one step: Romans 16.2

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

To what doctrine does Paul refer? Scholars are uncertain as to who Paul is referring to when he references these false teachers.* The doctrine that Paul refers to, however, is not so uncertain. The doctrine that Paul refers to is no invention of his own, but it is the staples of Christian belief (Christ as the only Son of God, crucified and risen again).*

We live in a world of smooth talk. There seems to be more influencers, communicators, and spokespeople than ever in history. These smooth talkers, though gifted, may use their gift to flatter or woo us into beliefs contrary to the doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Interestingly, Paul doesn’t say, “hear them out and take the good and leave the bad.” He doesn’t say, “some of what they say makes sense on some level.” He doesn’t even say, “well, at least they’re encouraging.” Paul says to avoid them completely.

Why? Because they serve themselves and their own desires, deceiving those eager to believe and eager to learn.* In this sense, they are false teachers who are opposed to Christ Jesus.

There are two warnings for us as believers in this admonition of Paul. The first, we just discussed. The other is for us to be sure that we are not becoming one who gets caught up flattering and smoothly talking to others for the sake of our own appetite. We live in a world that threatens to define us by the number of likes and views and praise that we receive. This addictive cycle can propel us to tell people what they want to hear rather than the truth. The truth is not always popular. The truth is not always liked. But the truth sets us free.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to embrace truth with new fervor. Perhaps God wants you to weigh the voices that you are listening to against His Word. Maybe today God wants you to make a change and embrace the doctrine of the Gospel anew. Perhaps today God wants you to repent for caring more about what others think than about what He thinks. Maybe today God wants you to repent for valuing likes more than truth.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 576–578). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 411–414). InterVarsity Press.
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 538–540). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (pp. 510-516). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Romans 16.1

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

Well how about Phoebe? While Paul is clear about her contributions to him, the church in Corinth, and his desire for her to be received, much debate swirls around this dear servant of Christ.* Paul’s request that the church in Rome would receive her comes naturally in his context as requests of this nature were common.* When going into a new town, there were not public hotels and eating spots like there are today.* Your ability to thrive in a new area depended upon someone’s willingness to host you.* Because the early Christians were so good at hospitality, they were sometimes taken advantage of, making commendations like what Paul made for Phoebe that much more important.* This is not where the debate exists.

The debate exists in the meaning of Paul’s words. The meaning of Paul’s words either keep Phoebe at the status of general, ministering Christian, or they provide her official titles and roles of leadership in the early church.* The debate amongst scholars are sincere and well-thought out. There’s not space to unpack them here, but their debates make me think of Phoebe as a person.

I wonder what she would think or do if she knew that her life and ministry would spark such a debate? I wonder if she would care at all whether she had a title or not?

I remember back to a time when I was serving as a temporary administrative assistant to a contract worker at a church. During that time, I was told by an Executive Pastor that he saw a pastoring gift in me and to exercise it whenever possible. He gave me permission to operate in the gift God gave me regardless of my title. Later, when a title of “pastor” came, I did not allow it to define me.

Certainly, there is evidence for the official capacity with which Phoebe served. The words for “servant” and “patron” in the Greek language indicate financial responsibilities and overseer roles such as deacon.* Other women in Scripture also lead in official capacities (for example, as judge, queen, worship leader, prophet, disciple, witness, businesswoman, etc). Furthermore, Paul’s introduction of Phoebe indicates that he trusted her with this important letter as a representative to a church he had never been to in person.* This was a large responsibility.

No matter if Phoebe was granted official titles or not, I believe that Phoebe would be saddened by the division we have allowed her beautiful life and ministry to create. I believe that regardless of a title or not, she would serve our Lord Jesus in whatever way He called.

No matter where you are, and no matter what official role you have or view of ministry, serve where and how God leads. Jesus did, and so did Phoebe.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to prayerfully and Scripturally rethink women in leadership. Perhaps God would have you step into a ministry gift before a title comes. Maybe God wants you to let go of title.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 552–557). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 402–403). InterVarsity Press.
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 527–530). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (pp. 499–509). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Romans 15.3

But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while.

Have you ever noticed that life doesn’t always go as planned? I know I have. I have planned many things, dreamed many dreams, and desired lots of outcomes that just didn’t happen.

Paul, writing to the church in Rome, hopes to see them on the way to Spain. Paul makes it clear in Romans 15 that he feels called to plant churches, bringing the Gospel of Christ to places that have never heard of Jesus.* Having exhausted his opportunities east of Rome, Paul looks west to Spain.*

Spain had been occupied by Rome since 200 B.C., but the Romans had only fully organized the area in Paul’s lifetime.* It was a fresh, new opportunity.

Sadly, scholars cannot tell if Paul ever made it to Spain.* Though there is some indication, there is a lack of evidence to definitively determine one way or the other.* Regardless, Paul also says that he has been desiring to come to Rome for quite some time, but hasn’t been able to.* Things just weren’t going the way he hoped.

Paul, living a life completely submitted to God, only went where God wanted him to go and when He wanted him to go there.* His plans were subject to God’s plans. His will was submitted to God’s will.

In life, as believers, we can pray, “Lord, let your will be done.” However, when God answers that prayer, it often looks like our plans not coming to pass.

Sometimes life doesn’t go as we planned because of faults or failures. Other times life doesn’t go to plan because God has a better one, even if we don’t understand it.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to submit to His timing. Perhaps today God wants you to go where He is calling you to. Maybe today He wants you to let go of your plans for His.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 544–545). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 393–396). InterVarsity Press.
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 516–518). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (pp. 488–489). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: water break

Selah

The One Step Daily Devotional is intended to provide just one step each day for your journey with God. Every journey requires water breaks. Here is a water break for you.

---

The first time we see the word selah in the Psalms is Psalm 3 (where it appears three times). Though the exact meaning of the word remains illusive to scholars, many believe it indicates a pause. In Psalm 3, David is running from his son Absalom (see 2 Samuel 13-15). I imagine that these trying times for David came with a lot of stress as his life was in danger, his kingdom was slipping away, and his son was betraying him.

David’s response to this most difficult season of his life was to pray and to selah.

What season are you going through right now? Is it hard? Is there betrayal? Does everything important feel like it’s slipping away? Is stress screaming at you?

At the end of each Daily One Step Devotional you will find these words:

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

It’s easy to skip over these words as they can almost seem like a period on the end of a sentence. Appearing over and over, familiarity can cause us to forget their importance. The written word of God is ever so important, and unpacking His Holy Scriptures is important, but we must not forget to hear His voice.

Today, selah for a minute. Set a timer if you need to.

Maybe today you need the selah to hear His voice.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to pause. Perhaps God simply wants you to sit in His presence. Maybe today God wants you to hear His words of love and peace.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

one step: Romans 15.2

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

How do you describe God? God describes Himself in Scripture a lot of ways, but when you honestly reflect upon who God is, who do you think of Him as? “Honestly” is an important word here as we may know the correct answer according to Scripture, but our wounded souls may be holding onto some description of God that lies outside of what Scripture tells us of His character and nature.

In Romans 15, Paul describes God as “the God of hope.” Interestingly, this is the only time in all of the New Testament that God is described in this way.* Why would Paul only describe God in this way once when such a description is so important? Think about the importance of knowing that God is “the God of hope.”

We live in a world that speaks of and experiences death, sickness, war, and injustice as if these are our daily bread. We live in a world that paints a bleak picture of destruction for each of our futures. God knows that we need hope, and He knows that we need to know that hope comes from Him. As the God of hope, He is the source of hope that we all need.*

In chapter 14 of Romans, Paul tells his audience that the present Kingdom of God consists of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.* In this portion of the letter to the church in Rome, Paul bestows these things upon God’s people.* Paul sends this prayer-wish to the church in Rome, praying that they live and receive the Kingdom of God here in this life, today.

This prayer-wish isn’t etherial and inaccessible, however. Paul marks faith as the access to peace and joy.* The Kingdom of God and indeed the peace and joy that we all need in life comes only as we place our trust in Him.* This trust (faith) is a total reliance upon God.*

I wonder how many of us are missing peace and joy in our lives because we will not place our full reliance upon God? I wonder how many of us have no hope in our lives because we do not trust in Him? How many of us do not trust Him because of the way that we describe God? Do you describe Him as “Father,” but think that He shares the same characteristics as your absent of abusive father? Do you describe God as distant because you were unsure how to find Him during times of difficulty? Did times of difficulty in this broken world cause you to describe God as uncaring? These and countless other inaccurate descriptions of God cause us not to trust Him, thus causing us to miss out on the peace and joy that we so desperately need.

God is both the object of hope and the source of hope.* The hope we find in Him and from Him comes only as we fully trust in Christ.* Therefore, joy and peace are completely impossible without Christ.*

Paul desires that we all abound in hope; he prays that we overflow with hope.* This cannot happen, Paul notes, without the power of the Holy Spirit.* How many of us scrape the surface of hope because we diminish, ignore, or forget the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

We see, in the Kingdom of God, that those who wish to live as recipients of the Kingdom of God (walking in righteousness, peace, and joy) must engage with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.* We must embrace all of who God is.

Again, why would Paul only describe God this way once when such a description is so important?

There are many ways that God can get our attention. Sometimes God gets our attention by saying things over and over. Other times, like here in Romans 15, God gets our attention by saying something once and never changing His mind about it.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to remember the thing that God said to you once but is waiting for you to ask Him about and remember. Perhaps today God wants you to overflow with hope. Maybe today God wants you to experience peace and joy like never before. Perhaps today God wants you to place full reliance upon Him. Maybe today God wants you to be honest about who you think He is so that He can trade your hurt for healing and inaccuracies for truth.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 534–535). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 384). InterVarsity Press.
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 506–507). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (pp. 479–480). Zondervan Publishing House.