Romans 14:13-14 - Clean and Unclean

Romans 14:13-14 - ¹³ Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴ I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.

Message: Clean and Unclean; understand our fellow Christian

Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome

What the Lord is Saying:

It seems that there are 2 main ideas in chapter 14. I need to be careful to be sensitive to those that have different interpretations or convictions on matters not explicitly mentioned in the scripture. And I need to not judge others or belittle them for their opinions. The reason I act this way is found in the "Therefore" that begins this passage. God is sovereign over all. The Lord receives every Christian, whether they are weak or strong. From John MacArthur, "The weak are not to judge the strong because they think they are abusing their freedom, nor are the strong to condemn the weak for their lack of faith and small‑ mindedness."

The clean and unclean issue is said to be about eating meat as some believers thought it wrong to eat meat altogether because they could not be sure that it was free from any association with pagan sacrifices. But strong Christians ate meat because they understood that meat in itself is not unclean. Paul believes that kosher laws were but temporary measures instituted to point Israel to the Messiah (Mark 7:14-22). 

One thing of note here is that it is important to understand what the weaker Christian or person does believe so as to understand their perspective. It is important to help people understand these truths, while at the same time not making people feel like their differences make them a lessor of a Christian.  

Any longer
It is interesting that Paul knows that this judging is going on, but he calls these people to not do it any longer. "Let us no longer have the habit of criticizing one another." I don't know all people's circumstances or motives, so I should not abruptly criticize them. 

Stumbling block
When I criticize a brother I make them feel less of a person and in so doing I put a stumbling block into their life or a hindrance. 

Unclean
In Christ Jesus there is nothing in this world that is ceremonially unclean. This is not to say there is nothing in life that is unclean, like pornography, drunkenness, obesity, filthy joke, blasphemy -- but he is saying that everything is the world can be consecrated to God in Christ Jesus. He makes all things new. Paul, having been a Pharisee, had no doubt been extremely careful about what he ate or did not eat. But, the Lord declared to Peter in Acts 10:15, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy." So, the strong Christian has liberty to enjoy those things the Lord does not command as sinful. Again, this doesn't mean that we can or should eat anything, but that food does not make us unclean.  

Thinks it is unclean
However, in contrast, if a person has a conviction that someone is wrong to them, then that person should by all means stay clear of it. There may not be anything wrong with going into a bar, but for people that struggle with alcohol or getting drunk, then they may feel like going to the bar puts them in a very bad situation. So, while nothing is unclean, if someone believes that something is unclean, then they should abstain from it and hold onto their conviction.


Promise: Convictions are important to oneself, but that doesn't mean we thrust our convictions at others nor do we state the convictions of others is wrong.




 

Jesus Calling: June 10

     Rest in Me, My child. Give your mind a break from planning and trying to anticipate what will happen. Pray continually, asking My Spirit to take charge of the details of this day. Remember that you are on a journey with Me. When you try to peer into the future and plan for every possibility, you ignore your constant Companion who sustains you moment to moment. As you gaze anxiously into the distance, you don't even feel the strong grip of My hand holding yours. How foolish you are, My child!
     Remembrance of Me is a daily discipline. Never lose sight of My Presence with you. This will keep you resting in Me all day, every day. 

I Thessalonians 5:17
English Standard Version

Pray without ceasing.

Verse thoughts
I remember when I was volunteering for a local Christian radio station in the late 90's and went to pick up Mylon LeFevre at the airport for a concert he was doing in town. As I picked him up and we were walking down the concourse, I introduced myself, and as we walked he voiced, "Thank you God for sending Chris to pick me up."  It was simple, but it spoke to me about how I can pray without ceasing by having an attitude of prayer throughout my life. 

Psalm 62:5
English Standard Version

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.

My Prayer (2019)
Lord, I want You to be on my mind, in my thoughts throughout my day. You live inside of me but often I treat you like You are far away or that I have to get in some special position or wait for a special time to speak to You. But you remind me that you are with me all the time and so therefore, I can talk to you like I would with anyone else that is with me. I don't want to ever lose sight of Your Presence in my life.

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Jesus Calling: June 9

Seek to live in My Love, which covers a multitude of sins: both yours and others'. Wear My Love like a cloak of Light, covering you from head to toe. Have no fear, for perfect Love decimates fear. Look at other people through lenses of Love; see them from My perspective. This is how you walk in the Light, and it pleases Me. 
     I want My Body of believers to be radiant with the Light of My Presence. How I grieve when pockets of darkness increasingly dim the Love-Light. Return to Me, your First Love! Gaze at Me in the splendor of holiness, and My Love will once again envelop you in Light. 

I Peter 4:8
English Standard Version

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Verse thoughts
There is something that sets us apart from others as Christians (Above All) and that is our love for one another. I don't always agree how another person behaves towards me or lives their life, but I am to love them. It is my badge as a Christian. Christ loves me despite the sins I have committed and I am to have this same love toward others. This world has become so divisive and I admit that as I jump on social media I can easily be grafted into this same type of speech. 

I John 4:18
English Standard Version

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Revelation 2:4
English Standard Version

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

My Prayer (2019)
Lord, help me to be a person that loves people first. I want to be different. I want to stand out and for others to see Your Love in me. Lord, it is so easy for me to join in the ranks of taking sides on issues that I even begin to make myself out to be better than others. Lord, it is only You that has made me righteous. Without You, I am nothing. Forgive me for jumping on bandwagons and slandering others. I defend it so quickly through justification for other people's actions that differ from mine. Lord, if I have a concern, help me to drop to my knees first and talk to you, but in the meantime, I want to love others and I want people to see this love in me.

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.

Jesus Calling: June 8

I want you to be all Mine, filled with the Light of My Presence. I gave everything for you by living as a man, then dying for your sins and living again. Hold back nothing from Me.  Bring your most secret thoughts into the Light of My Love. Anything you bring to Me I transform and cleanse from darkness. I know everything about you, far more than you know of yourself. But I restrain My yearning to "fix" you, waiting instead for you to come to Me for help. Imagine the divine restraint this requires, for I have all Power in heaven and on earth. 
     Seek My Face with a teachable spirit. Come into My Presence with thanksgiving, desiring to be transformed. 

Matthew 28:18
English Standard Version

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."

Verse thoughts
Jesus now has all authority to redeem, defend, and save the church; his government extends over the material world, over angels, over devils, over wicked men, and over his own people.

Psalm 100:4
English Standard Version

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Verse thoughts
Gates refers to the temple of place of worship.  It is here that we bless His name, give praise to His name, offer thanksgiving, with a grateful heart. This psalm may have been sung during a festive entry into the temple precincts.

My Prayer (2019)
Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins Jesus and purchasing me with your blood. You gave everything for me. As a sinner, I am incapable of meriting God's love and acceptance. You gave it all and in response to this gift, I pray that I would give my all. You know me better than I know myself.

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.  

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Jesus Calling: June 7

I am all around you, like a cocoon of Light. My Presence with you is a promise, independent of your awareness of Me. Many things can block this awareness, but the major culprit is worry. My children tend to accept worry as an inescapable fact of life. However, worry is a form of unbelief; it is anathema to Me.
     Who is in charge of your life? If it is you, then you have good reason to worry. But if it is I, then worry is both unnecessary and counterproductive. When you start to feel anxious about something, relinquish the situation to Me. Back off a bit, redirecting your focus to Me. I will either take care of the problem Myself or show you how to handle it. In this world you will have problems, but you need not to lose sight of Me. 

Luke 12:22-31
English Standard Version

²² And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁶ If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. ³⁰ For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

John 16:33
English Standard Version

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

- Sorry, I had a few mistakes in earlier versions of the words from Sarah Young, leaving out a couple of words. 

My Prayer (2018) 
Lord, continue to train me daily to not worry, to not have anxiety, but instead to trust You, have faith in You. I do not want to have a hardened heart and think that I must be in control, but you know that is my tendency Lord. Some days are worse than others. I want to be rooted in You. Sometimes I need to be like a race horse, with blinders on the side of me, so that I'm not looking at other people, but staying focused on You. You are not surprised by the tribulation that is in the world, for you have predicted it, but I thank you for the peace that you give me. And help me to not think that by trusting You I will necessarily get everything the way I want it.

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Romans 14:10-12 - The Judgment of God in Christ

Romans 14:10-12 - ¹⁰ But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ For it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall give praise to God.”

¹² So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

Message: Leaving Judgment to God

Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome

What the Lord is Saying:

I continue to walk through Romans 14, which I think looks at Christian Liberty, or how the Christian is to live in a multifaceted world that has many different choices and points of decision, and many of these are not directly addressed in the Word of God. So, in these matters, how am I to conduct myself? As a Christian, I have already seen some key principles in the preceding verses: 

• "Each person should be fully convinced in his own mind." - Verse 5; To me, this means as the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin or things points of emphasis or discipline in my life, I am to examine my life and go forward fully convinced. 
• "Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." - Verse 8; To me, this means that no matter what these differences may be, the bottom line is I am in the Lord's hands and my life is to lived to Him and for His glory. This is my motive. This is my number one motive in life. I am not living to benefit myself, but for His glory and praise. 
• "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?" - Verse 4; To me, I am to not ever make it that I am somehow better than another person because I think my convictions are correct. This is a huge application to me. I can be convicted about something but never to the point of belittling someone else. But this doesn't mean I should never judge, for the scripture is clear that judgment is necessary upon my brother that is publicly in sin. 

People love to focus on other people's sin or problems. It is our human nature to look down on others as it shifts the focus off of us and onto someone else. It means that we don't have to look at ourselves, but just the log in someone else. 

Why do you judge?
I remember Romans 2:1, "Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself." This was after Paul showed the digression of the person that rejects God in chapter 1. No one has an excuse, but when we judge someone else, we condemn ourselves. Again, it isn't that we are not supposed to judge, but we must be careful when we do it and how we do it. I'm thinking of church discipline for one. If there is a question or doubt, then simply leave it up to God. 

Each of us will give an account
I think I often judge someone else because I am impatient. And I want to be God. I want to be judge and jury and give what I think is rightfully to another person. I am subtle with being critical. But the important thing is to remember that God has it under his control. He will take care of it. Each person will give an account of himself to God and every knee will bow before God at one point. 

  

Promise: I ought to be more concerned with how my thoughts and attitudes will be evaluated on the final day than with how God will measure the heart of others.

Jesus Calling: June 6

Seek My Face, and you will find fulfillment of your deepest longings. My world is filled with beautiful things; they are meant to be pointers to Me, reminders of My abiding Presence. The earth still declares My Glory to those who have eyes that see and ears that hear.
     You had a darkened mind before you sought Me wholeheartedly. I chose to pour My Light into you, so that you can be a beacon to others. There is no room for pride in this position. Your part is to reflect My glory. I am the Lord!

Psalm 105:4
English Standard Version

Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!

Psalm 19:1-2
English Standard Version

1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
² Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.

Isaiah 60:2
English Standard Version

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will be seen upon you.

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.  

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.