Wednesday August 11, 2021

Lord, be with my next steps, be in my next thoughts, be in my every breath as I live your word into the world. Amen.

Romans 14:1-11

The Weak and the Strong

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,

‘every knee will bow before me;

every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

What were you thinking?

Today’s challenging verse for me is 14:10. “Why do you treat your Brother with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgement seat.”

ESPN has this great piece they run every week during the NCAA College Football season. Kirk Herbstreit shows videos of players and coaches doing really dumb things, making mistakes or whatever, and asks the question “What were they thinking?” It is hilarious as they run clips of fumbles, penalties, and just mindless errors on the field . Players do the craziest things in their attempts to try to help their team.

What type of “What were you thinking?” video clips could be run in heaven starring you and me? I know I did too much judging and holding in contempt. One verse later 14:11 could have saved me so much time. I don’t have to judge because our Lord and savior is guaranteeing us that He will handle it all!

Lord, be with my next steps, be in my next thoughts, be in my every breath as I live your word into the world. Amen.