Wed., 2/13/13 Devotion (Rom. 16:1-2)

Today's encouragement comes from Romans 16:1 & 2, where we read these words of the Apostle Paul:

"I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also."

God always puts women before men--and not without good reason: they are made of better "stuff" than men. Phoebe was a servant of her church; and Paul wanted the church in Rome to treat her especially kindly and well.

In the church, women are given more honor than men. But it is also true that men in church, just like women, have immediate access to God through our one Mediator: the Lord Jesus Christ.

[Puritan quote of the day: "We cannot know what sin is unless we know how great the majesty of God is." --Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "The Evil of Evils"]