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Day 3 Romans 13:8-14 Devotional

By October 11, 2017Daily Devotional

Pray:

Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.

Read:

Romans 13:8-10

8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Understand:

Remember that ‘love”, agape—Christ-like love – is a selfless love. It can’t be turned in on itself. Why? Self-love, (pridefulness and self-centeredness) is the essence of sin. Agape love is others-focused.

So why does Paul say love sums up all the commandments? He tells us in the first part of verse 10, it’s because love does no harm to its neighbor. Look at the commandments Paul lists above and you’ll notice that all of them harm people. Murder robs them of their life, adultery of their home and honor, theft of their property, and false witness of their good name, while covetousness robs society of the ideals of simplicity and contentment. All these do harm to the neighbor.

But what about love? Love brings life, Love strengthens families, and Love honors a good name. You see, the kind of love Paul is talking about seeks to serve our neighbors—the folks God has put right in front of you—by doing the highest good!

That is why love is the fulfillment of the law.

Apply:

Already you have prayed that God would give you a heart for others, and asked that he would help you love them with a Christ-like love. As you consider the people God has brought into your life, ask that you would be consistently looking for ways to bring life to those relationships.

*From what you have just read and considered: What is a personal implication/application for your life today?

Live:

(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the Gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.

 

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