DailyPBJ Devotionals

Read Romans 4 . Romans 3, which we read yesterday, considered the central idea of Christianity--that reconciliation with God comes as a gift from God. It is not earned by those who work for it or deserved by living a righteous life. It is a gift received by faith when a person believes in the good news. If you’ve received the gift of salvation in Christ, God is just as much your God as he was the...

Read Romans 3 . Romans 3 is an essential passage for understanding God's saving grace to us in Christ. Verses 1-4 continue Paul's discussion from the latter half of Romans 2. There, Paul rebuked Jewish people who believed they were righteous and acceptable to God based on their outward acts of righteousness. Verses 5-8 contain Paul's anticipation and rebuttal of an objection that God is unjust for...

Read Romans 2 . At the end of chapter 1 we read, “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (v. 32). That verse concluded a lengthy description in chapter 1 about why God’s wrath and judgment is being revealed against human wickedness. Humanity rejected God, ther...

Today we begin reading the book of Romans, so read Romans 1 today. As we’ve read the book of Acts, we have stopped here and there to read Paul’s letters around the points chronologically where scholars think they were written. In other words, Acts 19 described Paul’s two year stay in Ephesus. After reading Acts 19, we stopped to read 1 & 2 Corinthians because there are good reasons to believe...

Back to Acts for 1 chapter, then we go to Romans in our next devotional, according to the schedule I'm following for these devotions. Read Acts 20 . As we read 2 Corinthians, we noted that Paul was coming to Corinth both to collect an offering for the believers in Jerusalem who were suffering (2 Cor 8) and to deal with those who were living in sin in the church at Corinth (2 Cor 13). Here in...

Read 2 Corinthians 13 . Paul wrapped up this letter by warning the Corinthians again about his coming visit. He was hopeful, as we saw in earlier chapters, that his visit would be warm and affirming. Yet, he was concerned about how he would be received and whether or not he would have to deal with those who were in sin through church discipline (v. 2b). Rather than waiting for Paul to arrive and s...

Read 2 Corinthians 12 . Paul continued defending his ministry in today’s reading. Remember that this started back in chapter 10 and continued through chapter 11. His defense was necessary because people within the church attempted to discredit him and his ministry. Paul referred to the things he said about himself as “boasting” because he is talking about himself, explaining why the Corinthians sh...

Read 2 Corinthians 11 . Despite a lifetime of love, discipline, and teaching from good parents, young people sometimes reject their parents, even denouncing them, and choose instead to make foolish and sinful decisions. That is the kind of heartbreak that comes to mind when I read 2 Corinthians 11 today. Paul poured his heart and soul into the Corinthian church. He loved them, wrote to them to giv...

Read  2 Corinthians 10 . Chapters 8-9 were about the collection Paul was coming to receive from the Corinthians. He was concerned, though, that during his visit, some tough love would be required as well (vv. 1-2). It is unclear who Paul was expecting to have a confrontation with, but it is clear that he wanted to avoid the confrontation, if possible, by appealing to his potential opponents “...

Read 2 Corinthians 9 . Though they had many spiritual problems, the Corinthian church apparently had some level of generosity for the Lord’s work, for Paul wrote in verses 1-2a: “There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord’s people. For I know your eagerness to help….” Nevertheless, Paul did teach in this chapter some principles about giving to the Lord’s work. Perhaps h...