Jesus Died for Me, So I Will Live for Him!
Romans 12: 9- 21
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
God in Romans give us specific guidance.
As Christians we know better. Yet we too have gotten caught up by the culture to the degree that our witness has been damaged. Be assured that God is not concerned about our folly other than in our folly we are sinful and foolish. He will use it to glorify Him.
Yet all of us should be reflecting on a daily basis on our lives, our relationship with Christ and how we are serving him in the world around us.
If you are one of the many Christians that have been hypnotized by the media it is time to wean yourself off of it and return to your true love - Christ! The 24 hour news/social media feeds off of and helps create conflict and false narratives. Its a business. Everything must be connected to a bigger problem, someone we can blame. Our culture by and through all of us is intentionally skeptical toward traditional institutions even if they are good things. Culture, politics, news, social media all have a stake in exposing or creating problems than they do in offering solutions.
There is not a pastor or a politician with a better agenda. And you and I don't have a novel or better solution to today’s problems either. The fact is we don’t need anything new and different from what's in the Bible. We just need to believe and obey it, which at this point in time many Christians are having a problem with. We know God’s Spirit is at work today in us and the world. If you really take time to look you will find examples of Christians doing what Christ told us to do.
Get off social media, use what little time in this life you have left to serve God.
Read books with emphasis on the Bible. Get outside and enjoy the outdoors, get together with family and friends. Love and serve the people who know you well enough to tell you hard things you need to work on.
Most importantly make room for intentional and regular prayer, Scripture reading, and worship in your local church. Don't continue to fool yourself. If you’re going to see any change or positive spiritual growth you must stop spending four hours or more a day on social media, talk radio, and TV.
We have no excuses, we can spend a great deal of our precious and limited time in prayer, reading scripture, talking to your Lord. But will we?