Day 233: Recap!

Day 226: Unpacking Romans 12-Good Overcomes Evil

Today we finished out the "Unpacking Romans 12" series and addressed some of the issues facing our world and communities today. We talked about how love is the only way to move forward and get past all the hate be spewed by so many people. We talked about how even in the midst of all of the injustice and racial tensions we must pray for those who are persecuting us. We focused on Romans 12:21.
"The only way we can overcome the evils of this world is by doing good. Evil cannot beat good. Hate cannot beat love. Dark cannot be light. Fear cannot beat hope. So today I want to encourage the body of Christ to love in the face of hate, to do good in the face of  evil. Be a light in the dark."

Day 227: All Summed Up

Today we broke down Romans 13:8-10 and as you can read in the devo, it had me shook! We talked about how through love we are fulfilling the law set forth by God through Mosed in the Torah. We talked about how loving God and loving each other drives us to righteousness and allows us to follow the laws of God and obey all of His commandments (you gotta read it).

"By obeying these two commands we obey all ten commandments. We do not ignore the law in the name of Jesus instead we honor it by following His path. What I mean is that Jesus gave us these two great commands to love God and love people. Now if we love God, ourselves, and others these commandments are fulfilled. Simply because love is the foundation of it all. We don’t hurt the people we love, we won’t steal from them, kill them, covet what have, sow discord, because love won’t allow us to do it. It’s almost as if love obeys the commands for us. When we love God we won’t put anything before Him or use His name in vain. Love won’t allow it."

Day 228: Pass No Judgement

Today we start a three part series, kind of. We talked about Romans 14: 1-6, and for the next two day we built on this subject. Today we talked about passing judgements on others who decide to live differently than us. We were talking about those who live sinful lives as opposed to Godly lives. We talked about how we as Christians choose how we want to live our lives and that looks different for each of us. Some of us are more traditional while others are more modern or contemporary, just to name one scenario.

"All this to say, for lack of better words, don’t be petty. Don’t pass judgement on someone and doubt their devotion to Christ because their life does not look exactly like yours. We as the body of Christ should be lifting each other up, praying for one another every chance we get. That way, there’s no time or room to be petty and judgmental."

Day 229: You Decide

Today we built on yesterday's subject by talking about the lives we choose to live. We talked about how for certain areas in our lives we get to choose whether it's right or not. We talked about a number of subjects like choosing to drink or not to drink. We talked about how some things are looked down upon or deemed sinful within the Christian community but they aren't actually a sin. We also talked about not being made to feel guilty about your decisions. We focused on Romans 14:22-23 and Ecclesiastes 9:7.

" I think many times we kind of set up boundaries to keep ourselves from sinning. We live these compact lives in these boxes of comfort that will keep us out of harm's way, keep us from temptation and sin. We are so concerned with not sinning that we forget to live."

Day 230: Don't Be A Stumbling Block

Today we talked about not doing anything that will cause our brother or sister to stumble. We talked about how it's not always what we choose to do that causes someone else to stumble. But it can be our judgments and our need to look like good Christians by tearing someone else down because we don't agree with the life they are leading. We focused on Romans 14:13, 19.

"I believe there is something much bigger than whether we agree or disagree, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that people are not turned away by our judgmental faces and comments. What matters is that we put someone’s soul before our opinions. What matters is that we do not become the obstacle someone has to get over in order to get to Christ."

Day 231: The Sheep and the Shepherd

Today we talked about following God and listening to His voice. We dove into the analogy of the sheep and the shepherd and how it is synonymous to our relationship with God. We talked about how important it is for us as the sheep to listen to God and trust Him in order to have a relationship with Him. We focused on John 10:26-27.

"I think another important message to learn here is that in order for us to follow Christ and listen to His word we must trust Him. The flock trusts the shepherd with their life, everything they are depends on the shepherd, they have learned to trust their shepherd and listen to His voice. They will not follow the wrong voice either. I believe that as followers of Christ, if we do not trust Him, we are wasting our time. When we don’t trust someone we hesitate to listen to them, we question everything they do, we will not give them a chance to be a part of our life. We cannot have a solid relationship without trust."

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 234!