[Linux4christians] Monday - Romans 12

[dcolburn at bibleseven.com]

    Monday


      Romans 12



Consecration of the Believer's Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of 
God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice -- alive, holy, and pleasing 
to God -- which is your reasonable service.

12:2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by 
the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the 
will of God -- what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Conduct in Humility

12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think 
more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober 
discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith.

12:4 For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the 
members serve the same function, 12:5 so we who are many are one body in 
Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.

12:6 And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If 
the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his 
faith. 12:7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must 
teach; 12:8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, 
he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with 
diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

Conduct in Love

12:9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what 
is good.

12:10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in 
honoring one another.

12:11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. 
12:12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.

12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.

12:14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.

12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

12:16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate 
with the lowly. Do not be conceited.

12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before 
all people.

12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all 
people.

12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God's 
wrath, for it is written, "/*Vengeance is mine*//, //*I will repay*/," 
says the Lord. 12:20 Rather, /*if your enemy is hungry*//, //*feed him; 
if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be 
heaping burning coals on his head*/.

12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.



      Prayer


Lord, You teach us to not attempt to overcome evil with more evil 
(because we will then be overcome by evil and the enemy will have a 
double-victory) but rather to overcome evil with good. May I be faithful 
in that, even though it is contrary to my flesh, and very difficult to 
do - with Your indwelling Holy Spirit I am able -- in Your 
righteous-strength.



      Summary & Commentary


It "... is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this present 
world." Be humble, honor one another through mutual love. "Rejoice in 
hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer ... Do not be overcome by 
evil, but overcome evil with good."

Paul implored "... present your bodies as a sacrifice ... be transformed 
by the renewing of your mind" so that in knowing and applying the will 
[known via the Word] of God one may mature as a Christian.

Paul linked back to his discussion of "judging" to make the point that 
humility prevents the sin to "... think more highly of yourself than you 
ought to think". He then goes on to note that the exercise of "gifts" 
are to be in proportion to "humility", not to show off and not 
ritualistically. He specifically lists prophesy, service, teaching, 
exhortation, contributing, leadership, and mercy.

Paul qualifies each to show the linkage between humility (as modeled by 
Jesus and Paul) and the exercise of gifts:


GIFT DESCRIPTION HUMILITY-QUALIFIER

             Prophesy (mostly re-telling, rarely fore-telling) In 
proportion to faith (not faked)

Service (assisting others in need) Serve (remember foot-washing)

Teaching (the Word of God w/o changes) Teach (tell HIS-story, not yours)

Exhortation (plead for salvation and righteousness) Exhort (not 
manipulate, motivate)

Contributing (give from God's bounty) Sincerely (not Ananias & Sapphira)

Leadership (intentionally show the way) Diligence (integrity & persistence)

Mercy (comfort, encourage, & forgive) Cheerfully (not reluctantly)


Paul checked-off a list of what true Biblical love "looks like":


* Without hypocrisy

* Abhorring what is evil

* Clinging to what is good

* Devoted to one another with mutual love

* Eagerly honoring one another

* Zealous & enthusiastic in spirit serving the Lord

* Rejoicing in hope

* Enduring in suffering

* Persisting in prayer

* Contributing to the needs of the saints

* Pursuing hospitality

* Blessing those who persecute you (not cursing them)

* Rejoicing with those who rejoice

* Weeping with those who weep

* Living on harmony with one another

* Playing no favorites for the rich over poor, pretty over ugly, easy 
over difficult

* Never conceited

* Never repaying evil with evil

* Look for the good rather than the bad as people are watching

* When you control relational circumstances choose to live peaceably 
with others

* Never seek revenge, "'Vengeance is mine" says the Lord'"

* Feed a hungry enemy & give a thirsty enemy drink, heap the burning 
coals of warmth

on his head [and conviction that you are a child of the one true Lord].



      Interaction

Consider

Whenever we think of ourselves more-highly than we should we are then 
prone to "judge" others, but when we are humble we may be discerning 
about others without judging them.

Discuss

How do the items on the chart and the checklist from Paul and reflect 
upon your life and how do they apply to your walk?


        Reflect

It is the righteousness of the Lord God that His Holy Spirit pours-out 
through us which accomplishes the things Paul listed.

Share

When have you experienced or observed a struggle with humility which 
then was reflected in the right application of and attitude toward gifts?



      Faith in Action

Prayer:

Ask the Holy Spirit reveal to your at least one item on Paul's list 
where you need to partner with Him in order to grow.


        Action:

Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement with me for 
perseverance in that effort.


        Be Specific ______________________________________________________



    Tuesday's text will be:


      Romans 13



-- 

Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you,
Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day!
David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary!
Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com
Bible Resources: http://bible.org
Teacher's Verse: John 7:16
I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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