Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

Wow. What a chapter. Although we ended Acts with Paul just arriving in Rome, it is clear that this letter was written before he made it there. He longs to hang out with some fellow believers and reminds them that he prays for them every day. Allow me to take a quick side road here. Years ago, in a very dark and painful time in my life, I was encouraged by an awesome Christian brother of mine to “pray for my friends.” He knew my situation and he would ask me to do that every time we spoke. In my mind, I had more problems going on than anyone else I knew and was expecting them to all be praying for me. And anyone else that cared to chime in. Not the other way around.

One night, I was sitting at the house, alone and in despair, and the phone rang. It was another Christian brother. He said he was waiting to pick up his son from Youth Group and God gave him a verse for me. Job 42:10. I asked him, “Are there 42 chapters in Job? What does it say?” He replied, “I don’t know. Don’t have my Bible with me.” "Hold on. Let me get mine." “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends.” Job 42:10. Hey, here is an idea. Maybe I should start praying for my friends. Just know, from that day on, if I say I will pray for you – done deal.

Paul, then, reminds us that God’s glory is evident. You cannot look out your window and not see His divine nature. He goes on to say in verse 20 that His glory is so evident through creation that those who choose to suppress this truth (make an effort not to believe) are “without excuse.”
And then it really gets good. I think verse 22 is our current culture’s motto. “Professing to be wise, they became fools.” Have you ever seen a time when the experts, the media, the Hollywood A-listers, the courts, etc. model this for us? I bet I say this verse in my head at least once a day. Paul goes on to give the consequences of this arrogant disbelief, and it’s not pretty. But that is not for us. We are not ashamed of the gospel. We are children of the King. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. God sees us as righteous. And try to grasp this thought: God thinks about you every second of every day. I can’t wrap my less-than-average brain around that one.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Which friend do you need to commit to praying for?
• What could you do to recognize God’s glory around you and praise Him for it?

Family Devo: Romans 1

By: Anna Beth Scott

When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model. 

Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset

Head

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentiles. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” Romans 1:16-17

Paul is the author of Romans, a letter written to the Christians in Rome. Paul explains a lot of things to the church in Rome in his letter. One of the main ideas he shares is that Jesus died for everyone. Jesus’ family was Jewish and God had promised the Jews he would send a Savior for them. Some Jews believed Jesus was the Savior and some did not. Paul explains that Jesus died to save Jews and everyone else, Gentiles. He says that he is not ashamed of the gospel. “Gospel” means “good news.” The good news Paul is referring to is the story of who Jesus is and what He did for all of mankind. Jesus was God’s Son who lived a sinless life, died on a criminal’s cross, and rose again three days later so that anyone who believes in Him can be forgiven of their sins. When we place our faith in Jesus, we go from being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive. All people have the opportunity to be forgiven and made right by trusting in Jesus as Lord. Some people may have thought Paul was crazy for believing the gospel. Some wanted to put him in prison for telling others about the gospel. However, Paul was so convinced in God’s love for us that he kept on preaching.

Heart

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel. He did not let peer pressure or fear of any kind keep him from telling others about Jesus. He fully believed Jesus didn’t just die for the pretty people or the popular people. Jesus died for ALL people. It doesn't matter what kind of sin you’ve done, Jesus died so that you can live. Do you believe that? Do you really believe God can forgive you?

Hands

“The righteous will live by faith.”

Paul lived by faith. He traveled all over the place telling others about Jesus. He wrote letters to churches encouraging them and explaining the gospel. As a family, think of someone you can write an encouraging letter to and include a Bible verse.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for the gospel. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for me, taking on my sin, and giving me Jesus’s righteousness. Help me to remember this truth as I go about my day. Help me to show others Your love in the way that I live. In Jesus’ name, amen.