Daily Bread 1-31-17
Romans 12:19-21
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
ref. - Dt 32:35 - To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them shall make haste.
Pr 25:21 - If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
1P 2:21 - For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
This chapter starts by telling us to present our bodies a living sacrifice. Holy and acceptable unto God. We sometimes forget what a large task we already have when we take on things that are not ours to take on. As in this scripture. Vengeance is mine. Our faith has to exceed the faith that is in the world in that we do not take it into our own hands to seek vengeance or to get revenge of ourselves. We have a God that sees all things and will one day judge us all for our own wrong doings. This is what we need to focus on and believe that God will take care of his part of the bargain. The only problem is that we say we believe but we do not have any faith. When the word of God says that we should not bear a grudge(Lv 19:18) or pass judgment(Lk 6:37), do we? When it says that we don't take our matters to the law, but pray and seek for answers and solutions from God,(1Cor 6:1-3) do we? When it says wives submit to your husbands do you,(Eph 5:22,23) or only if he says and does what you think is right? When it says husbands love your wives and be not bitter against them,(Coll 3:19) do we? Or only when it suits our own needs. You see, God is not watching over those who persecute us as Christians, he is watching over us(2 Thes 3:3) and he tells us how to handle things. Our disrespect is not for one another when we disobey God's word, it is disrespect for God. This is our first failure. When we say we have faith, but our works prove otherwise we are just showing God that we have little faith. It is something that God's children fall to every day but that does not make it acceptable. So today, if we find ourselves caught up in this fault, let us get back behind Christ. Let us put up with the suffering and not only let them that choose to do us harm alone but also let us pray for them. Their help will only come from the same place that we get ours. From the Lord. God sees us in all we do and he expects more from us because we, as believers, know that he gave his only Son on that cross, so that we would not perish, but have everlasting life. They who persecute us should someday know that too! But, if not, that is up to God. Pray for those who hep you and especially for those that hurt you. It will make you feel good, and it will please God as well!!! Have a great day!!!