (though he has two chapters to go), he is wanting his readers to know his heart. He has written “boldly” to them, but this isn’t because they don’t know these things, but to remind them and to make sure they stay faithful. Paul is leaving nothing on the table. He is going all out for his Savior who gave him his mission. He wants to please Him. He says, “I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.”
This is a challenging statement for us to consider for our own callings. Have we given ourselves fully to God in that? Or do we hold something back? Maybe in fear, or maybe in pride. This doesn’t mean that we are all going as missionaries to another country, or pastors at a church – that is not God’s intent at all. (And afterall, you can do those things and not fully give yourself to Christ and his mission.) To give ourselves fully is to consider our lives with God’s purposes in mind. How can I live to please Him? How at home? How at work? How about your relationships with your neighbors and co-workers? Are we fully in with God and His mission or are we holding something back?
- What word or phrase from these verses challenges you today?
- Are you “all in”? Why or why not? Talk to God about that..
Prayer
Talk to God in response to the reading today.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Bible Reading: Romans 15:14-16
Read these verses three times slowly.
I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles.
Reflection & Questions
Paul is getting close to ending this letter that he is writing to the Romans. It appears that he thinks highly of the Romans already: “full of goodness, filled with knowledge, and competent to instruct one another.” That is probably very encouraging to those who are reading the letter!
So why did Paul write the letter to them if he thought they were doing pretty great already? Because that’s what God asked him to do!
Also, it is good to be reminded of what God is asking of us. We might be doing a good job, but are we doing the best we can do? If you have ever heard someone speak at a youth group or at a chapel or assembly at school, there have probably been times when you have walked away feeling ultra-motivated because of the message they gave you. Paul is the Roman’s motivational speaker – reminding them to serve God fully, to the best of their ability. And we need to be reminded to do the same!
- What is something you have been doing for Jesus that you have been doing well? What is something you can do that is even better than that?!
Pray
Ask God to help you see the ways in which you can do an even better job at following Him and showing others love.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
