A Holy Longing

THE TEXT: Romans 1:8-16.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

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.

Two gut-wrenching questions to ask myself before I head home.

On a scale of 1-10, how would I rate my own holy longing for right now?

| Matthew 22:37-40 | 1 Samuel 15:22, 16:7 |

On a scale of 1-10, how would I rate my holy longing to see the reach right now?

| John 13:35 | Romans 9:3 |