Saturday, April 14, 2012

SERVICE: LOVE IN ACTION






   “The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are made of the same water that flows down, clear and cold from the heights of Hermon and the roots of the cedars of Lebanon. 

The Sea of Galilee is a place of great beauty because it has an outlet. 

It gathers in its riches and then pours them out again to fertilize the Jordan plain. 


However, the Dead Sea, with the same water creates horror. The Dead Sea has no outlet. It gets to keep.

          When we come to God, one of our first ‘natural’ responses is to serve Him. 

In fact, our service to God should be spontaneous, enthusiastic and tireless. 

If there is no desire to serve or we find it hard to serve, then there is something wrong in our relationship with God.

          One summer, our air conditioner was not working correctly. It only partially cooled the house but seemed to run all day long, doubling our electric bill. 

When the repairman arrived, the first thing he did was remove the filter from the air conditioning unit. It was filthy. 

He then removed the coil which was completely covered with layers of dog hair, cat fur and dust. The repairman explained, ‘This unit was never meant to work under this load. 

It is working as hard as it can but it is not strong enough to do something it was never intended to do.’ He then replaced the filter and cleaned the coil. Our electric bill went back down, the house was cooler than it had been in months and the unit ran smoothly.                                                

          We were created to serve God and to worship Him – here on earth and for eternity. Worship and service cannot be separated. 

When we worship God, we will naturally serve Him and when we serve God, we are worshipping Him.

          There are many Christians who are doing nothing but there are no Christians who have nothing to do. 

When we think of a servant, we may think of someone who reports to work for a specific amount of time and is paid a specific wage. That is an employee - not a servant. 

The word 'serve' comes from the Greek word 'latreuo' and is often translated as ‘worship.’ It is not the picture of a slave serving a master. It is the picture of a love relationship that compels action.

          Romans 12:1 (NIV) “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”

We worship God by pleasing Him in the daily routines of life. In other words, we should consider each day as a worship service to God.

                   Cleaning house
                   Cooking meals
                   Making beds
                   Picking up children
                   Helping a neighbor
                   Buying groceries
       Teaching a Bible study
                   Listening to a hurting friend

          Service begins in the heart where it was conceived in love and then works its way out in every day life as an act of praise and gratitude. Service is love in action.

“God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing Eph. 2:10, NCV.

Let’s Pray

          Father, thank You for sending Your son, Jesus Christ, to die in my place and pay for my sin. I can never thank You enough for Your grace, mercy and love. I want to serve You with my whole heart. Please lead and direct me in the way You have for me to go. I want to be Your servant.

          In Jesus’ name,
          Amen.”

Mary Southerland on Crosswalk.com    (2/ 27/12)  


“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Rom. 7:24, 25; 8:1, 2


An Excellent Platform by Rick Boxx on Integrity Moments

“In the last year Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow has become a renowned celebrity. This is significantly due to his public and bold expression of faith.

It's important to note; however, that it's very unlikely he would have had any significant exposure had his football performance been average or below. His excellence provided a platform for Tim to proclaim his faith publicly.  

Peter taught in 1 Peter 2:12, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

            Living a ‘good life' combined with doing everything with excellence is a winning strategy. If you desire an opportunity to glorify God with your life, remember excellence as your best strategy."

Tomorrow’s post:  IMPOVERISHED MINISTRY OF JESUS  OSWALD CHAMBERS

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