Romans 1:1-17
1 Dear friends in Rome: This letter is from Paul, Jesus Christ's slave, chosen to be a missionary, and sent out to preach God's Good News.
2 This Good News was promised long ago by God's prophets in the Old Testament.
3 It is the Good News about his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who came as a human baby, born into King David's royal family line;
4 and by being raised from the dead he was proved to be the mighty Son of God, with the holy nature of God himself.
5 And now, through Christ, all the kindness of God has been poured out upon us undeserving sinners; and now he is sending us out around the world to tell all people everywhere the great things God has done for them, so that they, too, will believe and obey him.
6 And you, dear friends in Rome, are among those he dearly loves; you, too, are invited by Jesus Christ to be God's very own--yes, his holy people.
7 May all God's mercies and peace be yours from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord.
8 Let me say first of all that wherever I go I hear you being talked about! For your faith in God is becoming known around the world. How I thank God through Jesus Christ for this good report, and for each one of you.
9 God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to the one I serve with all my might, telling others the Good News about his Son.
10 And one of the things I keep on praying for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you and, if possible, that I will have a safe trip.
11 For I long to visit you so that I can impart to you the faith that will help your church grow strong in the Lord.
12 Then, too, I need your help, for I want not only to share my faith with you but to be encouraged by yours: Each of us will be a blessing to the other.
13 I want you to know, dear brothers, that I planned to come many times before (but was prevented) so that I could work among you and see good results, just as I have among the other Gentile churches.
14 For I owe a great debt to you and to everyone else, both to civilized people and uncivilized alike; yes, to the educated and uneducated alike.
15 So, to the fullest extent of my ability, I am ready to come also to you in Rome to preach God's Good News.
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is God's powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven. This message was preached first to the Jews alone, but now everyone is invited to come to God in this same way.
17 This Good News tells us that God makes us ready for heaven--makes us right in God's sight--when we put our faith and trust in Christ to save us. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scripture says it, "The man who finds life will find it through trusting God."
This letter believed to have been written from Corinth in Rome. Notice how he introduced himself humbly without any firm of pride - a servant, an apostle. He referred to the believers as saints, people set apart unto God. Paul could boldly say that he/she is ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
Can we make such statements about ourselves without making people to know our worth?
Titles have become a snare and idol to today's church. Some leaders get offended if they are not well addressed by these titles, or it is even wrongly spelt or pronounced, check your heart.
You did not begin this way, you do not need to lift or advertise yourself unnecessarily.
Wow, I love the creativity in this image.