Are You Called To Serve?

From the outset, Jesus had to deal with 12 unruly men who argued and passionately desired to be the greatest, but when the Holy Spirit came and indwelt them, all of that changed. Their desire now was to study, pray and impart wisdom to the new fledgling church.

But just as the church is growing and becoming a strong witness,  Satan’s ears perk up and he thinks he is invited to enter not to encourage but to distract. The church then and the church now encounters his orchestrated problems. Some are caused by us; some are caused by circumstances beyond our control such as widowhood. In the early church, widows were in need financially and in prayer support just as the widows we read about in the Book of Ruth.

God cares for the orphans and widows and He always has a plan.  God is never “a day late and a dollar short” to overrule Satan’s plans. This new fledgling NT church became the source of help to teach us the following principles: “Honor widows who are truly in need.”[ 1Ti 5:3]  “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their adversity.”[Jam 1:27]

The apostles could have stopped their ministry to help. Instead, they chose to include others in the solution thus teaching the church the principle that we are a body with many gifts.  “Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another” [1Pe 4:10] Today our churches employ this same principle.

Where are employing your gift to serve others in the Body of Christ?

This will be posted here on Feb 9th. Come and join us as we read through the NT/Ps and Proverbs each day.

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Serving Along Sanctification Highway

The Corinthian church needed an ‘overhaul’ of their priorities and who better than the father of this church, Paul the Apostle. He encourages the Corinthians to imitate him as he follows Christ, the ultimate example of servant-hood as he washed the feet of the disciples.

No man is an island but we journey towards the celestial city as a Body. it is when we have reached our destination that God will reveal what is hidden and as well as the motives of the heart which we are unable to do.  Until then along the highway of life both in and outside the church we are to be servants and stewards of the doctrines that the church upholds.We must offer these gifts in humility not judgment.

Rather than spinning our wheels looking for whom we can judge or elevating one person above another–seek to imitate Christ. Instead of seeking to one-up-man-ship begin to ask how we might help others along Sanctification Highway. We journey not alone but as pilgrims traversing together. Our compatriots have been blessed with every perfect gift from above, for God  is the Father of lights and with him there is no shadow of turning. Thus may we view the leadership over us and the members of our Body as gifts from God. Praise God for those in leadership and pray for them. Pray for those with whom you fellowship. Look and find the gifts they have to enrich your life. Look beyond yourself and follow the model of Jesus as you serve in the Body of Christ for it is God’s will that we be sanctified – set apart for His use.

Titus 1 “To Further the Faith”

I love this picture because it really speaks to my heart. The Holy Spirit has been convicting me, after studying Matthew 25 for my Bible Study, that there is a place in my life where I am not using the talents that God has placed before me. There may not be a place for me in “this church”…they seem to have no need for whatever reason (a.k.a. you have not been here long enough to which I said “huh?”). However, there is a neighborhood nearby and I should be impacting them in some way. I do pray for my neighbors but what am I doing practically speaking? Thus this brings us to this old saying that goes like this: If you fail to plan you really are planning to fail. That in a nutshell is what Paul is saying in vs 1 of Titus as he begins this letter. He notes that he is not only a servant (doulos…bondservant) of Christ but also an apostle (for us ambassador). He then explains his purpose in life which is to further the faith of God’s chosen ones. Hampton Keathley III gives us a way to see this phrase:

In the Greek the words “to further” is kata. “kata may be used of (1) the norm or standard by which something is done, “according to, in accordance with”; (2) of the goal or purpose, “for the purpose of, for, to”; or (3) of reference or respect, “with reference to, with respect to.”

The challenge before us is to determine what God’s purpose is for our lives and then implement that purpose in a radical way. For example, if God has given you the talent of teaching then you should be using it for His church. If He has given you the talent of hospitality you should be using it to reach others for Christ either in your church or in your neighborhood. If we fail to plan on using these talents then one day we might hear these words: “the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” When we take the risk and step out to use the talents God has given to us as Paul did then we are true disciples. Paul’s plan was to further the faith of the elect/God’s chosen ones. He was given a mission and as he told King Agrippa “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” He set out to not only evangelize but also to edify those whom God put in his path. Thus at the end of his life he could say “2Ti 4:7 I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!”

If we fail to plan then we have achieved nothing and in fact are being disobedient. Our timidity and lack of planning leads to a loss of joy, a loss of rewards in eternity, a loss of hearing “well done thou good and faithful servant.” We have failed to plan and thus have planned to fail. It is up to us.

Where will you and I  leave our footprint in the lives of others this week? What plan will you and I implement this week as part of furthering the faith of those who are in the Body of Christ and to serve others outside the Body of Christ?

Titus 1 “To Further the Faith”

I love this picture because it really speaks to my heart. The Holy Spirit has been convicting me, after studying Matthew 25 for my Bible Study, that there is a place in my life where I am not using the talents that God has placed before me. There may not be a place for me in “this church”…they seem to have no need for whatever reason (a.k.a. you have not been here long enough to which I said “huh?”). However, there is a neighborhood nearby and I should be impacting them in some way. I do pray for my neighbors but what am I doing practically speaking? Thus this brings us to this old saying that goes like this: If you fail to plan you really are planning to fail. That in a nutshell is what Paul is saying in vs 1 of Titus as he begins this letter. He notes that he is not only a servant (doulos…bondservant) of Christ but also an apostle (for us ambassador). He then explains his purpose in life which is to further the faith of God’s chosen ones. Hampton Keathley III gives us a way to see this phrase:

In the Greek the words “to further” is kata. “kata may be used of (1) the norm or standard by which something is done, “according to, in accordance with”; (2) of the goal or purpose, “for the purpose of, for, to”; or (3) of reference or respect, “with reference to, with respect to.”

The challenge before us is to determine what God’s purpose is for our lives and then implement that purpose in a radical way. For example, if God has given you the talent of teaching then you should be using it for His church. If He has given you the talent of hospitality you should be using it to reach others for Christ either in your church or in your neighborhood. If we fail to plan on using these talents then one day we might hear these words: “the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” When we take the risk and step out to use the talents God has given to us as Paul did then we are true disciples. Paul’s plan was to further the faith of the elect/God’s chosen ones. He was given a mission and as he told King Agrippa “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” He set out to not only evangelize but also to edify those whom God put in his path. Thus at the end of his life he could say “2Ti 4:7 I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!”

If we fail to plan then we have achieved nothing and in fact are being disobedient. Our timidity and lack of planning leads to a loss of joy, a loss of rewards in eternity, a loss of hearing “well done thou good and faithful servant.” We have failed to plan and thus have planned to fail. It is up to us.

Where will you and I  leave our footprint in the lives of others this week? What plan will you and I implement this week as part of furthering the faith of those who are in the Body of Christ and to serve others outside the Body of Christ?

Lone Wolf or Member of the Flock? 1Cor 12

Recently in a conversation about church attendance a person noted that she is a “loner” and has been all of her life. She does not require nor does she need to be a part of a group and especially church. Then today in reading for this assignment I came across a blog written by another person who is also a “lone wolf” and finds/believes that he is sharper and more wise alone than with a group. Let’s see if either of these are biblical standards according to our reading in 1Corinthians 12.

First and foremost our standard is the lifestyle of our Savior. He continually said “follow me” and included from the entire spectrum. In doing so each disciple was able to use his gifts to enhance the entire group. For example, Andrew had the gift of finding people. John had the gift of tenderness. Matthew had the gift of accounting and details. The life of a hermit or a ‘lone wolf’ was a foreign concept to our Lord and it was as well to Paul but unfortunately there were some “lone wolves”  in the Corinthian camp.

Secondly, what then is the purpose of each member and their gifts? As a believer we are all blessed with the indwelling Holy Spirit who graciously shares with the Body of Believers varieties of gifts, varieties of ministries for one reason: to build up or edify the Body and to glorify God. A question then arises. How can the Body be fully functioning or edifying or glorifying if there is one member missing?

Third point Paul is making is that there is no gift that is better or lesser than another. In fact,  just as the gifts are diverse so the ministries are different and the activities are diverse but they all come from one source: The Holy Spirit.  David Guzik writes: “The purpose of the manifestation of the Spirit is to benefit the whole church family, not just a particular individual.” All are needed, all are manifest and all bestow great honor upon the Body. In fact, Paul writes: “those members that seem to be weaker are essential, and those members we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our unpresentable members are clothed with dignity.”

Precious Ones, there are no ‘lone wolves’ in the church–only members of the flock! You are endowed with a precious gift to be used. These gifts are God’s treasure box being opened and poured out upon the church. It is God’s way of allowing us the privilege of sharing and expressing and receiving God’s love from one to the other. So now the question remains: are you using your gift(s) for Him?

Remember this rule: If feel less qualified you are listening to the lie out of the mouth of the enemy for that quenches the Spirit. The Holy Spirit has graciously given to you His blessing for one reason: to glorify God. Go forth and share!