Being a Servant

When my 13 year old Paige first sang the beautiful song, Broken and Spilled Out, it touched my heart knowing that was truly how she felt. Throughout her young life I have seen her reach out to those around her.

When she was very young she had a special gift of touching senior adults, as she grew her reach began to expand to little children. Paige never has to think twice about tending to someone’s child so that they might be free to do something else. Children are drawn to her, and she is drawn to them. Even though we have reached the teenage years, when most kids are only concerned about themselves, Paige still has a servant’s heart. She just naturally wants to help in any way she can in any situation. Now, I am not saying that she never thinks of herself, but her servant hood most definitely stands out.

I was reading my devotional this morning about how we should not only spread the gospel of Christ, but also be willing to be His servant to those around us. We should not be concerned about the cost of our servant hood, only that He calls us to serve others and we should be obedient to that call.

I want to be “broken and spilled out” in His hands, how about you?

Love

Luke 6: 27-31, 36
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Luke 6:36
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6: 37
“Do no judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

When we want to live for Christ we must be willing to love those around us through the eyes of Christ. So, I encourage us all to seek after Him throughout this day and see those around us through His eyes.

Living for Christ

Philippians 1:21
“To live is Christ and to die is gain”

This may be one of the shortest verses in God’s Word, but it says so much. Our human nature is to put emphasis on what will bring us pleasure, joy, happiness, success, popularity, etc. To focus on these things causes us to forget what being a believer in Christ is all about.

How many times do we put our feelings or desires ahead of what Christ wants for us? Maybe we even let our “feelings” get in the way of receiving God’s love and direction. I recently tried to reach out to someone that I felt needed encouragement and support for a major step they took in their lives. In doing so, my friend took those actions in a negative manner. Now, instead of coming to me and asking me if she had misunderstood my actions, she judged me and thought the worst. I did no better, I have let her judgment towards me fester inside and have allowed it to keep me from being a completely pure vessel of God.

My desire is to realize that petty misunderstandings and daily human sin only keeps us from living completely for Christ. My prayer is that one day the closeness that I once thought was between my friend and I will return.

Being Still

Psalm 46:10

The other day I was doing some cleaning around the house while the girls were busy on a project and the house was quiet. My first thought was how mundane life is at times, how we do the same things day in and day out, then my mind began to think upon words to a chorus we sang on Sunday. I could just feel the Lord’s presence around me. I felt Him speak to me about things I have been heavy hearted over. I felt a peace and reassurance that He was there, walking with me through these situations.

God says to “be still,” so . . . I wonder if we stopped looking at our lives as boring, and began using the mundane times to stop and listen to the Lord, how much deeper and more intimate would we become with Him?

My prayer this week, for me and you, will be to take those quiet moments to listen to God speak and not try to fill them with noise or busy-ness.

Getting Alone

It seems that our lives get more and more busy everyday. Just as I think “Ok, after this or that is completed things will slow down”, but reality is that another “this or that” begins. My New Year’s resolution was to eat healthier, exercise more, and spend more time with my Savior. The hours in the day begin to run together and the next thing I know is that one of those has not been accomplished.

Time with the Savior should be top priority. Unless I allow time to be truly alone with Him, how can He speak to me? There is so much I have to learn and so much that He wants to teach me but this cannot happen if I am not listening.

I am going to pray that each of us will stop and take time to be truly alone with Christ. When we do this our relationship with Him will grow deeper and we will begin to hunger for His Word more and more.

“Jesus can expound nothing until we get through all the noisy questions of the head and are alone with Him.” - Oswald Chambers

A dear friend of mine sent me an article she wrote. As I read it I realized this is exactly my prayer for "the church". She shared with me that there were many times that she sat through prayer meetings listening to others share prayer needs, but felt that if she shared hers it would make her family the brunt of gossip. It is time that we stop "playing church" and start "being the church". She shared with me that prayer preceded every victory during their struggle and that prayer is what will preced the continued victories in their family. As we continue throughout this Christmas season let's be "the church" that Christ was born and died for.

With the permission of my sweet friend I am sharing her article with you. As you read it think if there is someone you can reach out to.

…Reflections…
Reflecting on my life over the past two years, I have seen God's grace carry me through the most difficult days of my entire life. It comforts me to know that I never lost a sense of God's presence and steady hand holding on to me. The spiritual battles in my family during the building of our church were deeply troubling, but God was also faithful. Many times my only goal was not to cry at church. Stepping into the sanctuary for our first worship service was emotional for me, as if a high price had been paid for something precious. But isn’t that how Jesus feels when He looks at us? Didn’t He pay the highest price because of His love for us?
I can say that the sorrows in my life have made the victories sweeter. When I see my sons praising God with their instruments, I am speechless with thanks to Him. The song inspired by Job 1:21 speaks my heart: "Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise, and when the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say, 'Blessed be the Name of the Lord.’ “
“Reflecting The Light”....this year’s theme for Women’s Ministry... makes me ask myself this question: If I am a mirror reflecting God's light onto others, how do they see themselves when they encounter the God in me? Do they walk away seeing themselves as a person that God values? Even broken mirrors can still reflect light if they’re clean, so I’m asking God to forgive the smudges and restore the shine I have lost in the struggle. I trust Him for even the strength to turn to Him, for He has proven Himself to be my trustworthy friend and Savior.

I was thinking about things that make me feel “safe” when talking to someone and I thought about a psychologist. When one confides in such a doctor they share intimate details about their life knowing that it will go no further than that little room. So, maybe we should keep this type on confidentiality in mind when someone comes to us with a prayer need or a hurt or temptation they are dealing with. We should just listen and then let it stay at that place. Even, if the future at some point, if that person does something to upset us or make us angry; what they told us still stays right where we left it. We do not bring it back up again to get back at them or tell someone else to make ourselves look better.

So, we ask ourselves, “Am I someone that will keep what I know in the little room?”

This is just something to consider. Let me know your thoughts on the use of our tongue and how it could affect the “safety of others”.