Saturday June 21 : Romans 12 - 14

Continuing on our journey in Romans, here are some of my observations from today's chapters:

Romans 12 
I love the order of this chapter; Be a living sacrifice to God, Serve God with your spiritual gifts, and behave as Christ did. (especially loving your enemies, praying for those who don't like you, repaying evil with good)
How is it possible for us to do this? God's grace, The Holy Spirit, letting God work on us, relying on Him.
I think a lot of times Christians, myself included, pray to God and truly want to seek Him but then second-guess, worry, over-analyze, etc. What would happen if you persistently prayed to God, talked to Him every day like he's your best friend and then LET HIM WORK in your life?

Romans 13
This is a tough one for me: Verse 1 is saying "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.... and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." It's very easy to get into complaint mode about our government and the direction of our country. What are you doing about it? Do you pray for our government? Do you let God do the work and answer your prayers or do you gossip/complain about it?
Continuing with the tough one for me theme, the rest of the chapter talks about loving your neighbor. Do you truly love your neighbor as yourself?

Romans 14
Some really great highlights:
4 -Who are you to judge another's servant?
10 - But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Verses 14-23: My NKJV calls this section "The Law of Love"
Every time I read this section I feel like I'm reading a legal document and I have to re-read it a couple times. But then I realize that's not the point. Why is it my mind is set on justice when if I truly got what I deserved, if I truly got my justice, I would be in big trouble? Thank God for His grace through Jesus!