Thought for the Day - Friday 23 April 2021

Romans 14:11 (New Living Translation)   For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”     I find it impossible to take any of these daily verses in isolation without reading the words that are written before and after.  Three of us attended the bible study hosted by some of the Hamilton churches last Wednesday and we were looking at Psalm 137 (the Psalm upon which the pop song ‘Rivers of Babylon’ was based).  It was really interesting to see aspects of the Psalm being discussed which, if studying this chapter on my own, I would never have noticed.  We’re going to look at 1st Corinthians next Wednesday at 7.30pm and you would be made welcome if you care to tune in.  Please contact me if you want the link.   Meanwhile, back at Romans 14, Paul has crammed a lot for us to learn into this chapter.  Over the years, I have seen some Christians levelling criticism at fellow Christians for doing some things differently, having a slightly different form of worship, doing less than others (they’re just not pulling their weight), doing more than others (exactly who do they think they are, who are they trying to impress?) and I could have included many more examples.  Paul begins chapter 14 by telling us to accept Christians who are weak in faith.  This ties in with what Jesus taught in part of the sermon on the mount (Matthew 7:1) when he taught us it was not our place to judge others.   When we think of mission, one of the questions raised is ‘how do we get more people back into Church on a Sunday.  Paul teaches us that it is not the day of the week that matters, it is the bringing of people to God that matters, and any day is good for that.  While we live, we live to please the Lord, when we die, we go to be with Him, so in life and death, we belong to the Lord.    In verse 10, Paul reminds us that each of us will stand personally before God and will have to give an account of ourselves.  Today’s reading doesn’t say that some knees will bow before the Lord, it tells us that every knee will bow, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.   We need to live in ways that will never place an obstacle on another Christian’s path and in ways where our words and deeds will be pleasing to our Lord.   Prayer Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gifts you have given us in this life.  Help us use them to live a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Help us serve you to the best of our ability in ways that will be pleasing in your sight.  Help us resist the temptation to judge our fellow brothers and sisters and help us do everything within our power to create harmony in your Church in this world.   Amen.