Romans Bible Study #2 The WHY of Paul

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The Why Romans 1:1-17

1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, [a]called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a [b]descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power according to the [c]Spirit of holiness [d]by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship [e]to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as [f]saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ [g]for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers requesting if perhaps now, at last by the will of God, I will succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be [h]established; 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also just as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am [i]under obligation both to Greeks and to the [j]uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed [k]from faith to faith; as it is written: “[l]But the righteous one will live by faith.”

When you wake up every morning what drives you?

If you want to live a life of fulfillment and joy, you must discover your purpose. You see if you don’t know what your purpose is, if you don’t know what drives you, what inspires you, then you have no reason to improve your current situation in life.

Why do you do what you do? What is the reason, the why of your existence? Do you know what it takes to be better than you are? Are you willing to go the extra mile?

Listen, time and time again you will get tired and feel you cannot go another inch. There will be times when you just don’t want to get out of bed. There will be events that make you ache to the innermost part of your soul. There will be moments when you will not want to smile. But if you have a purpose, a reason, a driving force, you will go the next mile. If you have a purpose, it will remind you again and again to rise and shine. If you have a purpose, a WHY, it will make the pain bearable. If you have a purpose, a WHY, smiles will bend up your mouth.

Let me ask you, why are you different from everyone else who’s trying to do the same thing you’re doing? What makes you stand out? It is your why, that drives you.

God has a purpose for you, a why. Moses had a purpose, a why. Jesus had a why. Paul had a why. John had a why. Luther had a why. Calvin had a why. C.S. Lewis had a why. You need to find your why and find it now.

Because when you find it, you must write it down, carry it with you, write it on the dash of your car, post it on the fridge, and on the headboard of your bed. Write it on your palm in permanent ink. Put it everywhere you go.

You need to feel your why deeply and consistently. You need to promise yourself everything you do will follow that WHY. Promise yourself you will live your purpose with zero excuses. So when you are challenged by life, when you feel like you have found your bottom, you know what to do, remember the WHY. Do not look backwards and say, “gloom, despair, excessive misery, if it were not for bad luck I would have no luck at all”,  just remember your reason for life, your purpose of life, your WHY.

It is not always going to be an easy road. But when you have your Why in the deepest part of your soul, you will find it and it will drive you to keep on keeping on. Your why may not change anyone else right away. Your why will not change what is already done and past. You need to find something that drives you. You need to find something that matters. You need to find something that drives you, something that no matter the circumstances this part of you does not change. Your Why will never die, despite how many times life knocks you down. Your purpose, your why, will pull you up every time.

My why is the reason I will fight for my dreams. This is the reason I will never take no for an answer. My why is there when it hurts, to keep going on cloudy days, those days that stones are flying toward me. My Why tells me to keep going.

Your why will keep you going in those times when you can not see where you are going. Your why will spur you on when life slaps you in the face. You have a choice to make.  The right choice. To press on to the high calling. Every day must start and end with my why: my purpose.

The Study of God and Life