Daily Bible Reading (Thursday, June 29th)

4

Romans 12(ESV)

 

A Living Sacrifice

 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.[b] Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.[d]

Gifts of Grace

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members,[e] and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,[g] serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.[h] Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Footnotes:

  1. Romans 12:1 Or brothers and sisters
  2. Romans 12:1 Or your rational service
  3. Romans 12:2 Greek age
  4. Romans 12:2 Or what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God
  5. Romans 12:4 Greek parts; also verse 5
  6. Romans 12:8 Or gives aid
  7. Romans 12:11 Or fervent in the Spirit
  8. Romans 12:16 Or give yourselves to humble tasks
  9. Romans 12:19 Greek give place

4 Comments

Amen to ALL

I find it interesting that twice in this chapter we are warned against pride. Verse 3 tells us not to think too highly of ourselves, and verse 16 tells us not to be haughty, or wise in our own eyes. Humility is so necessary in the Christian life, whether it is in living for the Lord (v. 1-2), or interacting with other people--from fellow believers to enemies. We must always be on guard against pride, it can creep in so subtly. Let us be in humble awe of our great God and Savior, and humbly serve one another as His servants.

And so after all that has been acknowledged up to now Paul gives the "therefore". And I'm all ears. Now it's up to the doing. Verses 1 & 2 cannot be stressed enough. Reminds me of how much those two verses are used by Elder Newton at the Haven for Hope shelter...Father, here I am. Use me. For Your gospel only. For Your glory alone. Forgive me of my sins. I concur with miss Dawn. Praying for lost souls who have been given Your truth Lord and for those yet to here and be converted, hence healed from the S I N epidemic.

My prayer this morning for our brothers and sisters at Believers.

Leave a Comment

Comments for this post have been disabled.