September 1, 2017

The importance of the unimportant by Gary Rose


It has been 50 years since I graduated from high school. So much has changed since 1967 that it almost seems unbelievable!!! While much of what I learned has faded from memory, typing has stayed with me. Well, keyboarding, anyway. And while electric typewriters are pretty much obsolete, we learned on MANUAL typewriters (without electricity)!!!  Now, they would be considered stone-age tools!!!!

As I looked at the picture, I thought about how some things that seemed useless, later proved to be important. And then I thought of John Mark...


Acts, Chapter 15 (World English Bible)
  36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return now and visit our brothers in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”  37 Barnabas planned to take John, who was called Mark, with them also.  38 But Paul didn’t think that it was a good idea to take with them someone who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia, and didn’t go with them to do the work.  39 Then the contention grew so sharp that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus,  40 but Paul chose Silas and went out, being commended by the brothers to the grace of God.


2 Timothy, Chapter 2 (WEB)
 11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

In Paul's last epistle, he makes a very positive statement about Mark. What a change from the argument of Acts 15. Things change. People change. We never, ever, really know what the future may bring.

Remember: With God, all things are possible!!!

PS. Having said all this, I remember that I almost didn't take typing, because it was an elective and considered a "girls'" class!!! Who knew!!!

Bible Reading September 1-3 by Gary Rose




Bible Reading  September 1-3
(World English Bible)


Sept. 1
Psalms 26-29

Psa 26:1 Judge me, Yahweh, for I have walked in my integrity. I have trusted also in Yahweh without wavering.
Psa 26:2 Examine me, Yahweh, and prove me. Try my heart and my mind.
Psa 26:3 For your loving kindness is before my eyes. I have walked in your truth.
Psa 26:4 I have not sat with deceitful men, neither will I go in with hypocrites.
Psa 26:5 I hate the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.
Psa 26:6 I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, Yahweh;
Psa 26:7 that I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard, and tell of all your wondrous works.
Psa 26:8 Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells.
Psa 26:9 Don't gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men;
Psa 26:10 in whose hands is wickedness, their right hand is full of bribes.
Psa 26:11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity. Redeem me, and be merciful to me.
Psa 26:12 My foot stands in an even place. In the congregations I will bless Yahweh.

Psa 27:1 Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?
Psa 27:2 When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.
Psa 27:3 Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident.
Psa 27:4 One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, to see Yahweh's beauty, and to inquire in his temple.
Psa 27:5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the covert of his tabernacle he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock.
Psa 27:6 Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me. I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh.
Psa 27:7 Hear, Yahweh, when I cry with my voice. Have mercy also on me, and answer me.
Psa 27:8 When you said, "Seek my face," my heart said to you, "I will seek your face, Yahweh."
Psa 27:9 Don't hide your face from me. Don't put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don't abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation.
Psa 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahweh will take me up.
Psa 27:11 Teach me your way, Yahweh. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.
Psa 27:12 Don't deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty.
Psa 27:13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.
Psa 27:14 Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh.

Psa 28:1 To you, Yahweh, I call. My rock, don't be deaf to me; lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit.
Psa 28:2 Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you, when I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
Psa 28:3 Don't draw me away with the wicked, with the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts.
Psa 28:4 Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve.
Psa 28:5 Because they don't regard the works of Yahweh, nor the operation of his hands, he will break them down and not build them up.
Psa 28:6 Blessed be Yahweh, because he has heard the voice of my petitions.
Psa 28:7 Yahweh is my strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. With my song I will thank him.
Psa 28:8 Yahweh is their strength. He is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
Psa 28:9 Save your people, and bless your inheritance. Be their shepherd also, and bear them up forever.

Psa 29:1 Ascribe to Yahweh, you sons of the mighty, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.
Psa 29:2 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Worship Yahweh in holy array.
Psa 29:3 Yahweh's voice is on the waters. The God of glory thunders, even Yahweh on many waters.
Psa 29:4 Yahweh's voice is powerful. Yahweh's voice is full of majesty.
Psa 29:5 The voice of Yahweh breaks the cedars. Yes, Yahweh breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
Psa 29:6 He makes them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young, wild ox.
Psa 29:7 Yahweh's voice strikes with flashes of lightning.
Psa 29:8 Yahweh's voice shakes the wilderness. Yahweh shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
Psa 29:9 Yahweh's voice makes the deer calve, and strips the forests bare. In his temple everything says, "Glory!"
Psa 29:10 Yahweh sat enthroned at the Flood. Yes, Yahweh sits as King forever.
Psa 29:11 Yahweh will give strength to his people. Yahweh will bless his people with peace.


Sept. 2
Psalms 30-32

Psa 30:1 I will extol you, Yahweh, for you have raised me up, and have not made my foes to rejoice over me.
Psa 30:2 Yahweh my God, I cried to you, and you have healed me.
Psa 30:3 Yahweh, you have brought up my soul from Sheol. You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Psa 30:4 Sing praise to Yahweh, you saints of his. Give thanks to his holy name.
Psa 30:5 For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Psa 30:6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved."
Psa 30:7 You, Yahweh, when you favored me, made my mountain stand strong; but when you hid your face, I was troubled.
Psa 30:8 I cried to you, Yahweh. To Yahweh I made supplication:
Psa 30:9 "What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise you? Shall it declare your truth?
Psa 30:10 Hear, Yahweh, and have mercy on me. Yahweh, be my helper."
Psa 30:11 You have turned my mourning into dancing for me. You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness,
Psa 30:12 To the end that my heart may sing praise to you, and not be silent. Yahweh my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Psa 31:1 In you, Yahweh, I take refuge. Let me never be disappointed. Deliver me in your righteousness.
Psa 31:2 Bow down your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be to me a strong rock, a house of defense to save me.
Psa 31:3 For you are my rock and my fortress, therefore for your name's sake lead me and guide me.
Psa 31:4 Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me, for you are my stronghold.
Psa 31:5 Into your hand I commend my spirit. You redeem me, Yahweh, God of truth.
Psa 31:6 I hate those who regard lying vanities, but I trust in Yahweh.
Psa 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in your loving kindness, for you have seen my affliction. You have known my soul in adversities.
Psa 31:8 You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a large place.
Psa 31:9 Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am in distress. My eye, my soul, and my body waste away with grief.
Psa 31:10 For my life is spent with sorrow, my years with sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity. My bones are wasted away.
Psa 31:11 Because of all my adversaries I have become utterly contemptible to my neighbors, A fear to my acquaintances. Those who saw me on the street fled from me.
Psa 31:12 I am forgotten from their hearts like a dead man. I am like broken pottery.
Psa 31:13 For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side, while they conspire together against me, they plot to take away my life.
Psa 31:14 But I trust in you, Yahweh. I said, "You are my God."
Psa 31:15 My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.
Psa 31:16 Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness.
Psa 31:17 Let me not be disappointed, Yahweh, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol.
Psa 31:18 Let the lying lips be mute, which speak against the righteous insolently, with pride and contempt.
Psa 31:19 Oh how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have worked for those who take refuge in you, before the sons of men!
Psa 31:20 In the shelter of your presence you will hide them from the plotting of man. You will keep them secretly in a dwelling away from the strife of tongues.
Psa 31:21 Praise be to Yahweh, for he has shown me his marvelous loving kindness in a strong city.
Psa 31:22 As for me, I said in my haste, "I am cut off from before your eyes." Nevertheless you heard the voice of my petitions when I cried to you.
Psa 31:23 Oh love Yahweh, all you his saints! Yahweh preserves the faithful, and fully recompenses him who behaves arrogantly.
Psa 31:24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in Yahweh.

Psa 32:1 Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Psa 32:2 Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh doesn't impute iniquity, in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Psa 32:3 When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
Psa 32:4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer. Selah.
Psa 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn't hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
Psa 32:6 For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach to him.
Psa 32:7 You are my hiding place. You will preserve me from trouble. You will surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Psa 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will counsel you with my eye on you.
Psa 32:9 Don't be like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding, who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you.
Psa 32:10 Many sorrows come to the wicked, but loving kindness shall surround him who trusts in Yahweh.
Psa 32:11 Be glad in Yahweh, and rejoice, you righteous! Shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart!


Sept. 3
Psalms 33-35

Psa 33:1 Rejoice in Yahweh, you righteous! Praise is fitting for the upright.
Psa 33:2 Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.
Psa 33:3 Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy!
Psa 33:4 For the word of Yahweh is right. All his work is done in faithfulness.
Psa 33:5 He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the loving kindness of Yahweh.
Psa 33:6 By Yahweh's word, the heavens were made; all their army by the breath of his mouth.
Psa 33:7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
Psa 33:8 Let all the earth fear Yahweh. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
Psa 33:9 For he spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm.
Psa 33:10 Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
Psa 33:11 The counsel of Yahweh stands fast forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Psa 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh, the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.
Psa 33:13 Yahweh looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men.
Psa 33:14 From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
Psa 33:15 he who fashions all of their hearts; and he considers all of their works.
Psa 33:16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
Psa 33:17 A horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great power.
Psa 33:18 Behold, Yahweh's eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his loving kindness;
Psa 33:19 to deliver their soul from death, to keep them alive in famine.
Psa 33:20 Our soul has waited for Yahweh. He is our help and our shield.
Psa 33:21 For our heart rejoices in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
Psa 33:22 Let your loving kindness be on us, Yahweh, since we have hoped in you.

Psa 34:1 I will bless Yahweh at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth.
Psa 34:2 My soul shall boast in Yahweh. The humble shall hear of it, and be glad.
Psa 34:3 Oh magnify Yahweh with me. Let us exalt his name together.
Psa 34:4 I sought Yahweh, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Psa 34:5 They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
Psa 34:6 This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
Psa 34:7 The angel of Yahweh encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Psa 34:8 Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Psa 34:9 Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him.
Psa 34:10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing.
Psa 34:11 Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
Psa 34:12 Who is someone who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?
Psa 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies.
Psa 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good. seek peace, and pursue it.
Psa 34:15 Yahweh's eyes are toward the righteous. His ears listen to their cry.
Psa 34:16 Yahweh's face is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
Psa 34:17 The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
Psa 34:18 Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Psa 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.
Psa 34:20 He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken.
Psa 34:21 Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
Psa 34:22 Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.

Psa 35:1 Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me.
Psa 35:2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help.
Psa 35:3 Brandish the spear and block those who pursue me. Tell my soul, "I am your salvation."
Psa 35:4 Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.
Psa 35:5 Let them be as chaff before the wind, Yahweh's angel driving them on.
Psa 35:6 Let their way be dark and slippery, Yahweh's angel pursuing them.
Psa 35:7 For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.
Psa 35:8 Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction.
Psa 35:9 My soul shall be joyful in Yahweh. It shall rejoice in his salvation.
Psa 35:10 All my bones shall say, "Yahweh, who is like you, who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him; yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?"
Psa 35:11 Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don't know about.
Psa 35:12 They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul.
Psa 35:13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom.
Psa 35:14 I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.
Psa 35:15 But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn't know it. They tore at me, and didn't cease.
Psa 35:16 Like the profane mockers in feasts, they gnashed their teeth at me.
Psa 35:17 Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, my precious life from the lions.
Psa 35:18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly. I will praise you among many people.
Psa 35:19 Don't let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let those who hate me without a cause wink their eyes.
Psa 35:20 For they don't speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
Psa 35:21 Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, "Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!"
Psa 35:22 You have seen it, Yahweh. Don't keep silent. Lord, don't be far from me.
Psa 35:23 Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me!
Psa 35:24 Vindicate me, Yahweh my God, according to your righteousness. Don't let them gloat over me.
Psa 35:25 Don't let them say in their heart, "Aha! That's the way we want it!" Don't let them say, "We have swallowed him up!"
Psa 35:26 Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.
Psa 35:27 Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause. Yes, let them say continually, "Yahweh be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!"
Psa 35:28 My tongue shall talk about your righteousness and about your praise all day long.


Sept. 1
Romans 13

Rom 13:1 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.
Rom 13:2 Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment.
Rom 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same,
Rom 13:4 for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn't bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.
Rom 13:5 Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake.
Rom 13:6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God's service, attending continually on this very thing.
Rom 13:7 Give therefore to everyone what you owe: taxes to whom taxes are due; customs to whom customs; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.
Rom 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Rom 13:9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not give false testimony," "You shall not covet," and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Rom 13:10 Love doesn't harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
Rom 13:11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.
Rom 13:12 The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let's therefore throw off the works of darkness, and let's put on the armor of light.
Rom 13:13 Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy.
Rom 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

Sept. 2
Romans 14

Rom 14:1 Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions.
Rom 14:2 One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.
Rom 14:3 Don't let him who eats despise him who doesn't eat. Don't let him who doesn't eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.
Rom 14:4 Who are you who judge another's servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand.
Rom 14:5 One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn't eat, to the Lord he doesn't eat, and gives God thanks.
Rom 14:7 For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself.
Rom 14:8 For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord's.
Rom 14:9 For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Rom 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Rom 14:11 For it is written, " 'As I live,' says the Lord, 'to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.' "
Rom 14:12 So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.
Rom 14:13 Therefore let's not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother's way, or an occasion for falling.
Rom 14:14 I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
Rom 14:15 Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don't destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
Rom 14:16 Then don't let your good be slandered,
Rom 14:17 for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Rom 14:18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
Rom 14:19 So then, let us follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up.
Rom 14:20 Don't overthrow God's work for food's sake. All things indeed are clean, however it is evil for that man who creates a stumbling block by eating.
Rom 14:21 It is good to not eat meat, drink wine, nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, is offended, or is made weak.
Rom 14:22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who doesn't judge himself in that which he approves.
Rom 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn't of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.

Sept. 3
Romans 15

Rom 15:1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Rom 15:2 Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.
Rom 15:3 For even Christ didn't please himself. But, as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."
Rom 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through patience and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Rom 15:5 Now the God of patience and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus,
Rom 15:6 that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 15:7 Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God.
Rom 15:8 Now I say that Christ has been made a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers,
Rom 15:9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore will I give praise to you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name."
Rom 15:10 Again he says, "Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people."
Rom 15:11 Again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Let all the peoples praise him."
Rom 15:12 Again, Isaiah says, "There will be the root of Jesse, he who arises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will hope."
Rom 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Rom 15:14 I myself am also persuaded about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish others.
Rom 15:15 But I write the more boldly to you in part, as reminding you, because of the grace that was given to me by God,
Rom 15:16 that I should be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest the Good News of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Rom 15:17 I have therefore my boasting in Christ Jesus in things pertaining to God.
Rom 15:18 For I will not dare to speak of any things except those which Christ worked through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,
Rom 15:19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God's Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Good News of Christ;
Rom 15:20 yes, making it my aim to preach the Good News, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build on another's foundation.
Rom 15:21 But, as it is written, "They will see, to whom no news of him came. They who haven't heard will understand."
Rom 15:22 Therefore also I was hindered these many times from coming to you,
Rom 15:23 but now, no longer having any place in these regions, and having these many years a longing to come to you,
Rom 15:24 whenever I journey to Spain, I will come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while.
Rom 15:25 But now, I say, I am going to Jerusalem, serving the saints.
Rom 15:26 For it has been the good pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are at Jerusalem.
Rom 15:27 Yes, it has been their good pleasure, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to serve them in fleshly things.
Rom 15:28 When therefore I have accomplished this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will go on by way of you to Spain.
Rom 15:29 I know that, when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of the Good News of Christ.
Rom 15:30 Now I beg you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,
Rom 15:31 that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints;
Rom 15:32 that I may come to you in joy through the will of God, and together with you, find rest.
Rom 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.