Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Romans 10:14-21,
“14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ 16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. 18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: ‘Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.’ 19 Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, ‘I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.’ 20 And Isaiah boldly says, ‘I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.’ 21 But concerning Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.’”
Understand:
Many Jews refused to believe in Christ Jesus as the Messiah. Even though the gospel was preached universally, not all who heard it responded to it. Paul wanted to make this point clear.
Many Israelites gave little credence to the gospel message as many people today do the same thing. We shouldn’t let this deter us from sharing the gospel. We must always remember that faith comes from hearing the message. It’s interesting to me how hearing the gospel message awakens faith. Think about that for a moment. It is true of every believer’s life…someone proclaimed the gospel to us. The message can’t be heard and believed if no one proclaims it. In my own life, I think of a woman named Dee Dee Faught who shared the gospel with me. I’m grateful for her readiness to share; I’m a follower of Christ today because of her willingness. God moved in my life because she opened her mouth and shared how God saved her.
It’s interesting to me that God chose to use you and me to proclaim His message, the gospel. It’s also comforting to know that it’s not dependent on me to save anyone—God does that too. All I’m to do is faithfully share the message of the Gospel.
Apply:
You should take some time today and think back about your own encounter with the gospel. Who was it that shared the message of Jesus with you? What did it look like? You and I have the same opportunity to share our faith. So who is it that God brought into your life that you can share the good news about Jesus with?
*From what you have just read and considered, what is a personal implication/application for your life today?
Live:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the Gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live out this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the Good News today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.
Inspiration and insight for the devotionals came from the following books: Reading Romans with John Stott; The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World (The Bible Speaks Today Series), Stott, John; Romans (The NIV Application Commentary Book 6) Moo, Douglas J.; Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies) Moo, Douglas J.; Believers Bible Commentary; The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, with the New International Version, Romans through Galatians; NIV Application Study Bible. The Cambridge Bible Commentary, Romans, Best, Ernest; Romans 8-16 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading (God’s Word For You – Romans Series Book 2, Keller, Timothy.