When you start thanking people publicly, you never want to forget someone. What you forget, they will never forget! Paul gives us a list of twenty-four names. They all matter, but some bear a special significance for us today. Their inclusion meant something special to them and it should mean something special to us as well!

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

Some of the names on Paul's list might mean a lot to us while many might have little or no meaning to us at all -- but they all meant the world to Paul!

- What significance do you see in Paul's gratitude and the people he names?

- If you were writing a single letter to all the people you know, or if you were speaking at a banquet held in your honor, who would you like to thank, and why?

- Would you consider thanking one of them today?

What if the real wonder of Luke 5 isn’t just a healed body—and what does it reveal about the question, ‘Why does God allow disability?’ Drawing on personal ‘conversion points’—from Jacob’s wrestle with God to her own experience parenting a child with Down syndrome—Meghan unpacks biblical community, cultural barriers, and what it really means for the Christians to be “whole and holy.”

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👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n

👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https://tinyurl.com/38d4aryd

Jesus said to "bless those who curse you" and to "pray for those who mistreat you" (Luke 6:28). Paul's plan is to visit the believers in Rome but only after bringing a financial gift to the Jewish people in Jerusalem. In essence, they are bringing a gift to many who have fought to exclude them from the family of God. Grace multiplies as we receive it from Jesus and share the same with others!

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

Paul's mission to Jerusalem was motivated by gratitude - the gratitude of the Gentile believers in Greece for the Jewish believers who brought them the good news about Jesus.

- Imagine yourself as the Romans or Greeks, trying to be grateful to people who had recently sought to cut you out of the family. How might you feel about sending such a gift or, as Paul encourages the Romans to do, to pray for them?

- Is there a difficult relationship that you might pray about, or perhaps something more?

Paul had a plan. Life did not go according to that plan. Even so, his work to share good news, to be good news, and to make his life a part of God's plan for spreading good news paid all kinds of dividends for them, for him, and for us today!

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Pastor Dave's message on God's plan for your life:

https://youtu.be/BbBCsGtxOrE

For Reflection:

Does God have a plan for your life? Paul found his, in part, by searching the scriptures, locating his own ambition in the long-promised plan of God.

- We see that Paul not only shared good news but was good news (v18, cf. 1 Cor 9:4-18). What are some of the ways that God has helped you to be good news, and to share good news? Is God perhaps inviting you to lean in with someone today?

- If someone asked you what God's plan for your life might be, how might you answer?

Who are "your people?" Who are the people you understand, the folks you connect with most easily? However valuable those relationships might be, God has always had more in mind. It is natural to love those who are most like us. It is supernatural to love those who are different but for their shared connection to Jesus.

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

The Jewish and Gentile believers found it much easier to love people in their own group, which is the main challenge addressed by this entire letter.

- Who are the people you find easiest to love? What makes it easy to love them? What affinities do you share?

- Prayerfully consider connections you may already have to people with whom you have less natural affinity. What might be something you could do to open the door to a deeper relationship?

Have you ever been swept up in the power of worship? This entire section of Paul's letter began with what true worship looks like (Romans 12:1-2). Here we see that using our freedoms to serve one another, as modeled by Jesus and empowered by the Spirit, will enable us to worship and praise God with the power of one voice!

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

We need God to give us the patience and encouragement (v5) to love one another like Jesus.

- How has God helped you to develop the patience to love others more like Jesus? Where (or with whom) is God helping you to develop patience today?

- How does God fill your heart and encourage you to love others in this way? Are their people, places, or practices that God regularly uses to motivate and renew your passion?

What do you do when some people are more sensitive about matters of conscience? Paul calls those with great freedom "strong" and those who are more sensitive, "weak". But don't feel proud and look down on the "weak". Instead, the strong should help the weak rather than push them around. Use your freedom to make the church a place where everyone is safe and welcome.

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

Rather than prioritizing our own freedom, Paul implores us to live together in ways that will not cause others to stumble and fall.

- Can you think of a time when you were in a conflict with another believer over moral questions about food, drink, entertainment, gambling, clothing, or other similar matters? How was it handled? How did it turn out, relationally?

- Were Paul's instructions followed? Would Paul's instructions have helped, and if so, in what way?

How do we know what God wants us to do - especially when the stakes are high and the options unclear? Pastor Dave Swaim explores one of the most common and complicated questions Christians face: Does God have a specific plan for my life, and how can I figure it out?

From childhood choices to major life decisions, we often long for divine clarity. But is God's will a secret blueprint we must discover - or something more profound and freeing? This message offers wisdom for navigating uncertainty, avoiding spiritual manipulation, and learning to walk humbly with God - even when the path ahead isn’t clear.

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👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n

👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https://tinyurl.com/38d4aryd

We each will face judgment, but how is that good news? Thankfully, the God who judges is the one who gave his life on the cross to save us. That IS good news! But that's not all -- the fact that God will judge frees us from having to judge one another. Instead, we are called to lift one another up in love.

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

It is a challenge to discern right from wrong without becoming judgmental.

- When you are tempted to be judgmental, what helps you choose a different course? Can you identify the people, places, and practices that help you be a more gracious person without ignoring harmful attitudes and behaviors?

- Imagine you were to ask those closest to you, "Have I become more or less judgmental during the time you've known me?" What might they say? Would you be willing to ask someone today?

People often divide over deeply-held beliefs, but many beliefs are not worth dividing over. We often risk damaging or losing relationships by fighting over matters that are not as important as the relationships themselves. The world has always been that way but Christ calls us to something better!

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

In a world that so easily divides itself into different camps, how do we maintain unity despite not only diversity, but deeply held differences?

- Have you ever had deep difficulty in a relationship because of strong differences over non-essential matters, even non-spiritual matters? Was your relationship able to overcome those challenges, and if so, how?

- Are any of your current spiritual relationships experiencing such a challenge? What might God be inviting you to do?