9Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good. 10Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself. 11Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. 12Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying. 13Take care of God's needy people and welcome strangers into your home.
14Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them. 15When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. 16Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people. [a] 17Don't mistreat someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of others, 18and do your best to live at peace with everyone. 19Dear friends, don't try to get even. Let God take revenge. In the Scriptures the Lord says,
"I am the one to take revenge
and pay them back."
20The Scriptures also say,
"If your enemies are hungry,
give them something to eat.
And if they are thirsty,
give them something
to drink.
This will be the same
as piling burning coals
on their heads."
21Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.
Yesterday Paul suggested (begged) that we present ourselves as a "living sacrifice". He stated that this was done by "letting God change the way we think". I suggested this is intimidating for all of us because it means we have to give up the core of our identity. Nevertheless, God expects it of us. It's His way of getting the most out of us.
Today Paul tells us what this should look like.
How we think about others...Empathetic Love!
Be sincere in your love for others.
Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.
When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad.
How we think about ourselves...Graceful Humility!
Don't be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people.
Don't mistreat someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of others,
Do your best to live at peace with everyone.
Dear friends, don't try to get even. Let God take revenge.
Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them.
Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.
How we think about Life...Confident Faith!
Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying.
Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good.
How we think about service...Self-sacrifice!
Take care of God's needy people and welcome strangers into your home.
If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat. And if they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
Exhausted yet? Think we can do this without letting God change the way we think?
Let me suggest that we DO NOT do these things in order to satisfy God's expectation of being a "living sacrifice". We see these qualities emanate from our lives and they prove we have become a "living sacrifice". I believe we all know the difference.
Live boldly out there today...How we think about life...Confident Faith!
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