Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
August 9, 2021
Read Romans 12:9-21
9 Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil, and hold on to what is good. 10 Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. 11 Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! 12 Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome strangers into your home. 14 Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy and cry with those who are crying. 16 Consider everyone as equal and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart. 17 Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions but show respect for what everyone else believes is good. 18 If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. 19 Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. It is written, Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord. 20 Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head. 21 Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.
Good Morning! What a great day to praise the Lord!
Wow! I can imagine multiple sermon topics in this passage. In these few verses, Paul manages to give us so much information, and I’m guessing he also steps on the toes of each reader. As I reread this passage, I find myself thinking, okay, “I’ve got this”, but then in another verse, I think, “whoops, I need to do better with that.”
For this morning, I want to focus on verses 14-16. First, blessing those who harass us. As I return to school this week, I am thinking about a co-teacher who I sometimes allow to get under my skin. Outside of our work environment, she is a nice person, but at work, she seems to enjoy looking for the problems especially once something has been finalized. Sadly, she is often right in her findings, but it is so frustrating to realize that we need to go back and redo parts of our work. I will challenge myself to change my mindset and be thankful when she “pokes holes” in our work. We must remember that there is no rose without thorns.
Verse 16 is challenging because confident people sometimes emit an aura of superiority. I have had situations where I was told that I unknowingly intimidated others because of my confidence. I don’t believe that I’m better than others, but I am a problem-solver, so I look for ways to succeed. In my younger days, I was challenged when my solutions failed, but as I continue on my journey of faith I try to accept my failures with joy as I realize that each failure is an opportunity to grow. God is still working with me to use my confidence in ways to support other people, but not appear as better than others. I choose to celebrate my weaknesses as growth opportunities.
Which of Paul’s verses challenge you? How can you challenge yourself to take your next step of faith and let the Holy Spirit guide you? Are you ready to celebrate?
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. Through Paul’s words, we see that we have many ways to challenge ourselves along our journey of faith. Thank you for waiting and supporting us as we work through our weaknesses. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: When we need to remember the way, we can turn to scriptures for direction.
Look for joy in every situation! Pastor Liz
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