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 spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. ¹⁴ For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. ¹⁵ So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 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.”

¹⁸ But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. ¹⁹ They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. ²⁰ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Romans 1:13-20

Dear God, I heard someone say this morning that when you take a piece of scripture out of context then you are likely using it as a pretext to justify whatever you believe. I would say, at a minimum, there’s a danger of doing that, although sometimes, with the way our Bibles are organized, it can be easy to make that mistake. For example, the verse of the day today on Bible Gateway was Romans 1:20. But Romans 1:20 starts with the world “For.” So it is expounding on smoething else. Then you back up and see verse 18 starts with “But.” Go back, and verse 16 starts with “For.” You have to go all the way back to verse 13 until you get to a point where Paul is starting his thought. He wants to go to the Romans to tell them about the Good News. He is not ashamed of the Good news about Christ. The Good News tells us how to be right in your sight. God [you] show your anger against sinful, wicked people. We have not excuse for not knowing you because we can clearly see your invisible qualities, eternal power, and divine nature through your creation. If I’d just have done verse 20 then I’d have missed all of that context.

So here I am to walk a life that is right in your sight through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. That means I get to sit here and worship you this morning with a repentant and humble heart, understanding just how much you’ve forgive me for and be grateful for your forgiveness. Then I get to think about and care about my family and friends. Pray for them that their lives will be ordered by you and that they will be healed from their pain. That my friends struggling with their adult children will be comforted and their children will be healed from addictions or other wounds they carry. That they will be safe from domestic violence. That they will feel your face shine upon them. That if they are mourning they will be comforted. If they are poor in spirit, they will be lifted up by you. If they are merciful then they will feel and receive your mercy. If they are humble they will see you. I pray that for all of my friends and family.

Father, as for me on this day, I am speaking to a group of graduating seniors tonight who are in the National Honor Society. Their parents will be there as well. I think you’ve given me a word for them. I pray that you will be in that word, bless that word, and plant seeds tonight, even though the wisdom in the words I share will be limited. But let the words find good soil. Let them grow. Prepare their hearts to hear you today. To hear you through me. Give them something to hold onto. Give them you to hold onto.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen