Romans 12:9-13 NIV
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
The love this is speaking of is agape love which prefers
what God prefers, which is what is morally pure, honest, faithful, trustworthy,
godly, upright, and obedient to our Lord. So if we love others with this kind
of love, we will not sin against them deliberately and especially not
habitually. We will do no evil to them, but we will care about them and do for
them and to them what is for their good (in the eyes of God).
If our love for them is sincere, it will be without
hypocrisy, it will be honest, and it will not be fake. It will also not be
motivated by hidden agendas nor come from selfish motives. And this kind of
love seems to be rare these days. So many people are faking and being
hypocritical in mouthing empty words of love to God and to their fellow humans,
but it is being motivated by what is selfish and by hidden agendas, and so it
is not love at all.
And then we are to hate what is evil, and what is evil is
all that is ungodly, dishonest, untrustworthy, wicked, deceitful and immoral,
etc. And to hate all of that is to abhor and to detest and to be repulsed by
it. We should want no part in all that is evil. So, we should not be purposely
taking in what is against God and against his morals via TV, movies, videos, and
music, etc. And if we are taking in what is evil, we need to cut it out of our
lives.
Then we are to cling to what is good. We are to be glued
together with what is good, and we are not to be separated from it. We are to
be bonded to and inseparably joined to what is good. And what is good is what
is of God and it is not the opposite of what is of God. It is not what is
immoral or deceitful or dishonest or untrustworthy. But it is what is kind,
generous, loving, honest, morally pure, and faithful, etc.
As believers in Jesus Christ we are to be devoted to one
another in love, but this is speaking of those of genuine faith who are
following Jesus Christ in obedience to his ways. We are to have a kind of
family love, one for the other, showing regard for one another, valuing each
other, appreciating each other, encouraging one another in the Lord, and
showing genuine care and concern for one another and for one another’s needs.
And above all we are to love God and be devoted to him and to
be diligent in service to him, not being lazy, not dragging our feet, not being
reluctant nor unwilling to obey the Lord when he leads us in any particular direction
which he wants us to go. We should not be resisting the Lord in any way, but we
should be enthusiastic and happy about serving him. And we should serve him by
obeying him and by living godly lives and by sharing the gospel.
Then, when we are serving the Lord as we ought, we are going
to be faced with persecutions, rejection, and afflictions, with people hating
us and trying to take advantage of us, and who will do evil to us. But we are
to remain firm and steadfast in our faith and endure unjust suffering for the
glory of God and for the work of the ministry and for the furtherance of the
gospel of our salvation and for the salvation of human lives.
We should be people of God who have open communication going
between us and God throughout the day or night regardless of what else is going
on in our lives. And this is called prayer, and it should be two-way
communication to where we don’t do all the talking but we do a lot of listening
and then obeying, too. And then we are to share with other Christians who are
in genuine need and be hospitable to people, too.
And all this we do because we love God, and we want to serve
him with our lives, and because we love other people, and we want to show the
love of Christ to them, and because we care about them. And we share the gospel
because we believe the message of the gospel and we want to see them set free
from their slavery to sin, and walking in holiness and in righteousness, and
loving God and experiencing God’s love and grace in their lives, too.
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No Less
An Original Work /
March 19, 2012
I can do no less
than praise You,
Lord, for all You’ve
done for me.
You died for my sins
to save me,
So I would be set
free.
I adore You! Lord, I
praise You!
Jesus, Savior, King
of kings!
You provided my redemption.
Your grace has
pardoned me.
I can do no less
than serve You.
Lord, Your witness I
would be,
Telling others of
Your love,
And why You died on
that tree.
Tell of how You gave
of Your life,
So from sin we’d be
set free,
So we could worship
You forever,
And live eternally.
I can do no less
than love You,
Lord, for You have
first loved me.
You gave of Your
life so willing,
Because You cared
for me.
Turn from my sin!
Obey freely!
Live for You each
passing day.
Read Your word, and
follow Your lead,
Lord, as I humbly
pray.
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