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:
Rom. 1:8-15, 8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and Non-greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.”
Understand:
Paul was uniquely called to take the gospel to the Gentile (non-Jewish) world, which he described as Greeks and non-greeks and the wise and the foolish in this passage. His “obligation” derived from what God had done for him and God’s call to him to proclaim this news to others. He had a passion that God be glorified in the lives of as many people as possible. Notice he was not just preaching the gospel to those outside the faith, but to believers as well.
Apply:
Most will not have a call to vocational ministry, but all believers have a call to proclamation of the gospel. All of us have the need to proclaim and hear the gospel constantly. Before we can see this as the privilege that it is, we have to understand the nature of the message we proclaim. It is a message of freedom. We do not have to have perfect belief or perfect lives to speak to others. The gospel is the perfect message of freedom and Jesus lived the perfect life. We just need to come alongside the people God puts in our lives for us to love and take chances to tell them of what God has done for them and for us.
Remember believers, as well as unbelievers, need to constantly hear the good news proclaimed. Tell yourself and tell your friends who are Christians the good news of Jesus today. Remind one another of what life is about. This will have real and practical implication for how you deal with whatever you face today.
*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 this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.