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 Proverbs 14--Verse 4Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.I’ve mucked out stalls before. It stinks. It’s hard work. But can I tell you, the fresh butter you make from the cream you skimmed off the milk that you got from the cow – is like a bit of heaven in your mouth.There are often aspects of life we’d rather not deal...  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 Psalm 119—Verse 18Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things out of your law.Do you know why Psalm 119 is so long? Because it’s an acrostic. Each stanza starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The ESV bible, at least, has each stanza labeled by the appropriate letter, starting with “Aleph” and ending with “Taw”. And much of the theme throughout this beaut...  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