Service: February 3, 2014

TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2014.

SERVICE

DEFINITION:

An act of helpful activity; the serving of God in obedience; work done in serving another.

SCRIPTURE:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16.

I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices (reasonable service), holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1. (NIV)

With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men. Ephesians 6:7 

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The apostle Paul lived a life of service, second maybe to no one in Biblical history. God called Paul to a ministry of faith and service. No other person did more to spread the good news of the gospel and shape the history of Christianity than Paul. It was Paul whom Christ used to write 13 of the New Testament books and win the first European convert to Christianity (Acts 16:14).

Paul also lived a life of service by becoming a great missionary bringing many Jewish and countless Gentiles to a saving knowledge of the Lord. Paul was also used by God to explain many of the doctrines of the new faith. Paul suffered many hardships throughout much of his life for serving the Lord. He did not let any of his suffering deter him from preaching the gospel. Truly, the apostle Paul lived a life of service to His Lord after he had that encounter with God on the road to Damascus.

In the book of Romans we find many principles of service that Paul refers to in his life that we can apply to our lives. In the verse we have written above from Romans 12, Paul is talking to the believers in the Church of Rome. He has reminded them that all that they do is for the glory of God thus we must respond to our Lord by offering ourselves for service that glorifies Him and not men. We serve the Lord by laying aside our desires in order to serve others. Serving the Lord may require us to give up something.

Paul was a person with unshakeable convictions and unswerving confidence in the gospel. These are the first two principles that believers today must grasp. When we were raising our children we would constantly remind our children that they needed to stay true to their convictions. Because we spent time daily with the family reading the Bible, praying and talking about what we believed they lived by their convictions with unswerving confidence in the Lord. That does not mean that there were not times of wavering but when we make it our goal to be pleasing to God our godly convictions will guide us and give us victory over Satan’s temptations.

How many people, including yourself, would you say you know that have unshakeable convictions and unswerving confidence in the Bible? One guideline would be to look at the Ten Commandments and see if any are broken in your daily life. Those who desire to serve the Lord must first be willing to obey His commandments. Obedience will be evident in the lives of those with godly convictions.

Paul is blunt in his presentation as a preacher, evangelist or teacher, in calling sin what it is. He is equally strong in describing the potential of God’s forgiveness for any and all of these sins through the provision of Jesus Christ. His message is always clear, without compromise and to the point. Paul also preached integrity with the truth. He insists that integrity and truth be incarnated into day by day living. Truth and honesty are to be exemplified not in just what we say we believe but in our every action.

Paul in his life of service to the believers constantly presented a solution to the frustrating sense of failure often experiences by new believers. Paul was a master in getting to the core issues believers must deal with in their life and very practical in getting spiritual truth in confronting the problems and temptations we face living in this sinful world. He showed people how to live what they believed. As believers today, we need to work on these principles. Read the book of Romans and you will understand the great truths of the gospel that Paul applied to his life of service. Consider how to apply these truths to your life today.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in James 1:5.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

PRAYER:

Help me today to make it a priority to serve You by serving others. Prepare my heart to be willing to give up what I want to do in order to serve someone in their time of need. Lead me to that person today where I can be used of You.