Prayer Works Morning Devotion July 2, 2026

A Chapter By Chapter Study Of The Epistles:

Romans Chapter 16

25Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith 27to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

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Good morning, family. Welcome to the Prayer Works Morning Devotion. Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

We gather together each and every morning at this time to give the first fruits of our day to our Lord and Savior, thanking Him for everything that He has done for us in the past, now, and in the future, giving Him advanced thanks. 

We go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to open our hearts and minds to His word and in seeking Him this day. So let's do just that. Heavenly Father, thank You for waking us this day to a new and wonderful day with sunshine, at least from my vantage point. 

I thank You for this grace that You've given us to walk in this day. We know that Your grace is sufficient for us regardless of the challenges that we may face this day. So I pray that Your Spirit lead us in all things and guide us in all things and touch our hearts and our minds in all things, Father. 

I pray now as we go into this word this morning that Your will is done, that Your Spirit leads us and descends upon this call to help all of Your children apply and understand the word that is being spoken here. 

And I pray, Father, that it's not my words, but Your words. So we set ourselves aside and give You all praise, honor, and glory right now and ask You to cover this call. We give You this praise, this glory, and this honor because You alone are worthy of it. 

And so we thank You, we honor You, and it's in the mighty name of Jesus that we pray, Amen. Well, once again, good morning, family. And today we are in the final book of Romans 16. 

And this chapter is the close of the letter that Paul has written to the Romans. And in this, he gives what we would consider notable greetings to many different Christians. 

And it's interesting because whereas we might, in this day and time, start off a letter with greetings to notable people, Paul puts those notable greetings to the end of his letters. 

He also gives praises to those in these greetings that are notable, and that he felt supported him in his efforts to bring this news to the Romans. So, it begins, and I'm going to read some of these and comment as I go along. 

The first is on verse one where it says, I commend you to our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you.

Why? Because she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. So, this is really, really interesting here. First to begin, Phoebe. The name Phoebe is the feminine form of a title given to the pagan god, Apollo. 

And the title is to mean the bright one. So, as we read this, understand that most Christians today wouldn't keep a pagan god name once they are converted. But it apparently was something that these early Christians didn't feel that they needed to do. 

They didn't need to change their names from these pagan god references. And they just continued to be identified by their birth given names and I just find that interesting. 

Because, you know, to be remembered as someone who had been identified with a pagan god. Well, I guess if you look at it from the perspective that you've now been converted and you no longer fellowship or associate with any of this pagan ritualistic behavior, then that might be.

I guess, what you would consider the name to be, the bright one, because your light would be shining bright. So, Paul, he then goes on to show in this female that he knew the value of what women could do in serving the church, and most likely we don't know for sure.

But Phoebe was probably on her way to Rome when Paul made this commendation of her. And it was possible that she was even going to deliver this letter that ultimately went to the Romans to them. 

We don't know again, but Paul sends what we would consider advanced recommendation of this sister in Christ, so that the Romans would receive her and support her during her stay in the city. 

Now, such recommendations were important because there was both a great legitimate need for this kind of assistance there, and there were also many deceivers, as are today, who wanted to take advantage of the generosity of Christians. 

So, this announcement helped her and helped her to be identified as one of Paul's servants. Paul gives Phoebe one of the best compliments anyone could give, and that is that she has been the benefactor of many people, including Paul himself. 

So this type of practical help is essential in doing the business of the gospel. And then it goes on to say, Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. 

Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house. So, if you recall, Priscilla and Aquila is the couple that is mentioned in the book of Acts in 18:2, 18:18, and 18:26. 

They are mentioned as associates of Paul and also helpers to Apollos. So, just imagine, that these two held church in their house during a period of the early organization of the church. 

And in a city with a Christian community of any size, there would most likely be several congregations like this meeting in different houses, since there was no church buildings during this time. 

Each house, most likely as a church, had its own pastor. Then he goes on to say, greet my dear friend Epinetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. 

So, this man is of noble because he apparently was among the first converts of Achaia, which is where Corinth was and where Paul wrote the letter to the Romans. Epinetus was also a dear friend to Paul. 

Beloved, as the term that Paul used, isn't a term that he used cheaply. So he was deeply indebted to Epinetus for his activity. And then it goes on to say, greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. 

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews, who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 

Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus, greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. 

Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. 

Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me too. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the other brothers and sisters with them. 

Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord's people who are with them. Now, these are just names to us, but of the rest of these names that Paul lays out.

Paul finds something wonderful to say about almost every one of them, noting their labor, his special regard for them, beloved, which is, again, a term that he didn't use cheaply, their standing in the Lord.

Where he would say approved in Christ or approved in the Lord, chosen in the Lord. This is a tremendous example, and it shows that Paul's way of giving encouraging and uplifting words to build up God's people.

That he was very generous in paying compliments that were both sincere and wonderful. And so, if we have that gift, we should use it because the family, the body in Christ is always looking to be encouraged. 

And this is an example of how we can encourage one another. And then it goes on to say, greet one another with a holy kiss. Now, this might sound strange to us, but if you go back into Luke 7:45.

It shows how common a greeting kiss was because here Jesus rebukes the Pharisee because he did not give Jesus a kiss when he came into his house and I believe this is in regards to the woman that washed Jesus' feet with her hair and continued to kiss his feet the entire time. 

So, this is something that we don't see much of today in some countries, like if you go to France, you do see this, but not necessarily from a Christian perspective. Then it goes on to say, all the churches of Christ send greetings. 

So, this section again demonstrates that the letter to the Romans was a letter to real people and, as far as we can see, ordinary people. It wasn't written to professional theologians. 

Notice also that the women mentioned in this chapter, Phoebe, Priscilla, Mary, Tryphina, Trophosa, the mother of Rufus, and Julia, these are women who worked for the Lord. 

Of the 24 names that are listed here, 13 also appear in inscriptions or documents connected with the emperor's palace in Rome. We know that there were Christians among Caesar's household, as it says in Philippians 4:22. 

So Paul may be writing to many of the servants here that worked for Caesar who became Christians. Verse 17 goes on to say, I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. 

Keep away from them, for such people are not serving our Lord Christ but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 

Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you, but I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil and goes on to say, the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet. 

So, this has in mind both those who would divide God's people, cause divisions, and those who would deceive God's people, offenses contrary to the doctrine that you have learned. 

Once these have been noted or marked, they are to be avoided, meaning these individuals. This is essential to God's purpose for the church. Truth without unity leads to pride. Unity without truth leads to departure from the true gospel itself. 

Each of these must be guarded against. The warning here is necessary because these dividers and deceivers do not announce themselves. They use smooth words and flattering speech and always target the simple, usually those who are young in the faith obey in the faith. 

Dividers and deceivers never want to appear selfish. Obviously, they're not walking around with a sign to say, I'm a deceiver or a divider but they perceive themselves as noble crusaders for the great cause.

Regardless of how they may appear on the outside, their motives are essentially selfish and fleshly. And the Romans, credit to them, already dealing with these situations well, and Paul is glad about it, yet they must remain diligent against the attacks of the dividers and the deceivers, as do we all. 

And then it goes on to say, the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Timothy, my coworker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow Jews. Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord. 

Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you greetings. Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. 

So, Timothy here gets a first mention, being one of Paul's closest and most trusted associates. Tertius was Paul's writer as the apostle dictated the letter. 

This was Paul's normal practice in writing letters to churches, but this is the only letter where Paul's secretary is mentioned by name. Gaius, this brother, had such a reputation for hospitality that Paul can say he was regarded as the host of the whole church. 

Now, Paul closes this letter to the Romans with praise to God. And he goes on to say, Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past.

But now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ, Amen. 

And he closes the letter this way. So again, a reminder with all the dangers facing the Romans, and every church, Paul fittingly concludes by commending them to him who is able to establish you, meaning God. 

Paul also knows that this will be done according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ. Now that the mystery has been revealed through the preaching of the gospel, God calls all nations to obedience to the faith. 

In this conclusion, Paul reflects on the wisdom of God's plan in the gospel and the fact that such wisdom is beyond man. God had a plan no man could come up with, but the wisdom and glory of the plan is evident. 

So, this concludes the 16 chapters of the book of Romans. In summary, this book contains 13 key scriptures. Romans 1:16, I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the soul. 

Salvation of everyone who believes, first the Jew, then the Gentile. Romans 3:9-11 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all. We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are under sin. 

As it is written, there is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. Romans 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify. 

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 8:9, You, however, are controlled by the sinful nature, but the spirit, if the spirit of God lives in you, and if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 

Romans 8:28, and you know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:37-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons.

Neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else, in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you can confess and are saved. 

Romans 12:1, Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. 

Romans 12:19, Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, 'It is mine to avenge. I will repay,' says the Lord. 

And finally, verse Romans 16, I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. 

Keep away from them. The book of Romans is primarily a work of doctrine and can be divided into four sections righteousness needed, righteousness provided, righteousness vindicated, righteousness practiced. 

The main theme of this letter is, however, the obvious course, righteousness. Guided by the Holy Spirit, Paul first condemns all men of their sinfulness. He expresses his desire to preach the truth of God's word to those in Rome. 

It was his hope to have assurance they were staying the right path. He strongly points out here that he is not ashamed of the gospel, but it is the power that everyone is saved by. The book of Romans tells us about God.

Who He is, and what He has done. It tells us Jesus Christ what His death accomplished, it also tells us about ourselves, what we were like without Christ, and who we are after trusting Christ. 

Paul points out that God did not demand men have their lives straightened out before coming to Christ. While we were still sinners, Christ died on the cross for our sins. The book of Romans makes it clear that there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. 

Every good deed we have ever done is as a filthy rag before God. So dead in our trespasses and sins are we that only the grace and mercy of God can save us. God expressed that grace and mercy by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place. 

When we turn our lives over to Christ, we are no longer controlled by our sin nature, but we are controlled by the Spirit. If we make confession that Jesus is Lord and believe that He is raised from the dead, we are saved, born again. 

We need to live our lives offered to God as a living sacrifice to Him. Worship the God who saved us should be of our highest desire. Perhaps the best application of Romans would be to apply Romans 1:16 and to not be ashamed of the gospel. 

Instead, let us all be faithful in proclaiming it. I'm going to call upon my wonderful wife to close us out in prayer, and I pray that you've been blessed by this.

Thank you, Calvin. I just wanted to emphasize, as Calvin was reading this key scriptures in Romans, the book of Romans, I was reminded by something we heard one of our pastors say that the book of Romans can help, it's so key to the Christian life. 

And it is important for us to know this because the book of Romans contains the Romans road to salvation. So, as Christians, it's important for us to know some of these key scriptures that explain who we are and what is required of us to be Christians. 

So, as I pray, I'd just like to remind us of these key scriptures that are part of the Romans road to salvation. And I encourage all of you to look up the Romans road to salvation, what that means and what those key scriptures are. 

So I'm just going to read them and then I'm going to pray. Romans 3:23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, Heavenly Father, we thank You that we do not stand condemned and neither do we condemn anyone else because we have all sinned. 

We all come short of the glory of God. Forgive us Heavenly Father when we attempted to be proud in our faith Lord because we know that is not what we're called to be. We are called to remember that all have sinned let us let us always be mindful that we are sinful in heart.

And in Romans 6:23 for the wages of sin is death Heavenly Father thank You, thank You for saving us because we understand we were on the road to death in our disbelief and disconnection from You.

And we thank You Heavenly Father that we understand that the wages of our sin can only be death then the third verse in the Romans road to salvation 23 throughout the second part. 

But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So we thank You, Heavenly Father, that You have snatched us off the road to death, that we do not have to pay the wages of our sin because of Jesus Christ and the price He paid through His death, Heavenly Father. 

The Lamb of God, through Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice and death, we have eternal life. we have eternal life brothers and sisters and I'm so thankful to God our Father that yes we can say we have eternal life.

We recognize that we have sinned and come short, we recognize that the wages of sin is death but we also so grateful for this gift of God of eternal life. Then the fourth passage in the Romans Road to Salvation.

Romans 10:9 that if You confess with Your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in Your heart that God raised Him from the dead, You will be saved. A key verse, my brothers and sisters in Christ, for us to remember as we are witnessing of our faith to those who don't yet believe. 

That if You confess with Your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in Your heart that God raised Him from the dead You will be saved. So Heavenly Father we just pray Heavenly Father that we will never be ashamed to confess that Jesus is Lord.

And even in times when it's so difficult for us to believe everything that You are teaching us and everything that Christ is teaching us help us Heavenly Father to strengthen our belief Heavenly Father.

And to cling to the salvation that comes from our belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and in the final scripture in the Romans road to salvation is therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

We were once, when we were in the world, we were at war with God. We did not believe Him, we discounted Him, we did all kinds of things in our own strength. But now, we are at peace.

And we thank You, Heavenly Father, that we are at peace with You. don't let the enemy deceive us into thinking that God doesn't love us, He doesn't care because we're going through difficult times because the world is a mess we are at peace with our Heavenly Father.

We thank You we thank You Father that we are at peace with You through Jesus Christ and I'm sorry this there's a couple more verses. Romans 8:1 another key verse therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, no condemnation.

And as Christians when we fall short of the mark when we lose our way Heavenly Father help us to remember that when we confess our sins when we come to You with contrite hearts.

We heard there is no condemnation there's no condemnation for what we did yesterday there's no condemnation for what we're going to do today that misses the mark there is no condemnation for what we did before we came to Christ.

So when the enemy tries to bring it up into our hearts and our minds Heavenly Father the memories of what we've done Heavenly Father. Let us remember there is no condemnation for us because we are in Christ. 

So help us, Heavenly Father, to not believe the lies of Satan, to not believe the lies of anyone who may be being used by Satan to condemn us. Help us, Heavenly Father, to remember this key scripture. 

There is no condemnation because we are in Christ. And finally, finally, Romans 8:38-39. For I am convinced, let us be convinced Heavenly Father, that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons.

Neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, Nothing, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Heavenly Father, we thank You Heavenly Father that we stay on this Romans road, remembering that You are always with us, even when we don't see You, we don't feel You, we don't think that we're hearing from You, Heavenly Father. 

Help us to hold on and cling to, forcefully, to our faith, Heavenly Father, that You will never leave us. We are never separated from You. That even when it seems You're not working, when You're not present, it's not that You're not there. It's just that we don't perceive because we're stressed and anxious. 

So Heavenly Father, let Your voice rise above all other voices today, Father, in our hearts, Father. Thank You for this wonderful epistle that Your servant Paul left behind, that today, on July 2nd, 2026, some 2,000 some years after he wrote this letter.

We are reading it, we are digesting it, we are internalizing, and we want to apply it to our lives. And we hope and pray, Heavenly Father, that You will give us the wisdom, the strength, the remembrance to call up these verses when we are going through.

And also, Heavenly Father, not just for our own sake, but for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and also for the sake of those who are lost in the world. 

So we thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your grace, Your grace. And we thank You, King Jesus, for Your sacrifice. And we pray, come, Holy Spirit, give us a fresh anointing for this day. 

So we thank You, Father, for our manner this day, that we will feed on throughout this day, and we eagerly await to be used by You. Help us to show someone Jesus today in our lives. We love You. We praise You. We give You all the glory and honor in Jesus' name, Amen.

Amen. Thank you, Vee, for reiterating those key scriptures. And I just pray that all on this call and all that will hear this recording can take comfort in knowing that there is no condemnation and that you have been saved. 

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, you have been saved. And I just pray that as you walk out this journey of salvation, that you walk it out in fear and trembling of the Lord and do all that you can to use your body as a sacrifice to your Lord, our Lord, our God and our Father. 

Thank you family for joining us this morning and remember tomorrow is Prayer Friday. If you have prayers that you would like us to lift up to the throne of grace, please submit them and we will be sure to do so. 

Next week we will begin the book of First Corinthians and this too is another powerful epistle that Paul has taught and written. So again, we thank you. We honor you all and we love you all. 

We give our peace to you from God and we pray that you all are blessed this day. We look forward to seeing you Sunday for Bible study especially if you can. 

But in the meantime, let's focus on the prayers that we have on our hearts and be willing to lift those up to the Lord in spirit. We pray you have a blessed day and go in peace. We love you.