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 1 through 7 from the Message I, Paul, am a devoted slave of Jesus Christ.

On assignment, authorized as an Apostle to proclaim God's words and acts, I write this letter to all the believers in Rome, God's friends.

The sacred writings contain preliminary reports by the prophets on God's Son.

His descent from David roots him in history.

His unique identity as the Son of God was shown by the Spirit when Jesus was raised from the dead, setting him apart as the Messiah, our Master.

Through him we receive both the generous gift of his life and the urgent task of passing it on to others who receive it by entering into obedient trust in Jesus, you who are who you are through this gift and call of Jesus Christ.

And I greet you now with all the generosity of God our Father and our Master, Jesus the Messiah.

Well friends, thank you for joining me for a few minutes today as we get into this passage from Romans 1:1:7 and Paul is really identifying what his mission is here and that Jesus gives us the generous gift of life and there's an urgent task of passing it on.

And he's calling on the believers in Rome, God's friends, as he says, and I love that way he phrases that to begin with friendship, not fear.

So let's get into some points to ponder some teaching points about this passage.

The first one is grace gives identity before it assigns a task.

Get that one.

Grace gives identity before it assigns a task.

You are who you are through this gift and a call of Jesus Christ is the quote from the Scripture and the order matters.

The gift is first then call.

Progressive faith resists performance based religion.

Our worth isn't earned.

It's received.

Obedient trust isn't blind compliance.

It's a relational posture that flows from being loved.

In real life, this is like showing up before our neighbors, advocating for equitable care, practicing compassion without needing the spotlight.

Been married for coming up on 34 years and we've raised three adult children.

Got two wonderful grandchildren coming up and my great joy is being with my family and laughing and having telling stories and that's an awesome time.

Those ordinary loves remind me of this that grace is the ground and our actions are the fruit.

Second point to ponder.

The good news is for everyone and moves us toward the margins.

Paul roots Jesus in history.

You remember the part he's descended from David and in resurrection power, that is he's declared the Son of God by the Spirit.

So that means it's both embodied and inclusive.

That is, God's work shows up in real people, real human bodies, real cities, real communities.

Including in this case, he's talking about Rome, which is a very diverse big city full of different cultures and classes of people.

So a progressive look at this Scripture resists gatekeeping, as in one group as over another.

It says here God's friends.

That's a wide circle.

No one has to become someone else to be loved.

The test of gospel is whether it brings healing to those who've been ignored.

Patients navigating, cancer, families under financial strain, folks sideline because of race, gender, sexuality, status or immigration.

If it isn't good news for them, it isn't yet.

Gospel point to ponder Number three Calling is shared every day and small step faithful.

Calling is shared every day and small step faithful.

That means Paul's apostolic assignment isn't a celebrity thing.

It's a kind of a relay process, like passing it on to others who need it.

So this spirit turns kind of a big theological thing into humble everyday practice.

Passing on life can be quiet.

A ride to treatment, a meal with a friend in need, writing your representative about some injustice or advocating for health care access, or cheering for your favorite team.

Loyalty comes with community and brings with it and showing up even when things are tough.

I have a weekly podcast for people impacted by cancer, and it's really built on two elements, hope and humor.

And I've learned that calling often looks like small kindnesses repeated regularly.

Love is steady, not flashy.

So what do we do about this?

Let's talk about some action steps we can take.

One thing we can do is make a gift and task pairing and act on it.

What is that?

A gift is name one grace that you've received Lately, some good thing in your life.

Maybe you've got a good support from a friend or a birthday greeting or something like that.

Or maybe it's a quiet walk in a park, or maybe you had a good medical report, or maybe your granddaughter's made you laugh.

That happened to me.

So pair your gift with a task then.

And the task is choose a person in your life, or perhaps a group to pass it on.

Pass the good thing on to them concretely and maybe quietly.

That means a note, a meal, sharing, a dumb joke, a donation or a message to some people who just need to have a good thing in their life.

Keep it small, keep it doable, and do it within 48 hours.

Prayer another part of this is to take a few minutes, five minutes or so to a quiet spot, maybe in your home, maybe at the kitchen table, maybe it's in a park bench, maybe it's in your car and say, here I am and breathe.

Let obedient trust be simple.

Guide me to love someone well today.

Here's a word for the weary.

If your faith feels small, you're not failing, you're rooting.

Grace turns small steps into real change.

We're gonna come back and have a prayer here in just a minute, but I want you to know before we do that, we have a resource just for you.

It's called the ABC 123 Bible Study Method.

You can pick it up at our website, voiceofgoddaily.com let's pray.

O God of gift and calling, thank you for naming us before you task us, for calling us friends before you send us.

Meet us in ordinary places, trails, kitchen tables, hospital rooms, even in the laughter of people who make us laugh or we make them laugh like granddaughters or for those impacted by cancer, give companions courage and moments of relief and for caregivers, strength and rest.

For our communities, justice that is concrete, appointments kept, bills eased, access expanded.

Teach us obedient trust that is honest and hopeful.

So we pass on your life with humility, not a performance.

When we feel small or unsure, remind us grace is enough and small steps matter.

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.