Saturday 13 Oct 2018

October 13: Romans 14:14-18

Key Verse: Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

Devotion:
How many times have you come across something which someone says is normal but you think it is totally strange? We all have our differences and some of those are normally inherited from our parents and from our friends; but just because we think some things are normal, it does not mean that they are normal! Just like a “Chinese whispers” game where one person whispers to the next and they to the next, our lives change over time as we take on new ways of doing things. It may take several generations, or just a few days, but we do change over time...

But, are we changing for the good or for the bad? If we are going to answer that question, then we have to go back to basics and figure out what God would have us to do in our lives; only then can we decide what should be normal! When we go back and see how God created us and how we have changed things, we will begin to understand just how much of our lives are based on things we like, want or desire over and above those that Christ would have us to do. We take on new ways of doing things and new ideas because we like the sound of what they are or how they make us feel... but it does not necessarily mean that they are right!

One thing we do have to watch out for is offending people just because we do something we think is normal... If we do not take into consideration what others think, then we are most likely to offend them in some manner before too long. It does not mean we have to do everything to their standards and in their ways – far from it because they may be further from God’s ways than our own! What we need to be doing is building up our ways based on Christ’s teachings so we can be sure we are at least getting something right in our lives. Christ is the one who died for us all and we need to make sure we do not block anyone from coming to Christ just because we have changed in some way Christ did not ask us to!

Points to Ponder:
How much of your life is based on your friends lives?

How much of your life is based on Christ’s teachings?