October 30

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that reacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity: he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abbot that which is evil, cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11 Not slatiful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.

13 Dox during to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head

21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

"Religion teaches us to present to God our bodies as well as our souls; for God is the Lord of both; and if the body serves the soul in actions natural, and civil, and intellectual, it must not be eased in the only offices of religion, unless the body shall expect no portion of the rewards of religion, such as the resurrection, reunion, and glorification."—Jeremy Taylor.

When you consider what have been the mercies of God, does it not appear a reasonable service? Is it not reasonable that He who has given Himself to you should ask you to give yourself in a life of love to Him?

"Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." Work is not God's curse. Work is God's medicine. And the more pious the Christian is, the more industrious laborer he is. "Every day has occupations of usefulness enough to keep a man busy all the while. A man's secular industry, his spiritual conflicts, and his life of benevolence are ample contents with which to grace and fill up every day as it comes."—H. W. Beecher.

Paul tells us how to get rid of our enemies in verses 19-21. "To heap coals of fire on the head is, that, by kindness, our enemy grows angry with himself for having acted so wickedly toward us."—Luther.

Closet Promise.—But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.—Matt. x. 19.

You have a disagreeable duty to do at twelve o'clock. Do not blacken nine, and ten, and eleven, and all between, with the color of twelve. Do the work of each, and reap your reward in peace. So when the dreaded moment in the future becomes the present, you shall meet it walking in the light, and that light will overcome its darkness. The best preparation is the present well seen to, the last duty done. For this will keep the eye so clear and the body so full of light that the right action will be perceived at once, the right words will rush from the heart to the lips, and the man, full of the Spirit of God because he cares for nothing but the will of God, will trample on the evil thing in love, and be sent, it may be, in a chariot of fire to the presence of his Father, or stand unmoved amid the cruel mockings of the men he loves.—G. MacDonald.