Proverbs 15:1-8; Romans 1:1-7

Proverbs 15
v. 1 "A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare."
This reminds me of an incident that happened many years ago when I was teaching children. A boy earned a 40% on a math test, and his mother was 100% angry. She stomped into the classroom and demanded a meeting with me. In those days, our doors were unlocked (I know, I know--it seems incredible now), and we didn't have much protection from irate parents. I agreed to talk to her. She stormed for a while insisting that her son, I'll call him Steven, did NOT get 40s. I listened for a minute, and then I said, "Could we pray about this?" What could she say? So I prayed that Steven would grow up to be a fine man, a good citizen, a responsible family man, indeed a great man of God. When I finished, I looked up at her and said, "Now, what can we do to help Steven succeed?" She just looked at me, and the fire and anger almost visibly fizzled and died. She began back-peddling at once, and before the conversation was over, we had a plan, and I had an ally!

It's not easy to manage a "gentle answer" as the proverb suggests. Our first reaction is to respond in kind, defending ourselves. This almost always adds fuel to the fire and accomplishes nothing but harsher words and hurt feelings.

v. 3 "The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good." I love the charm of the King James Version which translated this verse, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." Sometimes we forget that God sees everything.

v. 8 "The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but he delights in the prayers of the upright." I think this is a good place to stop and meditate:
                The LORD delights in the prayers of the upright.
                The Lord DELIGHTS in the prayers of the upright.
                The Lord delights in the PRAYERS of the upright.
                The Lord delights in the prayers of the UPRIGHT.

We know God hears and answers our prayers--at least we try to remember this, but how often do we think about the fact that God actually delights in our prayers. He is not like a cranky old man who begrudgingly hears and answers just to get rid of us! But He DELIGHTS in our prayers.

Romans
The book of Romans is Paul's letter to the believers of Rome. It was written from the city of Corinth during Paul's third missionary journey. See Acts 20:22. The Roman church was made up primarily of Gentiles and had little formal organization. The King James Study Bible calls this letter "The Constitution of Christianity" because of its complete teaching of Christian doctrine. So we'll see what we can learn!

Romans 1:1-7
As was the custom of the day, Paul starts off the letter by stating who is writing as if to say, "Paul, here..." Then he goes on to explain who he is by telling them that he is a slave of Jesus Christ and that God had chosen him to preach the Good News.

And just what is the Good News?

• It was promised long ago in the Old Testament.
• It's about God's Son Jesus.
• Jesus was a descendant of King David.
• He was shown to be the Son of God when He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. 
• He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul declares to the Romans that through Christ, he has the privilege and authority to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them so that can also believe and obey Him. This would bring glory to God. Then he goes on to say something like "And I'm including you, Roman believers! I am writing to you whom God loves and whom He has called to be own holy people. May God give you grace and peace."