Word for Today, Mon, 23 Aug 2004: Free to Serve

#1 · August 23, 2004, 4:34 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on August 23, 2004, 4:34 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Mon, 23 Aug 2004: Free to Serve
Dear friends,

Today's devotional message comes from The Purpose Driven Life
Daily Devotional. The messages are available by subscribing on
the main Web page, www.purposedrivenlife.com/index.aspx?,
should that interest you.

It is very easy, so very easy, to get absorbed in ourselves. Not
only do every day things around us tend to consume us, but our
society and our culture tell us that tending to ourselves - to be
self centered - is the appropriate thing to do. I have often
heard it say that my generation is the "me" generation. Well, I
am not certain if my generation is the only such generation
(reading scripture definitely suggests otherwise), but I would
agree that my generation is definitely concerned about "me".
Personally, I have had to expend considerable time and effort
reprogramming and renewing my mind, coming to the realization
that simply looking out for myself is really not in my best
interests at all.

Reading scripture, I've personally come to a realization that my
purpose in life is to establish and maintain a personal
relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to
introduce as many people as possible to Jesus Christ. Everything
else is secondary. Well, realizing that and actually acting on
it are two different things. Ah yes, continually renewing my
mind is necessary.

Today's message is one piece in the puzzle - to realize that it
is not all about me.

Dear Lord, I am Your servant. I want to be Your servant. Yet
everything around me competes with those statements and
intentions. Please be with me constantly. Help me serve you
with passion, with intent, with love and gratitude in my heart,
realizing that You give me freedom. Ignite my inner spirit with
a desire to channel all of that freedom and energy to Your
service.

Yours in Christ,
Brian
____________________________________________________________

THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE Daily Devotional

August 23, 2004
Free to Serve
by John Fischer

"For you have been called to live in freedom -- not freedom to
satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in
love." Galatians 5:13

What will you use your freedom for? It's an important question,
since one of the greatest things about being born again is the
freedom that comes from the Spirit of God. "And wherever the
Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17

In Christ we have been set free from the power and the penalty of
sin, free from trying to earn God's favor, free from the
insatiable need to please ourselves, and free to know the truth.
Even though we may not be aware of all these freedoms, they are
nonetheless true and available to each of us by faith.

But the question Paul addressed in Galatians is what we use this
freedom for. He suggests that we use this freedom to lovingly
serve each other.

Notice the things we have been set free from, they all revolve
around the self. Think about it. Most of us have spent the
better part of our lives getting all the attention. Even the
guilt, self-pity and regret we love to wallow in are all about
us. Imagine freeing up the thinking time we put into
self-indulgence -- feeling guilty, judging others to feel better
by comparison, and figuring out how to please our selfish desires
-- and imagine spending that time on someone else.

First you will need to remind yourself of your freedom in Christ
because forgetting that is what gets us stuck in the first place.
Then use that freed-up time to identify with what someone else is
going through and plan how you can serve him or her.

If being free to serve sounds like an oxymoron, it's only
because we have all become so used to being in bondage, we can't
imagine being free. But free to serve is what we were meant to
be. It's how we become useful to God.

Next time you catch yourself absorbed in you-know-who, stop and
think about what you can do for someone around you. Remember
your freedom in Christ and spend it on others. Think about what
their needs might be -- ask them, if you don't know -- and serve
them in love. It's time for someone else to get our attention
for a change.

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

__________________________________
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Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Mon, 23 Aug 2004: Free to Serve
Dear friends,

Today's devotional message comes from The Purpose Driven Life
Daily Devotional. The messages are available by subscribing on
the main Web page, http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/index.aspx?,
should that interest you.

It is very easy, so very easy, to get absorbed in ourselves. Not
only do every day things around us tend to consume us, but our
society and our culture tell us that tending to ourselves - to be
self centered - is the appropriate thing to do. I have often
heard it say that my generation is the "me" generation. Well, I
am not certain if my generation is the only such generation
(reading scripture definitely suggests otherwise), but I would
agree that my generation is definitely concerned about "me".
Personally, I have had to expend considerable time and effort
reprogramming and renewing my mind, coming to the realization
that simply looking out for myself is really not in my best
interests at all.

Reading scripture, I've personally come to a realization that my
purpose in life is to establish and maintain a personal
relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to
introduce as many people as possible to Jesus Christ. Everything
else is secondary. Well, realizing that and actually acting on
it are two different things. Ah yes, continually renewing my
mind is necessary.

Today's message is one piece in the puzzle - to realize that it
is not all about me.

Dear Lord, I am Your servant. I want to be Your servant. Yet
everything around me competes with those statements and
intentions. Please be with me constantly. Help me serve you
with passion, with intent, with love and gratitude in my heart,
realizing that You give me freedom. Ignite my inner spirit with
a desire to channel all of that freedom and energy to Your
service.

Yours in Christ,
Brian
____________________________________________________________

THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE Daily Devotional

August 23, 2004
Free to Serve
by John Fischer

"For you have been called to live in freedom -- not freedom to
satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in
love." Galatians 5:13

What will you use your freedom for? It's an important question,
since one of the greatest things about being born again is the
freedom that comes from the Spirit of God. "And wherever the
Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17

In Christ we have been set free from the power and the penalty of
sin, free from trying to earn God's favor, free from the
insatiable need to please ourselves, and free to know the truth.
Even though we may not be aware of all these freedoms, they are
nonetheless true and available to each of us by faith.

But the question Paul addressed in Galatians is what we use this
freedom for. He suggests that we use this freedom to lovingly
serve each other.

Notice the things we have been set free from, they all revolve
around the self. Think about it. Most of us have spent the
better part of our lives getting all the attention. Even the
guilt, self-pity and regret we love to wallow in are all about
us. Imagine freeing up the thinking time we put into
self-indulgence -- feeling guilty, judging others to feel better
by comparison, and figuring out how to please our selfish desires
-- and imagine spending that time on someone else.

First you will need to remind yourself of your freedom in Christ
because forgetting that is what gets us stuck in the first place.
Then use that freed-up time to identify with what someone else is
going through and plan how you can serve him or her.

If being free to serve sounds like an oxymoron, it's only
because we have all become so used to being in bondage, we can't
imagine being free. But free to serve is what we were meant to
be. It's how we become useful to God.

Next time you catch yourself absorbed in you-know-who, stop and
think about what you can do for someone around you. Remember
your freedom in Christ and spend it on others. Think about what
their needs might be -- ask them, if you don't know -- and serve
them in love. It's time for someone else to get our attention
for a change.

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

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Now with 25x more storage than before!
promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail