| A Serving Heart - 200906 |
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| Written by Steve Russell |
| Monday, 09 March 2009 12:47 |
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Deuteronomy 10:12,13 NIV“And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?.” Earlier this year in a note titled “An All Heart,” taken from Deuteronomy 6:5, we learned that we are to love the LORD our God with our “all.” Just a few chapters later we pick up this same theme and pull in the concept of a serving heart. This recurring theme begs us to learn something and see how it applies to our lives today. The Lexicon Transliteration for the Hebrew word from which serve is derived from is 'abad. The meaning implies to work, labor, do work for another, and serve another by labor. Chuck Smith’s commentary states that, “If we loved and served the Lord with the same fervency that people love and serve the world, we could win the world for Christ in a short time.” Wow, can you imagine the impact? I want to be part of that, don’t you? Read the following scriptures on the topic of serving: 1 Peter 4:11 (NIV), says, “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” Mark 9:35 (NIV), “Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ’If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.’"
I pulled up the definition on line and this particular two-letter word has significant meaning especially in a spiritual context. The word if carries some of the following meanings:
Having a servant’s heart is a choice. What is it that prevents man from making that choice? I would have to say man’s lack of understanding what it means to be a servant of Christ is our first reason. The word servant carries negative connotations for most of us. However, it is not until we humble ourselves and accept the God who came to earth in the form of a servant that He can be lifted up in our hearts and we can truly understand what scripture is teaching. To serve the LORD your God with all your heart, you have to take your focus off yourself and place it on the One who came to be a servant of man and took our dirt, our grime, our filth and purified it once for all. The One, Jesus, came and fulfilled His Father’s will, knowing the price it would cost. Recall that the meaning of the word servant includes labor, effort, work, action, intention. The effort and labor man exerts is pleasing to our God. According to Romans 14:17-19 (NIV), “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Did you catch that? It takes a servant’s heart to serve God as this passage describes, and it does please God. 1 Timothy 3:12-13 (NIV) echoes the same encouragement: “A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus…” I want to conclude by restating what we’ve found that it means to have a servant’s heart: 1. It’s a choice. If. 2. It will require effort on our behalf. 3. It will be noticed by our Heavenly Father. 4. The proof of one having a servant’s heart can not be found in a list of churchy do’s and don’ts. Join me this week praising and praying for the following: 1. Continue to pray for the PHM Leadership team. Pray for me as I prepare for our first annual LT retreat. Pray that God would go before us and prepare the place, time and atmosphere for Kingdom work. 2. Pray for the young men that we are currently mentoring. Pray for our words and our conversations. Pray for their hearts and minds, that they will be transformed. 3. Pray for me. I will be joining Jana on a business trip and will be spending time working on that God-sized 2009 objective! Pray that my time would be focused and productive. Pay that God would used this time to speak through me as I delve into the task at hand. 4. Pray for ministry opportunities. Our world is in an economic situation that brings with it much stress. Many of the addictions that PHM ministers healing to are easily returned to during times of high stress, hopeless feelings and the like. 5. Continue to pray for Brad, Ryan and me. Pray for our wives and our children. Sharing from the Heart; Steve |
| Last Updated ( Monday, 09 March 2009 13:16 ) |
