These only are my fellow workers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me. Colossians 4:11 This description of Paul's fellow laborers is striking: they were a comfort to him. We too should want to be a comfort to others (and not a thorn in their sides!). This made me think about …
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than …
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32 God gave us the gift of his Son. The phrase “spared not” is a reference to Christ’s death as a punishment for sin, not his sin, but our sin. Why? Romans 1-8 …
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Romans 8:3 In this verse, Paul is cementing the idea that the work of the Spirit in us is only possible because of the work of …
O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: …
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Romans 12:15-16 SYMPATHY. This is another aspect of loving our brothers and sisters. When we can be …
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Romans 12:14 Christians are to be not only "wise as serpents" but also “harmless as doves” (Mt. 10:16). We are required not only to love those who love us (which is easy) but also to love those who hate us (which is really difficult). It is what …
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Romans 12:13 Another way that love manifests itself is in providing for the needs of believers, and is also a mark of genuine faith (1 Jn. 3:17-19; Jam. 2:14-17). The word given in the second half of the verse translates dioko, which …
Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. Romans 12:12 These three things must go together. We cannot be patient in tribulation if we are not rejoicing in hope and being constant in prayer. On other hand, those who are rejoicing in the hope they have in Christ will …
Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12:11(ESV) These three things go together. The first two tell us how we are to serve the Lord. Negatively, we are not to be to “weary in well-doing” (Gal. 6:9). Positively, we are to be fervent in the service of Christ – the …