Our time on earth is the beginning of an eternity serving and rejoicing in the Lord.
Someday, when we stand in the Savior’s holy and just presence, the only things that will remain are what we’ve done to glorify Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).
Commentary from the In Touch devotional by Charles Stanley, June 23, 2020.
Christian freedom isn’t for selfish fulfillment, but for serving others.
Commentary from the MacArthur study Bible, notes for Galatians 5:13.
We are all on the same level at the cross and saved by the same grace and blood of Jesus. As we humbly admit our sinful, helpless condition and call on the Lord to save us, He forgives our sin and irrevocably adopts us into His family. And just as we humble ourselves to receive Christ’s salvation by faith, we must also serve Him with humility of mind.
Being a servant of Christ requires that we submit to His leadership, regarding what we’re to do, how we’re to carry out His will, and where He would have us serve. There is no room for self-seeking or self-promotion; our only concern should be obedience, with the aim that God alone gets the glory.
Sometimes we become preoccupied with finding our purpose in life so we can gain a sense of usefulness and self-fulfillment. Although we do benefit from serving the Lord according to the way He’s gifted and designed us, that should not be our motive. A humble spirit doesn’t look out for its own interests but instead thinks of others (Philippians 2:3-8). This is the attitude Christ had. He willingly left heaven to take on human form in order to go to the cross – that was a selfless act of obedience to the Father so we could be saved.
Are you willing to serve the Lord in obscurity? What if no expressions of gratitude or praise come your way? Do you cheerfully do lowly tasks? It’s not always easy to evaluate our motives, but asking ourselves these questions will help us determine whether we’re truly serving in humility or seeking our own interests.
Commentary from Charles Stanley’s In Touch devotional, February 3, 2018.
Romans 2:3
Apparently, man was not given the tools, ability, right or authority to judge other men. Men judging one another is sort of like a horse judging another horse for being a horse. Not only are we not free of all sorts of problems ourselves (we are men ourselves), we have no authority-it’s God’s jurisdiction. How are we able to help one another, or sharpen one another, when we are judging those around us?
The verse from Proverbs is interpreted to mean benefiting from intellectual discussion which brings joy through a keener mind and improved character, which will show in the face. Or even more literally, a man sharpening his friend’s face 🙂 . That probably is not something we will be willing to do with our brother or sister when we have a roadblock between us-that being whatever judgement we’ve served them. Our brothers and sisters are waiting, let us serve them.
-Word- pictures by DLink 