Remnant: A Daily Verse-by-Verse Devotional

Paul starts in on personal greetings to begin chapter 16. We talk about why Paul extends personal greetings, the importance of connectedness between each other and our churches, and how Paul describes Phoebe in a great way.

Paul prays for peace over the church in Rome. Jesus often ended his interactions with people he'd saved with the same prayer for peace. We explore why.

Paul gives the church in Rome his desired outcome of their joint prayers: that he will arrive in Rome with joy, and that he will be refreshed in their company.

Paul now tells the church in Rome what exactly he wants them to join him in praying for: deliverance from harm and that the poor in Jerusalem will accept the Gentile churches' contribution.

Paul asks the church in Rome to intercede in prayer for him. We tell some stories of intercessory prayer.

Paul now tells the church in Rome how he's going to come to them: full of the blessing of Christ. We talk about fullness.

Paul returns to a reason for writing this letter: he's coming to Spain. Only we know that Paul's plans won't turn out that way, exactly. We talk about our plans and God's plans.

Paul explains why these Gentile churches were so happy to give to people they'd never meet: it blessed those churches to give. We dig into how and why those who give are blessed.

Paul explains that churches from two regions have contributed to the need in Jerusalem. We talk more about giving.

Paul tells the church in Rome that he's going to visit them after he delivers aid to Jerusalem. We talk about giving.

Paul gets to his big action item: he's going to Spain, and he wants the church in Rome to help. We talk about why Paul was going to Spain and how we can identify the Spains in our own lives.

Paul starts a sentence that explains why he's finally going to visit the church in Rome: (1) he wants to, and (2) he's finished his job in the region in which he'd been planting churches. We talk about how we're to do the same.

Paul explains that his ministry is the reason that he'd never visited the church in Rome before. We talk about how God's plans don't always line up with our plans.

Paul quotes Isaiah 52:15 from Isaiah's final servant song to explain that God's plan is for those who have never heard of Him will see. We talk about how God's plan comes about through us.

Paul talks about the difference between ministering to those who have heard the name of Jesus before and those who have not. We talk about how ministering to those who have met Christians before have both advantages and challenges.

Paul continues explaining what God has done through Paul's obedience. We hit on the signs and wonders that accompanied Paul's ministry, and how Paul knows that he has fulfilled his ministry.

Paul makes clear that his boldness and boasting in Jesus in no way extends to boldness or boasting in anyone but Jesus. Paul's success in ministry is through his obedience in word and deed. Period. We talk about Paul's obedience and how we each have that same capacity for obedience.

Paul boasts in verse 17. It's good boasting. We explore the difference between good boasting (boasting about God's work through us) and bad boasting (all other boasting, really).

Paul recognizes that he's offering something to God--the Gentiles--and his job is to ensure that the Gentiles' faith is acceptable to God. We talk about our offerings.

Paul acknowledges to the church in Rome that his letter is quite bold, considering that he's never met the people he's writing to. We talk about how important boldness is and why Paul felt called to be bold in his letter to the Roman church.

Paul kicks off a new section by congratulating the church in Rome on their ability to instruct each other. We talk about what it means to instruct, or admonish, each other in love.

Paul finishes this section with a prayer for the church in Rome: that they will be filled with joy and peace by believing in God, and that their belief will result in so much hope that it overflows.

Paul finishes his old testament quotations with Isaiah 11. We dig into the promises God made through Isaiah and how God kept those promises and continues to keep those promises.

Paul cites Psalm 117 to show that God's plan has been for all to praise Him. We talk about similar scripture from Revelation 7, and what it means for us today.

Paul quotes Deuteronomy to show another fulfilled promise: that the Gentiles will join with Israel to rejoice. We talk about how Jesus brought about that promise.