WHEN OPPOSITION COMES

Rom. 12:14 If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that the Lord will bless them.  NLT

      Being a Christian is not always easy in a world that is populated and ruled by non-Christians. Selfishness abounds everywhere, in all walks of life. When sin rules the heart of man, there is a resistance to the Gospel and those who carry it in their hearts. There is constant spiritual warfare going on and those who are not in Christ will do everything they can to squelch or destroy those who are in Christ. It has always been this way, and it always will be until Jesus returns to judge the world and purge it of sin.

      So, what are we to do to those who are out to make our lives miserable or even destroy us? We are to pray for them! We are not to pray for them to be harmed; we are to pray for the Lord to bless them. Wow! It doesn't seem right or fair to be asked to pray for our enemies, but that is exactly what we are to do. We are to ask the Lord to bless them. What does that mean?

       Ask the Lord to bless them with a heart open to the Gospel. Ask the Lord to bless them with a softened heart. Ask Him to bless them with a heart of compassion. Ask the Lord to be gracious and merciful to them that they might have an opportunity to hear and receive the Gospel. Ask the Lord to bless them with life and not death.

      When we ask the Lord to bless those who would persecute us, it not only opens the door for the Lord to minister to their hearts, it also ministers to our hearts. When we are praying for the good of others, it changes our attitude and heart for them. Instead of wanting revenge, we want love for them. The Lord changes us so that we will have a heart like the heart of God, a heart of love for those who would persecute us.

      A word of caution, don't pray for those who are against you, if you don't want the Lord to change you. Prayer changes us so that we can deal with life in a manner that pleases God. If you don't want God to help you handle those who persecute you in a godly way, don't bother to pray. 

      Also, don’t bother to pray if you have vengeance on your mind.  Let the Lord make things right.  Instead, pray for the Lord to make himself known to those who would persecute you or make life miserable for you and to graciously work in their lives to save and sanctify their souls.

LOVE IN ACTION

Rom. 12:13 When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.  NLT

      Jesus said to love your neighbor as you love yourself. When you are in need, you will do all you can to meet your need. If you can't satisfy your need, you will seek help from others for your need. It is a natural instinct to have our needs met.

     Today's verse instructs us to treat others the way we want to be treated. If someone in the household of faith has a need, we are the ones who need to respond to their need. We should not pretend that the need doesn't exist. If it is within our ability to do so, we need to reach out and minister to the brother or sister in need. We can't help everyone, but we can help someone. It is not okay with the Lord for us to do nothing.

      Why? Because actions speak louder than words. God's love is an active love. It is a giving and not a hoarding love. God's love motivates us to reach out to others, to be hospitable when we can, even to the point of inviting guests to spend the night if the need arises.

      The true measure of God's love in us is determined by how we relate to others in need.  We live in a very self-driven world.  The world is getting smaller and smaller to us as we isolate ourselves from it.  We become engrossed in our own little sphere of life and so often fail to recognize, let alone respond to, those in need around us.  Blessed are those who show their love for God by reaching out to those in need and do what they can to help them.

GLAD FOR GOD'S PLANS

GLAD FOR GOD’S PLANS

Rom. 12:12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.  NLT

      We don't know all that God is planning for us, either here on earth or in heaven. God doesn't tell us everything we want to know. He tells us more about heaven than He does about the life we are living on earth. It seems obvious to me why He withholds from us a lot of the things we want to know.                                                                             If we were to know what God is planning for our day, we might not even get out of bed in the morning! We may alter our living in anticipation of what was coming our way. We may cease to do that which is good because of what we may know lies ahead. What we know might affect the way we treat others or think about them. We simply aren't responsible enough to handle insight on what our day may bring.

      Rather than dwelling on what we don't know, we are to rejoice in Him whom directs our paths. Don't sit around and ponder about what lies ahead, instead be glad for it. Be glad because you know that God loves you and will not allow anything to happen in your day that is not good. You may not see it the way God does, but He knows what you don't. He knows how everything works together for your good and He allows to happen whatever you need in order to help you trust and love Him more. He will never abandon you in your walk of faith. He goes with you no matter if your journey is smooth or rough sailing. He is always with you to help you, and if necessary, to carry you on your journey of faith.

      When trouble comes your way, be patient. Let the Lord work things out. Pray much as you journey through life and trust Him who promises to be with you, guide you, sustain you, encourage you, and bless you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

GOD'S PLANS FOR US

Rom. 12:12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.  NLT

      We don't know what God has in store for us except His coming and heaven.  He does not unravel for us our tomorrows.  He may give us general direction as to where we are heading, but He does not give us the details.  We should never concern ourselves about that which we have no control over.  The Lord is already where we will be so we simply should rejoice that He is there and is leading us to it.  We know that when we get there we will never be alone.  The Lord has a plan and we must learn to rest in Him and let Him work it. 

      Sometimes trouble is a part of His plan for us.  Why?  Because that is where we grow the most in our ability to trust and love Him.  We need tough times to teach us that the Lord is faithful and able to see us through them.  We need to learn to be patient and not let our troubles throw us for a loop.  They do pass and all things do work out for them who love the Lord.

      We learn trust and patience through prayer.  We must be disciplined prayer warriors.  We learn best on our knees that God is real and able to help us through whatever life brings us.  We learn the most about how precious our Lord is through prayer.  We must have time alone with our Lord in our prayer closets if we are going to survive and thrive spiritually.  Prayer is the key to successful godly living.

      We learn trust and patience through worship.  We must have regular time in our lives when we pause to admire God, appreciate what He has and is doing for us, and express gratitude to Him for all He means to us.

      We learn trust and patience through fellowship with other believers as we learn how He works in and through their lives.

       We learn that God is good all the time and whatever His plans are, everything will be alright.  His ways are always what is best for us and we patiently trust Him as He unravels them in our lives.  We do not get ahead of the Lord nor do we lag behind Him.  We go where He wants us to go, do what He wants us to do, when He wants us to do it. 

       In good times we rejoice as we feast on the riches of His blessings and give Him thanks.  In bad times we give Him thanks as we lean on Him because we know He is at work to make us more like himself through the lessons we learn from life’s hard knocks.

       God’s plans are always good for us and wise is he who lets the Lord have His way with him.

ENTHUSIASTICALLY WORK

Rom. 12:11  Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.  NLT

       Never, lazy and enthusiastically, three words that we need to take seriously, especially as it pertains to our walk with the Lord.

       If a person is always lazy, he will never make it in the world or the faith.  It takes work to stay on top of things and work takes effort.  It is far better to never let laziness be a part of who you are.  A lazy person generally is not wanted.  He is usually on the outside looking in.  A person who does work enthusiastically is usually the one who will get noticed and rewarded for their efforts.

       Spiritually, we must learn this lesson on laziness.  A lazy child of God will never make it to heaven.  It takes much work to keep our souls out of Satan's clutches.  The opportunities to fail far outweigh our opportunities to succeed.  We must stay on our guard and be alert to the opportunities for success.  We must do the work necessary.  We must dig deep into God's Word and learn how to live it.  We must be determined to stay connected with the Lord in prayer.  We must not pass on opportunities to do good for others around us.  We must work hard at resisting the temptations to compromise Biblical standards for our convenience or pleasure.

     We must stay on top of our spirit.  We must learn to serve the Lord enthusiastically.  We can do that when we have a deep appreciation for all that the Lord has done to save us, is doing to keep us, and will do to reward us in heaven someday.  Keeping our souls fixated on Jesus all the time helps us to not get lazy and to not serve Him out of duty instead of love and gratitude. 

REALLY LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Rom. 12:9-10 Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  NLT

      What do people do when they fall in love with each other? How do lovers treat each other? There is so much emphasis placed on love these days; yet, so many of us act in unlovely ways. Why is it that people who love each other can’t seem to get along with each other? Could it be that we have bought into the wrong bill of goods? Could it be that we have built the foundation of our relationships on the wrong understanding of what love really is?

       God is love, so we must start there. If we are ever going to make love work, we must learn how to treat one another as God treats us. We can't be perfect lovers, but we certainly can come a whole lot closer to God's love than we normally do. God defines his love in a practical way in I Cor. 13:4-8a. We need to strive to live out His kind of love and not what is so commonly practiced in the world.

      Any attempt to "love" apart from God's love is not real love. Don't be like those who are pretending to love their spouses, children, neighbors, or friends. Love them as God loves them. I am convinced that if we were to really get serious about how we love each other, we would turn the world upside down for Christ. We may not change the world, but certainly we can help change those in our own little worlds.

      Who in your life could benefit from God's love? Will you be the one to love them even as God loves you?   You may not change the world by living life and loving others God’s way, but you may change one life for all of eternity.

YOU ARE ABLE

Rom. 12:6 God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.  NLT

      It seems like a very unnecessary statement to comment on, but I believe it has tremendous importance for us as the Church.  We live in a day in which people with special looks, abilities, and athleticism are put in the limelight.  They educate us, entertain us and, usually make us feel inferior because they have something we don't, can do what we can only dream about doing, or look better than we do. 

People who stand out in a crowd are popularized.  They get all the attention and seldom are the abilities of the majority even noted.  With modern day technology, it is not hard at all to get one's face in front of millions of people if you have abilities or looks that stand out.

       But, what about the rest of us?  Don't we matter?  Yes, we do.  God has given each of us ability to do certain things well.  What we do well may never be recognized or acknowledged, but that is not the point.  What we do matters a great deal to God if we are doing it for His honor and glory.  You may only do one thing well, but if it is done for the Lord it matters a great deal to God.                                                                        

      We are given different abilities so that there will be no lack in the body.  Each one doing what they do best for the common good accomplishes much.  The parking lot attendant, usher or coffee maker is just as important to the health of the church as is the pastor, song leader or musicians.  Do what you do well for the glory of Christ and great will be your reward in heaven.