2023! Practice writing the new year. 2022 is in the history books. The last few years have been difficult. We had a pandemic, political strife, and plenty of personal problems too. What will 2023 hold for us? Even though we don’t know yet, God has always known. We can be resolved to be prepared to live the Christian life as best we can. Reading God’s book, worship with God’s church, and encouragement in God’s family are essential to our preparation for whatever might happen in 2023.
Focus for a minute on how to live together as God’s family. Here’s a short spiritual exercise with eternal consequences.
1) Use your pen to highlight or underline each command in Romans 12:9-21 to discover how God wants you to treat his church family.
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
2) Take a few minutes to pray about how you will treat others better.
3) Pray for specific relationships that you struggle with and how you can model this Christian
behavior better today.
