Reading your Bible for Today March 16

March 16: Romans 12:9-16

KJV Key Verse: Romans 12:12
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Devotion:
One thing we certainly have to remember as Christians is that our love for each other must be totally sincere. What use is love if it is not going to be total, without any missing parts? What use is love if it is going to be held up by deceitful comments, or vain comments? Love has got to be whole. That whole love is central to our faith, to our very being.

Christ showed us the ultimate love by giving His own life for our sin debt. We need to remember just how far He was willing to go for us even before we knew Him. Why should we be holding any love back from any other people? We do need to be careful in making sure we don’t get caught up in evil, even when we do show love towards those who do act in evil ways. How can they ever expect to find out how they can be forgiven if someone is not going to first show them they can be loved?

Serving the Lord is not just about going to church and keeping up with bible reading and prayers. It is about our personal relationship with Christ. We have to make sure we keep our spirits focused on Him. We need to make sure our lives revolve around serving Him in whatever manner we can. That may not mean running a whole church but simply making sure our lifestyles reflect the fact that we are Christians and we do look to keeping Him first in our lives!

Showing others we do look for that hope with total faith, depending on God, trusting in Him and expecting Him to be faithful to us will encourage them. Showing others that we are willing to forgive and not persecute, bless and not curse, truly support and not feign support! Rejoice and be happy with them, cry and weep with them – but do everything with utmost honesty through true love. Love needs to be total.

Points to Ponder:
Why do we limit ourselves to just 'some friends'?

Are you treating Christ like a true friend?