Today we start one of the most powerful books of the Bible; Romans! This book was written by Paul before he ever even visited the Romans. It was written as Paul prepares for his visit to Jerusalem and approximately 57 years after Christ’s sacrifice. He writes this letter as a presentation of his faith to the Roman people, which does not give it the typical form of a letter except for brief greetings at the beginning of the book and more detailed greetings at end. His intention in writing this is to introduce himself to the Roman church which is mostly Jewish, but also has a considerable number of Gentiles.
Within the first few verses Paul gets to the point very quickly and delivers the premise of his message. Verse 16 says, I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Paul does not mince words in expressing his belief and faith in the gospel of Christ. He was definitely not ashamed and he proved it over and over with each form of persecution and near death experience. Where we live in Franklin, TN it is not difficult to carry the flag of my belief in the gospel. My boldness and desire to serve God must go beyond the comfort of where I live. I pray that I am never ashamed to share what I believe no matter where I am or what I’m doing because the gospel is truly the power of God shown through salvation which is available to everyone, no matter where they live or what they have done.
Daily Devotion 
I love Paul’s ability in this chapter to start out with “I can’t wait to meet you, I’ve been praying for you non stop.” and then instantly transition into “Listen, if your going to turn your back on God, He’s going to give you what you want, but in that is wickedness, loneliness, emptyness, hollow lust and destruction.”
Of course this is my own paraphrase.
But Paul ends chapter 1 by illustrating the progression of losing oneself to sin, and by the end of it completely knowing better and (it says in the Message) “still spitting in the face of God.”
All of this begins with idolatry. The first commandment. You see the progression of getting further and further and further away from God. But the kicker is, it’s not a punishment. It’s simply God accepting our own choices and allowing us to live with the outcomes of them.
I pray that O remain squarely in the Fear of the Lord, and that I always remember, understand and keep in mind the true meaning of “Hallowed be Your name.”
Brian, very well said! Sin does not just enter our lives all of a sudden. It creeps in and takes over a little at a time until we no longer recognize right from wrong. I am with you, I pray that I never become numb to sin in my life. I pray that the Holy Spirit beats me down every single time to remind me that it is never alright. And I pray that God never lets me forget that His grace and mercy are always there for when I do screw up. The guard rails are there, I just need to remember that it’s is not necessary to leave paint behind if I just stay clear of them. Well done! Thanks for sharing today!