“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:13).   If you’re married, you know that it takes a while to get to know someone. It took months or years before you really got to know your spouse, and even after marriage, you still find things out about them. Can you imagine being married to your spouse but only talking to them for an hour a week? If you’re not marri...  Read More

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:9-13).   During a life-or-death situatio...  Read More

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophesy, in proportion of our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8).    Take a look around you. Look at ...  Read More

“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Romans 12:4-5).   Have you ever thought that you could do something all on your own and you refused to ask for help? We get blinded by our own ambitions, thinking that we can take on the world alone, or worse, thinking th...  Read More

“All is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).   We are ambassadors for Christ. We are His representatives, His diplomats. We’re the ones who speak on His behalf because He died on our behalf. But what exactly does it mean to be an ambassado...  Read More

“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” (Romans 12:2).   The moment you become a child of God, you are no longer of this world. You just live in it. You are made new, but there’s still a transformation that takes place as you grow in Christ. This transformat...  Read More

“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” (Romans 12:1).   Several weeks ago, we began walking through the book of Romans with this verse from Romans chapter 12 about presenting our bodies as living sacrifices because this is our spiritual worship. So now, we are backtracki...  Read More

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).   The last verse in Romans chapter 12 tells us to overcome evil by doing good. There’s a lot you can dig out of that little statement. We must overcome the evil of the world, but what is the evil of the world? By definition, evil is anything that goes against God and His Word. We must overcome this evil, not by shaking our f...  Read More

“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. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:17-9).    After World War II, a former prisoner of a holocaust camp, Corrie Ten Boom, was givin...  Read More

“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. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:17-9).   We are defensive people. When someone comes against us and does us wrong, our nature i...  Read More

“But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (James 2:9).    Have you ever had someone look down on you? Has anyone ever looked you over, sized you up, and stuck their nose in the air as if you didn’t measure up to their level? If it hasn’t ever happened to you, it probably will at some point, but now think about this: have you ever done this t...  Read More

“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” (Romans 12:16-8).  What is haughty? It means having an air of superiority— being someone who is pretentious or prideful. Jesus...  Read More