#romans 12

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"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

-Romans 12:12

Photo: Victoria, BC, Canada

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The New Life in Christ

1 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

3 For by the grace given to me I bid every one 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 which God has assigned him. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice 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; never be conceited. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. — Romans 12 | Revised Standard Version (RSV) Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved. Cross References: Genesis 42:25; Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 14:2; 2 Samuel 17:29; 2 Kings 6:22; Ezra 10:11; Psalm 36:4; Psalm 131:1; Proverbs 31:15; Ecclesiastes 3:4; Ecclesiastes 7:16; John 13:34; John 17:11; Acts 4:36; Acts 6:1; Acts 13:1; Romans 1:15; Romans 5:2; Romans 13:1; Romans 14:19; 1 Corinthians 12:12; 1 Peter 3:9

Romans 12 | Resources from Ligonier Ministries

[biblequotesdaily]

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Romans 12:1

[dearlittlefandom-stalker]

Romans 12:1-21 (KJV)

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

[madistarlight]

Love and Disdain

Devotion on Romans 12

I was reading today and something clicked that God's been building a lot on the past few years of my life.

I masked so much of me disdain for this woman (MJ) in my life over the course for 4 years. (I used to vent about her a lot here RIP) She tore me to pieces, made me question my sanity, became my reason for therapy, and ripped my self confidence to shreds, pretty much everyone knew how much of a bully she was. Like we're talking it-became-a-company-wide-HR-issue type of bad.

We parted ways when she quit. I instantly began to let the "friendship" fade.

But she messaged me today on Instagram and I got a pit in my stomach, and then started to think, "If MJ never talks to me again I will be more than ok with that."

But then I started to think...

For many years I was one of the people she felt comfortable venting to. I really got a sense that out of our entire company, I was the only one who could tolerate her (actually several people told me this LOLL) In spite of everything, I still helped her, was a friend to her when she needed one, listened to her venting, held her hand (or just.... held her while she cried), drank with her, let her love me even if I knew I couldn't say I loved her back.

And I felt so stupidly cruel. Thinking the whole time... She has no idea how I wish we could never speak again. She has no idea how much it crushes me inside to be nice to her.

But I somehow knew that was wrong? I would rather her go her whole life thinking we were friends and feeling loved when I was with her. I would rather her only think that we faded simply because we parted ways and I let it fade

And then there's this,

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Isn't that... isn't that what Christ did for us? Doesn't the sin nature in us make us look foolish and disgusting? Doesn't that make it even more special to be loved anyway? Except, God doesn't ever fake it- he in his perfection can hold soooo so much love that no matter how many times you push him away- he can't help loving you more.

It just sucks to feel like "wow loving this person is difficult I kind of wish... we didn't talk" because all I can think of is how much she's hurt me but... that's loving? In itself? That is loving my enemy, too, right?

“When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As Christian's we go through life being called a lot of things by this world and "being fake" by wordly standards... maybe it's something that comes up but honestly. That's not my "mask" or being fake, that's me putting my inclinations aside to be a little picture of God's love to all people. And, yeah, I had to learn a balance - the very hard way, and that meant saying no when she wanted me to go drinking with her allll the time- because love isn't tolerance. But I held her when she cried, you know? Maybe that's a spiritual gift of mine because even the other believers in our workplace really struggled against hating her. It was tough when they felt I was being too "nice" to her.

But the more I thought about it, the more it still felt right. That itself was my ministry. It didn't have to be theirs.

Would I rather know straight up if someone didn't like me? And then what? Would it do good to talk it out if I knew there were differences we couldn't have overcome? Only, I think, if I had prayed about it enough to know it would be the right call. Most people only change through fervent prayer and an innate desire to change themselves. In our case, communication did help soothe and improve some things after our management had a very hard conversation with her, and yet I still felt like I couldn't hate her even if I actually didn't like her at all.

“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!” Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭16 NLT‬‬

“Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭18 NLT‬‬

So I pray about and for the people around me, because ultimately you're around to minister and be salt and light. Don't gotta let people walk on you but, I don't... really think it's fake to show kindness, mercy, and a prayerful ear towards the people that persecute you. You know?

“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. 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.” Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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[askwholehearted]

This week we've dug into loving our enemies. While that can seem nearly impossible at times, Romans 12: 20-21 tells us how to treat our enemies in a God-honoring way - by choosing to love and overcoming evil with good.