Hello my friend Dr. Brad Miller here with the Daily Bible Refresh.

This is your daily reading of the Bible from a progressive point of view.

In a bit I will read the New Testament lessons selected from the Revised Common Lectionary for this very day.

The reading is understandable.

I use the Message version relatable.

Please listen to the points to ponder and applicable with action steps you can take.

We pray and are done in less than 10 minutes.

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Here's today's reading and we're reading today From Romans chapter 1, verses 8 through 17 from the Message I thank God through Jesus for every one of you.

That's first.

People everywhere keep telling me about your lives of faith and every time I hear them I thank him and God whom I so love to worship and serve by spreading the good news of His Son.

The Message knows that every time I think of you in my prayers, which is practically all the time, I ask him to clear the way for me to come and see you.

The longer this waiting goes on, the deeper is the ache.

I so want to be there to deliver God's gift in person and watch you grow stronger right before my eyes.

But don't think I'm not expecting to get something out of this too.

You have as much to give me as I do you.

Please don't misinterpret my failure to visit you friends.

You have no idea how many times I've made plans for Rome.

I have been determined to get some personal enjoyment out of God's work among you, as I have in so many other non Jewish towns and communities.

But something has always come up and prevented it.

Everyone I meet, it matters little.

Whether they're mannered or rude, smart or simple deepens my sense of interdependence and obligation.

And that's why I can't wait to get to you in Rome.

Preaching this wonderful good news of God.

It's news that I'm most proud to proclaim this extraordinary message of God's powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then ride on and onto everybody else.

God's way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has Said all along, the person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives well.

My friend, thank you for making space in your life for us to have a conversation about this scripture from Romans chapter one.

And Paul really sounds like a pastor here.

I believe he's full of heart, he's full of gratitude.

But he aches to be with the congregation, the church in Rome.

And he's convinced the good news is for everyone, that's Jews and Gentiles, everybody else.

And he believes the gospel doesn't just inform us, it rescues us and puts us right so we can really live.

So let's consider some points to ponder some teaching points about this scripture.

Point to ponder.

Number one.

Mutuality is the shape of ministry.

Paul says, you have as much to give me as I do you.

And that line pushes back against celebrity, spirituality and top down religion.

Progressive faith sees church as an interconnected web, not a pyramid.

Wisdom flows both directions.

The teacher learns, the student teaches, the caregiver is cared for.

So in my weekly podcast with people impacted by cancer, we really focus on hope and humor.

And I've learned that mutuality is healing.

So a person in treatment brings courage.

That shapes me, for instance, or maybe I can say a joke or do something funny that brings them a little breath of life and we hold each other up.

My wife and I have this type of relationship.

We've been married for 34 and a half years and she's incredible.

We've raised three adult children and now got grandchildren.

And it's this mutuality, the interconnectedness that makes it all work.

We go stronger together.

So in this case, understand the gospel is a we, not a me.

Point to ponder Number two.

The good news moves across differences with dignity.

Paul says to everyone he meets.

Mannered or rude.

Interesting turn of a phrase, isn't it?

Mannered or rude, smart or simple, deepens the sense of interdependence and obligation.

That's a progressive conviction there.

Differences aren't barriers to love, they're invitations to justice.

The gospel looks like building bridges across religion, across cultures, across class, across languages, across health status so more people can really live.

In practical terms, this means resist the gatekeeping, rejecting anti Semitism, honoring.

Honoring all people from whatever background they have, honoring the Jewish roots of our faith and centering on people in the margins.

Yes, that includes immigrants.

If the, quote, powerful plan to rescue doesn't reach those with the least access, patients stuck in insurance battles, families juggling bills and appointments, then we keep moving into grace.

That gets there.

Interdependence isn't sentiment, it's solidarity.

Point upon or Number three.

Trust births a life that is public and embodied.

The scripture says the person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.

Trust is not passive.

It's embodied.

Progressive faith ties belief to practice, advocacy, mutual aid, equitable health care and communities where everybody matters.

And yes, trust can be ordinary and joyful.

When I cheer on my teams, the Colts and the Pacers, the fever, IU hoops in football, it's a stubborn hope that even when the score isn't pretty, that there's a kind of loyalty reminds me that faith is tenacious and we believe that joy will come.

We just keep showing up.

We take the next small steps that help someone live a little bit more fully.

So what's next?

What's our action step?

Practice mutuality across differences.

Small, concrete and soon Identify one person or group different from you.

Maybe it's a local synagogue or mosque.

Or maybe it's some group different than you within Christianity, for instance.

Or maybe it's a different cultural language group.

And identify a person within that group that you can have some direct connection with and serve them through some mutual aid network, a support system.

Or maybe it's just a neighbor with a little different background than you.

So here's what you can do.

Offer and receive.

Bring a central, simple contribution to the person.

You know, I note maybe a cup of coffee or a donation to a cause that they believe in and ask what wisdom do you carry that I need?

Let it be a two way street.

Keep it to a bone, but do it.

Do it within 72 hours.

Mutuality grows in small shared steps.

Here's a word for the weary.

If you feel delayed like Paul plans interrupted, energy thin.

But you're still in the story.

Ache is what Paul says, and ache is not absence.

So God's grace can travel the distance and meet you where you are, whether it's a hospital room, a kitchen table on a trail, or maybe even a seat where you watch a ball game.

Think about it.

All right, we're going to come back and have a prayer together.

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It's called the ABC 123 Bible Study Method.

Free to you, just go over to our website, voiceofgoddaily.com let's pray.

God of gratitude and good news.

Thank you for the church we miss and the community that we need.

Thank you for mutuality, the way you knit us together so we give and we receive so that no one carries hope alone.

Teach us to cross differences with dignity, to honor our Jewish neighbors, to center on those navigating with cancer and other chronic stressors.

Help us to choose solidarity over status, Help us choose courage when we need courage and relief from pain, and companions who help us to keep going.

Shift our faith from performance to practice, from slogans of solidarity so that our trust becomes life, real, embodied, everyday love.

Bless the ordinary joys like taking a hike with my wife and listening to our granddaughters giggle and laughter and even enjoying a dad joke when plans get delayed and hearts ache.

Remind us we are not alone.

Your good news is still on the move.

Amen.

My friend.

I am delighted you chose to join me for today's reading.

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Thanks much.

My name is Dr. Brad Miller and I'll be right here tomorrow with your Daily Bible Refresh.

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Remember, God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new every morning.