Posts with the tag “romans”

Daily Devotional from Romans 16—Verses 19-20For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.Being wise to what is good and innocent to what is evil means we ought to know the way to act and be able to in...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 15--Verses 1-2We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.We all know people who drive us crazy with the choices they make. Often these people can be other believers, people who are part of our community. This is inevitable when living in commun...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 14--Verses 17-19For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.So many times, people get caught up in judging others and defending their own points of view, wi...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 13--Verse 8Owe no one anything, except to love each other. Try not to ever place yourself at the mercy of another. Be indebted to no man. Be free and unencumbered. This means endeavor to self-support. As a Christian, God would rather you be under no obligation, but one—and that’s to love one another. We are only beholden to love. Ideally, we are not to be on the tab fo...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 12--Verse 18If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. We are called to overcome evil with good, to love our enemies, and to take it a step further and even serve them. This is so counter-cultural—especially in our society’s polarized climate. We may not agree with how others choose to live their life or what opinions they hold—whether they are ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 11--Verses 3-4“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”Sometimes it feels like we are all alone but thank Jesus that we aren’t. We have the believers in our congregation and all over...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 10--Verse 1 (CSB)Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.Has there ever been someone you really hoped got what was coming to them? I think we all have. When we are working through our negative feelings toward someone, this verse really cuts right to the heart. Paul was severely persecuted by Jewish leaders that d...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 6--Verses 6b-8For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”I saw on the news this morning, a woman...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 8--Verse 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.Another way of interpreting flesh is simply human effort. Sometimes we get immersed in effort – our efforts and the efforts of others. And when we get inundated in all that, pretty soon we can begin to detect an odor of death. Everything just becomes lifeless. But, good...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 7--Verse 15For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.We all do the wrong thing. We all sin. We all make mistakes. It’s our struggle between our flesh and our born-again selves. Even Paul had this struggle—and he openly admits it in his writings. He thanks Jesus in verse 25 for being the one who will deliver us f...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 6--Verse 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.Typically being a slave to anything is very negative, but being a slave to God is an honor! We are willing slaves. We actually want to obey God’s every command. When sin had us, it was horrible and we were bound and ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 5--Verse 6For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.Have you ever felt ungodly? Like, nothing you do is good enough for God? Maybe you feel as if there was no way that God could ever be pleased with you or that maybe you’ve been a disappointment one too many times?Paul is making a bold statement here. Those whom Jesus died for are...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 4--Verses 3-5For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.As Christians, our salvation is provided by God as a free gif...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 3--Verse 20By works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight.Have you ever felt like you needed to curry the favor of a hard-to-please boss? Or ingratiate yourself to the society of important people? You finally feel you’ve have arrived, only to discover the standard keeps getting moved ahead. Your best efforts never seem good enough. And, unfortunately...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 2--Verse 1Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. It’s easy to pass judgment, but it’s hard to give grace. I think we’ve all judged somebody—it feeds into a feeling of superiority, that we somehow are the moral officers—that we someh...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Romans 1--Verses 11 and 12For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. This is what I love about the Church: every one of us has something to give, we all bring something to the table. Paul was a very devoted man but he didn’t see himself above his...  Read More

Romans 16:19I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. Innocent is typically not a way we like to be described. It suggests we are inexperienced and/or naïve. However, in this case, that is the description of a blessed life. Paul commences this great letter with a clear instruction to the saints: be innocent. In other words, be unaware, uncouth, and uncultured concer...  Read More

Romans 15:13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Would you like to have joy and peace? Then verse 13 says go after hope. And if you go after hope, then you know you have to go after God, because He is the God of hope. Now why should God be called a God of hope? Well, hope is a predisposition of a brighter ...  Read More

Romans 14:3Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgement on the one who eats. Should Christians read Harry Potter? Should they listen to secular music? Should they watch movies that condone cursing and violence? Is it advisable to smoke or drink? Should they get tattoos? Do yoga? Recognize Halloween? Should they invest time in video games? I...  Read More

Romans 13:8Owe no one anything, except to love each other. Don’t place yourself at the mercy of another. Be indebted to no man. Be free and unencumbered. This means strive to self-support. As a Christian, God would rather you be under no obligation but one—and that’s to love one another. We are all beholden to love. Ideally, we are not to be on the tab for anything else. No pacts, no bonds. No con...  Read More

Romans 12:10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. We live in such a competitive society that constantly seeks to outdo one another. Well, here’s one thing to outdo others in—showing honor. If someone pays you a compliment, do her one better and give her a referral. If someone shows you a kindness, up the ante and send him a gift. And if someone disrespects ...  Read More

Romans 11:33Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!Paul has been sharing some very deep thoughts and complex theology in this book! He’s trying to explain the mind of God, which is so very far above our heads. I am humbled when I realize how narrow my focus can get sometimes, and then the Holy Spirit helps me bac...  Read More

Romans 10:2For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.Paul is talking about his Jewish brothers & sisters – they were ALL ABOUT following the Rules of Righteousness, trying to earn favor with God – but they didn’t understand that ultimately, God does not want our self-sacrifices. We don’t get to heaven just by following all the rules or being a ‘good pers...  Read More

Romans 9:18So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.If God chooses to have mercy on one person but not another, what then is the point of praying for God to save certain people? What’s the point of trying to raise our children “in the way they should go”? What’s the point of telling people about Jesus? It may seem like there is no point, no hope, if we have no as...  Read More

Romans 8:1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.Condemnation = punishment. If you are abiding in Jesus and He in you, you no longer face eternal punishment. Conviction = declaration of guilt. We do all still face conviction because we are all still guilty. Guilty of missing the mark of God’s perfect will for our life, whether that be by walking in pride, anger, b...  Read More

Romans 7:6We serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. Does transformation happen from the outside in? Or from the inside out? Instinctively, we all know it’s the latter, yet we act as if it’s the former. Written codes, company policy, performance reviews, accountability partners, internet filters, radar speed guns, legislative acts, you name it—these are all g...  Read More

Romans 6:23The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Have you ever received an overdraft notice? How about an eviction? A foreclosure? A criminal sentence? Actually, you’ve experienced something much worse. The eternal gavel has been struck. Your doom has been sealed. Your sentence is death. And the guards come to take you away. Yet they seize an...  Read More

Romans 5:8God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Sometimes we feel like we need to clean up our act, or clean up our mouth, or clean up our thoughts, or, for crying out loud, clean up our house, to even be worthy of God’s notice. But true love is being seen at our worst and still being chosen. When God placed his seal of love upon you, it wasn’t when you...  Read More

Romans 4:20No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God. Wow. Abraham never wavered. Now this verse doesn’t claim he was without doubt. He had his doubts, to be sure (Genesis 15:2-3; 16:4; 17:17; 20:2)! But he clung to the promise of God, and it held. We all need to drop anchor in the Word of God. When the doubts come and the winds blow, we need something to stabilize us. This is where...  Read More

Romans 3:20By works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight. Have you ever felt like you needed to curry the favor of a hard to please boss? Or ingratiate yourself to the society of important people? You finally feel you may have arrived, only to discover the standard keeps getting moved ahead. Your best efforts never seem good enough. And, unfortunately, that’s been much of our e...  Read More

Romans 2:21You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? Integrity comes from the idea of being unified, being whole, being one. What I believe, say, think, and do are all the same. I’m not one person over here, and a different person over there. I’m consistent. That’s what it means to be a person of integrity. You hold yourself to the same standard you hold for others. It’s so easy to let...  Read More

Romans 1:11-12For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. Paul loved going to church. He longed to give and receive. He cherished the opportunity of a gathered assembly. He saw the potential at every hand’s turn. For the last 12 weeks our gatherings have been virtual. A...  Read More