Today we come to Romans 12:16 which says, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.  Never be wise in your own eyes.”

For the Christian, this is how we are to live.  We are to live in harmony with one another. Just like music that is filled with the rich tones of harmony and sounds beautiful, so do our lives when filled with the rich tones of harmonious living. However, just like there are times when music sounds ‘off,’ there are times when our lives sound ‘off’ as well.  Why is this?

In a choir, just one person singing off key can make the whole choir sound horrible.  I have included a clip from “The Andy Griffith Show” where Barney Fife is singing in a choir and it shows this point well. His off key singing makes the whole choir sound terrible :)

In the Christian life, this happens as well. Why? The answer is found in scripture. It says, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:1-4) Whoa! These are hard words, but true. It’s our own selfishness that causes disharmonious living, making the precious gift of life terrible.

What do we do?  Barney Fife needed someone to stand in his place to make his voice beautiful.  Watch the clip of this to see this. 

It is the same for us. Just like Barney needed someone to stand and sing in his place, we need Christ to stand in our place. For those of us in Christ, we need to remind ourselves of this each and every day. We need to remind ourselves of who God is, what His promises are, and who we are in Him. We need to remember what Christ did for us on the cross dying in our place, taking our sin upon Himself for our salvation, so that when God the Father looks at us, He sees His Son, not our sin. For those not following Christ, may today be the day when you give your life to Him. May you let Christ stand in your place.

Blessings to you,

Heather

When You Pray…

Each day: 

1. Pray for yourself.
2. Pray for you spouse.
3. Pray for your children.

Weekly:

Sunday – Government

Monday – Immediate Family

Tuesday – Your Church 

Wednesday – Your Extended Family

Thursday – Your Spouse’s Extended Family

Friday – Your Friends

Saturday – Variety

Feel free to go back and review in more detail the weekly prayer points.