"Sabbaths, Diets, and One Lord" August 25 Readings: Song of Songs 7-8, Romans 14, Psalm 101:5–8, Proverbs 21:9–10

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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: Song of Songs 7-8, Romans 14, Psalm 101:5–8, Proverbs 21:9–10

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional:  Sabbaths, Diets, and One Lord

We tend to want everything spelled out in black and white. Right and wrong. Good and bad. Acceptable
and unacceptable. But there are not clear biblical mandates for every activity, every decision we have to make. But not in real life, Even for the committed Christian there are gray areas. Paul addresses those in Romans 14.
  • Are there dietary laws that a Christian should follow? 
  • Ought we to observe Sabbath days? 
  • In other passages, Paul discusses whether a Christian ought to eat meat that had been previously sacrificed to an idol god. 
We still argue today over what Christians should eat or drink, whether we should observe a sabbath day, and other related questions. We do not struggle with the topic of meat sacrificed to idols, but we face many similar issues - how much can we enjoy things in this world without becoming of this world and falling into sin.

Paul has a very simple set of principles for making decisions on such issues. First, we must remember that every believer already has a Lord. No, that doesn't quite get at the heart of it. Every believer has a Lord who isn't me and isn't you. Jesus is the rightful Lord of all and our decisions about right and wrong must be made to please him. Verses 9 and 10 spell this out.
Christ died and came to life for this: that He might rule over both the dead and the living. But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before the tribunal of God.

 Jesus Christ went to the cross to earn the right to be the Lord over those he redeemed. That removes from us the right to sit in judgment on one another in these kinds of disputable issues. It is wrong for us to attempt to assert Lordship over anyone else. That doesn't mean we can do anything we please. We will stand before God's throne to give account of our lives and must lead them carefully. But we must remember who the Lord is and live for him. 

The second key principle is found in verse 5. 
One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind.
Each of us, under the Lordship of Christ, must decide these matters according to our redeemed consciences and then allow other believers to make their choices, even if they are different than our own. I must be convinced in my own mind and allow you to be convinced in your mind, even if our decisions are not identical. 

In all things, we must, according to verse 19, "pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another." We must be peacemakers, those who seek unity in all these things. 
Father, help me to be a peacemaker, to let Christ rule in my life and also in others'. 

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? 

Are you willing to live according to your conscience and allow other believers to do the same, or do you try to impose your conscience on others?

Do you understand the Lordship of Christ in your life and accept it in the lives of other believers?





 

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