Day 341: Acts 20:1-3; Romans 1-3

Love this..."I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." I need to constantly repeat that verse in my head. I know that this idea has given me courage in certain situations before. It is SO not about me, it is ALL about God.

In 1:32, I am reminded that people who choose a life of sin still know about God's righteousness and the 'death penalty.' That is just hard for me to grasp. I mean I know I consciously choose sin sometimes. But routine repentance and forgiveness are a part of my life.

2:16 "the day when God will judge men's secrets". We have so many opinions of people based on how we see them behave and what we hear them say. And based on those observations, we 'judge' that person and even draw conclusions as to the state of their heart. God has total access to so much more information. We are totally misjudging people so often.

3:28 "justified by faith apart from observing the law." Why? (1) faith eliminates the pride of human effort, because faith is not a deed we can do, (2) faith exalts what God has done, not what people do, (3) faith admits that we can't keep the law or measure up to God's standards - and we need help, and (4) faith is based on our relationship with God, not our performance for God.