Unashamed Reading Plan
Check out all the previous Unashamed readings here.
Unashamed Reading Plan | Week 13 | Day 3
Prayer
Ask God to help your attention and affection to be focused on Him now and throughout the day. Sit quietly for a moment and prepare your heart to hear from Him.
Bible Reading: Romans 12:9-13
Read these verses three times slowly.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Reflection & Questions
By Heather Mahoney
Paul talks about another kind of love—brotherly (Philadelphia) love. This is the kind of love that applies to blood relatives. Paul is using this “brotherly” kind of love to refer back to the Christian community. He’s calling us to have a brotherly love for our fellow believers.
Paul is saying that we should love one another as if we were related. And, even if our brothers, sisters, children, and parents develop different values and lifestyles from us, there is still a tie that remains.
Christians share common values and are to be devoted to one another as family members. God is asking us to love our church family well-pray for them, help them, honor them, and show up for them.
- From what you have just read and considered: What is a personal way you can love others well today/this week? Who will you love well this week, by
Prayer
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you carry on with your day and consider what it looks like to love your church family and others well. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will experience today.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Bible Reading: Romans 12:9-13
Read these verses three times slowly.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Reflection & Questions
There’s a city in Pennsylvania called Philadelphia. Have you heard of it? Did you know that Philadelphia means “brotherly love?” In today’s verses, that is what Paul is talking about – a “brotherly” love, the type of love you think about when you are talking about your family. And here he is talking about the church as your family. We might not all think or act the same way, but we all are members of God’s family.
Sometimes family isn’t easy to love, but there are a bunch of ways that we can try to love our church family well. We can honor them, placing them above ourselves. We can find enjoyment in serving them because we are doing it to show God that we love Him. We can practice patience, be helpful, pray for others in the church, and show up for them when they need us.
Remember: anytime you show love to someone, it is also showing love to God!
- What is a way that you can love others well this week?
Pray
Ask God to show you how you can love your family as well as the people in the church.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
