Psalm 31:1-3a, and 20:1-4

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Romans 12. A sentence covering verses 10-13 caught my attention, and I think it’s partly because it spoke to me about an important meeting I needed to take care of today:

Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

Romans 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Romans 12:13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

Along the still waters, I reflected on the exhortations of the Spirit through Paul in the passage above and how they interrelate.

This chapter begins with the Spirit beseeching us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). This is an essential precedent to being “not conformed to this world,” but rather being “transformed by the renewing” of our minds (Romans 12:2). This is essential to proving (testing, confirming by examination) what is “that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). This is followed by information necessary to discern what gifts God has given us to complete His will (Romans 12:4-9). Then we come to the sentence that got my attention (Romans 12:10-13, see above).

We must not allow our separate gifts to separate us. Rather, we recognize that the Body has many members, and each member plays an essential role in the Body (Romans 12:3-4). Then we learn that surrendering the body to Him is the only way to successfully minister to the body of Christ.

We must do four things:

1. Be “kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.
2. Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the LORD.
3. Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.
4. Distributing to the necessity of the saints; given to hospitality.

I was concentrating on the second exhortation and will use it to give you the idea of how to view each as an integrated whole/

Don’t be slothful in business. Instead, be fervent in spirit. And understand that what you are doing is in service to the LORD. (Each of the four exhortations should be viewed in that way, integrating each element within the verse together.)

Furthermore, the four exhortations are integrated into a single sentence, organized around a single unexpressed theme: Love. Meditate on these from this point of view and watch what God gives you.

In the valley, the Chief Shepherd called me to the Cross where I saw Love in action. Then I heard my Shepherd say, “Okay, now you’ve got it.” To present your body as a living sacrifice begins right here: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

At the table, He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy followed us into the harvest.

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live asap:

https://rumble.com/v771gic-shepherds-pasture.html