JMD Devotional 238 Romans 12:16-21 The High Road of Humility
Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone.
If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God's] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good.
Years ago my wife and I spent a lot of (well needed) time in marriage and family counseling. There were so many areas of friction in my household. I can remember going around and around trying to justify myself to my counselor for blowing up or overreacting to something somebody else did that provoked me. “They pushed my buttons…”, “If you only knew how irritating they could be…”, “Their actions show they don’t respect me…”, “My rights…”, but I was just wasting my breath. My counselor was wise enough to know that my home should not be a minefield but a nurturing sanctuary. There was no justification for my having “buttons” to push or for wearing “reactive armor”. He often had to remind me, when I attributed my outburst to something a child said or did, that I was the adult. He had to remind me of my role as provider, protector, father, husband, Saint and about servant leadership. There wasn’t room in my home for my family and my ego; I had to decide which was worth keeping.
Dear God,
I have dug so many holes in the pursuit of self-importance; but Your grace, love and forgiveness are filling them in. Help me to fully accept and receive Your acceptance so that I quit striving for it elsewhere. I cannot earn what is most valuable; I can only receive grace as a gift. Help me to quit withholding grace in an effort to make others ‘earn’ it, remind me of my own spiritual poverty. Help me to be generous, like You, with my acceptance, love and forgiveness: heal my relationships.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
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http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
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http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God's] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good.
Years ago my wife and I spent a lot of (well needed) time in marriage and family counseling. There were so many areas of friction in my household. I can remember going around and around trying to justify myself to my counselor for blowing up or overreacting to something somebody else did that provoked me. “They pushed my buttons…”, “If you only knew how irritating they could be…”, “Their actions show they don’t respect me…”, “My rights…”, but I was just wasting my breath. My counselor was wise enough to know that my home should not be a minefield but a nurturing sanctuary. There was no justification for my having “buttons” to push or for wearing “reactive armor”. He often had to remind me, when I attributed my outburst to something a child said or did, that I was the adult. He had to remind me of my role as provider, protector, father, husband, Saint and about servant leadership. There wasn’t room in my home for my family and my ego; I had to decide which was worth keeping.
Dear God,
I have dug so many holes in the pursuit of self-importance; but Your grace, love and forgiveness are filling them in. Help me to fully accept and receive Your acceptance so that I quit striving for it elsewhere. I cannot earn what is most valuable; I can only receive grace as a gift. Help me to quit withholding grace in an effort to make others ‘earn’ it, remind me of my own spiritual poverty. Help me to be generous, like You, with my acceptance, love and forgiveness: heal my relationships.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
Labels: addiction, Christian, devotional, faithfulness, integrity, purity, recovery
posted by James M. Dinsmore at 5:31 PM
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