Quote from Forum Archives on January 17, 2003, 3:42 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Why do we choose to serve God? Well, people make their own
choices for a variety of reasons. Personally, I love God and I
desire to please those that I love, so I devote myself to please
Him.

Though in this life, there are rewards and consequences for every
action, my motivation is to do what's pleasing to God. When I go
against what's pleasing to God and I realize it, my response is
to ask Him to forgive me and resolve in my mind to avoid the
things that are not pleasing to Him.

Oswald Chambers talks about these things in his daily message,
which is concise and captures the essence of the desire to serve.

Have a great weekend. Encourage one another, and build each
other up, just as the Bible instructs us to do, and worship God.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

The Call of the Natural Life

When it pleased God... to reveal His Son in me...
--Galatians 1:15-16

The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular
way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my
understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly
desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His
nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and
is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was
stated by the apostle Paul--"When it pleased God... to reveal
His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and
solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles..."

Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love
and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that.
Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the
reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service
becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper
relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and
then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love.
Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has
heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature,
and God's call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I
receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds
throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in
service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of
devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.

Authorized By The Oswald
Chambers Publications
Association, Ltd.

My Utmost for His Highest
Daily Devotional is provided
by RBC Ministries

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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