God has really been trying to make me understand that I am not made to please this world. If I am doing what he wants me to do, I won't be comfortable. And I need to be okay with that. It isn't about happiness or comfort...it's about obeying him and experiencing the joy that obedience brings. I guess that is why Romans 1:1 stood out to me so much. "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God...." I think that because that is the beginning of the letter to the Romans; the introduction, we tend to tune it out. But that verse finally made it hit home: I need to be set apart.
Romans 1:8 says, "First, I thank God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world." Just think about that! The church in Rome was so faithful that they were being talked about everywhere. I read that, and I realized that I want to have that kind of faith. The kind that people can't help but notice. The kind that doesn't stay hidden. What is the point of just saying you are a Christian if you don't live it and spread it every day? We are his witnesses. This verse convicts me to speak out concerning my faith. If I truly love God, surely I would want to tell others about him. Surely my love for him would spill over incessantly.
The end of that paragraph goes along with the next verse, Romans 1:16. It says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes...." We cannot just sit around and hope that somehow, non-believers will magically come to know Jesus. What kind of a witness is that? We have to be purposeful in our actions, trying to reach other people with the salvation we have received.
These are kind of random verses...but like I said, they are verses that spoke to me.
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