PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• This morning, I read Romans 1.
In this letter from the Apostle Paul to the Roman Christians, he said, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world” (Romans 1:8).
I am so fascinated by that.
While I am the first to say I’m not a journalist, I’ve been a writer for my community magazines for over ten years.
One thing I’ve learned is that everyone has a story.
However, having a story and getting it out there for others to hear are two different things.
Because of my work with the magazines, I have firsthand experience in the whole magazine production process—from the initial layout to the design process, all the way to the print process and distribution.
There’s a lot that goes into getting information into people’s hands and we have the modern convenience of computers, printing presses, and gas-powered vehicles to get the word out.
But can you imagine being a Christian around 57 AD, and having a faith-story that is so powerful that it was being reported all over the world?
News in those days was handwritten and shared by word of mouth!
But according to Paul’s words, the faith of these Roman Christians was that powerful!
I think that’s extraordinary.
Our faith is never about us, and should always point to Christ…
But at the same time, we learn from and are encouraged by one another’s faith.
That’s why the author of Hebrews identified some key examples of faith in Hebrews 11!
So that we could learn and be encouraged by the faith stories of men and women like Abel, Noah Abraham, Rahab, Samson, David, and others.
Because through the faith of others, we can witness the great love and power of God.
It builds our trust because when God takes care of them, we can trust Him to take care of us!
So it begs the question: Is your faith newsworthy?
Is your faith strong enough that it makes others to take notice?
Does it encourage other Christians to keep trusting?
Is your faith something that others can learn from?
I’ve mentioned this a lot lately but the very faith we have is directly from Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).
It’s not unreasonable then to pray for that kind of headline-worthy faith.
Because when you pray for that kind of faith, the results always point back to Jesus and the great goodness of God.
Today, as you pray, thank God for the example of faith-legacies so strong, they endure even today…
From the people listed in Hebrews to the Roman Christians Paul wrote to…
Ask Jesus to strengthen your faith so that others take notice and can be encouraged too.
