Category: serving

Preparing with Your Actions

* Theme Week – Jesus: Mark 14

Old Testament: Joshua Intro below

Psalms Reading: Psalm 94

This entire chapter is full of various preparations for the crucifixion of our Savior. 

It starts with a simple act of pure love and devotion. Jesus was in Bethany, eating with Lazarus and his sisters. And after this meal, a woman (John’s account tells us that it was Lazarus’ sister Mary) comes in with an expensive alabaster jar of fragrant oil and anoints Jesus. She has brought Jesus only the best and has complete disregard for its monetary value. Jesus tells us that what she is actually doing is anointing him for his burial. She isn’t giving to Christ for her sake, or out of guilt or in a rush of emotion. She prepared an offering of the best of what she had and gave. Jesus says that “She did what she could,” and she did it without direction or suggestion. She thought and found a way to serve her Lord and Savior whom she loved. 

In a different act of preparation we see the disciples taking direction from Jesus to go and prepare the passover meal. Jesus gives them all the direction they need, and when they follow those directions all is provided for them. They were given a mission, and all they had to do was follow – the means to complete it was supplied. 

And yet after the supper, when Christ asked a few of them to go with him and help him prepare for his coming death through prayer and fellowship, they couldn’t follow through. They fell asleep time and again. They fell short three times. Three times he checked on them, and reminded Peter to pray because the flesh is weak. Three times he came back and woke them and asked them to stay watchful and pray. Three times they proved themselves weak. Just as Peter would deny him three times. 

Take some time to prepare yourself with me by examining your actions and intentions today. Ask yourself: 

What can I do to show my love and appreciation for my savior? Am I too concerned with how others see my devotion to Jesus? How can I show my devotion as purely as Mary did?

When I’m given a task by God, do I follow through? Do I have faith that he will provide for my needs and give me a way to complete any task he gives me? 

My spirit is willing and like Peter I refuse to believe that I could ever deny or disobey my savior. But is my flesh weak? In what areas of my life am I sleeping rather than remaining watchful?

My prayer for you today is that you are able to look over your life and the decisions you’re making and analyze your motives and intentions. Take stock of how you are serving. Are you able to serve in faith and without worrying about whether or not you’ll be given what you need? Are you able to serve with the purest of intentions? I pray that you find a way to serve and follow and do it in a way that is pure and devoted. 

Jenn Haynes

Having finished Deuteronomy yesterday in our Old Testament reading, here is our introduction to the book of Joshua which we will begin reading tomorrow.

Joshua Introduction

The book of Joshua details the time from immediately following Moses’ death through the conquest of the land of Canaan.  We’re not told, but it is likely that Joshua himself wrote most of the book, since it sounds like a first-hand account of the events that happened and were recorded at the time.  At least the end of the book that records Joshua’s death had to have been written by someone else.

This book details the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would be slaves in Egypt, but afterward would return to the promised land – the land of Canaan.  A promise God repeated to Moses.  We see this from the very beginning of the book, where in Joshua 1:2-3, God told Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead.  Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give them – to the Israelites.  I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.”

The first 12 chapters detail the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, the battle of Jericho, the sun standing still over Gibeon for about a whole day during the battle with the Amorites, and the conquest of all of the land of Canaan.  Chapters 13-22 discuss the division of the land among the tribes of Israel.  Chapters 23-24 close with a challenge to worship God alone.

Some well-known verses in Joshua include:

Joshua 1:7-8, “Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Joshua 23:14, “…You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed.  Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.”

Joshua 24:14, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

This is an exciting book.  As you read it, consider the blessing and successes of Joshua, who faithfully followed God, contrasted with the punishment of people like Achan for disobedience.

Interestingly, the Hebrew name Joshua is the same as the new testament name Jesus.

-Steve Mattison

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Preparing our Attitude

*Theme WEek – Jesus: John 13

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 31 & 32

Psalms Reading: Psalm 92

I used to read the Gospels and try and compare myself with various characters. And I never wanted to see myself in Peter, and yet here we are. I never wanted to compare myself to the man who seemed to so frequently fly off the handle or get things wrong. I didn’t want to be like the one who sunk in the waves and denied his Christ three times in one night. But I most definitely feel a kinship with him, especially when I read this passage. 

Poor Peter. His Rabbi, who he has been so close to and loved so much, is humbling himself to wash Peter’s feet and he’s clearly mortified. This was something only the lowliest of servants did. And here was Christ, washing his feet, when none of his disciples had thought to do the same for him. And then when Christ says his disciple can’t be clean unless his feet are washed, he insists Christ wash his hands and head as well. He’s so desperate and proud that it’s a little heartbreaking. Because he has it all wrong. 

Jesus is about to die. He’s about to suffer and die for each of them, and for each of us. And they all have to humble themselves enough to accept that sacrifice. They cannot save themselves. They cannot fully cleanse themselves. Only by accepting Christ and his act of servitude for us can we be clean. 

And not only that, but we have to follow Christ’s example and humble ourselves to serve others. We are not too good to be served, and we are not too good to serve either. 

Peter is fighting this internal battle with himself. He wants to serve Christ, but can’t accept with grace the gift of service that has been given to him. He wants to serve Christ, but perhaps not humble himself so low to serve others in this manner as well. 

Jesus loved his followers dearly. In the beginning of the passage it says that he loved them to the end. This means he loved them to the fullest of capacity and without end. And here he has poured out every bit of himself into complete humility and served them in the basest of ways. 

Our savior did that for us when he was tortured and crucified. This is the attitude of love and service we should have for others. 

Take some time today and prepare your attitude with me. Ask yourself: 

Have I truly acknowledged the deep, humbling act of service that Jesus has done for me? 

In what areas of my life am I still too proud? 

Am I focusing too much on the fact that my feet climbed out of the boat and walked on water, rather than the fact that my feet also sank beneath the waves and I had to be pulled out? 

How can I serve someone else in humility as well this week? 

Am I showing others a deep love and a servant’s heart? 

My prayer for each of us today is that we truly and fully recognize the gift that has been given to us and accept it with full humility, acknowledging our great need for it. I also pray that as we acknowledge our need for salvation and cleansing, we turn and offer grace and service to others as well, so that they can see Christ serving in us. 

Jenn Haynes

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Freedom

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 25 & 26

Psalms Reading: Psalm 89

*New Testament Reading: Galatians 5

What does freedom look like to you?  You may visualize prisoners being set free from their jail sentence, dogs off of broken chains, large, open spaces outdoors, maybe even a child who snuck away from the crowd and is exploring their world all on their own (while parents panic…).   

Paul is describing here in Galatians freedom from living life following a strict law.  In our passage in Deuteronomy, we read about some of the punishments (flogging, losing credibility with the whole nation, having a hand cut off…) for not following the laws, or accidentally breaking them.  With that in mind, this makes the concept of freedom that Paul is reminding people of that much more dramatic.  Before Jesus, the only way to be right with God was to follow these strict laws, it was only meant for a certain group of individuals set apart from the rest, and it was nearly impossible to achieve as an outsider, let alone someone born and raised as a Jew. 

In verse 13 Paul tells the Galatians they have been called to be free.  Imagine being told your whole life that there is nothing more for you, and suddenly having hope and opportunity through a man that loved enough to die for strangers.  This concept would be (and still is) life-altering!  Paul is reminding the people of this church that they have freedom, they are no longer bound by the previous laws that kept them from God! 

In this reminder Paul also cautions them to be wise in their freedom, and to use this freedom to serve one another.  It is crazy to see the statistics on the number of children that grow up in a Christian household, maybe isolated or sheltered, and go to college and drastically change their lifestyles by going overboard with poor life choices with their newfound ‘freedom’.  That is our human nature!  And that same mentality must have existed with the Galatians as Paul warns them to not use this freedom or this gift of grace to indulge in the flesh, but rather to serve one another humbly in love (v.13). 

Our freedom was bought with a price, and yet we are not in debt.  We no longer have to live under a strict law, rather, we can keep the entire law by loving our neighbor as ourselves (v.14).  And while our freedom could create opportunity for sin, we are told that we walk by the Spirit to avoid desires of the flesh(v.16) and that through that Spirit we can experience the good fruit such as love, joy, and peace (v.22).  Knowing all that, it’s hard to imagine freedom any other way besides the cross.

Questions:

What does “walking by the Spirit” look like to you?  Do you see the fruits of the Spirit come from that walk?

How do you use your freedom?  Do you meet the commands of loving your neighbors?

Paul writes in verse 6 “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (rather than appearance of ‘righteousness’ through circumcision).  How do you express your faith?

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the freedom you give us through Christ.  Thank you for his sacrifice that paid our debt and moved us out from under the strict law.  God, we pray that we would walk by your Spirit each day, that our faith would be expressed in our love, and that we would experience those good fruits.  Amen. 

-Sarah (Blanchard) Johnson

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Let’s Get to Work

Old Testament Reading: Leviticus 7 & 8
Psalms Reading: Psalm 50
*New Testament Reading: 1 Corinthians 3

For the Corinthians and Greek culture in general, wisdom and knowledge were extremely important.  This is why Paul spends 1 Corinthians 1 emphasizing that it is through faith in Christ that we are saved, not through the wisdom they have worked towards their whole lives.  Then in 1 Corinthians 2 Paul says that wisdom is important for the Christian, but it is Godly wisdom that is very different from what they have learned, and it cannot be taught, but is given by the holy spirit.  Now in chapter 3 Paul is clearing up any last confusion in case they were not understanding up until now. He very clearly says that they need this Godly wisdom, but do not have it at all. They have been seeking an elevated status in their congregation because of their high learning and deep understandings.  Paul wants to set the record straight, living a Christian life is not about sitting in your plush study and writing treatises and books and musings, and becoming revered for your knowledge. It is about getting your hands dirty. He likens the Christians to farmers and builders who have work to do, and he is a worker right there with them.  This would have been a very shocking thing to the aristocratically minded members of the Corinthian Church who would have read this.

So let me be as clear as Paul was.  If you decide to follow Jesus and serve him, then you will be a servant.  Your life will not be a vacation, but a construction project. It will take work, but in the end you will hopefully do something valuable with your life and “the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.  If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.” 1 Corinthians 3:13-14.  That reward is everlasting life in God’s kingdom, and is worth so much more than a high position in society, or being revered for your earthly wisdom.

Your fellow servant – Chris Mattison

(Posted here first in 2019)

Reflection Questions

  1. What is your favorite verse in today’s reading? Why?
  2. Is your work ready to be tested by fire? What might God be calling you to do as a part of His field or building?
  3. What can you learn about Almighty God in your reading today?
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Siblings in the Faith

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 43 & 44

Psalms Reading: Psalm 24

New Testament Reading: Matthew 23

Jesus, the great King of God’s Kingdom, told us that he came to “serve, not be served” (Mark 10:45). His entire ministry revolved around giving up his life for the sake of those around him and for the entire world. Paul tells us in Philippians 2 that Jesus considered others as more important than himself, and Jesus himself tells us that he was not trying to accomplish his own will, but the will of his heavenly Father (John 5:30). You see, Jesus wasn’t interested in titles, status, or holding a special office; he only cared about serving the needs of those who he loved. Jesus calls us to be the same way, which is completely different than what the world around us wants us to do. We are told over and over to keep shooting for higher and higher status, and for more sophisticated and respected positions, but this isn’t the way things are supposed to be in the Church: we are all equals.


In Matthew 23, Jesus tells us that nobody among his disciples should seek after any title: not “Teacher”, “Leader”, or “Father”. Instead, we are to consider each other “brothers and sisters” (equals), like the apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” None of us is to think too highly of ourselves, even if we do hold official titles in the Church, like “pastor”, “elder”, “youth leader”, or anything else: we are supposed to be like Jesus and only care about serving each other, not exalting ourselves to some high position. We should be humble and lead like Jesus led: by stooping low and washing feet.

This also means that we all have an equal responsibility for the Church and the mission of Jesus to make disciples. It’s not just the job of the pastor and other leaders; it is every believer’s responsibility. We are all supposed to care for what God has given us in this world, since it’s all His anyways (Psalm 24:1). It doesn’t matter if we get to sit in on Board meetings and make major financial decisions for our church buildings; we all have a share in the Church’s larger plan and the later Kingdom of God.

Brothers and sisters, let’s all contribute and serve each other. We will only be as healthy as we are humble. Be like Jesus today and consider others as more important than yourself, and don’t seek after those titles and statuses, even if they do eventually come your way. Our focus should be on loving our siblings in the faith and doing what Jesus has called us to do.

-Talon Paul

Reflection Questions

  1. Would you rather…exalt yourself now, OR be exalted by Jesus later? Why is it only one or the other?
  2. Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” (Matthew 23:11) How are you doing as a servant?
  3. What do you think of Talon’s statement: “We will only be as healthy as we are humble”? How healthy, or ill, are you currently? What could you do to improve your health and your humility today?
  4. What did God reveal about Himself in your reading of His Scripture today?
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