The Power of God

Romans 1:16 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. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Me:
Good evening Father!
ABBA:
Good evening Jon!
Me:
This scripture is pretty stark, Father. In twenty centuries, nothing much has changed except the list of idols has expanded.
ABBA:
Throughout twenty centuries of My patience, some have accepted My power through the gospel and have been saved from the due penalty of sin and have instead learned to love Me and to honor me as their creator and Father. The reason not much has changed in twenty centuries of degradation is that Satan is not creative, only I AM. Do you remember Abraham, knowing Lot was in Sodom, bargaining with Me about how many righteous would have to be found to save the city from destruction?
Me:
I do. It’s in Genesis 18, according to a search on Bible Gateway. I also know that Jesus told us that in Your eyes, none is righteous. (Romans 3:10)
ABBA:
He meant apart from accepting His offering for sin and becoming in Him, of course.
Me:
It is a great and majestic blessing that You have bestowed on us a way of escape!
ABBA:
That is My point about Abraham and Lot. I AM providing a way of escape, such as Lot took advantage of. Just as surely as in Sodom, that which has been dedicated to the profane will be destroyed by fire and ultimately will not continue.
Me:
What does it mean that Your righteousness is revealed from faith to faith?
ABBA:
It means that I have ordained that those, like you, who have faith in Me shall be the channel by which My revelation shall flow to those who are open enough to come to faith in Me themselves.
Me:
Who are these who are open enough? How can they be found?
ABBA:
By My Spirit. No heart is hidden from Me.
Me:
I feel inadequate as a convincer.
ABBA:
Not to worry. I AM making the Truth evident (v19). You only have to be a witness of the faith that you have. Do not expect those to whom you speak to suddenly have arrived at the abundant life. They only have to recognize the futility of their current path and desire to turn toward My call. The rest takes time. You yourself are still growing in Me.
Me:
That is a fact for which I am most grateful! I love You Father!
ABBA:
I love you, Jon!