Promise for Today - A Shift in Focus

[Paul speaking] If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Philippians 2:1-4 (MSG)

If you truly want to be happy in life, you’ve got to care about the needs of those around you and move the focus away from yourself. Why? Because life is not all about you! When you understand this, it’s the starting point for all happiness.

Paul looked to Timothy as an example of someone who genuinely cares about others. Philippians 2:20-21 says, “There is no one like Timothy for having a real interest in you; everyone else seems to be worrying about his own plans and not those of Jesus Christ” (TLB).

Most people don’t get up in the morning and give their first thought to how someone else is doing. They’re often only concerned about their own problems. And that’s why so many people are unhappy with their lives. Thinking only about yourself eventually leads to misery.

Do you want to be one of those rare, unselfish, happy people? Then you need to change your focus.

Putting your focus on others doesn’t come naturally. Most people don’t walk into a room and think, “Who in here needs my help today?” Instead, you think, “How do I look? Am I put together just right? What are people going to think of me?” So you have to intentionally train yourself to do the opposite of what you normally do—to shift the focus away from yourself.

I have to admit that it saddens me how many times I’ve missed the needs of people around me—even the needs of people I love—because I wasn’t paying attention. I wasn’t taking an interest in them. I hadn’t shifted my focus off myself. And because I wasn’t looking out for their needs, I missed the chance to help.

Philippians 2:4 says in The Message paraphrase, “Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”

Instead of dwelling on yourself or grieving missed opportunities, spend your energy thinking about how others are doing. That’s where you’ll find happiness - serving God through serving others.

Talk It Over

What distractions keep you from focusing on the needs of others?

What does it mean to “forget yourself”?

What needs have you missed in someone’s life because you were too busy or focused on your own problems? What can you do today to shift your focus toward helping that person?

- by Pastor Rick

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Prayer:

Father, 

          Forgive us for the times we were naval-gazing and missed the clues and cues around us. Cause us to be way more attentive to the nudging of the Holy Spirit. Give us Your eyes to see and Your provision to meet the needs of those You have placed within our sphere of influence. Give us clean hands and pure hearts in Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Promise for Today - We Live to Serve

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being... He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Philippians 2:6-8 (NLT)

Happiness comes from harmony, and harmony comes from humility. And if you want to be humble, you have to learn to ask yourself this question: “What would Jesus do?”

What would Jesus do in this problem? What would Jesus do for that person who’s hurting? What would Jesus do at the office? On the golf course? In your marriage? Ask this question, and you’ll always come up with a humble answer that builds harmony and happiness rather than difficulty, defeat, bitterness, and resentment.

So what does it look like to act like Jesus? Philippians 2 gives three examples:

First:

Don’t demand what you think you deserve. “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to” (Philippians 2:6 NLT).

Do you realize how countercultural it is to give up your right to something? Yes, you have rights, but there’s a better way to have your needs met than by demanding your rights. You can be tender without surrender, and you can be understanding without demanding.

Second:

Look for ways that you can serve. “Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being” (Philippians 2:7 NLT).

If you want to be like Jesus, you’re going to have to learn to serve. Serving is a habit you can develop. And it starts not in the big things in life, but in the little things. God tests your humility every day in the little things, and then it’s shown in the big things. Character is revealed in the great crises of life, but it’s built in the little day-to-day things, like returning the grocery cart to the cart corral.

Third:

Do what’s right, even when it’s painful. “He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8 NLT).

This is what it means to act like Jesus. What did Jesus do, even when he was in pain? He was understanding, not demanding of what he deserved. He looked for ways to serve. And he was a servant in every situation.

Jesus is the ultimate model of humility, and God gave him the greatest honor in the universe. God honors your humility, too, when you follow Jesus’ example.

Talk It Over

What are some ways you can be “tender without surrender” or “understanding without demanding” in a relationship?

How have you seen God honor humility in your life or in someone else’s?

How can you serve someone today without being asked?

- by Pastor Rick

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Prayer: (excerpts from Crosscards)

Father,

          Soften our hearts to be tender toward You and toward those around us. Prepare our hearts and minds to be willing to serve, ready and available to help others even when it is inconvenient, uncomfortable, or costly to ourselves.
         Open our eyes to see the needs of those around us —family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and strangers. Help us not to get so wrapped up in our own lives that we miss opportunities to serve. Teach us to be Your hands and feet, bringing hope and healing to those who need it most.
          Give us a generous heart, that we might share what we have, acting with compassion rather than seeking praise. When we serve, fill us with a joyful spirit and help us to put others before ourselves.
Father, we cannot do this in our own strength. Empower us with Your Spirit to love, to be gentle, and to be a servant to all. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen

Serve with Gladness

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100:1-5 NKJV

When we stop to think of all the Lord has done for us... Taking our every sin upon Himself. Going to the Cross in our place. Freely paying the price - His death - to redeem us and to purchase our redemption. We have to ask ourselves, Is there any other way to serve the Lord God than with gladness and gratitude?

Prayer:

Father, 

            Thank You for all that we are empowered to do in Your Name and for Your kingdom, and it's all because of You. Keep us ever mindful of that. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Lent - Day Thirty-Two - Washed by Jesus

 Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2024

3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
John 13:3-5

John is the only gospel writer to share the account of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet. With it, John continues to add layer after layer foreshadowing Jesus’ death.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t “take off” his clothes; he lays them down and takes them up again—just as he will do with his life. Jesus carried out this humble service, “knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands,” a reminder that God’s power and glory will be demonstrated in his ultimate act of service and sacrifice. Of course, we cannot forget the act of washing itself. “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”

All disciples of Christ are washed in the precious blood of Jesus which makes them clean. We come to the Cross time and time again. Perhaps we are tempted to see this as “the same old thing.” But Jesus reminds us that, without this, we have no share with him. His ways might seem simple, but they are perfect, and enough for all that we need.

Prayer: 

Lord, 

        May this example of Your humble service remind me that I have been washed and made clean in Your blood. Help me to love others with the same humility and self-sacrifice. Amen.

Reading Further - John 13:1-17

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

From Now Until Easter - and Through Eternity

From Ash Wednesday until Easter, I will post from Lent and Easter devotionals offered online. Today's post features excerpts written by Maria Miriam, and prayer by Rachel Marie Stone, both contributors to ibelieve.com.

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 [Jesus speaking] A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but this year I’ve been thinking of Holy Week less in terms of the passion of Jesus Christ and more in terms of “spring break.”

It’s not that I’ve got any spectacular vacation plans. It’s just that my children and I will be off from school (I’m a teacher), the days will grow longer and warmer, and the bulbs I planted in the garden last year will poke their green leaves out of the earth and blossom to the sun.

So I’m approaching Holy Week feeling unprepared, and not just because I have no idea what I’m going to make for Easter dinner... I’m soul-weary after months of winter and darkness and stress.

But perhaps this isn’t such a bad way to enter Holy Week – tired and unprepared, hungry for a new beginning, eager for the light to shine in the darkness. Even if, like me, you feel you haven’t quite lived into the penitential season of Lent, it’s not too late to begin walking toward resurrection morning.

PRAYER: 

Lord God,
                You sent Your Son into the world, And before His hour had come, He washed His disciples’ feet. You had given all things into His hands. He had come from You, and was going to You, And what did He do? He knelt down on the floor and washed His friends’ feet. He was their teacher and their Lord, yet He washed their feet. 

          Lord God, help us learn from His example; Help us to do as He has done for us. The world will know we are His disciples If we love one another. Strengthen our hands and our wills for love and for service. Keep before our eyes the image of Your Son, Who, being God, became a Servant for our sake. All glory be to Him who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.

Advent - Day 17 - True Service

I have chosen a different devotional for the remainder of Advent. It is rich.

It is titled "Every Good Gift" and is written fully by Compassion Canada
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Today, we sit with Jesus as He exemplifies true service. Contrary to what the world may have us believe—that our good deeds are things we do for others in the open—Jesus calls us to a higher service. The kind of service that doesn’t boast in itself. A service that is done when no one is watching. True service is the good deeds done from a place of deep and genuine joy and love for Jesus and one another.

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:14 NKJV)

Imagine a world where we all served. The kind of service that lays down personal ambition and comfort to be present for others. Service to the people who may never thank us. Service out of honor, out of love, out of the commitment to follow the example of Jesus. Service for the sole purpose of bringing God all the glory. No applause. No lights. No stage. No cameras. No one watching but the One that truly matters.

Service.

When Ruth refused to leave her mother-in-law even after she lost her husband and had every cause to do so, she didn’t know for sure that anything good awaited her. She was just so committed to serving her mother-in-law that she laid down her own ambition and will, so that she could follow her no matter where the journey took them. She chose a higher service. This journey not only led her to her husband and the restoration of their family but ultimately wove her into the lineage of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

There’s no telling how far our good deeds can go. Our service can become the pathway that brings forth a miracle. Our service sets us apart in a world where everyone wants to lead and not serve. The mandate that Christ gave us is for us to lay down our lives, carry our cross, and follow Him wherever the journey may lead. (Matthew 16:24).

The service that Jesus calls us to is one that wells out of a deep compassion for others and strong desire to serve them just as we know Jesus, Himself, would. This kind of service and sacrifice produce in us a deep joy that we often cannot explain, but one that is shared by both the giver and receiver.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

Prayer:

Precious Holy Spirit,

                                Stir within me a passion for the kind of service that Jesus exemplified. Give me the desires of Your own heart and let me be Your expression to those I meet and serve. Let my good deeds bring You joy. May they bring joy to others. And may my heart be filled with the joy that comes from a heart of service. Amen.

The Purpose

Jesus' refusal was curt: "Beat it, Satan!" He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness."
Matthew 4:10 The Message Bible

At work, we had a little chat about bucket lists - who wants to do what, when, where, and how the lists may have changed and evolved over the years. Many had to do with seeing far away places in the world. Just as many were very specifically individual pursuits even though the ones who commented were married. I thought it was also interesting to note that the vast majority of the lists had nothing to do with accomplishing more or "higher" goals in the chosen career field.

Over the last week, there have been quite a few remarks about people's perceptions of what they were born to do. It's been enlightening, to say the least.

Have you ever given that serious thought? Have you ever listened for God's answer as to how or why He created you? He has a plan, you know. He had a plan for your life when He created you in your mother's womb.

Ephesians 2:10 NLT tells us, For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

There's an old song - Born to Serve the Lord - that just has wonderful words to it. The second verse tells it all:

For I was made in His likeness
Created in His Image
But I was born to serve the Lord.
And I won't deny Him
I'll always walk beside Him
for I was born to serve the Lord.

This is the reason we have eyes, ears, legs, etc. We truly were born to serve the Lord - and to serve Him with singleness of purpose. Is your life serving a purpose? More specifically, is your life serving HIS purpose?

Prayer:

Father,
           Let our hands serve our neighbor, our eyes read Your Word, our hearts follow You, our feet walk only in Your footsteps as You go before us making the crooked way straight. You created us to serve, Father. Help us to walk single-heartedly in our purpose. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen