WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS BLOG AND "JOURNAL THE WORD"
It's my goal to only write and post one blog post per day. Hence, I will add more thoughts from the previous day's material and will then add to the same post the new day's devotional material. Therefore, you will get another chance to ponder and remember the Word of the Day from the day before and one more exposure for it to grow its roots deeper into your heart, mind, and soul. This will increase the chances of you remembering the material and to continue to apply it to your life.
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WORD OF THE DAY, ROMANS 1:1-4, DAY 1 (CONT.)
Let's look more thoroughly at the passage of Romans 1:1-4 and see if we can gain more insight:
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Romans 1:1-4 Expanded Bible (EXB)
1 From Paul, a ·servant [slave; bondservant] of Christ Jesus. ·God called me [L …called] to be an ·apostle [messenger] and ·chose me [set me apart; appointed me] to tell the ·Good News [Gospel].
2 God promised this ·Good News [Gospel] ·long ago [beforehand; previously] through his prophets, as it is written in the Holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about God's Son. ·As a man [or With reference to his earthly life; L According to the flesh], he was born ·from the family [a descendant; L of the seed] of David [2 Sam. 7:11–14]. 4 But through the Spirit of holiness [C a Jewish way of referring to the Holy Spirit] he was ·declared [or designated; appointed] to be God's Son with great power by rising from the dead [C though eternally the Son of God, Jesus was appointed such "with power" at his resurrection; see Ps. 2:7; 110:1–2]. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.
-- Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
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MORE JOURNALING THOUGHTS ABOUT THE WORD OF THE DAY, ROMANS 1:1-4, DAY 1
Questions for us: How am I a slave or servant to Jesus Christ? How much do I submit to God? How am I the possession of the Lord's?
The Good News = the Gospel.
What is the Gospel or the Good News? It is answered in verses 3-5. It's about the Son of God. He was born, lived a life as a man on earth, and came from the lineage of King David. Then, He rose from the dead and was resurrected through the power of God, through His resurrection power.
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WORD OF THE DAY, ROMANS 1:5-8, DAY 2 (OF 3,276)
As we begin, let's pray this verse for our reading, studying, thinking/pondering/contemplating/meditating, learning, praying, and applying the passage of Romans 1:5-8:
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Psalm 19:14 New King James Version (NKJV)
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
-- New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Now, our reading for today, Day 2:
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Romans 1:5-8 New King James Version (NKJV)
5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
-- New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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JOURNAL THE WORD QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS TO PONDER
Take out your prayer journal and answer/do the following:
Prayer journal your thoughts (Journal the Word). Take a few minutes to do so.
What do we learn about Paul?
What do we learn about God, Jesus, and/or the Holy Spirit?
What was this saying at the time? What did it mean back in the Bible times?
What does this mean to us today? To you?
List all of the ways you can apply this passage to your life. Then, start to do so.
What does God say to you about these verses?
Journal your prayer about this passage, what God said to you, etc.
Answer several more of the Daily Questions (found here at this link:
http://journaltheword.blogspot.com/2015/04/daily-questions-for-journal-word.html).
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JOURNALING THOUGHTS ABOUT THE WORD OF THE DAY, ROMANS 1:5-8, DAY 2
See. Thisis what I described in a previous blog post. I know for a fact I will get a great deal more out of this passage when I read it in another version of the Bible. Verses 5 and 6 are a little difficult for me to understand, let alone understand fully. A question I already have is: who is "we" in verse 5?
In verse 7, we learn a couple of important points:
1 The Book of Romans is a letter.
2 It is a letter to the Roman Christians, the people of Rome.
At this point, I think I want to look at a different version of the Bible for this passage and see what it says. This is where I think context will become a huge asset to help bring a depth of understanding.
CONTEXT
Let's read this context:
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Romans 1:1-12 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and singled out for God's good news— 2 which He promised long ago through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures— 3 concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh 4 and who has been declared to be the powerful Son of God by the resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness. 5 We have received grace and apostleship through Him to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations, on behalf of His name, 6 including yourselves who also belong to Jesus Christ by calling:
7 To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit in telling the good news about His Son, is my witness that I constantly mention you, 10 always asking in my prayers that if it is somehow in God's will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I want very much to see you, so I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12 that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.
-- Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
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JOURNAL THE WORD QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS TO PONDER
Take out your prayer journal and answer/do the following:
Prayer journal your thoughts (Journal the Word). Take a few minutes to do so.
What do we learn?
Ask several different questions, and answer them, of each of the following questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how? For instance, who is referred to in this passage of Romans 1:1-12?
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MORE JOURNALING THOUGHTS ON ROMANS 1:5-8
Let's look closer at Romans 1:5. The "we" is what I do not understand. Who is that? The context does not answer this question. Therefore, this is where I take a look at commentaries to see if they can answer the question. Here is a link for some commentaries:
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/romans/1-5.htmI try to only look at commentaries when I get stuck. Otherwise I try to use the Bible to explain itself. Earthly writers make errors. The Bible has no errors.
I also have other questions regarding Romans 1:5, so maybe another version of the Bible might help.
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Romans 1:5 Expanded Bible (EXB)
5 Through ·Christ [L whom], ·God gave me the special work of an apostle [L we have received apostleship; C "we" could be a formal way of saying "I," or could refer to Paul and the other apostles], which was to lead ·people of all nations [the Gentiles] to ·believe and obey [or b the obedience that comes from faith; or the obedience that is faith]. I do this work for ·him [L his name].
--Expanded Bible(EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
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Well, that was not one of the three translations of the Bible I read earlier. The EXB sure answers the "we" question. It also helps me to grasp the verse a great deal more. However, cross-references add even more understanding generally. So, let's look at one at this time:
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Romans 16:25-27 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations,leading to obedience of faith; 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.
-- New American Standard Bible(NASB)
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 byThe Lockman Foundation
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Question for us to answer in our journal: How does this add to our understanding of Romans 1:5?
Another cross-reference is:
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Hebrews 5:8-10 New Living Translation (NLT)
8 Even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. 10 And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
--New Living Translation(NLT)
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission ofTyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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Question for us to answer in our journal: How does this add to our understanding of Romans 1:5?
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Romans 1:8 New Living Translation (NLT)
8 Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world.
--New Living Translation(NLT)
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission ofTyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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JOURNAL THE WORD QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS TO PONDER
Take out your prayer journal and answer/do the following:
Prayer journal your thoughts (Journal the Word). Take a few minutes to do so.
Thank God for five blessings in your life.
Thank God for the people in your life.
How is your faith?
Who knows about your faith?
Who knows about your faith because of the way you live?
How would you say the faith of your church is?
How would you say the faith of Church is as a whole?
How can you grow, increase, and deepen your faith?
Make sure to keep reading and praying Romans 1:1-8 throughout your day and night. Keep prayer journaling about the verses.
Hint and Tip: You might consider writing out the verses, word by word, to help deepen the words and their meanings in your life.
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Romans 1:5-8 New Living Translation (NLT)
5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.
6 And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
8 Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world.
-- New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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JOURNALING THOUGHTS AND PRAYER JOURNALING
From Romans 1:5: How can I believe more and increase my belief?
How can I obey the Lord and His Word more?
How can I bring God glory?
How can I bring God glory more and more each and every day?
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Acts 28:26 - Romans 1:16 Living Bible (TLB)
26 'Say to the Jews, "You will hear and see but not understand, 27 for your hearts are too fat and your ears don't listen and you have closed your eyes against understanding, for you don't want to see and hear and understand and turn to me to heal you."'
28-29 So I want you to realize that this salvation from God is available to the Gentiles too, and they will accept it."
30 Paul lived for the next two years in his rented house and welcomed all who visited him, 31 telling them with all boldness about the Kingdom of God and about the Lord Jesus Christ; and no one tried to stop him.
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.
6-7 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. 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.* 11-12 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. 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.
-- Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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JOURNAL THE WORD QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS TO PONDER
Take out your prayer journal and answer/do the following:
Prayer journal your thoughts (Journal the Word). Take a few minutes to do so.
What do we learn about Paul?
What do we learn about God, Jesus, and/or the Holy Spirit?
What was this saying at the time? What did it mean back in the Bible times?
What does this mean to us today? To you?
List all of the ways you can apply this passage to your life. Then, start to do so.
What does God say to you about these verses?
Journal your prayer about this passage, what God said to you, etc.
Answer several more of the Daily Questions (found here at this link:
http://journaltheword.blogspot.com/2015/04/daily-questions-for-journal-word.html).
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Blessings,
--Stacy Duplease
Email:
agodlyvision@gmail.com rememberingyourpresent@gmail.com Blogs:
http://journaltheword.blogspot.comhttp://rypstories.blogspot.comSent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HDX Tablet
