February 26 – Served Or Served

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45 (NASB)

It has always been that some served, some were served, but the ones served never really served others. It was not that long ago while not necessarily a career goal, a life in “service” might have been one’s only option.  Choosing one’s own way in life has not always been possible. The homes of the wealthy and even middle class with the means, had a servant or two. But Jesus Christ, the Son of Man who is our creator, our sovereign God, did not come to earth as a man to be served by others even though it would be appropriate. He came to do the serving. Throughout his 3 years of public ministry he taught his disciples and preached that service to others is our calling. As humans we find serving others very difficult and we prefer our own personal servants. By example, the ultimate service performed by Christ was to die and a cross carrying the sins of all the world in order to pay the penalty of our sins. By his service, he made us free from being servants to sin and death and we were made servants to Christ to proclaim His name.

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July 21 – Only, Only, Only,

“Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.” -  1 Samuel 12:24 (ESV)

Ever tested the word ‘only’ in a sentence to see how different positioning makes for different emphasis? Here is an example: “Only fear the Lord…” might read, “Fear only the Lord…” or, “Fear the only Lord…” or, “Fear the Lord only…” Each arrangements represents a true instruction and each has a slightly different emphasis of why we are to “Only fear the Lord…” The people of Israel had just crowned their first King, Saul, the son of Kish. He was handsome, taller than all others and must have had a wining personality. Samuel the prophet and judge cautioned the people to remain faithful to their true King, the Lord God. It was going to be easy for the people to begin to view their king and admire him too highly. Saul easily let it all go to his head and went astray, disobeying God. Let’s remember what Samuel said to the people for God has done great thing for us also. He provides for us salvation, gives us wisdom, comforts us, guides us, and blesses us abundantly. Plus much more – He is worthy of our awesome praise and worship. Great things in our past, present and future. 

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July 20 –His Name’s Sake

“For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself” -  1 Samuel 12:22 (ESV)

What is in a name? Especially the name of God? Foremost it is the guarantee of an unbreakable promise. When God makes promises, those who have believed can trust in their fulfillment. Samuel was the last prophet/judge of God’s chosen people. The people demanded to have a king and God sent Samuel to anoint Saul to be Israel’s first king. The people rejected God as their true King. As King Saul is crowned, the people are warned to not forget their God and to serve, obey and not rebel against His commandments. God’s promise that He will not forsake His people is renewed. He established the promise on His name, “for His great name’s sake.” God’s promises to us are also given to us in His name. That means the promises are unbreakable and even when we disobey, God keeps His promises. God promised to make Israel a people for Himself based on His name. His promises hold true no matter how far the people stray. We have the same promise. All faith believers are given promises of God for salvation, which include justification, sanctification, glorification.  God will be with us forever.

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December 22 –Through All Our Days

“To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” Luke 1:74-75 (NASB)

The singing at Christmas time reminds us of the great things God has given us through His Son Jesus. This is in line with the songs recorded in our Bible before Jesus was born as well as when He was born. We look today at a song which Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist sang when his son John was born. A few days ago we looked at a portion of Mary’s song, The Magnificat. Today we select a passage from the prophecy by sung by, Zechariah. This, of course was just six months before Jesus was born. Our verses for today remind us about what God was doing in sending His Son to earth. Jesus came to earth to serve God in holiness and righteousness. He came to help us live pleasing to God through all our days. Jesus came to be our Savior to make our lives different so that we will bring glory and honor to God the Father and Jesus our Savior, God the Son. If He is your Savior, my Friend, He will help  you live today in a way that pleases God. That is a promise. 

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July 25 – The Day To Choose

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” -Joshua 24:15  (ESV)

The people of Israel are gathered together at Shechem, and important landmark from the time of Abraham. The people  have been led by Moses out of Egypt to Mt. Horeb also called Sinai. They receive the law from God. They build the Tent of Meeting, a working model of the Temple of God. God has helped them to defeat the godless nations in the land. But they must complete the possession of it.  God now leaves it to each tribe to possess their inheritance. They must avoid co-mingling with these people. Are they up to it?  Joshua challenges them to choose whom they will serve because that choice will have everything to do with their success in possessing the promised land.  Is it to be the Lord, or is He evil in their eyes?  Will it be the false gods their fathers served in Egypt or the gods of the pagan tribes of the land they were possessing?  The challenge is Joshua’s testimony.  For him and his household they chose to serve the Lord God.  Is that our choice too?  Many idols detract us today. Who do we choose to serve today? Let’s choose Joshua’s Lord God and serve Him. 

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June 12 – Freedom to Serve Each Other

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”  - Galatians 5:13 (NASB)

It is often the case the context of our verses of promise often bear greatly on our understanding.  This verse comes within the contest that the Apostle Paul was correcting a false teaching in the churches of Galatia.  Some false teachers were saying new believers needed to become Jews and follow the Jewish tradition of the Law and be circumcised.  In verse 5:1 Paul states that was no longer necessary because Christ has set us free from such a yoke. Believers were free from these obligations that once were required of the people of Israel – the Jewish nation.  Instead freedom was what Christians were called to.  This was and is a promise that legalism is a thing of the past.  Paul then cautions the Galatians to be certain that their freedom was not abused by taking advantage and using it to fulfill lustful desires.  The promise of freedom, that we all have been given in Christ, is given so that we can, through love, serve one another.  This may be very pertinent for our present situation as many have the need of help. So, let’s serve one another in our freedom for God’s honor and glory. 

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March 26 – Freely Given to Freely Serve

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:”   1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)

This promise is for us, for each person who has willfully and purposely put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.  God has, in response, provided each of  us with a gift that fits the work He calls us to do. Becoming a believer has great benefit and purpose. For one, our purpose is to bring Glory to God and to share the opportunity God has made for all people. We are helped when we come to realize that God wants to use us, His children, to help others know about His wonderful grace and to help them take advantage of it in their lives.  In this way we will be serving our families, our friends, and our neighbors  in a way that will bring them closer to God and help them realize how great God's grace is.  To accomplish this, is why we each have been gifted with a spiritual gift to use in this purpose of service to one another. Our lives receive the benefit and blessing of close fellowship and support from each other. It is how God designed our stewardship through His wonderful grace.    

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October 3 – Training to Lead or Serve?

“whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,”  1 Peter 4:11 (NASB)

We all are likely familiar with the many 'leadership training' opportunities that are available through seminars, classes and other programs.  Developing leaders is a keen focus with companies, cities, and organizations.  Depending on the version, we're using the NASB, the word 'lead' occurs 60 times in 60 verses in the Bible and the word 'leader' occurs 69 times in 69 verses.  Together it is 129 times.  By contrast, the word 'serve' occurs 207 times in 196 verses and 'servant' occurs 447 times in 402 verses a total of 654 times.  As Christians, we are reminded of the importance of serving God by serving others even in leadership positions.  In everything we do we are called to serve.  But we cannot do this on our own because we can only accomplish what God requires through the strength He supplies.  So if we really want our life on earth to count for anything we need to trust in the promise that He will give us the ability to serve.  And the great result, when we do, is that our God is glorified through Jesus Christ in what we do for Him.

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April 29 – All Our Heart

“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.” 1 Samuel 12:24 (NIV)

When the prophet Samuel was leading the people of Israel, he had reason, on several occasions to encourage them to stay true to God. Today, we find in our verse a wonderful motivation for serving the Lord God faithfully. It was true for the Israelites, they sometimes forgot how good God had been to them and they would go their own way. In much the same way we who profess to follow Jesus will forget what He has done for us and are influenced to go the way of the world. We need to take time often to think of what great things God has done for us.  Let's not think that we've done everything for ourselves.  We know that God has been good to us to make us a part of His family. And in so many different ways, He has demonstrated His goodness in taking care of us.  Remembering such things and thinking of them will help us to serve God faithfully and with all our heart. 

December 21 – Through All Our Days

“To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” Luke 1:74-75 (NASB)

The singing at Christmas time reminds us of the great things God has given us through His Son Jesus. This is in line with the songs recorded in our Bible before Jesus was born as well as when He was born. We look today at a song which Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist sang when his son John was born. This, of course was just six months before Jesus was born. A quote from that song are our verses for today. They remind us about what God was doing in sending His Son to earth. Jesus came to earth to serve God in holiness and righteousness. He came to help us live pleasing to God through all our days. Jesus came to be our Savior to make our lives different. If He is your Savior, my Friend, He will help  you live today in a way that pleases God. That is a promise. 

April 29

“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”  1 Samuel 12:24 (NIV)

We notice that people needed to be reminded of the goodness and greatness of God. Here we read how Samuel did that for Saul at his coronation. Why did the prophet remind Saul and the people of what God had done for them in the past? It was for the purpose of encouraging them to serve the Lord wholeheartedly. He knew that if they thought of God’s goodness to them, they would be motivated to serve Him faithfully and to revere Him. It works that way with us, too. God has been good to us, too. He has done great things for us. Let us remember that today and let us show our appreciation to Him by the way we serve Him. 

April 19

“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul wrote this promise to the Christians in Thessalonica. But he was writing to all believers, not only to those who had a special call to some special ministry. God's call is to all those who profess to follow Him – all believers. And He calls not just once but He is calling us often. He reminds us that when He calls us to serve Him in some way He does not leave us on our own.  He is faithfully there to do something through us. So we are not the ones who produce the results. It is God who does that through us. Be willing today to listen to His call and answer Him.