08/01 Romans 1:1-2
This letter is from Paul, Jesus Christ’s slave, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. This Good News was promised long ago by God through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.
CHANGE
A change has come. Jesus has changed everything. He is our salvation, providing a new relationship with the Father. This is Good News. Fear not for the Lord is with us.
08/02 Romans 1:3-4
It is the Good News about his Son, Jesus, who came as a man, born into King David’s royal family line. And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit.
ALIVE
Jesus is alive today. He is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for all of those who name His name as Lord and Savior. He is our Lord and He has saved us into the family of God.
08/03 Romans 1:5
Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.
TELL
We are called to tell everyone about what the Lord has done for us. The problem today is too many are trying to tell about a Savior that they don’t know. The Gospel is a personal message about a personal relationship with Jesus. If one doesn’t have a personal relationship there is nothing to tell.
08/04 Romans 1:6-7
You are among those who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ, dear friends in Rome. God loves you dearly, and he has called you to be his very own people. May grace and peace be yours from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
GRACE
Go to Jesus for what you need. His grace (God giving us what we need and cannot earn) is sufficient to meet our need. Jesus is able. He is able because He is Lord. Jesus is God’s everything. Go to Him.
08/05 Romans 1:8
Let me say first of all that your faith in God is becoming known throughout the world. How I thank God through Jesus Christ for each one of you.
FAITH
Faith is the key in our relationship with Jesus. By faith we come to Him and confess our sin. By faith we believe that He saves us. By faith we see beyond the physical limitations of our life to the 7,000 plus promises in God’s Word and claim them and live by that very same faith in Christ.
08/06 Romans 1:9
God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by telling others the Good News about his Son.
CONCERN
We define our circle of friends by who we are concerned about. Jesus was concerned about the poor and the disenfranchised. Today, find someone to pray for and comment about them in your daily prayer journal. Add them to your prayer list and pray earnestly for them each day for a month. At the end of the month write about them again and compare your comments from the beginning.
08/07 Romans 1:10-12
One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to visit you so I can share a spiritual blessing with you that will help you grow strong in the Lord. I’m eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other.
PRAYER
Pray for your friends. We often don’t know what to pray about and someone praying for you may be just the thing you need. Pray for one another as if for yourself. Pray for a blessing on your friends. Pray for the Lord’s will in their life. When we get our eyes off ourselves and pray for others we wind up blessing ourselves.
08/08 Romans 1:13
I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see good results, just as I have done among other Gentiles.
MINISTRY
Learn to minister to others. Think about what the Lord would have you do. Take every opportunity to encourage a others. Your word of encouragement may make the difference in someone’s life.
08/09 Romans 1:14-15
For I have a great sense of obligation to people in our culture and to people in other cultures, to the educated and uneducated alike. So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach God’s Good News.
DEBT
We owe a debt of kindness and ministry to others. Remember that everyone you meet has the same kind of needs that you have. People need people.
08/10 Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes – Jews first and also Gentiles.
SALVATION
People need Jesus. Without Jesus there is no reconciliation with the Father. Christ is God’s only way for saving mankind. We can trust this and believe it. When we believe it we share it. Sharing Christ is the normal Christian life.
08/11 Romans 1:17
This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
FAITH
Jesus shed his blood for me and you. His shed blood paid a price we couldn’t pay-He paid for our sin. When I believe this and ask Him to forgive me of my sin I am saved. His forgiveness gives me life. By faith in the work that Jesus has done in saving me I have new life.
08/12 Romans 1:18
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves.
LOST
Mankind is dead in their sin. They do not have a relationship with God. This is tragic and yet true. It is a condition that Jesus said we should be willing to pay any price to change. It is truly sad when someone dies without Jesus. Yet salvation is a free gift from Jesus to mankind. Anyone who accepts Jesus as Lord and believes that Jesus has saved them may be saved. Ask and you shall be saved.
08/13 Romans 1:19-21
For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused.
EXCUSES
Any excuse is as good as another. The truth is that mankind is without excuse. Jesus is the only way that a person can be saved. We have a call to acceptance-ask Jesus to forgive your sin and save you. We have a call to worship-Jesus is Lord.
08/14 Romans 1:22-23
Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes.
DEAD
Lost people are dead in their trespasses and sin. They are living in darkness and naturally fight against the things of God. Without Christ the world is lost. Without salvation there is no life. Jesus saves. That is the truth.
08/15 Romans 1:24-25
So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen.
WORLD
The world always acts like the world. Read the paper. Listen to television. That is the world. It is alone, chaotic, and lost. The philosophy of the world is life and hard and then it all ends. Belief in Christ gives you hope for tomorrow. Following Jesus has you heading for the light every day.
08/16 Romans 1:26-27
That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved.
LOST
Lost people always behave like lost people. You and I cannot waste our time trying to make lost people act like Christians. Our call is to spend our time caring for a lost world. We need to pray for the lost. We need to learn to love the lost as Jesus did.
08/17 Romans 1:28-30
When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents.
LOOK
Look around you. This passage was written nearly 2,000 years ago and yet it is as though it is a newspaper headline today. Sin is always rampant in the world. We are called to grow in Christ. We are to be in the world but not of the world. Care for the lost. Suffer for Christ. Get to know Him better. When we know Jesus we will change the world.
08/18 Romans 1:31-32
They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
RESPECT
We know Jesus and have the utmost admiration and respect for the Father. The world doesn’t know Jesus therefore it has little or no respect for the Father. Lost people act like lost people. Pray with me for the lost. Pray that the Lord will send many more of His children to seek the lost.
08/19 Romans 2:1
You may be saying, “What terrible people you have been talking about!” But you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you do these very same things.
SIN
Sin is pervasive and evil. It taints everything it comes into contact with even the children of light. Yes we know Jesus and we are seeking to grow in Christ but the truth is we still struggle with sin. Sin is real, destructive and it impacts all of us. Don’t deny your sin, take it to Jesus. Ask Him to identify the sin in your life and help you get rid of it. Now is the time.
08/20 Romans 2:2-3
And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Do you think that God will judge and condemn others for doing them and not judge you when you do them, too?
PUNISHMENT
We choose our punishment. The rules have been set in place by the Lord. When we violate rules we suffer the consequences. Choose the Lord and His way. Turn from going your on way and follow Jesus.
08/21 Romans 2:4-6
Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin? But no, you won’t listen. So you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin. For there is going to come a day of judgment when God, the just judge of all the world, will judge all people according to what they have done.
TIME
Time seems to run on forever and at the same time passes so quickly. Right now is the time for us to repent and turn from our sin. Now is the only time we have. If you have not asked Christ into your heart do it now. If you have strayed from fellowship with Jesus ask Him to forgive you. Turn from your own way and follow Christ. Do it now.
08/22 Romans 2:7-8
He will give eternal life to those who persist in doing what is good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and practice evil deeds.
UNDERSTANDING
We do not think with spiritual minds. We need wisdom from God to function in the spiritual realm. Paul is seeking to communicate to us the way the spiritual works. God has defined the rules for life. When we violate those rules we incur a penalty. It is not a choice the Lord makes but is in fact a choice we make. Will we follow His rules or do we choose to follow our own rules. When we follow our own way we are in violation of His rules. Anger and wrath is something we choose to experience. The Lord would that we receive His love. Jesus loves you. Choose His love.
08/23 Romans 2:9-12
There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on sinning – for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good – for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. God will punish the Gentiles when they sin, even though they never had God’s written law. And he will punish the Jews when they sin, for they do have the law.
WORLD
Everyone has troubles and difficulties. All sin. We need to change. Let Jesus have control of your life. He will help you change and stand fast in the face of troubles and difficulties.
08/24 Romans 2:13-14
For it is not merely knowing the law that brings God’s approval. Those who obey the law will be declared right in God’s sight. Even when Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, instinctively follow what the law says, they show that in their hearts they know right from wrong.
KNOWLEDGE
People cannot work out their own way to be saved. We can choose our own way but the end of that is destruction. God has declared that there is one way to be saved and that is through Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord.
08/25 Romans 2:15-16
They demonstrate that God’s law is written within them, for their own consciences either accuse them or tell them they are doing what is right. The day will surely come when God, by Jesus Christ, will judge everyone’s secret life. This is my message.
JUDGMENT
Judgment is certain. Life is available. Choose this day whom you shall follow. Remember it is your right to choose. Choose Jesus.
08/26 Romans 2:17-18
If you are a Jew, you are relying on God’s law for your special relationship with him. You boast that all is well between yourself and God. Yes, you know what he wants; you know right from wrong because you have been taught his law.
LAW
We cannot live up to the requirements of the Law. Jesus has fulfilled those requirements for us. We can accept His free gift of salvation. Jesus is the only way. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins. Accept Him as Lord of your life.
08/27 Romans 2:19-21
You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a beacon light for people who are lost in darkness without God. You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God. For you are certain that in God’s law you have complete knowledge and truth. Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal?
REVIEW
Take stock of your life. How do you treat yourself? Are you prayed up? Is your focus on Jesus? Be careful how you give advice especially if you aren’t following it.
08/28 Romans 2:22
You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you do it? You condemn idolatry, but do you steal from pagan temples?
TRANSPARENT
Be transparent. When you aren’t others know it. People need to be encouraged. People need a good example. Forget the railing speeches of condemnation. Pray for others. Care for others. Be a people person. People count with Jesus.
08/29 Romans 2:23-24
You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. No wonder the Scriptures say, “The world blasphemes the name of God because of you.”
HOLY
God is holy and always acts the same way. Jesus died for a lost world. He seeks the lost. He brings healing to the hurting. He cares about people. Day by day we are to grow in our ability to care about and for people.
08/30 Romans 2:25-27
The Jewish ceremony of circumcision is worth something only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile. And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God give them all the rights and honors of being his own people? In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will be much better off than you Jews who are circumcised and know so much about God’s law but don’t obey it.
RELIGION
Be sure you are following Jesus. If all we have is religion and all we follow is religious tradition we are not following Jesus. Jesus loves people. Jesus cares for me and you. Jesus is the way and the truth. Who are you following?
08/31 Romans 2:28-29
For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the Jewish ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. Whoever has that kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.
SALVATION
Salvation is a change. We accept God’s free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus. Then our life is changed forever. We have a new heart and a new life. Christ is the center of our life. When we accept Christ we change our life.
