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Romans 15:15-16
The Apostle Paul makes note of his calling to share the gospel to the Gentiles. This is the irony of the ministry that God called Paul to: sharing the gospel to the Gentiles. This is reflective of the 180⸰ change that Christ Jesus imputes to one’s life when we open our hearts to Him. Paul was introduced to Jesus on the road to Damascus in his quest to eliminate all Christians. This is described in Acts 9 in the story of Paul being blinded (literally) by the light of Christ Jesus. His life was changed as he spent 3 days in a room in Damascus, blind, having only himself and God’s Holy Spirit revealing to him all that he had been doing (and how wrong it was) and all that God was calling him to do for Jesus in sharing the gospel with the Gentiles. He had been persecuting the Gentiles, but now he would be called to preach life eternal and salvation through God’s grace by faith in which he himself was a literal example.
This is an example of the 180⸰ change from living in the sinful nature to a new life that Jesus has for all who open their hearts to Him.
God created us all for a purpose, just as He did with the Apostle Paul. But His purpose for us will not be realized unless we open our hearts to Him and believe in Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30). God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Love cannot force itself on another, but it is offered – given in hope of being accepted. God’s defeat of Satan in this physical world is manifested every time someone professes their faith in Him; in accepting the gift that He offers us through His one and only Son Jesus. In 1 Peter 4:8, the Apostle Peter quotes Proverbs 10:12 in which King Solomon declares (NKJV), “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.” God is bound by His own standards which is a purity that is so untainted that we cannot even begin to fathom the depths of the love of God. In the love of God is a purity that can only obey itself – Love (God) must be accepted by us through our faith in Him to be made complete in us, which is the unlocking mechanism to salvation in Christ Jesus: to sincerely believe in God, accept His love for us, and return it to Him through our obedience to Him for the rest of our earthly lives – that we would then be rewarded by Him for our faith in Him with everlasting life in His glory – in Christ.
Dear LORD,
I pray today that this message touches the heart of just one person, if not many; that they would open their heart to You and accept Your great love for them in Christ Jesus, confess their sins to You, believe with all their heart that Jesus died to pay for their sins, and put You first in their life as they strive from this day forward to live in obedience to You – in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.