Are you living the life of a CHRISTIAN?
Yes, you believe the Lord Jesus died on the cross to save you from your sins and you've accepted Him as your Lord and Saviour! So YAH! You're on your way to heaven. PRAISE THE LORD!
And that IS all well and good BUT are you living the life of a Christian?
As I was reading in Romans, I came across several verses that explain how a Christian should live and WOW! AM I LIVING LIKE THAT? Does my life SHOW that I am saved without even telling anyone?
Let's review some of these verses and look at your own life and really take note and be accountable for your actions and the truth of how you live.
You will need your Bible for this part because it's time we did some homework ourselves instead of letting everyone else do the work. So, get your Bible out, read each verse then we will discuss it one-by-one! Are you up for this challenge??? SURE YOU ARE!!! :) Let's get started!!!
We will be reading Romans 12:9-21.
Vs. 9 Love without hypocrisy. Don't put on an act! Have you ever been around someone that you could tell really didn't like you but was "acting" like they did? That is the worst feeling ever and I would rather them just not talk to me. Well, as Christians, we are commanded to walk in love but don't put on an act. Just love! How do we not put on an act? It continues to tell us...Depart from evil (bad thoughts, bad mouthing, etc). When you put these things in you, it just makes you turn on people. But CLING to what is GOOD! When you cling to the things that are good and positive, then you will begin to look at others in a positive way.
Vs. 10 Be KINDLY affectionate...it doesn't just tell us to be affectionate..but be KINDLY affectionate (not faking it). Having phileo "to love"....like a brotherly love. If you had a blood brother, no matter how mad you were at him, you would not treat him unkindly. That is the way we need to treat others. Overlooking their faults.
Vs. 11 Do not lag in diligence. This is an everyday thing. Don't lag...Be diligent in doing right. Be fervent in spirit, living full of burning zeal. That is the opposite of being cold and unemotional. If you want to read more about someone that had this....Apollos. He was a complete man, articulate in scripture, and full of Spiritual fervency. (Acts 18:24). We can be full of scriptures and still have a bad opinion about every one. Walk in love!!!!
Vs. 12 Rejoice in hope, BE PATIENT in tribulation. (Persevere). We all have tribulations. Are we telling everyone what your problems are? Or are you taking them to the One that CAN help change things? If you are talking about the problem all the time, then your not talking about the answer and there will continue to be a problem. Continue steadfastly in prayer and God will show you the answer!
Vs. 13 Distribute to the needs of the saints. Are you giving to others what they need? Or are you upset because they've not had the same opinion as you, so you ignore them? Giving to their needs is knowing what they need said to them and saying it. You cannot help anyone if you are always hanging out with "who you THINK is always agreeable with you"....that's not what this life is about. It's about asking God to show you what others needs, ESPECIALLY those who are not in agreement with you. They are not to be shunned but loved on! Go out of your way to pray for them and let God guide you on what needs to be said to them. Pursue hospitality. This is a HUGE thing in the church that we are not doing! We get into our own "groups" and stay there but don't venture out and meet new people, go out of your way and introduce yourself! Don't be a stick in the mud! God called us to pursue hospitality!Make people feel accepted, wanted, and loved. Don't just preach to them about what they are doing wrong, let them know what things are right. I promise you, you will get more out of them that way. It's just like a child, if you continue to tell them to "Stop this, Don't do that"...they will do THAT! WHY? Because they don't know WHAT they are SUPPOSE to do, they only hear what they aren't suppose to do. So, be POSITIVE in how you talk! DO read the Word, DO LOVE one another, DO go to church. DO what's right!!!
Vs. 14 Bless those who persecute you! Oh wow! How many times have we got offended and totally missed this one? Bless and DO NOT CURSE! There WILL be persecution in this world. I promise you, not everyone will think like you think or believe exactly like you believe BUT THAT DOES NOT give us any excuse to not walk in love!
Vs. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice. How many times have we not even "acknowledged" something that made someone else rejoice because we were jealous or upset because it wasn't happening for us? Possibly its not happening because of not rejoicing with others when things go right for them! And we also need to be aware and acknowledge when someone is hurting...Reach out to them. Don't ignore them! Ask God what you need to say to them and go love on them!
Vs. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Just because there are people who you think are "on your side" or of one-mind, does not give us any right to treat them any better then the person that doesn't agree with us 100%. I promise you, even the people you think agree with you, doesn't all the time. That's life! Don't be so spiritually minded that you are no earthly good. It's awesome to give advice from the Bible. That is the only place to go to when people NEED advice but don't be so "heavenly" minded that "earthly" people can't understand what you are talking about. Start from where they understand things. Don't go over their head.
Vs. 17 Do not repay evil. That's self explanatory. That's 2nd grade knowledge. Pray for those who hurt you! Have regards to the good things. Look on the bright side.
Vs. 18 The Christian is to make certain that he is not at fault when peace breaks down. There are people who are going to make us mad. But don't lose your peace!!!
Vs. 19 Do not take vengeance yourself. Give it to God. If there's something you disagree with, then let God handle it. I promise you, HE WILL! But if you keep holding on to it, He can't do anything! GIVE NO PLACE TO WRATH! When we handle things the way we want to, this is what happens and NOTHING good EVER comes from it. It just causes more hurt feelings! GIVE IT TO GOD!!!
Vs. 20 Feed your enemy, go out of your way for those who are hungry! If you don't like what someone is wearing, maybe you need to buy them some clothes. Maybe that is all they have. Don't talk about how bad they look or smell. Change the circumstances by teaching them how to dress appropriately and smell nice.
Vs. 21 AND ONCE AGAIN...Paul reminds us "DO NOT OVERCOME EVIL WITH EVIL". He knows how people can be and that is not letting God be in control of circumstances. But we need to stand up and do what these scriptures are telling us to do = WALK IN LOVE!!!
This is an everyday choice! Sometimes we may fail but dust yourself off and get up and try again! Being a Christian isn't easy. In fact, its alot of work. BUT the rewards are ETERNAL!!!
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