- Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Romans 16:7 – At the end of his letter of Romans, as he does for many of his letters, Paul shares some personal notes to be sent to the church regarding his faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. In our verse Paul speaks about two followers of Christ, Andronicus and Junia, who apparently were in prison alongside him for their zeal for the Gospel. These two had been following Jesus before Paul ever became the missionary he was, and they were the type of disciples that even the Apostles knew about showing they were the real deal for Jesus. What does such a verse teach us though today? I believe it’s a warning and an encouragement. Warning in that it reminds us that living boldly for Jesus isn’t free. It isn’t free of troubles or sacrifices or pains. Your name might be well known in the church and you may have been following Jesus for years, but that doesn’t give you immunity from the enemy. In fact it likely makes you more of a target if you leveraging all that for the Gospel. Yet this is also an encouragement for it reminds us of the church supporting us even in the “prison” seasons. When the enemy is attacking us hard and we are in places we never desired to be on account of the Gospel, we have church family praying for us. This is not a mission we are accomplishing alone and this is not a hardship we are to navigate alone. Serve then with boldness knowing that your boldness will be the invitation for attack, then continue to serve knowing that you have the church behind you in the bold serving and even with the attack that your serving invited over your life. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3439
- “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
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