Day 48 - Romans 12:14 - 12:21

14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;    I will pay them back,”    says the Lord.

20 Instead,“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.    If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.In doing this, you will heap    burning coals of shame on their heads.”21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Terrie's Comments:

I am not sure about everyone else but I know for myself I need to remember these things often.  We live in a world surrounded with the attitude that you have the right to be upset and hold grudges... "Never take revenge.  Leave that to the righteous anger of God."  Chew on that for a minute...

We are to do good always, live at peace with everyone.  This is pretty much the opposite of the world we live in that says "whatever feels good to me is good".  Putting God first means putting everyone else before Me always.  Anyone else need to keep this in mind?

Tori: Ordinary people I believe are anyone who you might be tempted to consider "beneath" your social status.  

Tori's Comments:

I read somewhere that it is really hard to hate someone you pray for daily. I thought it was an awesome way of seeing this, because it shows how prayer helps us, as well.

Just curious... what does it mean by 'ordinary people'?

Verse 21 is awesome. I kind of want to hang it on my wall as a reminder.

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 47 - Romans 12:9 - 12:13

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Tori's Comments:

Whoa whoa whoa  whoa. Loads of gems.

I'm just going to pick out one to camp out on for now. Really loving others. I choose this because it's very hard to do. It takes constant self sacrifice and means trying to be the best friend I can, even when I don't feel like it.

There was a lot of advice (I guess that's the word for it? Or commands?) in today's section. I'm curious-which one do you struggle with, or are focusing on right now, or just stuck out to you?

Terrie's Comments:

This is one for the wall... time to break out my cricut and cut some vinyl letters... lots of great and practical reminders in a few short verses!!

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 46 - Romans 12:1 - 12:8

12 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Terrie's Comments:

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but LET GOD TRANSFORM ME INTO A NEW PERSON BY CHANGING THE WAY I THINK"

Be honest in my evaluation of myself

Use the gifts and abilities that God has given me the best that I can.  

I guess the key to this is to identify what the behavior and customs of this world are that I shouldn't copy and then to LET God transform me and letting Him change the way I think.  In a world that tends to boast about how independent we are and how we don't need each other it is hard to then rely completely on God and give Him glory for everything.  How can I give Him glory more in my life?

Tori's Comments:

"Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

I realize I often ask about knowing the Holy Spirit's voice from others, and these few verses at the beginning sure help.

Ha! I love how it says "the faith God has given us", because I can testify that I can't even be faithful on my own!

"we all belong to each other." I think that's beautiful. And in this sort of relationship, giving up on people because they are too needy or tire you out isn't an option.

I remember a lot of stressing about what God wants me to do with my life, but have come to a peace about it. This passage only reaffirms what I feel about it. I realized God had given me gifts and talents, and it was my job to use them. Not only that, but to glorify God through them. It was such a relief to go from this mindset of needing to convert thousands of people and open orphanages and blah blah blah to....doing a job I feel God has gifted me to do well.

This passage went loads of different directions. I think the "we belong to each other" is something I'll be keeping in mind. What about you? Anything particular stick out?

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!