DATE POSTED
Thursday, September 17, 2026, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa Apartment Homes, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
I would love for you to read today’s Scripture in your own personal Bible!
Romans 5:12-14 (NLT): 12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.
APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
I hope you’ve taken a moment to read the verses referenced above, as they’ll help you better grasp the context of this devotional.
As we read today’s verses, it may be tempting to move quickly past them without fully grasping their significance. Yet every word of Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for our understanding. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired Paul to write these words for our instruction, and they reveal an important truth about our condition and our need for a Savior.
Paul takes his readers all the way back to the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3, Satan, speaking through the serpent, questioned God’s command and tempted Eve to doubt the word of God. Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and Adam knowingly followed her into disobedience. Even before a written law was delivered through Moses, God’s original instruction was broken.
As a result, sin entered the world through Adam, and death followed. God had warned Adam in Genesis 2:17 that disobedience would bring death. From that moment forward, the effects of sin spread throughout all humanity. Paul points to the undeniable reality that death reigned from Adam to Moses, even before God gave His Law through Moses. The presence of death was the result of sin.
Paul’s purpose is not merely to recount history. He is preparing his readers for a glorious truth. Adam serves as a picture of one who was to come. Through Adam came sin and death, but through Jesus Christ would come righteousness and life. Paul will unfold that contrast more fully in the verses ahead.
As we consider these truths, we are reminded that every funeral, every graveyard, and every reminder of mortality points back to humanity’s fallen condition. Yet for the child of God, death is not the end of the story. Because Christ came, died, and rose again, we have hope beyond the grave. The same Savior who conquered death offers eternal life to all who place their faith in Him.
As we share God’s Word with others, let us ask the Holy Spirit to prepare both our hearts and theirs. God did just this in Acts 10, when He prepared Peter to share the Gospel with Cornelius. Only God can soften hearts, open eyes, and draw people to Himself. Our role is to faithfully share the truth while trusting God to do His transforming work.
Challenge: When called to share God’s Word with someone, do not only pray for the recipient, but ask God to also minister to your own heart as you go. Additionally, the next time you attend a funeral or face the reality of grief, look beyond the pain brought on by Adam’s fall. Reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which secured eternal life for every believer. Even in the face of death, we have an unshakable hope!
Prayer: Almighty and everlasting Father, thank You for the eternal hope we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. Though sin and death entered the world through the first man, Adam, we praise You that the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Your precious Son brought eternal life to all who believe. I pray for everyone reading these words today. Soften hearts, Lord, and draw them by Your Spirit toward Your saving truth. Prompt those who do not yet know You to accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord today. In the powerful name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. I pray that one of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue, your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org, or if you choose, subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, as you will also find that option on this page. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you invite God to work through you to bless them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!
Nuggets From God's Word 