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Romans 14:19

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

Personal Challenge

The things that we are encouraged to pursue as followers of Christ are so much different than what the world is always telling us to pursue. It is not important, or of true value, to pursue wealth and prestige. The scriptures do not say that there is anything wrong with wealth or prestige. The challenge lies in what we do with these things of this earth, or worse yet, what we let them do to us. Here we are encouraged to pursue those things that will generate peace amongst us and help us to edify those around us. This can be accomplished with or without wealth or prestige and in many cases better without them. What I do know from the years that I have spent in my life, is that pursuing peace can be a difficult and time-consuming activity and trying to edify others, putting their needs above mine, is definitely not something that comes naturally to me. Glory be to God!

Romans 14:12-13

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

Personal Challenge…

Life is most certainly a challenge, especially if my desire is to be a good representative of my Lord, I am constantly confronted with temptations and the desires that remain harbored in my flesh. Maybe this is one of the reasons the teachers in the New Testament, as well as Jesus Himself, so often taught about not judging one another. We have so much that we can judge within ourselves that there is no room to judge another. I think the critical portion of this passage is that last line, “but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.” If I truly love my Lord and try to demonstrate that love by loving my neighbor, then it becomes so important to not be the cause for them to sin or worse yet, turn away from God, This is where I need to spend more of my focus and energy rather than being judgemental. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Romans 14:7-10

For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Personal Challenge

Once again, I am confronted in the Scriptures with the challenge to not judge my brother or show contempt for him or her. Why is this? If I am truly following the ways of my Lord then I am no longer my own. I have become His and in this transfer of ownership, I have also transferred my desires to judge another to my Master. Only God knows the nature of our hearts. Only He knows what demons each one of us is struggling with in our lives. Only He can apply the true love, mercy, and grace to each of us at the level which we need it at any given point in time. Besides, I have enough of my own stuff in my life that I can be judged for. I should be focusing on cleaning that up and not worrying about someone else. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

1 Corinthians 9:25-27

And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus:not with uncertainty. Thus I fight:not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Personal Challenge

1 Corinthians 7:3-4

Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

Encouraging Words

What an interesting and special institution marriage is. It was created by God at the beginning of creation and it has been blessed by Him ever since. It is the true definition whereby two distinct and unique people come together to be one. Man and woman, individual yet one. From this point forward there exists a new identity comprised of the two. It is the only relationship where the two individuals give 100% to the other. It is not a 50-50 relationship. It is in this type of commitment that this passage makes sense. We give ourselves over to the authority of the other out of love. Glory be to God!

1 Corinthians 5:12-13

For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

Personal Challenge

Paul lays out here a very important principle of discipline and correction that has been overlooked by many modern churches. We are admonished to lovingly and with grace and mercy to bring correction to the sinners in our churches. This can only be done by also accepting correction for our own sins. This is necessary to help our community of believers grow in the image of our Lord. We are also admonished that it is not our responsibility or our right to try to correct those who are sinning outside of the church. That is God’s job. If we, the church, were to take this admonishment seriously we would stop condemning people in the world around us for how they are living their lives and show them the love of God by loving them where they are and as they are. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Romans 2:1

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

Personal Challenge

As part of our modern day, “Me and my Bible!” approach to Christianity where I am an individual and I have the power to interpret the Scriptures the way that I want, we have become a religion that is filled with judges rather than nurses and doctors. We are consistently warned in these very same Scriptures to not judge and that we will be judged by the same measure that we judge and that it will be shown that our sins are always greater than the others. We are also admonished to love our neighbor and to be an active part of their healing in Christ. So why have we become so avid judges? As we have humanized God’s teaching and begun to believe that we contol what they mean, then we take the words out of the context of God’s love and put them in the context of sinful pride and selfrighteousness. This is why the Church, throughout its 2,000 year history has taught that the Church interprets the Scriptures and not the individual. The further one gets removed from the historical and catholic (not the denomination) Church the further one gets removed from the truth. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

2 Corinthians 3:1-3

Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

Personal Challenge

Usually, I see this passage used to show how each one of us who follow Christ as tablets of flesh that His love is written upon so He can be shown to those around us. This is true, however, today I saw something else in this passage. Just as the Apostle Paul staked his claim of who he was on the fruit of his labor by how his teachings were written on the heart of those whom he had served, so too do my actions, my words, my behaviors and attitudes written on the hearts of those in my life, whether permanent or transient people. The question for me here is, “What kind of message am I leaving behind?” Am I being loving to those around me or harsh and bitter? Am I encouraging and building up or am I discouraging and tearing down? Do people walk away from me with a small piece of the love of God on their heart or have I treated them in a way that their heart is hardened just a little bit more? These are tough and sobering questions. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!