Today’s Verse: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. ~Romans 8:29 Have you ever looked at an adult son standing next to his father and made the statement, “You look just like him”? What we mean by this statement is that the adult child bears the same resemblance to the parent. The word "conformed" in our devotion has that meaning: to look or behave just like Jesus. This m

Today’s Verse: Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. ~Romans 10:1 Have you ever been the recipient of a letter or electronic message that started off by telling you that this was an “urgent request”? Our devotion this morning centers on an urgent request of the Apostle Paul. He is bearing his heart to the believers at Rome about his concern for the spiritual condition of every Jew. His heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israe

Today’s Verse: For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. ~Romans 12:3 The greatest battle that most of us have is with our ego. We have a tendency to have a much higher opinion of ourselves than we should. A preacher was once gloating over how eloquent of a preacher he thought that he was. He asked h

Today’s Verse: First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. ~Romans 1:8 Major corporations are driven with the quest to become a household name. There are established consumer brands, such as Coca Cola and McDonald’s, which can be found in most countries of the world. Then, there are the technology giants, such as Apple, Google, and Facebook, whose products and services have affected most areas of life. All o

Today’s Verse: Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. ~Romans 15:13 As Alexander the Great was setting out on his conquest of Asia, he inquired into the finances of his followers. To ensure that they would not be troubled over the welfare of their dependents during their absence, he distributed crown estates and revenues among them. When he had thus disposed of nearly all the royal res

Today’s Verse: Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; ~Romans 12:11 Boiling hot is when the temperature of a fire or other type of heat causes water to attain boiling level. This typically is at 212°F or 100°C. This morning, we are looking at the word fervent or fervency. The Greek word that is translated as fervent means “boiling hot.” This is a good description of the disposition that every Christian should have for the Lord. We should be fervent in

Today’s Verse: Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. ~Romans 12:20 During the Bible times, almost everything was carried on the head: water jars, baskets of fruit or vegetables, or any other article. Those carrying the burden rarely touched it with their hands, and they walked through crowded streets and lanes with perfect ease. In many homes, the only fire that they kept was in a br

Today’s Verse: For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. ~Romans 12:3 Our devotion this morning is what I call food for thought. It is about a necessary characteristic of spiritual living that needs to be active all the time in us. Paul admonishes believers to think soberly. Let us see, this morning,

Today’s Verse: How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? ~Romans 10:14 The high priority of the gospel ministry is the preaching of the gospel. Preaching in a church is the center point for directing the congregation towards the worship of God. It has been said that “preaching is the engine that drives the church.” God’s great leaders have been prea

Today’s Verse: And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. ~Romans 16:20 Peace is a fruit of the Spirit. It is that inner tranquility for the believer that can be great and perfect. The possession of true peace surpasses all understanding. It is a tranquility that most people desire, but they fail to meet its conditions in order to possess it. This morning, let us see the importance of keeping the peac

Today’s Verse: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ~Romans 12:1 I am thankful for the gift of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul refers to the blessing of salvation as the mercies of God. We do not deserve salvation, the forgiveness of our sins, or the gift of eternal life. We must realize that God has more for us after we are saved. Ou

Today’s Verse: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ~Romans 8:1 In criminal law, a man found guilty of a crime must be punished. The severity of the crime dictates the severity of the punishment. A capital crime, such as a murder, places the guilty individual under the penalty of condemnation, which can be the death penalty. Being a condemned person is very serious and sad. However, if th

Today’s Verse: Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. ~Romans 10:1 The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The desires of our heart are the people or things we are most passionate about. They are what occupies our thoughts. It is that which we wish to impact through our efforts. Paul laid bare his heart to his friends at Rome in letting them know how much he loved the souls of the peo

Today’s Verse: Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. ~Romans 5:9 In our English vocabulary, the word “more” implies exceeding, expanded, extra, larger, increased, and over and above. We could use this word in phrases such as, “That’s more than I expected.” However, add the word "much," and we have "much more." Much more means far greater, exceeding abundantly, and super increased. Paul uses “much more” to describe the rich

Today’s Verse: And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; ~Romans 5:3 The word tribulation refers to pressure and trouble. It has the idea of very heavy weights being placed on the chest of someone who is lying down. The extreme of tribulations is what Paul called being pressed out of measure, above strength, and despairing of life. Our human nature is averse to pressures and trouble. However, without tribulation and pressur

Today’s Verse: Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, ~Romans 16:25 One of the many key words in the epistle to the Romans is the word "power." The Greek words used for power is dunamis and dunami. We get our word "dynamite" from these. Our limited and finite intelligence cannot really fathom and comprehend the greatness of G

Today’s Verse: Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; ~Romans 12:11 The word maximum means best, highest, or utmost. It is the upper limit or greatest amount of something. When applied to service, it implies the very best and second to none. Companies that are committed to customer service want their customers to experience superior service from start to finish. They want to be ahead of the competition and remembered for their excellence. When it comes

Today’s Verse: Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. ~Romans 15:13 What does the word “hope” bring to your mind? Everyone lives on hope. It is the anticipation that something that has not occurred will occur. Human hope has uncertainties in it. To be absolute about an anticipated event would remove the expectation of hope. We hope that something good will happen. However, spiritual ho

Today’s Verse: Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. ~Romans 13:1 One of our key Baptist tenets is the separation between the church and state. By this, the state is not to control the affairs of the church, and the church is not to unduly influence the state for reasons that are unbiblical. However, Christians are obligated to obey the laws of the land as good citizens. God refers to govern

Today’s Verse: For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. ~Romans 12:3 Our devotion this morning is what I call food for thought. It is about a necessary characteristic of spiritual living that needs to be active all the time in us. Paul admonishes believers to think soberly. Let us see this morning t