Greetings!

BlogFam,

There are so many things we might name in our lives, families, churches, politics, friendships, careers, education, housing, finances that we could say make us ashamed - embarrassed or guilty because of one's actions, characteristics, or associations.  BUT I am glad to say that the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ is not one of them.  We might be ashamed or embarrassed by the ways certain followers of Jesus might behave, but in and of itself, the Gospel is love and the Gospel is hope and no one should ever be ashamed of that.

Greetings!

BlogFam, as a child, my mother would often tell my siblings and I these words: 

"Your name will go further than you ever will."

In other words, there will be people and places who will hear of your name and the reputation attached to it that you may never know.  There will always be someone who has heard about you and you need to be mindful of how you carry yourself so that you can help what they might hear.  Obviously, none of us can completely control the script that is written in the public square about us but we can be careful to live our lives in a way that is holy and honorable.

Greetings!

BlogFam, I do not have a set way for determining the scriptures for our reflection.  Since I was invited to preach and to use selected verses from Romans 1, this week we will spend time in Romans 1.  As I was invited, so do I invite you to walk with me to discover how the Lord might speak to us...

The very first thing I notice in Romans 1 is how Paul writes an extensive greeting.  Honestly, it seems like he could have gotten straight to the point a little quicker.  But Paul has a few goals that he is trying to accomplish by making his greeting so long.