𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• Who is one person you look up to or want to be like? Why?

• What are some things you do to show a person that you love them, care about them, or think about them? Why are these important to you?

• How do you usually respond when you don’t like a person’s attitude or behavior? Recall an instance explaining this.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

𝘐 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟮:𝟭–𝟮

(Read also 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟮:𝟯–𝟮𝟭.)

Everything God has done for us—our salvation, redemption, and eternal place in Christ—are to result in worship to Him. In light of His mercy, goodness, and faithfulness, we are to lay down our lives as a living sacrifice. We are not to be like the world. Instead, we are to live differently, fueled by hope in God and secured by His mercies. Let’s look at how different our lives should be now.

𝟭. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲.

𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟮:𝟭𝟰

When we are persecuted, our natural human tendency would be to protect ourselves and curse our persecutors. But we are not to live this way. Instead of cursing others, we are to bless them. Why do you think this can be difficult? What do you think can happen when we bless and pray for our persecutors?

𝟮. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘆.

𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟮:𝟭𝟲

As we progress in life, we may think of ourselves as higher or better than others. We have a tendency to become haughty, to distance ourselves from the lowly, and be wise in our own eyes. But we are not to live this way. Instead of considering ourselves better than others, we are to 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺 and 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺. What would this look like in daily life? Who might we consider to be lowly, and how can we associate with them?

𝟯. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆.

𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟮:𝟭𝟳

When we are wronged and evil is done to us, our tendency is to take revenge and repay the evil done to us with more evil. But we are not to live this way. Instead of avenging ourselves, we are to do what is honorable and right before others. We are to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Instead of avenging ourselves, according to Romans 12:19–20, what are we to do? Why is this better?

We are to live in a way that is different from our human tendencies and what the world dictates. In Christ, we are to honor, love, and serve one another. While this is impossible on our own, the love and mercy of God toward us empowers and enables us to live in a way that honors Him. We can love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and we can live fueled by hope.

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Take some time this week to meditate on Romans 12. Ask God to reveal your concerns and issues, and ask Him to lead you to the cross. Pray that you would live a life of worship in light of His mercy and love.

• Can we leave those who are evil in God’s hands? How can you live in a way that honors God, even when you are wronged?

• How can you be a blessing to those around you who may be difficult to love? What is one thing you are willing to do this week?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for His love and His desire for us to become more like Christ every day. Be honest about your weaknesses and inadequacies before Him, and admit your need for Him in your life every day.

• Pray that your life would be a reflection of Christ. Pray that you would make Him known through what you say and how you live.

• Pray for those who persecute you, who have done evil against you, and who may be lowly in your sight. Ask God for eyes to see them the way He does, and pray for compassion, love, and grace.