One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Romans 12:9-21.  It is just a huge list of commands that Paul gives to Christians, about how they should be acting and what they should be doing.  You should give it a read. 

I like this list because it is challenging.  Every time I read it, it’s like a gut check.  It never fails that there is something or other on this list that I have been doing very poorly.  The bluntness makes the passage very effective.   

I like this list because it is powerful.  I can’t exactly pinpoint what it is, but when I read this passage, I can just sense the authority and the potency behind the words. 

Last night, in my small group, my girls spent some time evaluating ourselves on the commands in this list.  We decided, as a group, what our bottom 8 were:

Do not be proud.

Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil.

Do not take revenge. 

Bless, and do not curse. 

Honor one another above yourselves.

Be willing to associate with people of low position. 

Be patient in affliction.

We prayed about these commands, and challenged ourselves to focus on following them this next week.  I am looking forward to hearing stories about how it went. 

I am hoping to do this again in a few months, to see as a small group where we have grown, and where we still need to grow.