Day 1 - Week 47 - Another verse from Romans 12!

Robert & I have been enjoying a great post-holidays retreat in Palm Springs this week.  So we're starting Week 47 just a little late...but I know this verse is going to be one that you'll be repeating to yourself through this coming week.  Maybe at times when you're tempted to react a little differently than this verse instructs...you'll see what I mean when we get to it a little later!

Oh my goodness, there have been so many great verses so far, haven't there?  Amazingly great verses to tuck in our hearts and keep as treasures, ready to be utilized at just the right moments.  Have you picked your favorite so far?  I think we'll find ourselves having different favorites at different times.  The favorite one is the one that is most appropriate for our circumstance at a given moment.  

As you read through the review, see which one is your favorite for this given moment...

The Gift of Assurance (10)

1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life and that life is in His Son.

1 John 5:12-13 The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn't have the Son of God, does not have life. I say these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life.

John 14:1 Your heart must not be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14:3 And if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you unto Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or afraid.

Isaiah 26:3-4 You will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on You, for it is trusting in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed . (KJV)

Isaiah 53:6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquities of us all.

Praise and Thanksgiving (4)

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Psalm 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

Psalm 100:5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Revelation 4:11 You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. --- Tonight this is my favorite...maybe because I've been reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and he stresses so strongly the magnificence of God and how we are created for His glory.

Promises of God (10)

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (ESV)

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Proverbs 3:-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will support you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.

Obedience (10)
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:11  Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord.
Romans 12:12  Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer.

Tonight we add Romans 12:18,  If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.

I love this verse.  I need this verse.  We need to be reminded that confrontation is not what we should be looking for...as Christians, we should be looking for peaceful living, peaceful relationships...as much as possible.

Think about your life - are you at peace with most all around you?  Do you create needless confrontation at times?  If so, make it a practice to start repeating this verse as a reminder that you, as a Christ follower, are to be seeking peace.

Oh - and here's a little memory tip that Robert J. Morgan shares..."To remember the reference think of 1218 as the opposite of 1812.  When we think of 1812, we think of war; when we think of 1218, we think of living at peace."  There you go --- bet you won't forget 12:18...now you just have to remember it's in Romans!

Day 7 - Week 46 - Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer."

When you match this triplet with last week's, I think you get some interesting pairs of instruction:

• Don't lack diligence - rejoice in hope
• Be fervent in spirit - be patient in affliction
• Serve the Lord - be persistent in prayer

Maybe it's just the weird way my mind works, but when these things become noticeable to me, I can't let go of them...got to look at the ways they connect, and I think they seriously connect!

First - have you ever noticed that when you are going at something wholeheartedly, with absolute diligence and passion, you can't help but feel that you are working toward a very positive outcome.  When we are diligent in our pursuit of God, and finding His way for us, doing the things that He requires of us, doesn't that feeling come over us...that feeling of joy in the knowledge that we are actually living in a manner that is pleasing to our Lord and that our future is one that is full of hope...the joy of completeness in Him.

When we are fervent in spirit, doesn't that fervency cover so much of the pain of any affliction that we may be encountering?  Our affliction, whatever it may be...physical or emotional...can be viewed so differently when viewed through eyes that are fixed on something...no, make that some One...that is so much bigger than anything that we can be facing.  When our eyes are fixed on the One that is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, the One who loves us enough to die for us in spite of our complete inadequacy, then our temporary troubles are viewed in a totally different perspective.

When we serve the Lord with authenticity and sincerity, can it be done without persistent prayer...constantly asking God for humility in our service to Him, giving Him all the glory in whatever we do, praising Him for creating the good works for us to do.  Praying to give us the discretion and the wisdom to see those works, and then the strength and obedience to do them, when they are presented in our lives. 

God's Word is great, isn't it? 

Let Him speak to you....let Him amaze you.

Day 5 - Week 46 - Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer."

Have you ever exhibited the directives we're given in this verse only to have a non-believer turn the tables on you?

You are being joyful in the midst of trial---leaning on the hope that your faith provides, and someone says, "You're in denial, you're not being realistic, you need to face the facts."  What they don't understand is that you have faced the facts...you are being completely realistic...it's just that your reality is not theirs.  Your reality says, "God is able."  Your reality says, "God is in control."  Your reality says, "God loves me and God is working good on my behalf."  THAT's why you can have a joy that they don't get.

You are being patient in affliction---trusting God to carry you through, and someone says, "This is not fair, you do not deserve this, you need to do something."  It's really easy to buy into that one, isn't it?  But God's Word says that tough times allow God to develop character traits in us that otherwise we would never acquire, and that there is a purpose in those times.  We truly can get better, not bitter, when we go through the down times of life.  THAT's why you can get through times not only with perseverance but with patience, while they don't have any reason to do so.

You are being persistent in prayer---knowing God hears you and knowing He cares, and someone says, "You've got to be kidding!  You really think that God, if there is a God, cares about your personal problems.  You are a dot in the sphere of the universe...if He is out there, He's not worried about you."  But you know that God does care, that He does know you, and that He knows you in an incredibly personal way.  He knows your heart, He knows what you have already gone through and what you are currently facing.  And He knows what is yet to come in your life and what strengths you need to develop now to make you strong enough then.  THAT's why you continue to pray, even when others may mock you, because you know He hears and He cares.

Don't get discouraged when you are doing what God has asked you to do and others don't get it.  They don't get it.  They can't. 

1 Corinthians 2:14
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.   

We, as believers in Jesus Christ, have the Holy Spirit living within us, enabling us to understand things that seem very foreign and very non-sensible to the non-believer.  But do not let their lack of understanding cause you to doubt what you are told through the Word of God...His Word tells us to rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer.

Do that - it is what God wants to see in your life.