Verse of the Day 8/16

Verse of the Day 8/16

Romans 14:8  For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Yesterday we considered from 1 Peter 1:13 that we are to be "preparing our minds for action".  It is something that we should be doing day by day, part of our daily "living".  Today's passage came up in the read through the Bible plan that I am following.  Coupled with the thoughts from the previous post we may ask ourselves what or who we are living for.  We will be accountable for it as Paul states from The Message, " It's God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other".

J. R. Miller writes, "We strive to be sweet-spirited, unselfish, thoughtful, kind--but we must wet our pillow with tears at the close of our marred days, because we cannot be what we strive to be! We have glimpses of an inner peace which is very beautiful. We strive after it strive with intense effort--but do not reach it!    So it is in all our living. Life is ever something too large for us. We attain only fragments of living. Yet take heart, "The desire of the righteous shall be granted!" Proverbs 10:24"    We live this life "in Christ" because He lives in us, empowering us by His grace.  We may strive and fall short in our own efforts, but may we realize that "yielding allegiance" is the "pathway of blessing for me."  

1. Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
   Striving to please Him in all that I do;
   Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
   This is the pathway of blessing for me.
   • Refrain:
     O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
     For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
     I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
     My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
2. Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
   Bearing on Calv'ry my sin and disgrace;
   Such love constrains me to answer His call,
   Follow His leading and give Him my all.
3. Living for Jesus, wherever I am,
   Doing each duty in His holy Name;
   Willing to suffer affliction and loss,
   Deeming each trial a part of my cross.
4. Living for Jesus through earth's little while,
   My dearest treasure, the light of His smile;
   Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,
   Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Romans 14:5-12The Message (MSG)

⁵ Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.

^6-9 What's important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God's sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you're a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It's God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

^10-12 So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I'd say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we're all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture:

"As I live and breathe," God says,
    "every knee will bow before me;
Every tongue will tell the honest truth
    that I and only I am God."

So tend to your knitting. You've got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.