Radial Love in Action: Lessons from Romans | Ep 777

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Hello, good people. Welcome to daily bible

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refresh with doctor Brad Miller. This is the daily

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bible study that we take from the

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revised common lectionary. We're in year c,

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the epiphany season. We offer you a bible study, a daily bible

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study every single day that is understandable, relatable,

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and applicable. We make it

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understandable by the fact that we read the New Testament

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lesson only, and we read it from the message translation of the

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bible. Relatable in as much as we offer a couple

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of points to ponder about the scripture

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and applicable as we give you an action step to take. We have a

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prayer, and we do so in under 10 minutes.

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Our reading for the day is from Romans

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9 through 21.

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Reading for the message. Love from the center of

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who you are. Don't fake it. Run for dear

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life from evil. Hold on for dear

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life to good.

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Be good friends who love deeply.

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Practice playing 2nd fiddle. Don't

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burn out. Keep yourselves fueled and

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aflame. Be alert servants of the master,

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cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard

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times, pray all the harder. Help needy

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Christians. Be inventive in hospitality.

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Bless your enemies. No cursing under your breath.

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Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy. Share tears

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when they're down. Get along with each other. Don't be stuck up.

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Make friends with nobodies. Don't be the

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great somebody. Don't hit back.

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Discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it

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in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist

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on getting even. That's not for you to do. I'll do the judging,

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says God. I'll take care of it. Our scriptures tell us

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that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person

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lunch. Or if he's thirsty, get him a drink.

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Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let

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evil get the best of you. Get the best of evil

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by doing good. What?

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What a fantastic passage of scripture about how to live your

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life with revolution with with radical love, which is

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revolutionary, practicing the revolutionary

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practice of radical love, which is transformative

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love in the community setting, and it's about community care, caring for

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one another. Here's a few points to ponder. One

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has to do with authentic solidarity. It says,

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love from the center of who you are, don't fake it.

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And this really speaks to important of being a

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genuine ally and being in solidarity

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with others. Progressive Christianity recognizes

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that performative activism and superficial

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inclusion aren't enough. Real transformation

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requires authentic engagement

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with works where we are seeking justice,

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even when it's uncomfortable or costly.

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Another point is sustainable activism.

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There's a warn warning here about burnout

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and also a word of encouragement to it

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says here to keep yourself fueled and aflame.

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Did you get that? And that's just crucial for all of us,

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especially if we're seeking justice. It can be taxing on

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us. And this isn't just about self care, but it's also about

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community care, caring for one another. And that way we

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can have mutual sustainability that can

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endure long term struggles while

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supporting one another, especially

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those who are marginalized. One more point

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to ponder, and that has to do with subversive hospitality.

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It says here, make friends with nobodies. Don't be the great somebody. I love

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that turn of a phrase. It really challenges hierarchies

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and privilege, doesn't it? And so the radical hospitality

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is not just about being nice, it's about being

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deliberately disruptive as systems of status quo of power, which

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are destructive. So it's about practicing

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friendship across social barriers. And when we challenge

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structures that create those barriers, that is what we're called to

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do. Here's your action step for the day.

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It has to do with creating a community care map. That

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is draw out or kind of make a graph or a chart

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about the community care connections in

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your life, in your community, or things that you care about.

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And note where there is maybe points of

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privilege or power that exist, maybe you're even a part of

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it, and exemplify 3 ways

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that you can practice what we might call

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subversive hospitality. That is by sharing, by

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being extravagant givers, sharing

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resources, making space and room for others,

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or maybe amplifying marginalized voices

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and implement something, do something, take an action.

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And you might want to focus on things that are sustainable, not just

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kind of one hit wonders, but things that can have a lasting long term

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change rather than just kind of a one term flash in the

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pan type of thing. We're gonna pray in just a moment,

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but I did want you to know about our resource that we offer to you

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called the ABC 123

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bible study guide. It's just really a gift that we give you. You'll find it

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there at voice of god daily dot com, our website. That's where we

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have transcripts of all of our episodes and our back catalog of

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episodes. This goes back for 700 episodes now, and

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we can find what you need there. And you have a

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simple Bible study method. It is really as easy as a,

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b, c, 1, 2, 3. Let's pray.

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Oh God, oh God of a revolutionary love,

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help us to move beyond performative care to authentic

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solidarity with those who struggle. Teach us the rhythm of

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sustainable activism where rest

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is as sacred as action and community care powers our work

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for justice. Give us courage to cross the boundaries that separate us

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from our neighbors, wisdom to recognize our own privilege,

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and help us to be a part of dismantling oppressive systems.

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May our hospitality be truly subversive and

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our love genuinely transformative

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and our commitment to justice unwavering.

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Ground us in a hope when work seems endless,

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and help us get connected in community when we feel alone.

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Amen. Well, it's been great to be with you

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here on the daily bible refresh. My name is doctor Brad

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Miller. Love to be with you. I'm with you every

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to voice of god daily.com to get connected to

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the podcast. We'd love to hear from you and see you again tomorrow.

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Invite someone else to join us, please. Until that time,

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when we come together here on daily bible refresh, please remember that

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God's loyal love doesn't run out. His merciful

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love hasn't dried up. It's created

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new every morning.