Closing the Gap 4.30.18

Week 17 “Serve One Another”

Day 1

Pray:

Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.

Read:

Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Reflect:

Jesus took “the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Phil. 2:7).  What this says about you is that your very nature, as a human, is that of a servant. This is offensive to some who might believe that it is beneath them to be called or treated as a servant.  The great push in society is to maneuver into a position where others will serve you. Those who are highly esteemed in most cultures are those who have servants, not those who are servants. However, when you consider that Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve, it should give an entirely different perspective on what it means to be a servant.  Contemplate the sun for a moment. It is a vast nuclear reactor, with a core temperature of 27 million degrees. A single solar flare could be 35 times the size of our planet. Now, think about the fact that the sun is one of billions in our galaxy and our galaxy is one of billions in the universe. Push your mind out of the room you are in, off the planet you are on, and into the vastness of the universe.  Now, with that larger perspective, think about the men and women who live for a very short time on a very small planet, but who often believe they are above being a servant and detest being treated like one. Think of yourself and your own attitude in this regard. Now, consider the following facts: “Through [Jesus] all things were made” (John 1:3). Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life” for others (Mark 10:45).  The one who spoke the universe into existence came as a human to redeem humanity and, in the process, also demonstrated what true greatness is; it is to serve others. In your life today, you will have opportunity to serve. You may be treated like a servant. How will you respond in your thoughts and your actions? Will you embrace the greatness of service to others?

Pray:

(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)

Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.