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Persist Obstinately

Words of Faith Final

Persist Obstinately
Words of Faith 11-9-2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Romans 12
    [9] Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. [10] Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

      The transformed life is one of deliberate action. Paul reveals five qualities and actions which mark the life transformed by God.
      Love that is sincere. The Greek word means without hypocrisy, unfeigned or not that of an "actor." Religious people are often capable of "acting" as if they love when, in fact, their hearts remain unchanged. The transformation God renders is from the inside out, and such love is sincere.
      Hate what is evil. The Greek means to abhor or detest. The transformed life does not simply avoid evil out of religious obligation. The transformed life cannot merely turn the other way when there is evil; rather it learns to detest the things that God detests.  
      Cling to what is good. Good is not just a passing fancy for the transformed life. Good people, good relationships, good virtues, a good church, good values, good choices, and good influences are all something worth clinging to.  
      Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. The Greek means to "persist obstinately in." Be obstinate in your brotherly love for one another. The transformed life is no longer casual about caring for brothers and sisters in Christ. The transformed life notices when someone is hurting and pursues healing.
      Honor one another above yourselves. The transformed life offers esteem and dignity to others. Honor means counting others as worthy of dignity, not demanding courtesy but giving it.  
      How does your life measure up? Have you been "acting loving" more than sincerely loving? Have you avoided evil while actually tolerating it? Have you let good things, people, or values slip away rather than clinging to them? Have you been casual or even lazy in relationships rather than persisting obstinately in brotherly love? Have you sought honor more than you give it?
     Trying harder is not the answer. Surrendering more and more to the transformation that God wants to do in your life is the answer.

       Lord, Jesus, transform me by the renewing of my mind. Fill me with Your love for others, Your hatred of evil, Your love of the good, Your persistence in relationships and Your value of people. Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2021 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.