Have you thought of what serving really is? It is when we serve others that we are serving God. We all serve something, when that something comes before God it becomes an idol. When I spend too much time writing, reading, knitting, the list can go on and on, and not spending equal or more time with Jesus I am serving idols, not the Creator who made me. Going to church on Sunday, on Wednesday night is not enough. Those are the easy things to do really, its when we leave those buildings is when life gets hard. My favorite place to be is in church. I love to hear the word of God preached, I love to share in worship, and to feel the Lord moving, to see someone come to know Him, come back to Him, or to be on their knees in prayer is such a sweet, rich blessing. I have heard many complain and say the church doesn't do enough for them, we do not go to church to be served, but we go to serve. Its not about us, its all about Jesus. In our church we are blessed beyond measure with elders who have served their whole lives. They haven't served because they think it gets them closer to Christ from their deeds, they know that serving is what christianity is all about. Its not about seeing what you can get, but what you can give. Christ is our greatest example of serving, of giving, He gave all for us. What is it that you are serving today? For me, it can be a struggle. I love to read, to write, but I also love Jesus, and He should always be first on my list. We seem to make lists for everything, from what to clean, to where we have to be, what we have to do, and who we have to see. We even check them off as we go. But how many of our lists contain the name of Jesus right at the top? Many say we should have a set time for Him, and yes I believe we should, but shouldn't we be so aware of Him, that when He calls our name we answer? When He speaks to me do I always listen, and go to Him right then, or do I wait and put it off? My phone can ring, or it make its cute little sound when someone texts me, ya know what? I never fail to pick my phone up, and if I miss a call, I am sure to call that person back right away. I make time for everything I want to do. I hear people all the time say,"I don't have time for that." We have time for the things we want to do. That is the whole point. We should want to spend time with the Lord, not be forced to, but wanting to spend not just quality time with Him, but quanity time. We should be so close to Him, we should be wanting to spend time with Him as we do our friends. Let a friend call, and I am out the door. Let me see my bible sitting, knowing He is calling my name and I can pass it up, thinking I will do that tonight. What if there is no tonight? What if He is calling me for my purpose? What if He is reaching out to me right then to teach me something I will need in the next five minutes? I think that is one reason we can have a bad day, say the wrong things, make the wrong choices. If we were really spending time with Him as we should our days would be filled with joy no matter what. If we spent time putting on the armor, we would not say such mean things to others, and when we put Him first, everything else seems to just fit right where is should. We spend too much time rushing and not enough time slowing down to enjoy every minute we have not knowing the last breath we will take. In our lives we are to serve our Lord, go where He sends, and reach out to those He places in our lives. To serve should come from our hearts, not having a bad attitude because we could be doing something better. There is nothing better than serving just where the Lord has placed us. When we stop thinking about all we must do, and begin thinking,"Lord, what do You have for me today", our lives are going to be so much richer, so much more meaningful, and we will find our gifts, and our purposes when we spend time with our Lord and Savior. Its funny, when we call upon Him we want Him there right then, and when we don't get the answer to a prayer that we think should have been the right one, we can become bitter. But when our Savior calls us, do we answer Him right then or say,"Just hold on, I am trying to get these dishes done before the party tonight?" We have become so wanting in our lives that we can't see when our neighbor, our brother, our sister really needs us. We have placed ourselves on the top of the list expecting heaven to rain down on us all we want and deserve. We deserve nothing, by the grace of God He blesses us with all we need, not deserving anything at all. Our children have come to expect everything and give nothing. If we want real change in our country, in our world, we are going to have to fight that battle on our knees, beginning with ourselves. We can't change our neighbor but we can change ourselves. Serving is contagious, when you are serving, when we are giving to others, they will see, their eyes will be opened and they too will serve their neighbor with love. Serving is not just a gift to the one you are giving to, it is also a gift to you, the server, who then can give all the glory to our amazing God, our Lord Jesus Christ~ Galations 5:13 " For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:33 " But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
serving
Have you thought of what serving really is? It is when we serve others that we are serving God. We all serve something, when that something comes before God it becomes an idol. When I spend too much time writing, reading, knitting, the list can go on and on, and not spending equal or more time with Jesus I am serving idols, not the Creator who made me. Going to church on Sunday, on Wednesday night is not enough. Those are the easy things to do really, its when we leave those buildings is when life gets hard. My favorite place to be is in church. I love to hear the word of God preached, I love to share in worship, and to feel the Lord moving, to see someone come to know Him, come back to Him, or to be on their knees in prayer is such a sweet, rich blessing. I have heard many complain and say the church doesn't do enough for them, we do not go to church to be served, but we go to serve. Its not about us, its all about Jesus. In our church we are blessed beyond measure with elders who have served their whole lives. They haven't served because they think it gets them closer to Christ from their deeds, they know that serving is what christianity is all about. Its not about seeing what you can get, but what you can give. Christ is our greatest example of serving, of giving, He gave all for us. What is it that you are serving today? For me, it can be a struggle. I love to read, to write, but I also love Jesus, and He should always be first on my list. We seem to make lists for everything, from what to clean, to where we have to be, what we have to do, and who we have to see. We even check them off as we go. But how many of our lists contain the name of Jesus right at the top? Many say we should have a set time for Him, and yes I believe we should, but shouldn't we be so aware of Him, that when He calls our name we answer? When He speaks to me do I always listen, and go to Him right then, or do I wait and put it off? My phone can ring, or it make its cute little sound when someone texts me, ya know what? I never fail to pick my phone up, and if I miss a call, I am sure to call that person back right away. I make time for everything I want to do. I hear people all the time say,"I don't have time for that." We have time for the things we want to do. That is the whole point. We should want to spend time with the Lord, not be forced to, but wanting to spend not just quality time with Him, but quanity time. We should be so close to Him, we should be wanting to spend time with Him as we do our friends. Let a friend call, and I am out the door. Let me see my bible sitting, knowing He is calling my name and I can pass it up, thinking I will do that tonight. What if there is no tonight? What if He is calling me for my purpose? What if He is reaching out to me right then to teach me something I will need in the next five minutes? I think that is one reason we can have a bad day, say the wrong things, make the wrong choices. If we were really spending time with Him as we should our days would be filled with joy no matter what. If we spent time putting on the armor, we would not say such mean things to others, and when we put Him first, everything else seems to just fit right where is should. We spend too much time rushing and not enough time slowing down to enjoy every minute we have not knowing the last breath we will take. In our lives we are to serve our Lord, go where He sends, and reach out to those He places in our lives. To serve should come from our hearts, not having a bad attitude because we could be doing something better. There is nothing better than serving just where the Lord has placed us. When we stop thinking about all we must do, and begin thinking,"Lord, what do You have for me today", our lives are going to be so much richer, so much more meaningful, and we will find our gifts, and our purposes when we spend time with our Lord and Savior. Its funny, when we call upon Him we want Him there right then, and when we don't get the answer to a prayer that we think should have been the right one, we can become bitter. But when our Savior calls us, do we answer Him right then or say,"Just hold on, I am trying to get these dishes done before the party tonight?" We have become so wanting in our lives that we can't see when our neighbor, our brother, our sister really needs us. We have placed ourselves on the top of the list expecting heaven to rain down on us all we want and deserve. We deserve nothing, by the grace of God He blesses us with all we need, not deserving anything at all. Our children have come to expect everything and give nothing. If we want real change in our country, in our world, we are going to have to fight that battle on our knees, beginning with ourselves. We can't change our neighbor but we can change ourselves. Serving is contagious, when you are serving, when we are giving to others, they will see, their eyes will be opened and they too will serve their neighbor with love. Serving is not just a gift to the one you are giving to, it is also a gift to you, the server, who then can give all the glory to our amazing God, our Lord Jesus Christ~ Galations 5:13 " For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:33 " But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
