Romans

There is nothing wrong with planning, as long as we plan to please God and are willing to change our plans to fit in with His (James 4:13-15).  Paul knew his call from God; it was to preach the gospel where people did not know about Jesus (Romans 15:20).  So, having preached his way through, what is now, Turkey and Greece (and possibly into Albania), Spain was the next horizon.  The much-anticipated visit to the church in Rome was only planned to be a stop-over en route.

The gospel started in God's heart of love.  It was His love and compassion that planned salvation and has enabled us to hear how we may be saved - by putting our trust in Jesus Christ (John 3:16).  Wherever the gospel goes, compassion-in-action should grow alongside faith (James 2:14-17).  Paul's missionary journeys presented the good news of Jesus and saw people being born again; but Paul was equally concerned for the new believers to learn how to work with God, who had started to transform their lives (Romans 13:13-14).

Paul's travel plans were made because of his call from God to preach the gospel, and the inner impulse of his godly ambitions, motivated by the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:22).  He had anticipated that his trip to Jerusalem to deliver the humanitarian fund, collected from new Christians in what is now Turkey and Greece, would be a little interlude in his missionary journey.  He then planned to go from Jerusalem to Spain, stopping off in Italy to visit the church in Rome.  No doubt he hoped that they would support his mission and perhaps add additional gifted people to the team (Roma

Living for Jesus and serving Him is an adventure; we never know what will happen next!  It is also a battle against the world and the devil: and it is a personal struggle as we wrestle with temptation and tiredness, wilfulness and weakness.  It is hard to tell where the next challenge will come from.  It might be a demonic attack, a personal attack, worldly pressure or fleshly temptation.  We also need help!

Paul knew that his visit to Jerusalem would be dangerous because the Holy Spirit had told him that prison and hardships awaited him (Acts 20:22-24).  That would be confirmed by a specific prophecy (Acts 21:10-14).  But at the time of writing his letter, all he knew was that the unbelieving Jews would be a threat to his life, but those who trusted in Christ needed great encouragement.  In this prayer request, Paul asks that the money collected for the impoverished Christians in Jerusalem would get through to them safely.  After that he hoped to travel to Rome en route for

Although the Apostle Paul anticipated that there would be trouble ahead, he was also confident that God would continue to be with him and with the Christians in Rome.  In this verse, God is described as the 'God of peace'.  This refers back to Romans 5:1 which tells us that, having believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have peace with God.  This is not just a feeling giving us peace of mind, but an objective legal condition.

People are important!  As Paul completed his letter about doctrine (teaching from God) from Corinth, he commended a wide variety of people who had already put the teaching into practice.  All who believe the teaching of the gospel and receive Jesus by faith are equally children in God's kingdom (John 1:12); brothers or sisters in Christ.  This chapter reveals the diversity of mutual friendship, people who were known to the Christians in Rome and to Paul - people whose lives were changed by the gospel.

Priscilla and Aquila came from a Jewish background.  They were willing to be on the move for the sake of the gospel.  Aquila was from Pontus in what is now Western Turkey.  He had moved to Rome where he ran a tent-making business with his wife, Priscilla.  When Jewish people were being persecuted in Rome, the couple fled to Corinth.