I would love to start with the book of Romans! The more I read out of this book, the more I fall in love with it!
Alright, let's dive right in... Romans 1:1 says,
This verse is the introduction for the letter to the Romans. I think it's both important and interesting to keep in mind throughout the book that this is a letter written by a man to a group of fellow believers in the city of Rome a little less than 2,000 years ago! To me, it makes it seem much more personal and real.
Since this verse is an introduction, we are introduced to the author, who in this case is Paul. I recommend, to myself as well as my readers, doing some research on Paul. His story of how God called him is really awesome. The more I hear about him, and the more I read from him, the more I admire him! Here, he describes himself as a 'servant of Jesus Christ.' Now, we all know what a servant is, but still, it's good to stop and slowly digest that phrase for a minute. We are servants of King Jesus. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves, "How well am I serving my King?" We know we will receive rewards in Heaven for what we do down here, but sometimes it can be hard to remember when we don't see some instant results for our labor. Especially as Americans, we like things to happen right now! Computers, text messages, fast food... we want instant results - we got stuff to do! But it's good to remember that it's worth serving, even without results we can see - all for our King!
"...called to be an apostle..." I love the idea that we are called by God to be certain things. It is hard to hear his calling sometimes, especially if we aren't listening. We are all called to be apostles in the ways that God has planned for us. I've always wondered what the difference was between the disciples and the apostles. Finally, I looked up the two words. A disciple is a follower, while an apostle is one who is sent out with a message. It makes sense, right? So if we, as Christians, are sent out with the wonderful message of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20), then that makes us apostles, too!
Paul also calls himself "set apart for the gospel of God." I like how the NIV puts it, although they all mean the same thing. That's pretty cool to think about - that we were and are set apart for the sake of God's message. God picked us out, personally, to share His gospel with the lost and hurting, just like Paul is doing through his letter. Pretty neat!
It's amazing how much you can get out of one simple verse! Hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts and a little bit of God's lovely Word. Please post your additions to my thoughts, or comments, or questions, or anything! Thank you for reading!
Alright, let's dive right in... Romans 1:1 says,
- NKJV - "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God..."
- KJV - "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God..."
- NIV - "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God..."
This verse is the introduction for the letter to the Romans. I think it's both important and interesting to keep in mind throughout the book that this is a letter written by a man to a group of fellow believers in the city of Rome a little less than 2,000 years ago! To me, it makes it seem much more personal and real.
Since this verse is an introduction, we are introduced to the author, who in this case is Paul. I recommend, to myself as well as my readers, doing some research on Paul. His story of how God called him is really awesome. The more I hear about him, and the more I read from him, the more I admire him! Here, he describes himself as a 'servant of Jesus Christ.' Now, we all know what a servant is, but still, it's good to stop and slowly digest that phrase for a minute. We are servants of King Jesus. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves, "How well am I serving my King?" We know we will receive rewards in Heaven for what we do down here, but sometimes it can be hard to remember when we don't see some instant results for our labor. Especially as Americans, we like things to happen right now! Computers, text messages, fast food... we want instant results - we got stuff to do! But it's good to remember that it's worth serving, even without results we can see - all for our King!
"...called to be an apostle..." I love the idea that we are called by God to be certain things. It is hard to hear his calling sometimes, especially if we aren't listening. We are all called to be apostles in the ways that God has planned for us. I've always wondered what the difference was between the disciples and the apostles. Finally, I looked up the two words. A disciple is a follower, while an apostle is one who is sent out with a message. It makes sense, right? So if we, as Christians, are sent out with the wonderful message of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20), then that makes us apostles, too!
Paul also calls himself "set apart for the gospel of God." I like how the NIV puts it, although they all mean the same thing. That's pretty cool to think about - that we were and are set apart for the sake of God's message. God picked us out, personally, to share His gospel with the lost and hurting, just like Paul is doing through his letter. Pretty neat!
It's amazing how much you can get out of one simple verse! Hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts and a little bit of God's lovely Word. Please post your additions to my thoughts, or comments, or questions, or anything! Thank you for reading!
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