So, today's one of those days when I'm going to get in your face with a tough question (you're welcome!). Here it is: how do you treat strangers? If you see someone you don't know who's in need, are you the sort of person to step up and help, or do you cross to the other side of the road to avoid them?

Showing kindness or hospitality to a friend is great. And I'm sure that when you do that, they feel blessed. They may not always say thank you. They may not always appear grateful, but it makes them feel valued.

But what about when a virtual stranger goes out of their way to help someone? What if you cook a meal or open your home even, to someone you hardly know? Without doubt, such an unexpected act from a stranger multiples the blessing ten times, a hundred times, in the recipient's heart, doesn't it?

Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. (NRSV)

The original Greek word translated here as "hospitality" literally means "to love strangers." Back in a time without hotels, inns were rare, and those that did exist were often unsafe or immoral. So travelling Christians, missionaries, or displaced believers depended on the hospitality of fellow Christians.

And the word "extend" is intense. It means to pursue eagerly, even to chase down. So through His Word, God isn't merely suggesting that we be hospitable. He's telling us to pursue it with zeal; to go out of our way to welcome others, including those we don't know personally.

Extend hospitality to strangers.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Generosity is such a wonderful thing, isn't it? When someone's generous toward us, be it with their time, talents or treasures, we feel incredibly valued, incredibly blessed. Yet in truth, most people's default position is to hoard what they have, keeping it all to themselves.

Just recently, in my conversations with some incredibly generous people, I've been struck by that truth as they've recounted stories of wealthy people they know, who live with an attitude of "Well, I've worked hard. It's mine. Why would I give it away?" Why indeed.

Well, let's hear God's take on this whole generosity thing.

Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. (NRSV)

In the brutal first-century Roman world when that was written, this verse carried deep practical and spiritual weight, especially amongst the persecuted, scattered, and often extremely poor Christian communities.

The original Greek word for "contribute" carries the meaning of fellowship or sharing. "The saints" refers to fellow believers, those suffering persecution, famine, imprisonment, or displacement. In many cases, they lost jobs, homes, or even family connections because of their faith.

So this isn't about paying lip service by tossing over some loose change. It implies an active, personal participation by entering into the burdens of others. Make no mistake. This is a call to radical generosity.

Look, God knows nothing of stinginess. No, He exhorts us here to treat each other as family, meeting material needs as a natural outflow of our shared life in Christ. I know this is challenging. I get that. But God's calling us here not merely to generosity, but to radical generosity.

That's His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

I think you'd agree that perseverance is a tremendous quality for someone to have. If you think of your favourite movie, the plot almost certainly involves a hero persevering against impossible odds to win the day. And yet perseverance is a muscle that we hope we never to have to exercise, because we only need it when we're faced with adversity.

In 19th-century England, George Müller cared for over 10,000 orphans—yet he never once asked for money. Instead, he brought every need to God in prayer. At times, there was no food for the children, yet he'd pray calmly, thanking God in advance.

One morning, as they sat at the table with empty plates, a baker knocked on the door with fresh bread, saying he'd felt led by God to bake during the night. Müller once said, "The great point is never to give up until the answer comes." And he never did.

There have been times in our ministry when we haven't had the funds to keep going. At one stage, the unpaid bills amounted to 40% of our annual donations. We prayed and prayed. At the last minute, my phone rang. It was a man who wanted to donate exactly that amount on that day.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. (NRSV)

Why can we rejoice in hope? Because God gives us a certain hope of an eternity with Him through faith in Jesus. Why can we be patient in suffering? Because there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.

And why should we persevere in prayer? Because God is faithful. His answer may not be what we'd expected or hoped for. But it will be the perfect answer at the perfect time. Persevere in prayer.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Have you noticed how slowly time seems to pass when you're suffering? The rest of the universe is still ticking along as usual, but your little patch is running in slow motion – extreme slow motion. And in that place, patience wears thin very quickly. Can't we just get on with this? Can't we just get through this, to the other side?

Dutch watchmaker, Corrie ten Boom, helped Jews escape the Nazis during WWII. She was eventually arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp. Surrounded by death, disease, and unimaginable cruelty, she endured horrific conditions with a calm and quiet spirit.

She and her sister Betsie, who died there, would pray, share secret Bible studies, and minister to the other women. Corrie later wrote, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."

She didn't escape the suffering; she bore it with patience, trusting in God's eternal timing.

Doubtless, you can't imagine going through what she went through with the same countenance. And yet amidst our suffering here and now, that calmness, that stillness, that incredibly faith is entirely possible. Not because I say so, but because God does.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. (NRSV)

Friend, there is such power in God's Word and my prayer is that right here, right now, that power would be unleashed in you so that as you rejoice in the certain hope you have in God through Jesus Christ, you too will lay hold God's patience in your suffering; you too will discover in your experience that there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.

Be patient in suffering.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Almost by definition, hope is most beneficial when things today appear hopeless, wouldn't you agree? The problem is, though, that when the going's tough, that sense of hope inevitably seems to elude us.

Romanian pastor Richard Wurmbrand was arrested in 1948 and imprisoned for fourteen years under the brutal Communist regime. He was tortured, kept in solitary confinement for three years in an underground cell without light or sound, and forbidden even to pray aloud.

Yet in his memoir Tortured for Christ, he wrote of singing hymns in his cell, composing sermons in his mind, and rejoicing in the presence of Jesus even as his body wasted away. "Alone in my cell, cold, hungry, and in rags," he recalled, "I danced for joy every night."

Was he crazy? Not at all. You see, just like the Apostle Paul (who wrote many of the books of the New Testament while in prison), his hope wasn't rooted in his dark and desperate circumstances but in the living Christ. Two thousand years ago, in one of those letters, Paul writes this:

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. (NRSV)

The problem with hoping that our circumstances will one day (soon!) get better is that they may not. Those financial troubles could go from bad to worse. That cancer diagnosis could be the end – we all die sometime. That happens.

But when your hope is in Christ, you can be absolutely certain that one day you will find yourself in His Presence – without sickness, without pain, without tears – for all eternity.

That's why you can rejoice in hope. So, dance for joy in your rags … when you're cold, when you're hungry, when it's dark. Dance!

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

There's nothing better than the joy, the energy, the zeal that comes from taking on something that's right in your wheelhouse; something that lets you exercise your unique gifts and abilities for the benefit of others.

Of course, zeal is a double-edged sword. Focused on the wrong thing, it's terribly destructive. But focused on the right thing – something that fits with your abilities and does good in this world – it's fantastic.

You may never have thought of this, but I write 365 of these daily Fresh devotional messages each year. That's around 140,000 words, more than a PhD thesis. I'm currently in my 10th year – today's is the 3,255th devotion. Each one is recorded in a radio studio. Each one is shot in a TV studio. So, not surprisingly, I'm often asked, how do you do that? How do you come up with the ideas? How do you keep going day after day after day, year after year?

I'll tell you how. It's what God created me to do. When I sit down in the morning in front of my computer to write the next message, the excitement in my heart is palpable. I absolutely love it. And that's how it's meant to be.

Romans 12:11 As you serve the Lord, work hard and don't be lazy. Be excited about serving him!

The original Greek word translated here as "excited" paints the picture of boiling water. Be hot, be passionate, be bubbling, be putting off steam. And friend, that's what happens when you lay hold of what God made you to do – whatever that happens to be.

Be excited about serving him!

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

When it comes to work, whatever that means in your context, there are two equally destructive extremes. At one end is the workaholic, prepared to sacrifice health and family on the altar of success. At the other lies the sloth, that lazy individual who'll do the least amount possible.

In 16th-century Japan, two samurai brothers served a local lord. Motoharu trained daily, studied strategy, and led with tireless discipline. Takakage, though equally gifted, preferred leisure, delaying in obeying orders and basically neglecting his duties.

When battle came, Motoharu's forces held firm—Takakage's faltered. The contrast was clear: one reaped the fruit of effort, the other the shame of laziness.

That's a contrast you see playing itself out pretty regularly. I've even seen it in ministry. Some have come to our organisation expecting the work to be easy. After all, it's a Christian outfit. It's all about love (which it is), so I can just coast along with minimal effort (which they can't).

What about you? How do you approach whatever it is that constitutes work in your life? As you ponder that, here's God's take on your work life:

Romans 12:11 As you serve the Lord, work hard and don't be lazy. Be excited about serving him!

Laziness would have to be one of the least godly traits going around. Sure, we need to rest – the workaholic lifestyle is equally ungodly. But laziness, seriously, is a cancer that's robbing way too many people of the deep satisfaction that comes from exercising their unique gifts and abilities for the benefit of others.

If you need to hear this today, then wake up. As you serve the Lord, work hard and don't be lazy.

That's His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

The word "honour", the ideal that it embodies, is one that we intuitively know is right; we know it's good to honour one another. The problem is, it's also hard. And so, we often forego honour for the sake of expediency in the fast-moving world in which we live.

Author Dale Carnegie was raised in a Christian home on a farm in Missouri in the late 1800s. He was deeply influenced by his parents' values, particularly kindness, humility, and integrity.

He famously went on to write an all-time business bestseller – How to Win Friends and Influence People. Who doesn't want to have more friends? Who doesn't want to be able to influence people? And though I have some issues about the motivations behind all that, it's hard to argue with the central tenet of his book which is this: People are more likely to respond positively when they feel respected, valued, and genuinely understood.

Carnegie's message is simple yet powerful: Change how you relate to others, and you'll change your relationships as well as your results.

Now, rocket science this ain't. And yet it's a profound shift that many people never go on to make, to their own detriment and that of others. God, in fact, puts it like this:

Romans 12:10 Love each other in a way that makes you feel close, like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honour than you give yourself.

We looked at the first part of that yesterday. The second part, about honour, carries with it the sense that we should outdo one another in showing honour.

When was the last time someone honoured you? How did it make you feel? So, how would your relationships change if you were always out to outdo the next person in honouring them, hmm?

Honour others more than you honour yourself.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.