You can click HERE if you want to read the passage.
This is a passage that for me provoked a bunch of application questions as I read and thought about it. Here are the questions that came to my mind:
Verse 8 – Is my faith being reported all over the world as apparently is the Roman’s faith? Is it even being reported around Durham? Around my neighborhood? What about around the church? And if not, why not?
Verse 9 – Do I serve God with my WHOLE heart? What would have to change if I were to stop holding back?
Verse 10 – If God were to testify about my prayer life (as Paul suggests) what would He say? Paul had never met the Romans. And yet he constantly remembered them in prayer. Why do I find it so hard to pray for people that I have never met?
Verses 11-12 – Who am I involved in a “mutually encouraging” relationship with? Do I need to be more intentional about developing these kind of relationships?
Verse 15 – Is there an eagerness to use my spiritual gifts for the glory of God – or merely a sense of spiritual duty? How can I go from dutiful to eager?
Verse 16 – Is there any sense in which I am ashamed of the gospel? Where is boldness being demonstrated in my life? Have I personally experienced the power of God in my life?
Verse 17 – Do I thoroughly understand the gospel and what it means for me as a believer? Do I day in and day out “live by faith”? What would this look like if I did?
I find that asking the right questions is a great start to finding the right answers. And not only is God’s Word a great place to go to find answers but it is also a great place to go to find questions. Now the real work of pondering begins as I try to answer for myself the questions that this text provoked. May God also provoke your thinking in ways that disturb and disrupt your spiritual status quo – as He has done mine.
Next Week: Romans 1:18-23
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-3