The Great Reward of Servanthood / Senior Living

The Great Reward of Servanthood

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. - Philippians 2:3-4

A large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody’s Northfield Bible Conferences in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Following the European custom of the time, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But because this was America, there were no hall servants.

Walking the halls that night, Moody saw the shoes and was determined not to embarrass his European brothers. He mentioned the need to some ministerial students who were there, but was met with only silence or excuses. So Moody returned to the dorm, gathered up the shoes, and, alone in his room, the famous evangelist began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret.

When the foreign visitors opened their doors the next morning, their shoes were shined. They never know by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, different men volunteered to shine the shoes in secret.

D. L. Moody was a man with a servant’s heart, which was the basis of his true greatness. And while many might consider his act of service as that of someone who was “super spiritual”, all it took was humility to do what he did. In the same way, God calls us to humility each and every day—to live out the love and life of Christ to a watching world around us!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to give you the humility it takes to show Christ’s love to a watching world.

Questions for Thought

Think of a time when you truly served others with a humble heart. How did it make you feel?

What specifically can you do today to look out for others’ interests and serve them with a humble heart?

September 2 / Wisdom from the Psalms

Psalms 109:23
I am gone like the shadow when it declineth; I am tossed up and down as the locust.

Doug was bullied by all the other children. Some days he would dream of being bigger than everyone else; then he would show them. In the morning he would walk to school, watching his shadow loom out large before him. Oh, if only he were as big as his shadow. Then the other children would run! But each day by noontime, Doug's shadow had dwindled in size and he had to turn his dreams to other solutions.

 

Often we try to put our hopes on solutions that just aren't real. We kid ourselves into thinking that maybe our problems will take care of themselves and will require little effort on our part. Earthly, easy solutions fade away like shadows in the daylight. We shouldn't look to shadows for answers, but to the light. God is the source of all our solutions. Unlike the shadows, nothing causes God to fade into nothingness. His solutions are forever.

 

Prayer: Shine the light of Your truth into my life, and help me to see that there is no solution too large for Your love to handle. Reassure me in times of doubt, O Lord, Amen.

Made for Himself by David Jeremiah

Made for Himself Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? Psalm 144:3 By the end of 2020, the population of the world will be more than 7.8 billion people—of which you are one individual. If that isn’t humbling enough, consider this: Recent estimates show that the total number of people who have ever lived on planet earth range from 90–110 billion. And again, each one of us is a single individual in that vast number. Numbers that large make us think of sand on the seashore or stars in the heavens.

Recommended Reading: Genesis 1:26-27

Yet, in spite of the seeming insignificance of a single human life, Jesus taught that God sees every sparrow that falls and knows the number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:6-7). Such truths made the psalmist, David, look into the heavens and wonder how it could be possible for the mighty God who created the world and everything in it to know and care for him (Psalm 8:3-4). David also wrote that God knows us because He fashioned us, individually, in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-14). You may be only one, but you are a unique and precious one to God. He created you for Himself! You made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they rest in You. Augustine

Destined To Be Holy by Oswald Chambers

Destined To Be Holy …it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."  1 PETER 1:16 We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God. Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer. Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life. From My Utmost for His Highest Updated Edition

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye. from Disciples Indeed, 385 L

The Son Makes You Free by Charles Stanley

John 8:25-36

We all love the idea of being free to make our own choices about what to do and where to go, but Christ offers a much greater liberty than this. It’s spiritual freedom from the power of Satan and the condemnation of sin. Jesus said the only way to be set free is to know the truth and become His disciple by believing in Him and continuing in His Word.  

Are you standing firm in Christ’s freedom, or have you let sinful thought patterns, emotions, attitudes, and habits enslave you once again? Although believers have been granted freedom from the dominion of sin, we must fight to overcome our unrighteous impulses. This is done by taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and putting to death fleshly desires and passions. 

The good news is that we are not in this fight alone. When Christ set us free, His omnipotent Holy Spirit came to indwell and empower us. We also have God’s precious Word to guide and protect us. By His grace, we have everything we need to keep ourselves beyond sin’s control (Phil. 4:19). If you haven’t yet experienced what it is to be “free indeed” (John 8:36), put your trust in Jesus, the greatest liberator.

The First Missionary by Billy Graham

The First Missionary

Jesus Himself was the first missionary! He did not sit by passively and let those who happened to be interested in His teaching come to Him. He went out where the sick, the sorrowing, and the sad were, and expounded His message of joy, healing, and salvation. Even at a tender age, He went to the Temple and “taught” the doctors and lawyers who were entrenched in the old traditions. He found His way to the seaside and intruded upon the life of the commonest of laborers, saying, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Wherever He went He challenged, uprooted, and changed men. And at length they nailed Him to a cross because He had upset their selfish, secure, smug way of life. Not only was Jesus a missionary, but He pledged His followers to be missionaries, too!

Daily Prayer

Wherever I go, it is a mission field for You, Lord. Help me to be conscious of this, so that I may tell others the joyous message.

“Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Choice Before Us by Greg Laurie

The Choice Before Us

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2 nkjv).

I don’t always finish what I begin. Awhile ago I started cleaning my office at home, but I didn’t quite finish it. It was absolutely transformed, but a few little piles remained. It wasn’t long before I noticed those little piles were starting to grow again. I had cleaned my office the wrong way. I needed to completely clean it. I didn’t finish what I began.

The apostle Paul, describing what conversion looks like, said that we turn “from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18 nkjv). Yet some people go part of the way, sort of like how I cleaned my office. They say, “I’ll follow Jesus, but there are a few little piles I’m keeping to myself.” Those little piles turn into big piles, and soon they discover they haven’t changed as much as they should have.

What God said to the Israelites is in principle true for us well: “Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before” (Deuteronomy 11:26–28 nlt).

We have that choice before us every day. We can choose the blessing by choosing to follow God, or we can choose the curse by not following Him.

Maybe you’re at a point in your life where things aren’t making sense. There seem to be a lot of loose ends, a lot of unanswered questions. God always has a plan. He has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And He always finishes what He begins. 

Copyright © 2018 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Suffering Together by Winn Collier

Suffering Together

Winn Collier

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. 1 Corinthians 12:26

1 Corinthians 12:14–26

In 2013, seventy-year-old James McConnell, a British Royal Marine veteran, died. McConnell had no family, and staff from his nursing home feared no one would attend his funeral. A man tapped to officiate McConnell’s memorial service posted a Facebook message: “In this day and age it is tragic enough that anyone has to leave this world with no one to mourn their passing, but this man was family. . . . If you can make it to the graveside . . . to pay your respects to a former brother in arms, then please try to be there.” Two hundred Royal Marines packed the pews!

These British compatriots exhibited a biblical truth: we’re tied to one another. “The body is not made up of one part, but of many,” Paul says (1 Corinthians 12:14). We’re not isolated. Just the opposite: we’re bound in Jesus. Scripture reveals organic interconnection: “If one member suffers, all the members suffer” (v. 26 nasb). As believers in Jesus, members of God’s new family, we move toward one another into the pain, into the sorrow, into those murky places where we would fear to go alone. But thankfully we do not go alone.

Perhaps the worst part of suffering is when we feel we’re drowning in the dark all by ourselves. God, however, creates a new community that suffers together. A new community where no one should be left in the dark.

When have you felt most alone? How does God’s grace, kindness, and friendship help you deal with loneliness?

Is it true, God? Have You really placed me in a new community that knows and loves me in my suffering? Help me to believe this. 

FOUR-THOUSAND-PIECE ORCHESTRA / Draw Near Bible App

FOUR-THOUSAND-PIECE ORCHESTRA

While Jubal was the world's first musician (Genesis 4:21), David was no doubt the most prolific. He had an orchestra of four thousand men who played musical instruments he invented (1 Chronicles 23:5). The most important legacy David left us is in the book of Psalms. This, indeed, is the hymnbook of humanity. It has been translated into more than nine hundred languages and dialects.

Moses is the earliest writer of any psalm, but David wrote the greater part of those found in the book of Psalms. At least seventy-three of these are attributed to him. Twelve were written by Asaph, eleven by the sons of Korah, two by Solomon, one by Ethan, and fifty are anonymous. These psalms reach from the days in the wilderness to the days of Haggai and Zechariah. The book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each of which ends with a doxology of praise varying in length but similar in character. Although Psalm 23 is the most famous of David's hymns, perhaps the most revealing is Psalm 27. There, David bares his heart; and we see what distinguished him from the ungodly man.

Today, we are seeing a new interest in singing psalms. This is an exciting trend. People everywhere are putting music to the ancient words. Many have found it helpful to use the psalms in worship periods to assist them in praying or praising the Lord. A particularly beautiful feature of the psalms is their Messianic prophecy. No Bible book other than Isaiah has so many references to the coming Savior. Jesus quoted from Psalms when dying on the cross. All the world loves this unusual book.

“The one thing I ask of the Lord — the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27:4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Truth in All Things by Alistair Begg

Truth in All Things 

Trust in him at all times.

Psalm 62:8

Faith is the rule of both temporal as well as spiritual life; we ought to have faith in God for our earthly affairs as well as for our heavenly business. It is only as we learn to trust in God for the supply of our daily needs that we will live above the world. We are not to be idle; that would show we did not trust in God, who is always working, but in the devil, who is the father of laziness. We are not to be hasty or rash; that would be to trust chance rather than the living God, who is a God of economy and order. Acting sensibly and honestly, we must rely simply and entirely on the Lord all the time.

Let me commend to you a life of trust in God in secular things. Trusting in God, you will not be compelled to mourn as a result of using sinful means to grow rich. Serve God with integrity, and if you are unsuccessful, at least sin will not lie upon your conscience. Trusting God, you will be free from self-contradiction. The one who trusts in craftiness, sails this way today and that way tomorrow, like a sailboat tossed about by the fickle wind; but the one who trusts in the Lord is like a powerful boat cutting through the waves, defying the wind, and making one bright silvery straightforward track to her desired haven. Be courageous as you act on principle; do not bow to the varying customs of worldly wisdom.

Walk on the path of integrity with confidence, and show that you are invincibly strong in the strength that confidence in God alone confers. In this way you will be delivered from anxious care; you will be untroubled by evil tidings, and your heart will be fixed, trusting in the Lord. How pleasant to float along on the stream of providence! There is no more blessed way of living than a life of dependence upon a covenant-keeping God. We do not need to worry because He cares for us; we do not need to carry burdens because He invites us to cast them upon Him.

Jesus Is Praying for You by Max Lucado

Jesus Is Praying for You
by Max Lucado

Have you ever have anyone stand up for you? The answer is yes. Jesus stands at this very moment, offering intercession on your behalf! Jesus says to you what he said to Peter. Knowing the apostle was about to be severely tested by Satan, Jesus assured him, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail” (Luke 22:32).

Jesus promises to pray and stand up for you. When we forget to pray, he remembers to pray. When we are full of doubt, he is full of faith. Where we are unworthy to be heard, he is ever worthy to be heard. We’d prefer to have every question answered, but Jesus has instead chosen to tell us this much: “I will pray you through the storm.” Are the prayers of Jesus answered? Of course they are! And because God’s promises are unbreakable our hope is unshakable!

Read more Unshakable Hope

Overcoming the Fear of Sharing the Gospel / Senior Living

Overcoming the Fear of Sharing the Gospel

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. - 2 Timothy 1:7

A condemned prisoner awaiting execution was given the usual privilege of choosing his last meal. The prison guards looked in bewilderment when the meal arrived. It was a plate full of mushrooms!

The prisoner sat down and started eating the mushrooms one-by-one while the guards stood by silently. Finally, after he had eaten the last one, a guard spoke up and asked, “How was it?”

“Delicious,” replied the prisoner.

“So I have to ask,” the guard blurted out. “Why a plate full of mushrooms? I’ve never seen you eat a single one before.”

“Well,” replied the prisoner, “I always wanted to try them, but was afraid before now.”

How many people today live their lives out of fear because they’re afraid to do something new? Some are terribly afraid of sharing the gospel because of how they think others will react. Yet they’ve never really even tried it.

When you do something out of your comfort zone like talk about Jesus, you’ll likely find it’s not as scary as you thought. So make it a point to weave Jesus into conversations. You may be surprised how God uses you to share His message of hope with someone else!

Prayer Challenge:

Pray that God would give you the opportunity and courage to bring up Jesus in a conversation with someone who doesn’t know Him.

Questions for Thought:

When you think about sharing the gospel with a lost person, what kind of emotions does that bring up?

How might your life look differently if instead of acting out of fear, you fully trusted that God wants to use you to bring others to Him?

The Lost Planet by David Jeremiah

The Lost Planet He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Psalm 147:4 Poor Pluto! Many of us remember when he was one of nine planets circling the sun. But the International Astronomical Union decided he wasn’t a full-sized planet after all, so now there are only eight. Yet mathematicians insist there are nine planets, so astronomers are searching day and night for “Planet X,” which is believed to be ten times the mass of earth and lurking in the outer reaches of our solar system.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 147

God knows the number and names of the stars, and He also knows the planets. He created the universe with a precision that baffles the wisest scientist and with beauty that outstrips the greatest artist. Don’t let the skeptics disturb you. False theories about the origin of the universe abound, and the psychological harm they inflict is appalling. They fill the minds of entire generations with despair. But the message of our Creator God is one of love. He made us. He knows us. He has a roadmap for our lives. And the more we learn of Him, the more we understand who we are and why we’re on earth. The universe in its immensity was especially created for us humans so that we could see and appreciate the glory and the power of God. Werner Gitt

September 1 / Wisdom from the Psalms

Psalms 109:17
As he loved cursing, so let it co me unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.

The young tennis star was known both for his fiery play and his fiery language. Whereas he excelled in the mastery of the game, he had not yet matured in the art of sportsmanlike conduct. His wrath was vented each time he disagreed with the umpire's call. He cursed, stomped, screamed, and kicked. Never was he known to back down and admit his own fault. In time, he lost even his own following of fans, because they tired of his childish outbursts.

 

People who live by selfish emotions find themselves empty and alone most of the time. Their bitterness causes them to curse their life, their friends, their God. Finally, they find it nearly impossible to utter any kind words at all. Those people will not find blessing in their own lives, because they refuse to bring it to others' lives. It is a fact that the blessing we share is the blessing that comes back to us. Likewise, the curse we impart comes back on us, to make us unhappy and guilty.

 

Prayer: Though things don't always go the way I would like, Lord, help me to accept all that happens with grace and peace. Amen.