Romans 1:1-6

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, (2)which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, (3)concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh (4)and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, (5)through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faithfor the sake of his name among all the nations, (6)including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

Paul clearly sets out his mission in the letter to the Romans. He is charged with bringing the 'obedience of faith' for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to all the nations. And it includes all of us who belong to Christ. He spends a lot of time in Romans dwelling on the implications of this calling; it must be important to him, and should be therefore to us.

Not only the Letter to the Romans, but I believe that all of Paul's letters expand on our Lord's command to 'make disciples as we go'. He grasped this, so must we.

Lord, guide us into a deeper and sound understanding of our call to be obedient to the faith and to carry that message to all the nations. Implant deep within us, the conviction that our lives must be obedient to the faith in order to demonstrate to others that they must do likewise.

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 43

Mid-day: 119:97-104

Evening: Psalm 118

Voices Together is available as an annual daily devotional and can be purchased at theFellowship Of Ailbe bookstore.