House Church Family Devo
Head: Know God's Word | Heart: Love God | Hands: Follow God's Way
Read Romans 14
Head
Paul wrote a letter to the Christians living in the city of Rome. He told them not to argue with each other about what they thought was right or wrong. In this passage, the Roman Christians disagreed about what was right to eat. Some people wanted to follow the Old Testament rules about food and not eat certain foods in order to please God. But others believed it shouldn't matter what they ate. Paul teaches us that people who follow Jesus might not do things the same way, but that’s okay! We are all different. Some people eat different foods, celebrate special days, and have different opinions. But instead of arguing or judging people for their differences, God wants us to choose peace and love. Paul says we shouldn’t fight over the small things. What matters most is that we live to please God and try to build others up, not tear them down. We don’t all have to have the same opinions in order to love Jesus, but we should all love each other no matter what. There are certain truths in God’s Word that we should always stand by and uphold. But even in those things, God wants us to show love to everyone.
Heart
This passage reminds us to care more about people than proving we’re right. Sometimes it can be really hard to show kindness when we feel we are right and the other person is wrong, but God wants our hearts to be filled with kindness, patience and understanding. When we choose to love others even when we don’t agree, we show the love of Jesus. And who knows…what if by you showing love instead of arguing, the other person begins to see a different side of the topic and begins to question their belief? What if they even changed their views about the matter just by the way you modeled Christ’s love for them?
Hands
Let’s ask ourselves some questions the next time we are tempted to argue when someone believes something different than we do: Am I showing the love of Christ to this person or am I quick to argue with them? Would Jesus be happy with my response?
Prayer: Lord, sometimes it’s really hard to be kind when we feel like we are right and someone else is wrong. We can be so quick to try to prove ourselves to be right in so many different situations. Will you help us remember what your Word teaches us about this? Will you help us to always show kindness to others, even when we don’t feel like it? Thank you, Lord, for giving us your Holy Spirit to help teach us and lead us to be more like you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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