Today Our Daily Bread Romans 12

Romans 12:1-21
A Living Sacrifice to God
1And so, dear brothers and sisters, F77 I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2Don'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 know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.
3As God's messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. 4Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.
6God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. 7If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. 8If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it 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.
9Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10Love each other with genuine affection, F78 and take delight in honoring each other. 11Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.
12Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. 13When 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.
14If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. 16Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all!
17Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible.
19Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written,
"I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," F79 says the Lord.
20Instead, do what the Scriptures say:
"If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you." F80
21Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.
FOOTNOTES:F77: Greek brothers. F78: Greek with brotherly love. F79: Deut 32:35. F80: Greek and you will heap burning coals on their heads. Prov 25:21-22.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~Copying is so so effective in reproduction. This is why the world throws out so many visual models for us to imagine ourselves with or as. We’ve got to put ourselves with Godly, not worldly models, so we can do what comes naturally- copycat. I beg you to give your bodies to GOD? Why? Because, we give our physical strength to things and people other than God, all of the time. We give ourselves over to their use and when God asks us to do something that would promote our spiritual growth or help us model godliness more, we are either too tired, uninterested, (other things have taken that interest), or even sick (because we gave our strength to everything else). So now, you are a person who is walking on this earth like Christ (i.e. a Christian), but you have no time for the things of God, where Christianity is about living the life we’ve been given for God and not for whatever it was we lived for before. But maybe you feel God asks too much? How much of His help, grace, truth, help etc do you want? Only part, or as much as possible? Well, He tells us how to get it and leads us to where to find it and also shows us how to keep it, but we have our own lives to live? When we accepted Christ, we entered a covenant with God and His church. He gave all to me and I realized its magnitude, the magnitude of His desire to save me, Hid great love for me, His pursuit of me, and I received Him. I entered into the benefits of a covenant relationship with GOD! WOW. All of the benefits are available to me, if I really want them. There’s training available to obtain them (just like if I go to college for 2,4, 6, 8 or 12 years I can get varying degrees of educational benefits and certificates), but I decide to accept Him, but not enter into a relationship with Him? That’s like marrying someone and not taking their name, and not living in their home, and not driving their car or having their children, but just having sex when you feel to, it doesn’t matter when they feel to, or how they feel about how often or not you come around, it just about when you feel to. That would not establish a very healthy or beneficial relationship with a human being, nor does it establish a very good one with God. Remember we are like He is, He is relational, far beyond any desire we’ve ever had. My body belongs to God? It really does, he is the one that created me with a plan to bring salvation to the earth, Only if I give it to His use, is it His in demonstration on earth. What would He possibly want to do with it? Take it to church? Take it to work to be a living witness? Get it up earlier than only the time I need, so I also have time with Him? Go and look for and be always ready for opportunities to give living truth to a dying (eternally separated from God kind of dying) world of human beings? YES, YES, YES, Lord!As I read this list of Christian behaviors I see my own "circle" of Christians who are taking on the nature of Christ and it encourages me. Maria, who for 1 year has determined to pray for her enemies and is now seeing visible fruits, My mom, who in conflict of relationships could do all she can to defend herself and prove her points, decides to depend upon her only true defense and vindicator, the Father God, and Cindy who is always feeding others with such a giving heart. Laura’s & Melinda & others who decide to be peacemakers against circumstance that could call for contention or fret etc etc… This is the atmosphere I choose to live in and under, that I may be encouraged to follow after what no worldly lust will bring me to, That is the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ Jesus our LORD.