April 12 ~ John 12:26
"If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you'll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment's notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
You may be reading these devos each day and thinking, “… but I’m still just a kid. How can I serve at my age?” Or, you may be thinking, “I’m too old (or too busy, or too poor, or too sick) to serve.” Read the first line again… “If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me.” You can serve by following Christ and living for Him. You can serve by witnessing to others. You can serve by stopping to visit with someone in the grocery store or at school.
People serve in all sorts of ways. Every day, countless shut-ins in our community and others across the country receive “Meals on Wheels” that are delivered by volunteers. I know a woman in my community who organized a walking clinic for other women. She is helping them establish an exercise routine that will enable them to get fit and stay healthy for years to come – and boosting their self-esteem in the process. I know others who are doing all of the leg work to organize a race to benefit the local Christian Health Center. And speaking of the Center, those who give time and energy to this clinic are serving hundreds of area residents every week who can’t otherwise afford medical care and prescriptions.
My 95-year-old grandmother still calls people on the telephone to visit with them, ask how they are doing, and just to let them know someone cares. I know people who send cards – birthday, get-well, sympathy, congratulations – to let others know they are remembered and that someone is thinking of them. I know people who visit the sick and elderly to let them know they are not forgotten. I know people who are constantly cooking meals and inviting others to eat with them – or taking others out for a meal.
I know people who give a friend a ride to school and after-school activities. I know people who attend sporting events to cheer on their friends and/or the family members of their friends – or just people who attend their church. I know people who lead scout troops and Sunday School classes and choirs, and I know others who belong to “service organizations” like Rotary Club, Lions Club, and the Optimists.
There are thousands of ways to serve. Prayerfully ask God to show you how to follow Him and serve others. He will tailor opportunities to YOUR abilities and circumstances. If you want to serve Jesus, all you have to do is follow His lead.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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April 11 ~ John 12:1
Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living. Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus' feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house.
(Scripture from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
My mother gave me a book entitled Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. The book talks about people who are so busy “doing God’s work” that they forget to stop and focus on GOD!
Don’t get me wrong. Serving God is very important for us as Christians. But when we get caught up in the acts of service and forget the Reason behind it, God is not truly served. When we are more worried about how the Holy Communion tables are arranged than considering the amazing sacrifice represented by the bread and wine, we are “Martha servants.” When we get so caught up in making sure we memorize a certain number of scriptures or Bible passages, and yet we don’t really understand what those verses mean or how to apply them, we are being “Martha servants.” When we are more worried about whether we liked the sermon or the hymns/music sung, or we focus on getting to church on Sunday and then forget about our faith the rest of the week, we aren’t even “Martha servants!”
Martha was a wonderful woman, and Jesus loved her dearly. But her focus was on everything being just so in her service to Christ. She forgot to bow and truly worship Him and let the “fringe” trappings slide a bit. And we must learn from this. We must learn to focus on Jesus in EVERYTHING… and let the other things take care of themselves. They will, you know! Believe it or not, the church service, your daily routine, your appearance, the “rituals” and traditions… all of that will take care of itself if we just focus on Jesus. Be a “Mary servant.” Anoint Christ with the oils of service, love, devotion, study, prayer, and witness, and allow their fragrances to fill your house (heart). Give Jesus your very best, and see how far serving Him can take you!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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April 10 ~ Luke 22:27
"Who would you rather be: the one who eats the dinner or the one who serves the dinner? You'd rather eat and be served, right? But I've taken my place among you as the one who serves. And you've stuck with me through thick and thin. Now I confer on you the royal authority my Father conferred on me so you can eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and be strengthened as you take up responsibilities among the congregations of God's people.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
We probably do “carry out” two or three times a week at our house. With "carry out," there is still a bit of clean-up involved. So for that reason, I occasionally like to go to a restaurant where I am served. My food and drink are brought to my table, and when I’ve eaten, someone else does all of the cleaning. Some friends of ours go out for dinner almost every night. They work hard all day and feel too tired to cook at night, so they have a handful of favorite restaurants they visit, where they are known as “regulars.” I like to eat out occasionally, but I wouldn’t want to do this every night – or as often as our friends do – but I understand their situation, and their desire to sit back, relax, and be served their supper!
Because I understand the value of a meal that is served to someone else, I sometimes enjoy inviting guests to our home and serving them. I know that, especially for the women I invite, this is a real treat, and that makes me happy. It is not my responsibility to please these guests, but it is my joy.
Jesus didn’t have to serve us, but He did. He didn’t have to walk among us and sacrifice for us, but He did. We don’t HAVE to serve Jesus… in fact, He doesn’t want us to serve Him out of a sense of duty or obligation. He wants us to choose freely to serve because we see the joy in helping others in His name. He wants us to serve freely because we love Him and want to please Him and bring Him joy. Because of His sacrifices and service to us, we are free to choose to serve His kingdom and share with others… and to gather with Him at the most important table of them all someday – the Kingdom Table in heaven. There, I believe angels will serve us, and every day will be like “dining out.” When you consider what awaits Believers in heaven, who among us wouldn’t want to serve Him every day and share this good news with others? Are you being served? Are you serving in His name?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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April 9~ Luke 16:10
Jesus went on to make these comments: If you're honest in small things, you'll be honest in big things; If you're a crook in small things, you'll be a crook in big things. If you're not honest in small jobs, who will put you in charge of the store? No worker can serve two bosses: He'll either hate the first and love the second Or adore the first and despise the second. You can't serve both God and the Bank.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
When you shop at Wal-Mart or the grocery store, do you put your cart in the area reserved for returning shopping carts when you are finished, or do you leave it in a parking space? When you pick up an item in the store and then change your mind several aisles over, do you return it to where you found it or slip it onto an empty space in whatever shelf you are standing near?
Have you ever used a fake I.D.? Have you ever forged your parents’ signature on something, like a note for school? Have you ever opened a newspaper box and taken more than one paper? Have you ever received too much change when paying for something and kept it, considering the mistake “your lucky day?”
You may never have considered these things and others like them a big deal. You may have figured nobody got hurt or no one saw you. But Jesus says those who are honest in small things will be honest in big things, and it follows that even the smallest acts of dishonesty will give way to bigger and bigger deceits. You really can’t have it both ways. You serve God in ALL things, or you serve the devil. Whom do you choose to serve this day?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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April 8 ~ Luke 12:35
"Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He'll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn't matter what time of the night he arrives; they're awake—and so blessed!
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
One winter night in 1975, my husband and I were awakened by the ring of the telephone. My dad was on the other end of the line, and he was crying. The 23-year-old wife of one of his co-workers had been killed in a car accident. The woman’s younger sister was attending college at Arkansas Tech, where my husband and I were enrolled. My dad told me he had promised the young woman’s husband that we would bring her sister to Heber Springs.
My husband and I dressed and hurried across town to the dorm room of the sister. We had all been classmates together in high school, so we knew this person well, which made the drive home a little easier. We took her to her sister’s house, where the husband waited with his three-month-old baby and other family members. It was a tragic and very sad night. To add insult to injury, this man’s family owned the local funeral home, which made the whole situation even more difficult for everyone involved.
After getting the sister settled and spending some time with this young husband, we went to my parents’ house. I don’t know what time it was, but it was well after midnight – maybe as late as 3:00 a.m. The lights were on inside and out, and my mother was busy in the kitchen, scrambling eggs, making biscuits and muffins, frying bacon, and serving those at her table. I remember that my dad and at least two other funeral directors were there, and everyone was in shock and disbelief over what had happened. But somehow, the conversation was softened by the warmth and comfort of my parents’ home and my mother’s cooking. And I’m sure my mother was glad to have something to do that night. In serving others, she was blessed and comforted.
Isn’t that just how it is with Jesus? When we are at our lowest points, He is waiting with a light on and the warmth of His love and grace to comfort us. When we are celebrating a wedding feast, He is there. When everything is going along pretty smoothly, He is there. Do you know the old radio ad for Motel 6? The man says, “We’ll leave the light on for you.” That is just what Jesus does. His light is always on. His door is always open. Are you patterning this for others? Are you available every day at any time? Are you ready to serve Christ no matter the hour or the circumstances? It’s time to serve. It’s time to be the hands and feet of Jesus. It’s time we turned on the light for others in Jesus’ name!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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