1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17, Romans 1:1-17, Psalm 9:13-20, Proverbs 19:4-5
Today is the 12th day of July, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is wonderful to be here with you, as we pass through the center of another one of our weeks together. Hump day, like it’s hump day, are we in the dog days of summer? I’ve heard that term all my life, I don’t even know what that means. I think it means when it’s so hot that the dogs just lay around and I guess we’re getting there. But either way, we take the next step forward and we get to experience all of the different seasons, seasons on the earth, the seasons of life and we get to do it together in community, as we gather and keep taking our steps forward in this relationship that we have with the Scriptures. And so, that’s what we’ve gathered around the Global Campfire for, let’s dive in. We’ll be returning to where we left off, which is the custom, that leads us back into the the book of First Chronicles, and today we will read chapter 12 verse 19 through 14 verse 17.
Introduction to the Book of Romans:
Okay, so, now that we have come to the New Testament portion of our day, today, we are entering some brand-new territory. We concluded the Book of Acts yesterday, and we concluded the Book of Acts, actually really the last half of the Book of Acts, getting to know this person named Saul who then met Jesus and became the Apostle Paul. So, he was a former persecutor of The Way of Jesus. He met Jesus. And then he became the Apostle Paul, an advocate for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And now we’re turning away from the narrative story of Paul’s journeys and the things that were happening around the early church, and moving into the letters of Paul, the things that he wrote and sent and that have been preserved. And our first stop is the Book of Romans, most biblical scholars agree that Romans is the most comprehensive work or writing of the Apostle Paul, and that we arrive at a lot of our theological understanding of what the Good News of Jesus is, in this letter. Romans was probably written from the city of Corinth. This is a place that Paul spent a lot of time and did some of his most impactful missionary work. And it was probably penned somewhere in the mid-50s A.D. and dating these Scriptures enters into all kinds of controversies, because there’s all kinds of biblical scholarly debates over dating different things. But what we do know about the writings of the Apostle Paul, and this is an interesting thing, they are the oldest writings that we have in the New Testament. So, Paul’s letters are some of the earliest Christian writings that are still in existence, predating for example, the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These letters are older than those Gospels. So, when Paul finished this letter to the Romans, he sent a deaconess, her name was Phoebe, and she was from the church in Cenchreae, which was just outside of Corinth, and she was sent to hand deliver the letter and make an introduction to Paul. The church in Rome wasn’t planted by Paul. I mean, we remember the story, Paul had wanted to go to Rome, and he does end up going to Rome but he goes to Rome as a prisoner. And we don’t actually know who brought the Gospel of Jesus to Rome. The speculation, a likely scenario is that somebody, or a group of somebody’s, who had been influenced by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and we’re familiar with the teachings of Jesus, carried the Gospel back to Rome, and the church was established. And Paul really wanted to go there. We know that from the Book of Acts. He’s a naturally born a Roman citizen, looking forward to visiting the capital city of the Empire that he is a citizen of, but he had other business before he could go to Rome. He obeyed the Holy Spirit, went to Jerusalem, where it looked like everything was gonna get up ended because he was arrested and mobbed and assassination attempts and plots. But he then became under the guard of the Roman military and was able to continue his missionary efforts, speaking to more powerful people that he would’ve ever been able to get a meeting with. And then he appealed to Caesar, and eventually we got to Rome. And everywhere that Paul went, he got in trouble, right. There’s all this kind of antagonism toward him and that was because of what he was teaching, this Gospel that he was teaching was that the Messiah of the Jews had come and they should recognize that, but because he had come through Jesus, God was welcoming all who had believed into the family of God: Jew and Gentile alike. And this was a massive shift in the way that people understood things, especially the Jews. This was a massive shift to their traditions. And one of the reasons Paul was constantly in a riot somewhere or fleeing for his life. It’s in Romans that Paul fully explains how he got there. Like, how it is that he went from this devout Pharisee, persecuting people who followed Jesus, to a Christ follower willing to die for Jesus. And he wrote this letter in a way that a Jewish person would fully understand the argument, connecting Jesus to the Hebrew story that had been taking place all the way going back to the book of Genesis and the patriarch Abraham. And Paul explains this, and it got him in all kinds of trouble that the Mosaic law and its purpose were different than the way that it was being used for, that its purpose was to reveal our human inability to arrive at perfection. Nobody can become righteous before God on their own because they’re that good, except for Jesus. And through him we can all be made righteous before God. This is the compelling message of the Good News of Jesus. Not everybody was on board, and many were very antagonistic toward it, as it remains true until today. But in Romans, Paul will explain to us how it is that this devout Pharisee, could make such a transition to become a follower of Jesus Christ. And so, with that, let’s begin Romans chapter 1 verse 1 through verse 17 today.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word, we love You, Lord. And now, as we move into some new territory with a new complexion to it, as we move into these writings from the Apostle Paul and the other writings in the New Testament, we invite Your Holy Spirit, that our hearts may be open to what You are saying through Your word, and that we might grow and understand and go to new depths of understanding about the Good News of the Gospel, about its impact in the world, about the way that it changes us, and about the ways in which we are to go forward because of it. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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And that’s it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here, tomorrow.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hello, Daily Audio Bible. Happy Long Walk Day. It’s the 7th day, it’s the 7th month. It’s me Sebastian. I’m calling in to pray and to hear God bless our community. I pray that You bless all of us who struggle in life. I believe that is all of us. But I do pray that You would help us in our individual tasks and challenges, no matter how powerful they are, no matter how dangerous they are, no matter how boring or just hard and unyielding those challenges are. I pray God, that You lead us through each and every one of them. I pray that You help us overcome. I pray that You give us treasury and to love You above everything else. Thank You for taking care of us. Thank You for blessing us. Thank You for leading us on the narrow path. I thank You God that You help us, each and everyone of us with our quests, with our prayers. Thank You. Love you. Bye Sebastian.
Hey, Daily Audio Bible Family. I know there’s a couple people, more than a couple, that have prayed for deliverance from alcoholism and I need that prayer too. I would just call myself Lynn, for now. I just, I’m dealing with a lot and I would really appreciate you helping me with prayer and drinking because it’s leading me into some bad territory. And I’ve made some mistakes and I’m feeling regret and shame and guilt. And I just need your prayers because I’m trying to sooth my worries and fears and sadness with alcohol and it’s, I’m feeling regret today for some things I’ve done. And I would just really appreciate that prayer. And help me to just release some of the things that I’m worrying and caring about to God. Because this is what makes me start drinking. And I, just pray for me please. And I’ll be praying for those that, that have prayed for the same thing.
Hey, this is Jerry calling from Duluth, Minnesota. I’m outside of Solve Hospice House. Ready to go in and say goodbye to my mom. And just wanted you to know that the Long Walk, couple days ago when we knew that she just had hours or days to live was so incredibly meaningful. As I walk through Anger Park in Duluth, which is just an incredible park. I appreciate your prayers and thank you for your prayers. I called in February when she got the news that she was going to die and not live. And it was 22 below and asked prayers. We were heading to Florida to get her there and she had the time of her life. And she says, what a way to go. And then back at the nursing home, for the last few months. And I asked her yesterday morning, you ready to go to heaven today mom, oh, yes, I hope so. It’ll be the best day of my life. I had the opportunity to do the funeral, as I did my dad and grandmothers. Just pray that God would be glorified that those that are there would be drawn to Him and looking to Him: the author and finisher of our faith. Thank you so much. God bless.
Hello DABers, this is Kristen, Christ in Me. I would like to pray for a young lady named Kayla. She attempted suicide and she was abused by a boyfriend. She is now homeless. He destroyed her stuff. And she’s just asking for prayers that she would be able to find a place to stay and that she could get her life together and get a job. And I prayed with her, just reminded her to trust in the Lord and to call upon Him. So, if you could just pray for Kayla. Thank you.