Service: November 10, 2010

Today's Word for Wednesday November 10, 2010

SERVICE

DEFINITION

An act of helpful activity; the providing of a provider or accommodation; the serving of God by obedience.

SCRIPTURE
"Make the most of every opportunity." Colossians 4:5

"I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1

"- doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men." Ephesians 6:7

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

God has given us the responsibility of reaching the lost with the saving message of grace and forgiveness and build the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12.) And in Romans 12:1, Paul urges us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices in serving the Lord. Paul says it is our "reasonable service." Offering ourselves sacrificially in service to the Lord should come naturally from our gratitude for all He has done for us.

God has given each of us natural abilities that He expects us to use for His Glory. He also has given believer's spiritual gifts for the purpose of doing His work here on earth. God does not use the unwilling. He will not force us to serve Him but His desire is for us to be totally committed to do His will. He will equip us (Ephesians 4:11-13) and will empower and prepare us for service. Our part is to be faithful and available. God gives us opportunities everyday to serve. How easy it is to avoid serving the Lord using that wonderful excuse: "I am so busy." Look for opportunities that come your way and then act on them.

Be faithful in your desire to serve God and leave the results to Him. The more we serve Christ, the less we will serve ourselves. God uses ordinary people like us to do extra ordinary work. When you think of serving God, start with something you can do. When God gives you the opportunity to do something you feel is too hard, do not refuse because you think you cannot do it. Take your concerns to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to enable you to accomplish the task He has given you. God will then take over.

We are witnessing this truth with these FREE FAMILY DEVOTIONALS that we send out each week day by E mail. Just recently a new friend who found our devotionals while searching the Web, asked if he could link these devotionals to his ministry link, specifically all the new converts that had accepted Jesus as their Savior in his evangelistic crusades. And now many hundreds and even thousands of new Christians who can read English are reading these devotionals in far away places where we cannot go. We started with something we could do and then God took over and did what we could not do.

We encourage you to find a place to serve Jesus. You have so many choices but it is not acceptable to say that you do not have the time. All of us make the time for the things we want to do. We all set our priorities. Go to your church or Pastor and ask to assist in a Sunday school class. Go to a food bank and ask if you can volunteer. Visit the offices of a mission and ask if they can use a volunteer. When you decide to want to serve Jesus, He will open just the right door for you. Begin by praying and asking God to open the right door for you to make the most impact for Him.

LEARNING

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 118:24.

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

PRAYER

Give us a heart, dear Lord, that will be committed to serve You every moment of this day. Help us to be willing to serve our God, our family, our neighbors and our friends. Draw us close today to people that need You and then may our words and actions glorify Your name.