Romans 12:14-18 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
As the last day of Hanukkah has come, we’re going to put these five verses together as Paul is telling us a central theme. That theme is compassion. Compassion is a sympathetic concern for the sufferings of others. As you read through the above passage, you can see compassion in one way or another in everything Paul is telling us to do, with the exception of the first verse. How can you have compassion for someone that is persecuting you?
Bless, don’t curse.
It’s been said that the reason we hate is that we just don’t understand. Persecution only comes from people that don’t like us, possibly even hate us. Our instinct is to lash out in retaliation. Paul is telling us to bless them instead. Could it be that they are persecuting because they don’t understand, and we retaliate because we don’t take the time to understand either? If we have compassion for them for whatever they are going through, maybe it will reveal the real reason for the persecution. Now, even if we could see their point of view, it doesn’t mean we’re going to change their mind about us and why they are persecuting us, but if we bless them when they persecute us, who knows what effect that could have. Paul is repeating a command from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus, Himself told us to bless those that persecute us. And remember, the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.
So today, this last day of Hanukkah, dedicate yourself to living through compassion in every situation you encounter.
Romans 12:13 “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
In this day and age, there are so many “toys” that are vying for our attention, from the latest smartphone or electronic device to hobbies and habits that can be more costly than some of our monthly bills. All of these are optional expenses, but we gladly pay them because it’s what we want, but it’s not what we need.
In this verse, Paul is telling us this is something we “need” to do. What’s really interesting is that when you start to contribute to people in need, it then becomes something you “want” to do. There’s such a joy that comes with giving.
Today, dedicate yourself to finding a need and then contribute to filling that need. But don’t just stop with today. Continue to contribute whenever you find a need, and always seek to show hospitality.
Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
1 Peter 3:15 says that we should always be prepared to give a reason for the hope we have. We have hope because of what Christ did for us. It’s our testimony. We should rejoice in that testimony. Rejoice in hope.
James tells us to consider it all joy when we encounter trials. Paul tells us to be patient. Neither is really easy, but the more time we spend with God, the easier it becomes. This brings us to the third part of this verse.
Paul told the Thessalonians a similar thing to the Romans. He said to always rejoice, pray continually, and give thanks in everything, including the trials. Another translation says to always be in an attitude of prayer. In other words, we should always be talking with God.
Today, dedicate yourself to practicing being hopeful, patience when things don’t go as planned, and to prayer. Talk to God daily.
Romans 12:11 (GW) “Don’t be lazy in showing your devotion. Use your energy to serve the Lord.”
Life can be busy. Life can be controlling. Life can pass us by and we miss out on the things that matter most. In this verse, Paul is telling us to be active in our devotion to God. That could be in service to others, ministry, missions, giving, etc. But the most important thing in a believer’s walk is often the first thing that is forgotten or ignored, letting God talk to us through His Word.
Today, devote yourself to a Bible reading plan that is achievable. Find an accountability partner if necessary. It’s imperative to spiritual growth. Through reading what God has to say, your passion for all other kinds of service will become evident and then you will know how to use your energy to serve the Lord.
Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
The first half of this verse goes along with yesterday’s post on knowing God because God is love from 1 John 4. Today we’ll add verse 20. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” It’s because of our love for God that we are to love our brothers (and sisters). John 13:35 says, “By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”
We are also admonished to outdo one another in showing honor. To honor someone means to have high respect for them. The Bible has many verses about not putting ourselves above others. Proverbs 25:6,7 tells us not to put ourselves in the seat next to the king “for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” We are to choose a lesser position for ourselves. Yeshua said He didn’t come to be served but to serve. We should do the same. So, we are to OUTDO one another in being a servant to them.
Today’s verse is really about showing love and respect, and to outdo each other while doing it.
Today, dedicate yourself to love and respect for others.
Happy Hanukkah!
(To learn more about this topic, check out the Love & Respect podcast by Emerson and Jonathan Eggerich. You’ll be glad you did.)
Romans 12:9 “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
What is genuine love? John explains this to us in his first epistle. 1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
John is saying that God is the standard for love, so it is only through God that genuine love can come. We must KNOW God in order to KNOW love. And if our love comes from God, then we should naturally abhor evil because it is the opposite of God’s nature. If evil comes our way, we should resist it at all costs.
James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
If we are deep in God’s Word, as yesterday’s post advocated, it should come as a matter of course to resist the devil. And God gave us the tools to do just that.
Ephesians 6:11-18a “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”
Today, dedicate yourselves to putting on the full armor of God and resisting evil.
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
There are three ways to dedicate yourselves in regard to this verse. The first would be to dedicate your mind to being renewed to have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:14-16). You do that by reading and doing what He said.
The second dedication is to the testing and discerning of our ways to see if they line up with God’s Will. Again, we do this by reading what God said and what He expects of us.
The third way is to dedicate ourselves to doing what is “good and acceptable and perfect.” You guessed it. Knowing that comes from reading God’s Word. Philippians 4:8 says that whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise, we are to think on these things.
So, today’s dedication is simple to dedicate yourself to the reading of God’s Word and not only to read it but to DO it. James says that anyone that hears it but doesn’t do it is just deceiving themselves.
Hanukkah, or Chanukah, means dedication. (If you don’t know the story, you can look it up. I won’t take the space to tell it here.) Hanukkah is an eight-day celebration of the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabean Revolt.
Paul wrote to the Roman believers that they should dedicate themselves to God.
Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
We are more than just believers in the Messiah. We are more than just followers of the One True God. We are slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:15-23). We are part of the Family of God. It’s part of our worship to dedicate ourselves to Him.
How can you dedicate yourself this week? The seven ways of dedication will be posted daily this week.
Genesis 1 declares the existence of God. It doesn’t try to argue the point. God existed before creation because He created all things. Therefore, God pre-exists time because creation is also the beginning of time. From there we can conclude that nothing pre-exists God. If God had a beginning, then time would have to exist in order to measure when God began. Infinity cannot be measured, so God was not created. He always was and is. He told Moses He is the I AM. There is no past or future in I AM. It is always in the present. It’s kind of like the saying that tomorrow never comes. Because when tomorrow comes, from our perspective it will be today. God is the I AM because He is always present. He exists outside of time so there is no past or future to Him. All things exist together in time.
