"It's NOT about Me?" August 26 Readings: Isaiah 1-3, Romans 15, Psalm 102:1–9, Proverbs 21:11–13

 

 

Reading the Bible in 2023

Each day this year we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. In reading four portions of God's word in a day, one of them is bound to speak to your life!

NOTE: if you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!

Bible Readings:  Isaiah 1-3, Romans 15, Psalm 102:1–9, Proverbs 21:11–13

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional: It's NOT about Me? 

The words seem kinda strange to our modern ears.

Each one of us must please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even the Messiah did not please Himself. (Romans 15:2-3)

Wait a minute! I thought I was always supposed to live to please myself. Isn't that what we are told? God's word confronts the selfishness and vanity of our world's commonly accepted teachings. When we are bought with the price of Christ's blood we lose the right of self-determination, of self-centeredness, of living to please ourselves above all.

First and foremost, we must live to please the Father in heaven. Our lives are for his glory. He is the audience of our lives and we must seek his applause and his alone. We do not live to please ourselves. In that sense, we do not even live to please others. The applause and appreciation of man is a fickle thing. We live for God's glory alone.

But as we live for the glory and pleasure of God, we also live our lives in the service of others. This is not to say that we make ourselves slaves to the opinions or approval of others, but that as Christ laid down his life for us, so we lay down our lives for others. We serve them. We bless them. We seek to lead them to Christ and help them grow in his grace.

We are servants first of God and then of other people.

In this specific context, Paul is talking about the way we express our freedom in Christ. In chapter 14, he talked about how each of us has the freedom to live by our conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and that it is okay for us to have different beliefs and convictions about items like diet (personal preferences) and Sabbaths (observance of OT laws).

But Paul wants to make it clear that he is not saying we should simply live to please ourselves, do what we want, and disregard others. No, we are to be more concerned about the spiritual health of others than we are about the freedom of our own conscience. If it hinders the spiritual growth of a fellow believer, Paul says, he will give up just about anything, even food and drink (fairly necessary things). The spiritual prosperity of others meant more to him than his own freedom!

Father, may I live my life for you and give myself for the growth and health of others in the body of Christ, not just my own pleasure. Make my life a blessing. 

Consider God's Word:

Did one of these passages speak strongly to you today? Which one? 

Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages? 

Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to? 

Have you bought into the idea that you live to please yourself, or have you, like Paul and Jesus, decided to please the Lord and live to serve others?