Romans 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Several other bible versions use the word convinced in place of persuaded. I see a subtle difference between the two, but I am not sure that for the purposes of this devotional that it makes that much of a difference.

There has always been and will always will be personal preferences in performance of liturgical functions within churches. There can very well be differences even within one church. As long as any of those differences do not touch foundational truths it really does not matter and they should not be used as an excuse to judge another’s preferences.

v13a Let us not therefore judge one another any more:

So why are we encouraged to be “fully persuaded” if it does not matter?

v14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

The Lord knows your heart, He knows your vulnerabilities, He knows what sins are at your door. The Lord persuades to protect. To be fully convinced in your mind is accepting that the Lord knows what is best for your relationship with Him and with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

v22-23 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

By faith the Lord said don’t, so I don’t. That does not mean He said don’t to you over my issues. You have your own set of don’ts to deal with.

1 Thessalonians 2:13For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Effectual, successful in producing a desired or intended result; effective: so in this the Word of God alone produces a desired effect. One of the comments I hear the most from fellow disciples is, “I don’t get it.” I cannot help but ask, “Have you read it?” The answer is inevitably yes, they read it, but they do not understand.

It is difficult to convince a person who seeks knowledge that the Word of God will do a work in them even in the absence of their understanding. They often give up reading the Word because they do not see what they expect to see. Failure to read the Word stunts spiritual growth.

I am very fortunate in that I am not hampered by the burdens of having to work for a living. A stroke took care of that part of my life. Even when I did work I set aside time to read the Word. As I live my life now I have to set aside time to do other things besides read and study the Word.

This is how I know this verse to be true. I encourage you to read. I implore you to read. The one thing I cannot do is read the Word for you. It is only effectual in me because I read. The more you read, the greater effect it will have in your life.

The only other advice I can give on the subject is to stop having expectations of what the Word will do in you based on your own desires. You are His workmanship and created in Him according to His design, will and plans. In order for you to be part of all that, you need to read His Word.