1 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him judge whether they are right or wrong. And with the Lord’s help, they will do what is right and will receive his approval.
5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. 6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.

I really love this passage because it really reminds me that every Christian has a different style and way of doing things. The only thing that matters is that what I do must honor God. Even more importantly: God is the only one who can judge whether we are right or wrong, so we need to stop judging each other. It’s interesting to me that Paul had to remind Christians to stop picking on eachother – from the very beginning of the church, it seems like Christians struggled with being legalistic, missing the very point of the spirit and attitude of our hearts.

8 Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.”[a] These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. 13 Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

I love when the Pharisee’s ask Jesus what the most important commandments were. They were trying to trip up Jesus and get him into trouble, yet His response blew them away (as it usually did). All of the commandments can be summed up in two important principles: Loving God and Loving People. If you are doing those two things, then you are not lying, cheating, stealing, coveting, murdering, etc.

It’s interesting to me that Paul writing this thousands of years ago was urging the Christians of the day to get right with Jesus and to stop sinning because the end was closer than they think. Well, thousands of years later, all of those individuals he initially wrote to have been long gone. But really, it doesn’t matter when Jesus comes again. We are not guaranteed that we will live to see tomorrow, so our time may truly be short and regardless, I should live my life as though it would end tomorrow.

Respect for Authority
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. 2 So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. 3 For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. 4 The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. 5 So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.
6 Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.

This passage is a little bit of a challenge for me because it is so black-and-white and the misuse of authority, especially in our country, seems to be so prevelant. How many times have I heard about taxes going directly into the pockets of politicians? Too many to count!

In Matthew 22:21, it says, “‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.” We can’t take money with us and the more important thing is what we do with what we do with what God has given us. Ultimately, the taxes are supposed to be used to serve our community (and thereby, the taxpayer because a better community means a better life for the taxpayer).

As far as the authority that God has placed in our lives in terms of the government, it seems they fall under the heading of, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” (can’t remember the location of this verse off the top of my head) The leaders God has put in place will be accountable, as we all are, for the job they do in office.

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge; I will pay them back,”[g] says the Lord.
20 Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”[h]
21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
God is so surprising! Our human nature and instinct can be so reactionary and so narrow-minded and self-serving that when Paul says, “Never pay back evil with more evil” – it sounds surprising! We live in a world that is “Eye for an Eye.” Our society is completely litigious. I have encountered many individuals that live by the mantra of, “I want what I want, when I want it, how I want it” and they step on a whole lot of people to get there. So in a society like the one we live in, think of how things would change if we left the pay-back up to God. See, when people do evil, they expect negative consequences. Think of how amazing it is to people when God’s grace is evident clearly and tangibly through Christians. Grace is truly when you deserve one negative/less desirable result, but instead, are extended a “pass.” People are more likely to believe that there is a merciful God when they witness His merciful people here on earth.

I really found the part of the passage where Paul says, “Leave the payback up to God” kind of funny. I remember when I was younger that I often got in trouble for parenting my siblings (in not a good way). My dad would always say, “Who is the parent, Emily?” And this is God’s way of saying, “Emily, I will handle this. Do what you are supposed to do and I will make sure that everything else is taken care of.”

14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
This was a hard one because I think what Paul is saying goes against human nature. When someone cuts you off in traffic, the natural response is usually (there are a few zen drivers out there that may not get this) one of anger and of hope that there is a cop around that will pull that yahoo driver over!

But Paul goes beyond saying be nice to the people who do things that inconvenience you, Paul is telling the Romans to BLESS people who actively and deliberately worked to hurt and kill Christians. Can you imagine the strength it would take to bless someone who was so actively against you, they would take your life? How do you do that without the strenght of the holy spirit??

Beyond just blessing the people that persecute you, Paul tells the Romans to do their best to live in harmony. My mom had Judge Judy on a few weeks ago when I was home doing billing. Remembering the cases of mom vs. son over a few hundred dollars, I can’t help but think that Paul’s charge to live in harmony requires a people devoted to Jesus. Families can hardly stand eachother sometimes, much less neighborhoods and communities!

But just like it takes one person to ruin a good time, it just takes a handful of people to buck the trend, to start something new, to change the tone of the conversation. I need to think: how can I wish my enemies well and be kind to my neighbor?

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection,[e] and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.[f] 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Paul first discusses the various spiritual gifts that God blesses people with. It’s important to me that Paul didn’t say, “Yay for you!” No! The gifts that God has blessed us with are supposed to bne used to SERVE and GLORIFY God.

Then Paul really gives a lot of advice. He discusses is the importance in loving others. It made me think of when I do a weak job of really loving someone – really being patient with them and affectionate. How often do I dedicate the work that I do to serving God? And not just serving God, but serving Him passionately, enthusiastically and joyfully.

I had a very hectic week and wasn’t able to keep up with my blogging, however, I did keep in the word most days, which is good! It needs to be better, but today is a new day and a fresh start.

Here we go, where we left off:

A Living Sacrifice to God (Romans 12)
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3 Because of the privilege and authority[c] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.[d] 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

This weekend was the Women’s Get-Away and the theme was Transforming your Beauty. As cheesy as that may sound, it was really a cool theme because the keynote speaker talked extensively about being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Being transformed into His likeness requires us spending time with Him and living as He did. Paul is telling the Romans to stop immitating this world because we are dead to this world, but to immitate Christ because we are alive in Him. In living Christ-like lives, we need to really have an accurate perspective on who we are – good and bad. We need to evaluate where we are gifted – and evaluate it honestly. God has made me uniquely and gifted me uniquely and given me a unique purpose. I need to understand that gifting and purpose and when i live it out – it is pleasing to God.

God’s Mercy Is for Everyone
25 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters,[g] so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. 26 And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,
“The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem,[h] and he will turn Israel[i] away from ungodliness. 27 And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.”[j]
28 Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. 30 Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. 31 Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share[k] in God’s mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?[l] 35 And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?[m]
36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

Paul really spends a lot of time spelling things out for the Romans. I think that I take for granted that others have explained to me that God’s mercy is for everyone.

Vs. 32 mentions that “God imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.” This seems to be a little bit of a weird statement, but considering that the imprisonment was really the law, and the law is what shows us that we are sinners, then what Paul is saying makes sense.

Anyway, the big point is that God has mercy for everyone. None of us are deserving of that mercy and none of us are in a position of giving God advice on this one.

I am curious if anyone has any thoughts on what Paul says, “Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ” – does that mean that there is a quota? Does this mean the Jews are saved anyway? I’m a little lost on this one.