Turning on the Light
Opening Prayer
Thank You, God, for finding me, for changing me, for saving me. Open my heart to hear Your Spirit today.
Read Romans 15:14–22
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19 by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. 21 Rather, as it is written:
“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”
22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Who have been the key people along the road in your journey of faith?Paul’s exuberance in this passage conjures up for me the joy of being the first person to walk across a fresh snowfall. It could sound like a selfish desire to make his mark and get all the glory, but I think it’s just the fulfillment of playing his God-given role. It’s not that he wants to get the credit, but that he loves the thrill of seeing the light come on in someone’s eyes, and knowing that God has worked again, through him.
It’s a wonderful privilege to play a part in bringing someone into God’s kingdom or deeper into discipleship, whether we get to be the first person God uses in their life, like Paul, or simply the one he’s using now.
We are all called to “make disciples,” whether we’re officially “Christian workers” or simply in home, work or school life. Where do you fit? Are you like Paul, longing to reach those who have not yet heard, or do you find yourself reaping the harvest someone else has planted? Perhaps you’re watering the seed—making truth comprehensible to a group, or helping just one person along his or her journey.
Apply
It may take many positive experiences with believers before someone makes a faith decision; give someone a positive experience.
Closing prayer
Paul shows us that it is good to be ambitious for more fruit. Ask God to give you more to do for him today.
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