Romans 12:6-13 (NIV)
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
We are all different. We all see the world through a different set of lenses. We have different gifts. Our differences have been given to us by the grace of God. It is not only that God's grace has given us different gifts, He has given us the gift of being different. Yet, this "greatest gift" can almost drive us crazy at times. We must always come back to the grace of God. It is in God's grace that we are different. We must all be on the same page and it seems at the same time we must draw our own drawing on that same page. Those that are called to serve, should serve and those that are called to teach, should teach, etc. The point is that we do it for God's glory and under His command of His great commission. Paul is instructing us on all these different gifts and then what does he come back to after that teaching? Paul comes back to love. Paul does the same thing here that he did in his letter to the Corinthians. He talks about the different gifts and then inserts 1 Corinthians 13 in the middle of his teaching on gifts. Here he says love must be sincere. Love should not be faked. In verse 10 we are told to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. We are family! Then he strikes a chord that we all should learn how to do more. We are commanded to honor one another above ourselves. I really like verse 11. We are to keep up our spiritual fervor. Perhaps one of the keys to keeping the church unified and going forward in the battle is this item of our zeal. What gets you fired up for the Lord? What helps you to become stronger in Him? What keeps you lit up for God's kingdom? Let's go back to that thing of honoring one another. How can we really do that apart from God's zeal being in us? How can we sincerely make someone look better than us apart from God's grace working in us? Have you noticed that we are in the details of what it looks like to be transformed by the renewing of our minds? We cannot skim over these verses for in the end they are the heart and soul of how the church of Jesus Christ is to function. This is how God builds a new community.
Biblically the church is an organism not an organization—a movement, not a monument. It is not a part of the community; it is a whole new community. It is not an orderly gathering; it is a new order with new values, often in sharp conflict with the values of the surrounding society.
Charles Colson (1931– )
Friday, July 16, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Romans 12:3-8 (NIV)
Romans 12:3-8 (NIV)
3 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 measure of faith God has given you.
4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
We learned that to be transformed we must be renewed in our minds. Part of that renewal has to do with how we think about ourselves. Paul uses what I find to be an unusual statement to start out his thoughts on this subject. Paul says "For by the grace given me I say to every one..." and you have to ask why at this juncture does he use this phrase? I believe everything that Paul has been saying is by the grace of God. For me it is as if Paul is going to become like a coach to these people. Paul is wanting God's team in Rome to really come together to serve the one and true God. Paul is letting them know that he is on this team and it is by the grace of God that he is on this team. One of the first things you have to address on the team is getting people to think rightly about themselves. If you have people going around thinking they are cut out to preach but they really belong in the sound booth then you have a problem. These words of Paul are pure wisdom from above when he says, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment...". When we hear the words, "It is not about you" that does not mean that you are not addressed in the God's Word, you just need a right opinion about yourself. You have to think of yourself with sober judgment. In a world gone wild about themselves the Word tell us to get sober on the subject of self. In Galatians, Paul is even more blunt when he says, "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." (Gal. 6:3). This new thinking has to be done by faith, the faith that only God has given us. Now Paul starts talking about the team, but not until he had dealt with the "self." Paul uses the analogy of the human body that is one, and yet each member of a human body (the eye, mouth etc.) has different functions. The vision of the church is for everyone to find their place and then serve in that place with their whole heart. What could be getting done in the name of the Lord if that vision was ever realized? Would you please dream with me to see more of this vision realized here at Crosspoint?
Weak things united become strong.
Proverb
3 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 measure of faith God has given you.
4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
We learned that to be transformed we must be renewed in our minds. Part of that renewal has to do with how we think about ourselves. Paul uses what I find to be an unusual statement to start out his thoughts on this subject. Paul says "For by the grace given me I say to every one..." and you have to ask why at this juncture does he use this phrase? I believe everything that Paul has been saying is by the grace of God. For me it is as if Paul is going to become like a coach to these people. Paul is wanting God's team in Rome to really come together to serve the one and true God. Paul is letting them know that he is on this team and it is by the grace of God that he is on this team. One of the first things you have to address on the team is getting people to think rightly about themselves. If you have people going around thinking they are cut out to preach but they really belong in the sound booth then you have a problem. These words of Paul are pure wisdom from above when he says, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment...". When we hear the words, "It is not about you" that does not mean that you are not addressed in the God's Word, you just need a right opinion about yourself. You have to think of yourself with sober judgment. In a world gone wild about themselves the Word tell us to get sober on the subject of self. In Galatians, Paul is even more blunt when he says, "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." (Gal. 6:3). This new thinking has to be done by faith, the faith that only God has given us. Now Paul starts talking about the team, but not until he had dealt with the "self." Paul uses the analogy of the human body that is one, and yet each member of a human body (the eye, mouth etc.) has different functions. The vision of the church is for everyone to find their place and then serve in that place with their whole heart. What could be getting done in the name of the Lord if that vision was ever realized? Would you please dream with me to see more of this vision realized here at Crosspoint?
Weak things united become strong.
Proverb
Monday, July 12, 2010
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
2 Do not conform any longer 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.
We must ask what the word "Therefore" is there for at the beginning of chapter 12. Some say it only goes back to chapter 11 where Paul says we are all bound up to His mercy. There are others that say it goes back to the whole discourse on the Gentiles being let in and the Israelites being laid off to the side, which is found in Romans 9-11. I am one who says the "Therefore" goes all the way back to Romans chapter 1 and the whole theme of the book of Romans which is Romans 1:16-17. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to any who believe. God's mercy, in its fullest way, has been revealed in this Good News about Jesus Christ. Paul has been teaching about all the ramifications of this Gospel since he stated those verses. Now he is bringing it home. In light of all of what God has done for us in His mercy we have only one response and that is to become a living sacrifice. This is our spiritual act of worship. It is worship seven days a week. We are to have a moment-to-moment relationship with our God. If we place ourselves upon Jesus Christ in this way we must no longer conform to the ways of the world. The transformation that takes place is what happens in our minds. Our minds, the way we think, must change by the grace of God. It is then that we are able to taste the sweetness of the will of God. Could you, would you, place yourself upon the altar once again and let God be God in your life? What do you need to get a grip on and of what do you need to let go? Let us look at Romans 12:1-2 in The Message.
Romans 12:1-2 (MSG)
1 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
2 Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
2 Do not conform any longer 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.
We must ask what the word "Therefore" is there for at the beginning of chapter 12. Some say it only goes back to chapter 11 where Paul says we are all bound up to His mercy. There are others that say it goes back to the whole discourse on the Gentiles being let in and the Israelites being laid off to the side, which is found in Romans 9-11. I am one who says the "Therefore" goes all the way back to Romans chapter 1 and the whole theme of the book of Romans which is Romans 1:16-17. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to any who believe. God's mercy, in its fullest way, has been revealed in this Good News about Jesus Christ. Paul has been teaching about all the ramifications of this Gospel since he stated those verses. Now he is bringing it home. In light of all of what God has done for us in His mercy we have only one response and that is to become a living sacrifice. This is our spiritual act of worship. It is worship seven days a week. We are to have a moment-to-moment relationship with our God. If we place ourselves upon Jesus Christ in this way we must no longer conform to the ways of the world. The transformation that takes place is what happens in our minds. Our minds, the way we think, must change by the grace of God. It is then that we are able to taste the sweetness of the will of God. Could you, would you, place yourself upon the altar once again and let God be God in your life? What do you need to get a grip on and of what do you need to let go? Let us look at Romans 12:1-2 in The Message.
Romans 12:1-2 (MSG)
1 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
2 Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Romans 12:17-21 (NIV)
Romans 12:17-21 (NIV)
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
20 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."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
These people lived in Rome. These people saw a government that was pretty good compared to other barbarians, and yet Rome had armies that would bring countries into submission. In other words, Rome wasn't as bad as we are sometimes led to believe. However, it was a heathen nation. Evil for evil would have been something of a common practice for that day even in a more sophisticated society as Rome. Do not conform to the ways of your culture, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody is one of the hardest lines that I know of in the Scriptures. We are all on call all the time. People are watching and we are to behave in a way that is right. This is hard stuff! It is hard because - wonder if you are doing something that you know is not wrong, but the people watching think it is wrong. What do we do with our freedom in Christ? Do we teach at that moment or do we submit? Here is a real read on people, If it is possible- as far as it depends on you -live at peace with everyone. We may go to great lengths to live at peace with people and yet there still be no harmony. This is a reality that has to be accepted. Do you realize revenge is not wrong it is just wrong for us? If we step in, we may mess up either God's mercy or His wrath. Here is hard obedience for us followers of Christ: love your enemies. Is it possible for good to overcome evil? The answer is yes! Please meditate on these words and let them go to the deepest recesses of your soul.
Christianity is neither contemplation nor action. It is participation. Contemplation is looking at God as if he were an object. But if you participate in God in the sense that you let yourself be penetrated by him, you will go to the cross like him, you will go to work like him, you will clean shoes, do the washing up and the cooking, all like him. You cannot do otherwise because you will have become part of him. You will do what he loves to do.
Louis Evely (1910– )
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
20 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."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
These people lived in Rome. These people saw a government that was pretty good compared to other barbarians, and yet Rome had armies that would bring countries into submission. In other words, Rome wasn't as bad as we are sometimes led to believe. However, it was a heathen nation. Evil for evil would have been something of a common practice for that day even in a more sophisticated society as Rome. Do not conform to the ways of your culture, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody is one of the hardest lines that I know of in the Scriptures. We are all on call all the time. People are watching and we are to behave in a way that is right. This is hard stuff! It is hard because - wonder if you are doing something that you know is not wrong, but the people watching think it is wrong. What do we do with our freedom in Christ? Do we teach at that moment or do we submit? Here is a real read on people, If it is possible- as far as it depends on you -live at peace with everyone. We may go to great lengths to live at peace with people and yet there still be no harmony. This is a reality that has to be accepted. Do you realize revenge is not wrong it is just wrong for us? If we step in, we may mess up either God's mercy or His wrath. Here is hard obedience for us followers of Christ: love your enemies. Is it possible for good to overcome evil? The answer is yes! Please meditate on these words and let them go to the deepest recesses of your soul.
Christianity is neither contemplation nor action. It is participation. Contemplation is looking at God as if he were an object. But if you participate in God in the sense that you let yourself be penetrated by him, you will go to the cross like him, you will go to work like him, you will clean shoes, do the washing up and the cooking, all like him. You cannot do otherwise because you will have become part of him. You will do what he loves to do.
Louis Evely (1910– )
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