Welcome to our new project, the Daily Bible Devotional. The goal is to help you understand and

apply scripture as you go through a New Testament Bible read five days a week, Monday through

Friday as we move from Matthew straight through to Revelation. In under four minutes each morning, we will recap the chapter,

make some application, present thought questions for the day, and offer a prayer together.

I'm excited about exploring God's word with you, so let's get started.

Hey, welcome to our study today. Such a wonderfully practical chapter, Romans chapter 12.

The mercies of the Lord fuel the spirit of believers. In God's honor, Christians offer their

bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, as a daily and ongoing act of worship.

They refuse to conform to the patterns of this world but renew their minds

determined to show that the will of God is, quote, good and acceptable and perfect. This is not a

lonely or selfish effort as disciples recognize their role in the body of Christ. Each child of God

has a function to fulfill in the fellowship of believers,

exercising their gifts for the benefit of the group, devotion to actions of love and encouragement

and hospitality shape their lives. Christians seek peace with all people and strive to overcome

evil with good in every situation.

We've talked so long through Romans about the concept of being a vessel of the Lord,

and now we're getting to see exactly what that looks like.

As members of the body of Christ, each of us submits our entire life, both spirit and body,

to the Lord.

This means finding ways to fulfill God's will every day. The world encourages pride and self-centeredness, but God challenges us to be different and humbly committed to

uplifting the body of believers. We must discover our gifts and use them, whether in service,

teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, or mercy.

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