Chapter 1
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:19-21 – The first few chapters of Romans was written to help the reader understand their situation with sin. As with this passage we see that God made Himself and His life known to mankind, but we chose to chase after something else. I know that was every person’s story, including those who now follow Jesus, but if you have chosen to place your faith in Jesus don’t let that be your story any longer. God has made Himself known to you, don’t set all that aside to simply pursue selfish desires. God deserves better than that and you need better than that. How then does your pursuit in life need redirecting? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1049
Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Romans 1:32 – Paul had just gone through a list of different sins that often are what people pursue when God allows man to chase after his sinful desires. We see things like envy, slander, murder, homosexuality, gossip, and even disobedience to parents. Sinful deeds and ways of living that are contrary to God’s desires but fully within the desires of sin. What’s even crazier is how the verse ends. They themselves do these sins, but they also become cheerleaders of those who commit such acts. Applauding the choice when someone tears down another individual and celebrating the killing of a person. This is our world without God. While is tempting to sit here and look down upon the lost world for their vileness, as we enter into chapter two and three of Romans, we are reminded of a humbling truth. We too were once sinners, caught up in the same trap of sin like everyone else. And it wasn’t out efforts or goodness that changed our story, no, if it was on us, we’d still be in the sinful behaviors of our past. It’s only by the grace and saving of Jesus that our story isn’t like that anymore. So yes, let’s not downplay the serious of people’s sin and let’s not grow numb to the vileness that is the sin in our world. Let us though not find ourselves in a position of pride over the lost of the world because we’ve been rescued and they haven’t yet. Our role is now to be throwers of the life preserver of the Gospel not throwers of shade and shame. How then can you today embrace the freedom from sin you have because of Jesus by sharing the means of freedom with someone else? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2410
Chapter 2
He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. Romans 2:6-8 – God gives to us what we choose. At least when it comes to our life after we die is what we see being taught here. God is laying out the choice for us. Choose Him and His way of life and we find eternal life in Him. Choose to disregard the truth and go our own way to find wrath and fury. We must understand this isn’t a threat from God to mankind, but a casting out to us of life preserver. Our sinfulness has led us to the wrath and fury and God is offering a way out of the punishment and a new way to live. As we seek to share this message with others, or accept it for ourselves, we must understand God is being gracious to us by offering this life preserver. He’s under no obligation to do this for us but is because He chooses to and because He loves us. God’s desire here is not to condemn you, it’s to save you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1050
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Romans 2:4 – Why should I change my ways if I know God is loving and will forgive me? At the root, this is the questions being proposed with this verse. We have individuals who acknowledge God is kind, gracious, and patient towards them. They then rest on such attributes of God when it comes to the sin in their story. God is so kind to me, He doesn’t want me to change from doing things I enjoy. God is so patient, He’ll understand if I continue in this sin a little longer. Scripture isn’t disagreeing with the truth that God is kind, gracious, and patient with us in our sin, but scripture is reminding us why we have such things from the Lord in our story. This grace and kindness is in our lives from God to point us towards God. To point us towards a life change from following sin to following Jesus. Instead of God’s wrath destroying us the moment we sin, we have God’s grace, kindness, and patience in our story to guide us to repentance. If then you have seen in your story the patience of God towards your sinfulness and you have felt the kindness of God even when your actions shouldn’t have earned you kindness from God, know why you have been shown such patient and kindness. To lead you to repentance. God desires all people to be following Him and His ways. He’ll give grace upon grace to us, but His heart is still all people following Him, not sin. Since we all have tasted God’s kindness, grace, and patience, let’s all take a step towards a faithful pursuit of Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2411
Chapter 3
Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. Romans 3:31 – We receive God’s grace and salvation through faith in Jesus, not by a strict obedience to the law. It can then be easy to think the law has no value in this new life we have with God, but as scripture clearly lays out it does. God’s commands He gave us through scripture need to play key roles in our daily life. They allow us to known how to honor Him with our life. They allow us to understand what is acceptable in God’s eyes and what isn’t. The commands show us how we can find intimacy with our Savior. They also help us share the truth of the Gospel to those who need to hear it. So while yes, we are saved through faith, the commands of God can’t be something we just set aside. They help us know how to exist in an honoring way with our Heavenly Father and help us share the message of life with others. Be careful then to avoid a mindset that as a Christian you don’t need to care about the laws and commands of God because you have Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1051
But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just. Romans 3:7-8 – A unique charge is coming again Paul. Some are claiming that he is teaching people to continue to remain in their sin because our sinfulness reveals just how sinless and perfect our God is. That, in a strange way, we shouldn’t be condemned and punished for our sin because a result of our sin is God’s glory and the world is able to see just how perfect our God is. Paul quickly shuts down this claim of false teaching. It though is a solid question…if my sinning does show just how powerful and perfect God is, why should I stop sinning? Shouldn’t I just kept sinning and God keep forgiving so the world can see just how able our God is to save? Paul himself even asked this question in chapter six. (Romans 6:1-2 – What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?) We who are followers of Jesus must remember what sin is and what our relationship to sin is now because of Jesus. Sin is what disconnected us from God in the first place and we are dead to sin now because of Jesus. A following of Jesus while remaining in our sin is like a person sleeping every night by a corpse. Our connection and relationship to sin is dead, and while God’s glory is revealed through His ability to save us from our sin, how much more will His glory be displayed by His followers remaining free from sin and proclaiming His goodness all their days! If then you are a follower of Jesus, sinning is going to happen, but it shouldn’t be our story anymore. Take steps today to cut out any strongholds sin still has so we can faithfully walk after the Lord. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2412
Chapter 4
No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Romans 4:20-21 – Hope and hopelessness will agree on the presence of a problem but will disagree on tomorrow’s potential. That’s what a note next to these verses says in my Bible. We go through very difficult things in life and our enemy will use those things to dishearten us in our walk with God. What we see being spoken about Abraham was that he didn’t let the troubled seasons change how he trusted in God’s ability to take care of things. Know God is able to do what He has promised you He would do. Maybe we don’t have the steadfastness in that belief that Abraham had, but we can begin to lean into that direction. Whatever it is you’re trusting God for trust Him today with it. Let it be more that just words that you trust Him but actually trust Him and let Him have control of it. God’s always good for the promises He makes. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1052
In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. Romans 4:18-19 – That first phrase really stands out doesn’t it…in hope he believed against hope. What it means is that even though everything looked hopeless, he still had hope. For from a physical perspective, Abraham and Sarah having a child looked hopeless. Everything was pointing to the reality that this wasn’t going to happen, but Abraham, despite the hopelessness of the situation, believed God to be true and they had their child of promise. Where are you at right now when it comes to your hope in God? Maybe you are in a season of holding your child of promise and your hope is settled and founded in God. Maybe you are still in the longing season, looking for the seemingly impossible outcome that you desire from the Lord. If that’s where you are today, I encourage you to hope against all hope. Yes, things right now don’t look like it could come together in any shape that is healthy and good, and from a solely physical standpoint that is true. But we don’t serve a God that’s limited to a solely physical reality. Our God is in all, over all, and can make the impossible happen. Our God can bring life to where there is only death. He can make seas part and mountains crumble. He can make the sun stand still in the sky to prolong the day for His purposes. Whatever promise from God you are hoping for from the Lord, don’t lose hope just because the situation seems hopeless. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2413
Chapter 5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 – Honestly just starting off reading this chapter with a verse like that set the tone for a great devotional time. How amazing is a truth like this! We have peace with God. That the God who creates all things looks at us and doesn’t see our sin anymore but sees us as beloved children who He has found perfect peace with. All that came to us through Jesus. Not because you gave at church last week or because you let go of that sin finally. It’s because of Jesus we have this peace. If then you have this peace with God in your life because you’ve been saved by Jesus, try to actually live in peace today. Know that God isn’t disappointed, upset, frustrated, or angry with you. He’s at peace with you. Let that peacefulness you have with Him change how you approach Him today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1053
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20-21 – The comparison game is strong in this chapter. What are we seeing compared? The power of sin and death and the power of God and His grace. What’s the outcome? God and His grace wins every time. We learn how sin came into our world through Adam’s sin and sin began to reign in our story as a result. Death had overtaken humanity and as a result of the law being given, we now had knowledge of our transgressions against the law making it evident to us the hopelessness of our situation. But God. Before we even knew we needed a Savior, God brought to us the Savior we needed. Yes, sin has power, but Jesus has more. Yes death reigned, but Jesus was able to break it’s reign and take over instead. While our sin became more and more known to us, God’s grace showed up every time to reveal God was powerful enough to save us still. When we pause to think about where we would be without God’s law, grace, and love, hopefully that moves us to a posture of thankfulness to God. Yes sin and death have power and even had power over us, but God has made it clear sin can’t remain in His presence and death can’t reign when He’s on the throne. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2414
Chapter 6
For one who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:7 – This chapter helps us see the choice we have in life. The choice of who is going to be our master, sin or God. What’s so amazing is that now through Jesus we can have this choice and we don’t have to be slaves to sin any longer. It’s a choice though, and you have to make that choice. You can choose today to continue letting sin lead you. Letting it tell you how to think, feel, react, dream, and relate. That choice to let sin lead looks like any other choice that’s not choosing to lean fully into Jesus today. Either lean fully into the path laid out for you by Jesus or sin’s path. I urge you choose the path that leads to joy and life. That path is available, take it. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1054
I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. Romans 6:19 – Paul understood that the term “slave” was a loaded term, even in the day he wrote this letter, but in human language that was the best way to describe the concept Paul was teaching. Paul implies a look back for them at how they once served sinfulness. To remember how they gave themselves willing and consistently over to sinful things. It was on their minds, it was in their plans, it was what their life revolved around. Sin, impurity, and lawlessness led to more of the same being created and was what their hearts were after as “slaves” to unrighteousness. Now though, as followers of God, “slaves” to a new master, we are to give ourselves to this new master like we did with our old one. We are to have God’s righteous work on our mind, our plans should be about God and His glory, and our life should revolve around our new master. Allegiance needs to shift because ownership has shifted. We are no longer slaves to sin and the enemy, we have been redeemed by Jesus. Under this new lordship, has our actions began to agree with this new allegiance? Meaning has what we are giving ourselves to changed or are we still giving ourselves to sin like we used to? As now followers of Jesus, we are called to make our lives about Jesus like we used to make our lives about our sin. As passionate about sin as we were, that’s how passionate for God we are called to be. Let’s give Jesus the sort of devotion He deserves from our story. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2415
Chapter 7
I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. Romans 7:9- It’s like seeing yourself in a mirror and noticing your hair is going crazy. After looking in the mirror you are aware of the messy hair and know something needs to be done to fix it. But did you have messy hair before looking in the mirror? Of course, it wasn’t like you had the perfect do yet the second you looked in the mirror it became messy. So is it with us, sin, and the law. The law is the mirror that helps us realize the sin in our life. It can’t do anything to fix our sin as the mirror can’t fix our messy hair, it can sure though help us see what needs to be done. Sin is a nasty part of everyone’s story that’s keeping us from our Savior. We need the truth of God’s law to reveal our need for Him otherwise we’ll be walking throughout life blind to our sin as someone who has messy hair walks confidently because they haven’t looked in a mirror yet. Listen then to God’s law and share it, not because it can save anyone, but if someone doesn’t yet realize they are lost why would they look for rescue? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1055
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. Romans 7:24-25 – Paul is seeing in himself a constant and real battle. A battle between his desire to follow God and do what is right, but his actions still of turning to sin. While he wants to do what is good he continues to find himself doing what is wrong. In his distress he cries for help and reminds himself that he has the Lord with him to save. Paul here brings up important pieces for us to understand. For a non-Christian, the only way to be saved from our sin is through Jesus. And for a Christian, the only way to live holy for the Lord is through Jesus. As a follower of Jesus, I can’t live perfectly, doing the will of God, living a sin-free life on my own. I don’t possess the power to say no to sin on my own. Yet, with the Spirit of the Lord within me, I can say no to the things I couldn’t say no to before. Jesus is our power and strength against sin and the enemy. As Paul said, thanks be to God that we have this help in Jesus Christ! So know today if we aren’t leaning on the help of Jesus, not using His strength, our battle against sin will not end well. We will continue to stumble and continue to fall prey to the temptations. Yet with Jesus we can find victory over sin once and for all. Lean into His help that He is offering you today. Sin doesn’t have to find victory in your story anymore now that you have Jesus with you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2416
Chapter 8
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 – We need to remember who we are and what we are in Christ. This chapter is filled with such reminders for those who follow Christ. It says we are alive in Christ. It says we are free from sin. It says we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. We are children of God. We are conquerors through Jesus. One of the most defeating things for a Christian is when they forget who they are in Christ. Our enemy knows that and will seek out to label you the opposite of all these things. His goal is to convince you of his false labels. That’s not who you are though. Listen to your Heavenly Father who knows you and saved you. You are what He says you are. Listen to, lean in, and live by what He says you are. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1056
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 – We are back at it again with youth camp and last night was night one. I was in a room with over 400 students praising Jesus and learning about His word. Yet do you know what I also am aware is happening at camp this week in the midst of God powerfully moving? An enemy seeking to shut down all the wonderful things God is shaping to do this week. While our enemy is smart, sneaky, and practiced at is work, I have confidence in what this scripture speaks. If my God is with me and if His Spirit is within me and if my God is for me, what do I have to be afraid of! Sure the enemy is going try his best to ruin what’s happening here, but I know my God is going to protect and save. Thanks be to God that we serve a Lord that is present in our lives and powerful to save from our enemies. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2417
Chapter 9
What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. Romans 9:14-15 – We must understand it’s God’s choice who gets a chance at His love and grace. At first that sounds unfair, but try to understand what this is saying. As with the readers of this letter, it’s wasn’t just the Jews that got a chance at God’s salvation but now also the Gentiles. God got to say who had the chance, not men. With us today, those who you may not think should have the choice of salvation get it still because God chooses who can choose Him, not you. God gets the final call on who gets the chance at life with Him and who doesn’t. While some will stay the course that their hard hearts are leading them down, God’s grace is for all who are willing to accept it. Who is someone that God is offering His salvation to that maybe you wouldn’t have been so quick to offer it to? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1057
So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. Romans 9:16 -In our chapter, Paul’s heart is heavy for the nation of Israel and their rejection of Jesus as their Messiah. We see Paul share how in God’s showing of mercy to those He does is not something unfair or unjust. God’s mercy isn’t given only to those of a certain family tree or those who have followed a certain set of traditions. God isn’t obligated in anyway to grant His mercy, love, salvation, or life to anyone. Yet what we see in our story is such things being offered to all people. God’s mercy is given to us freely by His choice alone. Let’s be so grateful that our God doesn’t treat us as we deserve nor bases our life with Him on our works. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2418
Chapter 10
Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” Romans 10:20 – God is now showing Himself to all, even those who didn’t search out for Him and ask about Him. What we need to understand is the importance of us in this process. What did the verses say prior to this? “How are they to hear without someone preaching?” God has opened the doors for all to come to Him, but for those not searching for God they need someone to step into their story telling them about Him. That’s where the Christian finds their purpose in life. To tell those not seeking God right now about how He is seeking them. The door is open for them, how can you today get their attention to that open door to God and help them see what’s waiting for them on the other side? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1058
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans10:14-15 – This is the morning of day four of middle school camp. Something I’m so grateful for is all the volunteer leaders who signed up to help this year with camps. When it speaks of the feet carrying the good news, this is them. For Paul, his heart was breaking for the Jewish people who wouldn’t accept Jesus. For me right now it’s these students who need to accept Jesus. These leaders then are seeing the lack of hearing the message of Jesus within these students and stepping up to the plate. Maybe you’re not able to be here with us at camp, but who right now is your heart breaking for to know Jesus? Now what is one step you can take in helping them know the message of Jesus? If you have been preached the good news and you’ve made the choice to be a follower of Jesus, you’re next step needs to be in a direction of helping someone else come to know Jesus like you know Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2419
Chapter 11
For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. Romans 11:21-22 – Take seriously this gift of life we are being given by God. We must remember it’s only due to His kindness that we are even having a chance at life with God. God takes seriously the sin in our story and the consequences it brings. He though is offering His kindness to us and through it life with Him. Treat sin then seriously as well and don’t treat this life we have with God as something you’re owed. Don’t take this passage as telling you that you could lose God’s kindness and as a result the life you have with Him. It’s saying that we need to realize it’s only because of this kindness we have this life. Let us not go through life thinking we have life with God apart from God’s kindness. Only through Him can we find life. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1059
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29 – As we read over these passages we see God has been in the works to not just bring the Jewish people to Himself nor just the Gentiles. God’s heart is to bring all people to Himself through His love, grace, and mercy. What is beautiful is that while this is God’s desire, it’s also been a part of the promises He has made to all His people. The Jews and the Gentiles had God’s promise through scripture and they knew how certain God’s word is. For us today, we too can know that the word of the Lord can’t be changed. That means the promises He has made to us in scripture are sure things we can bank our life on. If the gifts, call, and promises of God are things that can’t be taken back and taken from us, let’s live as a follower of Jesus that believes such promises of scripture are at play in our life. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2420
Chapter 12
Let love be genuine. Romans 12:9a – Authentic, real, undisputed, unadulterated, true. These are just a few of the words that describe “genuine” and as a result describe our love. Our mission is to love God and love people so grasping what love should look like and living that out is more than just important. We need to be checking the way we love and the way we express that love to make sure it’s genuine. Is it real or are we just playing pretend? Do we say we love someone but they question if we really do because of the way we talk and live. Is our love tainted with things like selfishness or greed? Is it genuine? Study the sort of love Jesus had and expressed for the prime example of what our love should look like. If our love we show wouldn’t be a type of love Jesus would have shown, we shouldn’t show it either. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1060
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 – Take a moment to reread this chapter, for if as believers we took hold of even just what was held within these 21 verses, our witness would skyrocket. God is calling us to lives holy before Him, set apart from the ways of the world, sacrificing the old ways of our life to live in a new, acceptable ways before Him. What does that look like? What does this chapter say it looks like? Using our God-given gifts for one another and Him. To genuinely love another. To deeply show honor to each other. Constantly be in prayer and patient on the Lord in times of trouble. Give to those who need it and welcome those who need it. Even to those who come against you, choose to bless them. Choose to live at peace with everyone. Brothers and sisters, can you see how powerful such a witness would be even to those who curse the name of Jesus? Examine then the current witness your life is giving compared to the ways scripture is calling believers to live within this lost world. Let the love of Christ transform your life into something new. While evil is seeking to overcome even those who follow Jesus, reject it with good and live a life of holiness that is not only pleasing to our Savior, but opens the eyes of those who currently don’t follow Jesus to His goodness. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2421
Chapter 13
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:12 – The time is now to set aside the sin and live for Jesus. God understands the temptation and struggle Christians have with the sin in their story, but God is also telling us it’s time to stop playing around with the sin we keep entertaining. What’s that for you? What needs to be cast off so you can put on the things God wants you to put on? Don’t expect God to use you like He could if you refuse to let go of a sin in your life. God’s moving and He wants you to move with Him. Cast off that sin, the time has come for it to no longer be played with anymore. Begin leaving it in God’s hand, take His strength to resist the temptations, and begin replacing that void with things that are holy. It’s time for a change. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1061
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13:14 – Logos not sarx. Last week at middle school camp we learned like we did with high school camp that Jesus is the logos. Logos is the biblical Greek term for “word.” That Jesus is the word and was the word, like we learn in John 1:1. Sarx is the biblical Greek term used in our passage for “flesh.” Our role as a follower of Jesus is to embrace and put on our lives the logos, not the sarx. We are to take on the teaching of Jesus and take on the challenge to follow the example He set out for us. The sarx, the sinful things of the flesh, the things that before we knew Jesus we lived in and the things that even as a follower of Jesus we have struggled with, we are to cast far aside. We are to make no provision for the flesh, for the sarx. When you plan your calendar there will simply be no time for the flesh and when the temptations to sin come, you make no effort to satisfy those temptations with sin. That sounds great, but we all know the struggle with sin and the flesh is so much easier said than done…so how do we accomplish such a task? Jesus. As we have learned in Romans, without Him we can’t say no and we can’t live sin free, but with Jesus we can find victory. So put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Take in His word, take time to spend with Him in prayer, and seek to follow the example of love He set for us. No longer saying yes to the sin in our story is possible, but only with Jesus. Thankfully, He is right here and He’s not going away. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2422
Chapter 14
Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. Romans 14:18 – If their lifestyle and way they choose to serve and honor God is simply just different than yours never judge them and condemn them for that. Of course if it’s sinful then we need to tell them, but make sure it’s sinful to God and not just according to you. Like we need to understand if someone chooses to serve God by wearing a suit and tie they are approved by God. So is though the guy wearing the ripped jeans, Jordans, and hoodie that’s faithfully serving God. Or the ones who uses KJV versus NLT translations in their faithful service to God, they too are accepted by God. Even the people who go to mega churches and those who go to small rural churches, if they are serving God faithfully He accepts them. We must stop putting up dividers between and stumbling blocks in front of the people who simply serve God differently than us. It may look, sound, feel, and relate differently, but if it’s faithfully obeying the mission it’s all good with God. Let it be good with us then too. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1062
Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. Romans 14:13 – This chapter is Paul focusing in on the judgement that believers often carry on other believers. Where one follower of Jesus sees something one way, and another a different way, and as a result there is judgement, division, and sometimes even hatred for each other. God’s heart would be that this not be the case. The minor differences in what we say is ok to eat, drink, wear, or do shouldn’t be something that divides brothers and tears down the faith of others. Instead, we should have a heart to remove anything that could be a stumbling block for a brother of sister in Christ. In the freedom that I have in Christ, I can choose to not partake or not behave in certain ways for I know it will help my brother. This is the heart behind the freedom Christ gives us. Not to use it for sin, but to use it for helping others grow in their faith. If then something you are doing is acceptable to God, but your brother isn’t yet grown in his faith yet to fully understand that truth or you know this would cause him to stumble seeing you do such a thing, choose to use the freedom you have in Christ to walk in love and not trip up your brother. Ask, “Will this cause my brother or sister in Christ to be stronger in their walk or weaken it?” If stronger, go for it, yet if it will cause your brother’s faith to weaken then be the loving brother and choose to not do whatever that may be. This is not taking away your freedom in Christ, this is you using it to its fullest and loving your brother well all at the same time. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2423
Chapter 15
“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failing of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” (v.1-2) Rarely is our first reaction to use the strength we have for someone other than ourselves. Our gifts, our talents, our resources, our stories; our worldly, sin nature wants to latch onto these things and use them only for our personal growth and edification. But Christ is offering to us a new way to use the “strength” that we have been blessed with. To not tailor the using of strength to build our own selves up, but to use it to encourage the strengthening of those not as strong as us. Why would God desires us, even command us, to use the strength He gave us for someone other than ourselves? Because we are a body. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoices together” (1 Corinthians 12:26). We are one – strong and weak. When we who are strong use our strength only for our own growth, truly we are hurting ourselves because part of our body is getting weaker because we never stepped up to strengthen them. End the selfishness and pour into your brother and sister. Step out of the isolation of selfishness where you only care about your own growth. You are destroying yourself and those who need you. When we break the shell of selfishness and begin bearing the failing of those weaker than us, together we will grow into everything our God is calling us to be for Him. – Daily DEVO 1
For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. Romans 15:27 – The lesson for us simply is that if we take part in the spiritual blessing that God gives us, this eternal life through Jesus, we need to be willing to give back of us what God asks of us. For the gentiles at the time it was material offerings to aid other churches in other regions. For us, what could God ask us to give to Him? We could fill out a list of things here, but you can do that yourself. We just need to acknowledge that whatever is on that list if God asks for it we need to be willing to give it to Him. This is not a take all that God gives yet be willing to give nothing back to Him type of relationship we’re in. God gave all, we give all, that’s our relationship model. What is your’s then that needs to be God’s? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1063
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Romans 15:1 – Paul is continuing his conversation that he had in chapter 14 about the freedom believers have in Christ concerning things that used to be prohibited by the law. Things like eating certain foods or drinking certain drinks. Paul is then considering those who haven’t fully understood and embraced the freedom that comes through Jesus as “weak” in the faith and those who have grasp the freedom they have in Christ from the such restrictions as “strong.” Nevertheless, those who are strong in this way ought to not make life about pleasing themselves. Our lives aren’t about embracing as much pleasure as we can in this freedom we now have in Christ. Our lives are to be used to help those weaker in the faith become strong. If that means setting aside certain things that bring us pleasure in order to walk with, support, and strengthen those weaker in the faith, we have such freedom in Christ to do so. As with yesterday’s devotion, our freedom in Christ is to be used to help others find such freedom. Life isn’t about food or drink or clothes, it’s about God’s kingdom being lifted up and filled. If then you are strong in your walk with the Lord, focus in on the believers who aren’t as strong yet and discover how you can help build up their faith life. Also focus in on those who have never heard the word like we see Paul reference in verse 21. A life in Christ is a life about Christ, not us. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2424
Chapter 16
“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.” (v.17-18) This better not be you. As a follower of Christ, you are called to encourage and build the unity of your fellow followers of Christ. When you are together with them, your presence needs to take part in the unification process of the family of followers. Yet is it? Are you aware of how your words encourage/discourage our fellow followers? Do you strive to use your gifts to better the church or does that never even come into your train of thinking? Do you only use the church leadership to build you up or do you take time to find ways to build them up as well? What’s your purpose for being at your church? Is it truly to create health in the family and grow together in Christ or is it some other reason? How you respond to these questions is going to be a good indicator to see if your presence in your church family is a unifying or divisive one. I encourage you to strive to be a “unifier”. Why? If you’re not, God is telling you that those who aren’t, are not serving Him. As a fellow follower, my hope is that you desire to serve God. Begin today by checking yourself; is your presence helping the body grow or is your presence actually holding the church back from being what God is calling it to be. – Daily DEVO 2
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Romans 16:3-4 – Be willing to speak favorably of someone else. Be willing though to speak favorably even when it doesn’t earn you anything in return. Paul is praising the work of these two and encouraging the church at Rome to greet them well knowing that for him it’s not getting him anything in return. How could you today use your words to uplift someone else without considering how it benefits you? Maybe it’s sending an encouraging message anonymously to someone or speaking favorably of someone when they aren’t even around to hear it. Let’s create a habit of uplifting others for their good and not just our own. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1064
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. Romans 16:16-17 – Paul spends a large portion of our chapter sending greetings and love to different individuals. To people like Junia or Ampliatus or Hermas, people we don’t know much or anything about, but were impactful in Paul’s life. We see a loving and caring way to handle the relationships within the body, to greet and bring close those who follow Jesus with us. Paul then takes a hard turn in verse 17. Now it’s a warning, a warning against the people whose heart isn’t closeness of the body of believers, but division instead. We are to be watchful for such individuals because their desires is to separate what God has designed to be together and they will even create obstacles to encourage such division. Clearly then in the church body we see two very different ways we can live with our brothers and sisters. We can live pursuing unity or live pursuing disunity. Choose unity. With how you speak of other church members and what’s happening at your church, choose to pursue unity. With how you treat other believers and how you witness in front of the lost, choose to pursue unity. If as you read this you are finding yourself more on the side of the ones creating division, today is a perfect day to change that. This summer has been a lesson for me on the value and importance of church family. Be someone who encourages the growth of what’s happening at your church, not one who’s known for tearing down. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2425
Daily DEVO 