Category: Romans

Take a moment to read Romans 15:1-13 before reading the devotional below.

Paul is beginning his descent — winding down as he gets ready to conclude his letter. We’ll be heading over to Proverbs next and doing something a little different as we take just one thought to chew on each day. As we finish out Romans, Paul is wrapping up his instructions on how to love each other as Christians. We will start to hear more benediction-type statements — “may God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other…” We get a glimpse of Paul’s prayer life as we see his heart for the Roman church.

Paul quotes the Old Testament scriptures to again remind the Jewish Christians that Gentiles have always been part of the plan. This praise and rejoicing with the Gentiles was prophesied long ago and is fulfilled in this uniting of Jews and Gentiles as followers of Jesus. The whole world praising God together is what being filled with the Holy Spirit looks like.

Here’s your freedom for today: God is the only source of hope. A lot of people spend a lot of life searching for hope and answers. Some think that hope is found deep inside ourselves, but the Bible always points to God as our source. We do not have an “inner light” (in fact, the more honestly we look at ourselves, the more inner darkness we will find). The Holy Spirit gives us something we do not possess ourselves. He fills us. He shines light where darkness used to be. The good news is that even on your worst day you can have hope. It’s not a feeling, it’s a spiritual reality that supersedes our earthly circumstances.

Take a moment to read Romans 15:14-33 before reading the devotional below.

Thank you all for your prayers yesterday, I am resting and on the mend 🙂

As we prepare to wrap up Romans tomorrow, I appreciate Paul’s conclusion to this amazing letter. First of all, as a writer I can relate to Paul’s vulnerability. It is nerve-wracking to put words on paper and send it off to readers, unsure how they may react. He basically says, “I know you know most of the stuff I wrote in here, so I’m not trying to insult you… I felt you needed a little reminder so thanks for receiving it.” While God inspired every word of the Bible, he did not do so in a way that eliminated humanity. Paul’s humanity shows up as he expresses a bit of fear and then reminds himself about the boldness he can have in Christ. He is confident in his calling so he does not have to fear getting the message wrong.

Paul also describes his desire to go to Rome and have them launch him into a broader European ministry through Spain and other places. From the end of Acts we know that Paul does not end up in Rome exactly in the way he hoped, and we are not sure whether he ever made it to Spain. Paul asks for their prayers for good reason — Satan is more than happy to disrupt Paul’s travel plans.

Here’s your freedom for today: God will work out your calling even if your plans get interrupted. I’m a planner — I’ll admit it. I have dreams and ideas and missions I want to accomplish. I may not get a chance to do it all, but I am confident that if I remain faithful God will work out my calling. He will use me in all the ways he wants even if that does not line up with all your plans. In fact, sometimes the plan interruptions are the things God uses for the most good. That’s when we know it’s all him and not our own doing.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Romans 16 before reading the devotional below.

We finish Romans today, reading this final chapter in which Paul greets and thanks many people who have worked alongside him and supported his ministry. As I read the first two verses, I just want to pause and celebrate that Paul first mentions a female church leader, Phoebe. Not all churches allow women to be deacons, and some even use portions of Paul’s other writings to validate that view. But here is Paul, calling this woman deacon someone worthy of honor and respect. We can’t stop there though, because Paul keeps going to mention a total of seven women plus other “sisters.” He mentions a lot of men too, and that’s the point. Men and women are supposed to be interchangeably mentioned when it comes to doing what God has called us all to do.

Overall, Paul’s letter is making one key point: Jesus is for everyone. Jews. Gentiles. Men. Women. Doesn’t matter. Jesus is for you and God can use you for any purpose he chooses. Paul reiterates this in his letter to the Galatians as well. As they say (in The Princess Bride), “anyone who says otherwise is selling something.” Paul warns the Romans to watch out for people whose teaching disagrees with what God has inspired him to write.

Here’s your freedom for today: God can call you for any purpose. He can call you to be a leader. He can call you to be a servant. He can call you to be a martyr and put you in chains for the Gospel. No matter who you are, God can use you. He will call you and put you to work for his kingdom, and he’ll let you go as far as your “yes” will take you. Just keep saying yes to his leading and no matter who you are you will end up having influence of supernatural proportion. Eternity is the limit!