ROMANS 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

TO PONDER

In his introduction in his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul explains that he has long wanted to visit them and share the Good News with them. But since he has not been able to visit them, he uses his letter to achieve that purpose. And we have been blessed by having this letter handed down to us since it provides a clear presentation of what it means to be a son or daughter of Father God, to be a brother or sister of Jesus and to be infused with Holy Spirit to guide us in living as God’s children.

Paul saw that this Good News was so important for everyone to know that he took every opportunity God gave him to share it. When we read the Acts of the Apostles, we see that Paul was guided by Holy Spirit in how and when he shared this good news, but he was always sensitive to the people he was sharing it with in how he presented it. But Paul was never thinking about himself and any impact on himself as a result of answering God’s call to share the good news. His focus was on those he was sharing with and on the guidance of Holy Spirit in what to say and how to say it.

Notice, however, it was not Paul’s message in itself that people responded to, but the power of God, delivered through Holy Spirit, that brough people to acknowledge that they could not, by themselves, solve their problems and bring peace into their lives, but that they needed the transforming power from God to bring them the peace and healing they sought.

When God brings people into our lives that have issues (and don’t we all), we can entrust them into God’s care while we ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance in how to be the expression of God’s love to them. It is very unlikely we have any practical answers for their specific needs, but we can point them to the One who does have all the answers. And then we can let Holy Spirit do His on‑going work, which may or may not still involve us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that You have adopted me into Your Family and invited me to be part of Your work of bringing more people into Your Family. Thank You that You have not given me the responsibility of “converting” anyone, that being the responsibility of Holy Spirit. However, I surrender all I am to You for You to use us as the human voice, hands and feet to express Your love to those Holy Spirit is working with. Amen

Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping