'Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.'
Romans 12:1-21
https://www.bible.com/bible/111/ROM.12.1-21
Amen! When we are saved, we become living sacrifices for God and are set apart as Holy. Sin is no longer our master, but the Lord is our Master, and we are dedicated to Him. We are no longer to be conformed to the standards of this world, but through the Holy Spirit, He transforms our minds by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the mind of God. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can accept His will for our lives because it contrasts with the world. His will is good and perfect. He knows what is best for us and His plans are better than anything we plan for ourselves. He helps us to think of ourselves the way that He does (sober judgement). He helps us to see ourselves through His eyes and teaches us who we are in His Kingdom and what He designed us to do. He gives every one of His children spiritual gifts and we all serve different functions in His Body. We are all equally important. The Body cannot function properly without all its members working properly. No one can say that we are not important. The Bible says that He gives higher honor to those who are considered less honorable by human standards. We are to honor others above ourselves and give God all the Glory. Whatever God gives us to do, we are to do it with all our hearts. The Bible instructs us to hate what is evil and cling to what is good. We need the Holy Spirit to help us to do that.
AS God’s people, the Holy Spirit helps us to love our enemies and to return evil with good. We are to bless them and not curse them. We are not to seek revenge, nor do we need to, because the Lord is our Protector and vengeance is His; He shall repay. Persecution gives us the opportunity to allow Him to be glorified in us as we do the opposite of what human nature does. Hallelujah!! We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and to mourn with those who mourn. Even during those times when we are suffering and we see someone else get greatly blessed, we can rejoice with them with the help of the Holy Spirit. It also helps to remember that the blessing came from Him and He shows no favoritism. Everyone has times of blessing and times of suffering. We are to maintain gratefulness because God has already blessed us with more than we could ever deserve and because we know that He will do it over and over again. He is such a good God!! Also, it is just loving to want others to be happy and blessed. We are to think of others and honor them above ourselves. I would be willing to say that is a big step in being a truly caring person when we can be happy for others during those times when life is hard for us. God has made this major change in my heart, so I am living proof that He is able!!! You will know it when you get there because you will genuinely feel it in your heart, rather than just trying to do the right thing, but feeling sad or jealous inside. And when you genuinely feel grateful even when life looks bleak. He is a miracle worker who changes hearts!!! On the other hand, the Lord can also help us to mourn with those who mourn even when things are going well for us. He will move us to compassion and help us to be a blessing to others during there difficult times and comfort them with the comfort that He has given us.
During times of affliction, we are to be patient, joyful in hope, and faithful in prayer. We can be joyful and patient because of the hope we have. The Lord is our living hope. He is a good good Father. He is faithful and we can trust Him. This season shall pass and our season of blessing and jubilee will come. That is what gets us through tough times.
We are to share with the Lord’s people who are in need and practice hospitality. Lord, I pray that You will open our eyes to the needs around us and use us to spread Your love to those around us. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen!
Romans 12:1-21
https://www.bible.com/bible/111/ROM.12.1-21
Amen! When we are saved, we become living sacrifices for God and are set apart as Holy. Sin is no longer our master, but the Lord is our Master, and we are dedicated to Him. We are no longer to be conformed to the standards of this world, but through the Holy Spirit, He transforms our minds by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the mind of God. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can accept His will for our lives because it contrasts with the world. His will is good and perfect. He knows what is best for us and His plans are better than anything we plan for ourselves. He helps us to think of ourselves the way that He does (sober judgement). He helps us to see ourselves through His eyes and teaches us who we are in His Kingdom and what He designed us to do. He gives every one of His children spiritual gifts and we all serve different functions in His Body. We are all equally important. The Body cannot function properly without all its members working properly. No one can say that we are not important. The Bible says that He gives higher honor to those who are considered less honorable by human standards. We are to honor others above ourselves and give God all the Glory. Whatever God gives us to do, we are to do it with all our hearts. The Bible instructs us to hate what is evil and cling to what is good. We need the Holy Spirit to help us to do that.
AS God’s people, the Holy Spirit helps us to love our enemies and to return evil with good. We are to bless them and not curse them. We are not to seek revenge, nor do we need to, because the Lord is our Protector and vengeance is His; He shall repay. Persecution gives us the opportunity to allow Him to be glorified in us as we do the opposite of what human nature does. Hallelujah!! We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and to mourn with those who mourn. Even during those times when we are suffering and we see someone else get greatly blessed, we can rejoice with them with the help of the Holy Spirit. It also helps to remember that the blessing came from Him and He shows no favoritism. Everyone has times of blessing and times of suffering. We are to maintain gratefulness because God has already blessed us with more than we could ever deserve and because we know that He will do it over and over again. He is such a good God!! Also, it is just loving to want others to be happy and blessed. We are to think of others and honor them above ourselves. I would be willing to say that is a big step in being a truly caring person when we can be happy for others during those times when life is hard for us. God has made this major change in my heart, so I am living proof that He is able!!! You will know it when you get there because you will genuinely feel it in your heart, rather than just trying to do the right thing, but feeling sad or jealous inside. And when you genuinely feel grateful even when life looks bleak. He is a miracle worker who changes hearts!!! On the other hand, the Lord can also help us to mourn with those who mourn even when things are going well for us. He will move us to compassion and help us to be a blessing to others during there difficult times and comfort them with the comfort that He has given us.
During times of affliction, we are to be patient, joyful in hope, and faithful in prayer. We can be joyful and patient because of the hope we have. The Lord is our living hope. He is a good good Father. He is faithful and we can trust Him. This season shall pass and our season of blessing and jubilee will come. That is what gets us through tough times.
We are to share with the Lord’s people who are in need and practice hospitality. Lord, I pray that You will open our eyes to the needs around us and use us to spread Your love to those around us. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen!
