September 28 - Romans 8

This chapter is amazing.  How priveleged we are to be called children of God!  Though we ought to be slaves, God adopts us as his own.

September 27 - Romans 7

September 26 - Romans 6

September 25 - Romans 5

September 21 - Romans 4

September 20 - Romans 3

September 19 - Romans 2

Ah, judgment.  Paul appeals to all of us in this chapter.  How often do I find myself looking down on someone or inwardly accusing, blaming others.  Only to later make excuses/justify my own behavior.  This reminds me of when Jesus said, you point out the speck in your brothers eye though you have a beam in your own.  Verse 11 is a sobering reminder: there is no partiality with God.

The end of the Chapter is Paul's reminder to us all - make sure your faith is inward and not outward.  "...circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God".  How can we apply this to our Christianity?

September 18 - Romans 1

I found this chapter to really compliment what we just talked about - it is calling us to examine ourselves.  Do we worship God?  Or do we worship things, or our own lives.  What is truly first in our lives. 

September 13 - Acts 28

The Islanders are quick to assume that Paul must be a terrible person because of his "bad luck".  Not unlike us.  It is fairly common to believe those who "seem" to have everything going for them are wonderful people and vice versa.  The fact of the matter is, "God causes the rain to fall and the sun to shine on the just and the unjust".
Paul preached with boldness and power yet in all situations some believed and some didn't.  God doesn't ask us to save people or change their minds - that's His job.  God simply asks us to speak the truth. 
So was Paul chained to a guard the entire two years?  That poor guard.

September 12- Acts 27

September 11 - Acts 26

Paul's story is amazing and his ability to present it is just as impressive.  Festus' exclamation seems to show his discomfort and embarrassment.  Yet Paul is cool and respectful.  Notice how Paul doesn't try to debate them or show off how brilliant he is - he simply tells them how Jesus had changed his life. 
Not much else is really said of Festus, Agrippa, and Bernice.  I wonder if any of them were changed by their encounter with Paul?

September 6, Acts 25

It seems what is being disputed isn't really about crimes that Paul committed but whether or not Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

September 5 - Acts 25 & 26

September 4 - Acts 23 & 24