The Test of a Servant

Bible Reading:  Matthew 7:7-20

Key Verse: Verse 20 - “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

Key Words: by their fruits ye shall know them

I know this may sound like a strange devotion, but have you ever put your “servant’s heart” to the test?  I mean a literal exam, a written test.  No?  Well, let’s do that today by answering the following questions.

1. Do you give of yourself?  Yes _____    No _____
2. Do you consider the needs of others?  Yes _____    No _____
3. Do you obey those who have the rule over you?  Yes _____    No _____
4. Do you have integrity in all areas of life?  Yes_____    No _____
5. Do you willingly submit yourself to regulations and rules?  Yes _____    No _____
6. Do you faithfully fulfill little needs?  Yes _____    No _____
7. Do you finish your task in a timely manner?  Yes _____    No _____
8. Do you go the extra mile (do more than is required)?  Yes _____    No _____
9. Are you dependable?  Yes _____    No _____
10. Do you have a humble spirit?  Yes _____    No _____

I realize some of these questions are difficult for us to answer about ourselves; but if you honestly evaluate your service, it will help you to become a better servant.

                                                                                         Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Honestly evaluate your service.

Enough Inspiration

Bible Reading:  Psalm 126

Key Verse: Verse 6 - “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

Key Words: shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him

Buckner Fanning, a pastor from San Antonio, Texas, tells the following story.

He and one of his deacons were returning from a retreat, one which the pastor felt was a real mountaintop experience.  It had netted him numerous sermon ideas and notes for his preaching, but when he asked the deacon for his reaction, he got an honest answer that shook him up.  “Yeah, Pastor, it was good,” the deacon began.  “But I want to tell you that I’ve had all the inspiration I can stand.  I’ve taken my last note.  I’ve remembered my last point.  I’ve been importing, and I am satiated.  I have been receiving.  I have been taking in.”

The deacon concluded by warning that unless his church could give him a handle whereby he could translate some of that inspiration into practical deeds of Christianity, he was through!

Merely inspiring the faithful without giving them an avenue of service is much like inflating the tires on a car that never goes anywhere.  If a car stays parked in the garage all day, flat tires are just as good as inspired (inflated) tires!

Without service, the Christian life goes on without a sense of fulfillment.

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Decide today to be a servant, not just a sitter.

Bone Hard

Bible Reading:  I Samuel 15:1-9

     Key Verse: Verse 9 – “But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.”

      Key Words: But Saul 

To ossify means to become bone hard.  It is a synonym for being stubborn.  Such people often respond by saying, “Don’t confuse me with the facts.  I’ve already made up my mind.”

Saul was obstinate; he wanted to conduct the operation his way.  Even if he did have the noble intent of wanting belatedly to sacrifice the animals to God, that wasn’t what God wanted.  For that reason Samuel reminded him that “to obey is better than sacrifice” (verse 22).  What the Lord wants is obedience.  God knew what was best.  It wouldn’t be until the end of the story Saul would realize this basic principle.

Failure to listen and learn has crippled many people.  Ego plays a big part in the life of an individual who refuses to be open to helpful insights and specific instructions.

Samuel said, “Stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (verse 23).  Stubbornness makes of one’s own self-will an idol to be obeyed rather than the Lord.  Only as our will is yielded obediently to the will of our Master can we perform as obedient servants.  He must always be the object of our veneration; the one we obey.  Conscious disobedience is literally a form of idolatry, because it makes self-will, the human “I,” into a god.

A cardinal sin of Christians is failure to be under authority to those God has placed over us.  In every organization there has to be a chain of authority.  Those under authority who act rebelliously or disrespectfully are resisting God who ordered the structure.  All things are to be done decently and in order.  When God orders the order, honor it.  No person should be in authority until they are under authority.

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Remember, being a good servant means we should not be hard-headed or hard-hearted.

Self-Righteous Service

Bible Reading:  Matthew 23:3,13-29

Key Verse: Verse 3 - “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.”

Key Words: for they say, and do not

In our Scripture readings for today, you find the word woe eight times.  Out of those eight woe’s you find six acts of self-righteous hypocrisy:

1. verse 14: self-righteous prayer,
2. verse 15: self-righteous soul-winning,
3. verse 16: self-righteous words,
4. verse 23: self-righteous giving,
5. verses 25-27: self-righteous cleanliness, and
6. verse 29: self-righteous works.

The fruit of self-righteous service always ends with emptiness.

Self-righteousness comes through human effort. True service comes from a relationship with the divine Other deep inside.

Self-righteous service is impressed with the “big deal.”  True service finds it almost impossible to distinguish the small from the large service.

Self-righteous service requires external rewards.  True service rests contented in hiddenness.

Self-righteous service is highly concerned about results.  True service is free of the need to calculate results.

Self-righteous service picks and chooses whom to serve. True service is indiscriminate in its ministry.

Self-righteous service is affected by moods and whims.  True service ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need.

Self-righteous service is temporary.  True service is a life-style.

 I trust today that your service is a righteous God-honoring service.

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Ask God to reveal to you all of your unrighteous service.

A Devout Servant

Bible Reading:  Matthew 8:1-13

Key Verse: Verse 9 - “For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.”

Key Words: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth;

As you read the story of the centurion, you find at least three main thoughts.

First of all, we see the centurion’s confession: “I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof (verse 8).”

Secondly, the centurion gives us a comparison.  He compares his authority with that of the Lord.

Third of all, we see his comrades and their total obedience to him.  The centurion states, “If I say go, they go; and if I say come, they come.  They are devoted to me.”  Is that not true, though, of real servants?  Are they not devoted to their master?  The one thing that makes a servant great is his devotion to his master.

John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family’s housekeeper: It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap.  Shortly thereafter the phone rang.  Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House.  “Get me Ken Galbraith.  This is Lyndon Johnson.”  “He is sleeping, Mr. President.  He said not to disturb him.”  “Well, wake him up.  I want to talk to him.”  “No, Mr. President.  I work for him, not you.”  When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure.  “Tell that woman I want her here in the White House.”

 I wonder if the Lord says about us, “I want them as My servant.”

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse    

What to do:

✞Be a servant that other servants admire.

A Simple Servant

Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 4

Key Verse: Verse 12 - “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

   Key Words: but be thou an example

Alexander Whyte, who pastored in Scotland in the early 1900s, was preaching on Sunday morning when he noticed a celebrated scientist sitting in the congregation.  He was thrilled when the next Sunday the scientist was back again.  Pastor Whyte thought he would take advantage of his new listener, so he prepared a series of six sermons on “Religion & Science,” thinking to himself, “Surely he will come to know Christ as a result of these sermons.”

Pastor Whyte worked long, hard, and carefully on each message proving conclusively that there was no real conflict between sound science and the Word of God.  Nothing could have exceeded Pastor Whyte’s delight when the scientist came forward on Sunday morning proclaiming his faith in Jesus Christ.  Pastor Whyte asked after the service, “And what sermon was it that God used to persuade you to accept Jesus as Savior?”  “Oh,” said the scientist, “it wasn’t one of the sermons that persuaded me.”  “Well, what did persuade you?”  “As I was leaving the church one Sunday, a dear old grandmother asked me if I’d ever been saved.  I replied, ‘No, but I am interested,’ and that day she showed me how to become a child of God, which I did.  For you see, I saw a light in that little old lady that I desired, and praise the Lord, I received.”  Alexander Whyte stood shocked and embarrassed over his lack of personally dealing with the scientist.  It was then that he discovered a message lived is far better than one preached.

All of us should ask ourselves, are we a living message of the saving grace of Jesus?

                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Don’t just preach it, live it.

The Obedience Test

Bible Reading:  I Samuel 15:10-23

Key Verse: Verse 22 - “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Key Words: to obey is better than sacrifice

We are quick to condemn the disobedience of Saul, but have you ever given any consideration to what I call the servant’s checklist?  Let’s look at our own obedience for a moment.  Consider the following.

Have you presented your body as a living sacrifice today (Romans 12:1)?

Do you think more highly of yourself than you ought (Romans 12:3)?

Is your loyalty divided between God and mammon (Matthew 6:24)?

Do you have a daily prayer life and Bible study (II Timothy 2:15)?

Do you stir up strife and division (Romans 13:13)?

Are you an ambassador for Christ each day (II Corinthians 5:19-20)?

Are you honestly seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33)?

The Word includes the following:

1. Giving God the first hour of the day.
2. Giving God the first day of the week.
3. Giving God the first-fruits of your labor (tithes and offerings).
4. Giving God first place in your decision-making.
5. Giving God first place in your home.

I close by leaving you with this thought: one pessimist can pull down five optimists a lot easier than five optimists can lift up one pessimist.  Many fail the obedience test because of who they listen to.

 

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Take the test and then live it.

You Can't Argue With That

Bible Reading:  II Corinthians 5:10-21

Key Verse: Verse 17 - “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

 Key Words: he is a new creature

Dionysius, a pagan scholar who became a Christian and later was bishop of Alexandria from 247 to 269 A.D., wrote of the involvement of Christians during a plague.  “Most of our brethren did not spare themselves and held together in the closest love of their neighbors.  They were not afraid to visit the sick, to look after them and to take care of them for Christ’s sake, and to die joyfully with them.  But the heathen did exactly the opposite.  They cast out any who began to be sick, deserted those who were dearest to them, threw the sick and half-dead into the streets, and left the dead unburied.”

Later one commentator wrote of the words of Dionysius, “When the life of the Christian group, is recognizably different from the life of the world outside, then no tricks are needed to attract people.”  

Edward A Guest once wrote,

“I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;

“I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.

“The eye’s a better pupil and more discerning than the ear,

“Fine counsel is confusing but example is always clear.”

The world has yet to find a successful argument against the changed life of an obedient servant of Christ.

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞If you want to stop the world from criticizing Christians, be an obedient servant.

Old-Fashioned Servants

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 22

Key Verse: Verse 28 - “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.”

Key Words: Remove not the ancient landmark

Remember when gas was twenty-nine cents a gallon or when you could buy a soft drink for under a dime? Maybe you can remember when you could buy a three-bedroom house for fourteen thousand dollars, or a brand new car for under two thousand dollars. Why, I even remember when doctors used to make house calls and milk was delivered to your door, postage stamps were three cents, and taxes were at a minimum.  Some of you may remember when you went to bed at night and the doors were, not only unlocked, they were left open to let some cool air in the house. (There were no air conditioners, but what do you expect for fourteen thousand dollars?) Do you remember when lawn mowers had no motors, and mowers were propelled by man power?

We call these the good ‘ol days, but need I remind you that back then, in the good ‘ol days, using God’s name in vain was not allowed in person or on television?  Movies that promoted violence or rebellion or the rock music culture was not tolerated.  Dress was modest and everyone, or just about everyone, went to church on Sunday.  It was considered a special “holy” day.

It’s interesting to me how our times have changed to fit our agenda and lifestyle.  For example, we call them the good ‘ol days when we talk about the price of houses, cars, stamps, or soft drinks; but when you mention modesty and decency in dress, television, and movies, etc. they are no longer called the good ‘ol days, we are called old- fashioned.  Now, you can’t have it both ways – if the price of houses, cars, stamps, and soft drinks were the good ‘ol days, then so it is with dress standards and decency.

Maybe we just need to go back to the good ‘ol days, for I would rather be called old-fashioned than worldly any day. How about you?

 

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞ Dedicate yourself today to be an old-fashioned servant of God.

The Spirit of a Servant: Teamwork

Bible Reading:  Philippians 2:1-13

Key Verse: Verse 3 - “ Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

Key Words: let each esteem other better than themselves

Lou Holtz, the former college football coach and ESPN analyst, started his coaching career at the University of Minnesota.  During his first year there, he distributed t-shirts with the word Team on the front.  Underneath the word Team written in small letters was the word me.  Holtz concluded that the minute the focus is ME then the team suffers.  How true!

On July 20, 1969, the world watched as astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon.  Who can forget the moment when Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”?  What you may not be aware of is how many people were involved in getting Neil Armstrong to the moon.  In all, there were 218,000 people working behind the scenes to make that moment in history possible.

If a business, marriage, family – yes, even the church – is to thrive, it takes teamwork, all of us working “together” for God’s glory.  So be a part of your church team and let’s all do our best for God’s glory!!  It is certainly a great way to serve.

 

                                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞ Be a part of your church “service” department.

Slothfulness and Service

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 13

Key Verse: Verse 4 - “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”

Key Words: The soul of the sluggard desireth, and  hath nothing

Service and slothfulness do not go together; they are contrary one to the other.

Some of mankind’s greatest contributions have come from people who decided that no sacrifice was too large and no effort too great to accomplish what they set out to do.  Edward Gibbon spent 26 years writing The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.  Noah Webster worked diligently for 36 years to bring into print the first edition of his dictionary.  It is said the Roman orator Cicero practiced before friends every day for 30 years in order to perfect his public speaking.  What stamina!  What persistence!

Now let’s think about how much energy we put into the Lord’s work.  The comparison can be rather embarrassing.  And it should lead us to ask ourselves some heart-searching questions: why is our service for Christ sometimes performed in a halfhearted manner?  Why do some people who pursue earthly goals put us to shame with their diligence?  Think of what happens when we take lightly our service.  A deacon neglects his responsibilities, and the interest of others declines.  A Sunday School teacher prepares poorly, and his class fails to respond.  A faithful churchgoer does not persevere in prayer, and he wonders why there are no answers.

The point being if we expect to be successful, we must put some effort into our service.

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse                                

What to do:

✞   Be diligent in your service to God.

Faithfulness

 Bible Reading:  Luke 16:1-13 and John 12:26

 Key Verse: Verse 10  - “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”

 

 Key Words: He that is faithful in that which is least

Jesus said of those who obey Him in faithful service, “Him will my Father honour” (John 12:26).  This provision applies to time and eternity.

Some years ago in Elko, Nevada, there lived a successful, young, cynical businessman.  He was bitter, critical, and skeptical.  One day a minister asked him, “Are you a Christian?”  It angered John Randolph, but he could not forget the question or deny the awful negative answer.  It led to his eventual conversion.  As he and his wife grew in faithful service they studied the Bible.  This prompted them to ask their pastor, “What is this we hear about the Bible teaching tithing?”  Timorously, the pastor assured them it did.  Randolph replied, “Very well, we’ll do it.”  A second question, “Someone told us we are to witness to others.  Are we?”  Again the pastor swallowed deep and answered, “Yes.”  “OK,” said Randolph, “we will.”  Several such diagnostic questions regarding the Christian faith followed and John Randolph responded compliantly to each.

Little wonder that a few years later when the pastor left that church the Lord honored John Randolph by the people’s insisting that he become their pastor.  Having been faithful in that which was least, the Lord made him responsible for that which was greater.  The Father honored him.

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

✞Always remember that a faithful servant to God never goes unrewarded.

The Land of Where I Am

 Bible Reading: Acts 8:26-40

Key Verse: Verses 26  - “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.”

Key Words: Gaza, which is desert

Joy is found in the land of “where I am.”  It is His presence, not the place, which is important.

The “where I am” land offers no immunity from insult and injury.  To serve and love others is to open yourself up to vulnerability.

C. S. Lewis wrote of this in his book entitled The Four Loves: “To love at all is to be vulnerable.  Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung out and possibly broken.  If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.  Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.  But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, and airless – it will change.  It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable, and useless.”

Philip decided to be used of God in “the land of where I am” which happened to be a desert, a dry desert.  But in the dry places of life, God used Philip because he was willing to be vulnerable.

 Today, you don’t have to be a servant in the land of “where I am;” but in saying no to servant-hood, you are saying yes to a life of darkness, motionlessness, airlessness, and uselessness.  The joy of the Christian life is found in service.

What to do:  

✞Remember, the joy of the Christian life is found in service.

How May I Serve You?

Bible Reading:  Luke 22:47-53

Key Verse: Verse 51 - “And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

    Key Words: And he touched his ear, and healed him

Jesus is healing the Roman soldier’s ear; but He did more than heal, He served.  Great things can be accomplished for God when we simply say to others, “Yes, I’ll serve you.”

A young student from mainland China was sent to America to attend the University of Texas.  This Communist youth got lost and confused in the Dallas airport.  He approached several people and in his broken English asked, “Are you a Christian?”  Several persons answered no, though they didn’t speak a word.  Their actions spoke for them.  He approached a businessman with the inquiry.  Warmly, the executive responded, “Yes, how may I serve you?”  The youth explained his confusion and need for aid in finding his way through the terminal to catch his flight to Austin.  “Austin is my home.  I am on my way there now.  Come with me and I will help you,” said the new American friend.  As they waited at the gate for their flight, the businessman inquired why he had been asked if he were a Christian.  The student explained that an older friend from China had attended school at UT.  Upon learning the youth was coming to America, he told him that if he had a need to find a Christian and he would help him.

The root of that help was even more specifically identified when the businessman invited the student to attend his church.  The young Chinese later came to know Christ as his personal Savior simply because a Christian said, “Yes, how may I serve you?”

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞ Everyday have the attitude of, “Yes, how may I serve you?”

Devotion

Bible Reading:  John 12:23-36

Key Verse: Verse 25 - “ He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

Key Words: He that loveth his life shall lose it

Love seeks only one thing: the good of the one loved.

There is a great example of love for God illustrated through the Chinese pastor, Watchman Nee, who was threatened by his Communist captors in their attempt to get him to recant his faith in God.

“They warned that if he did not rescind his witness his arms would be cut off.  In the city square, before a sea of people, he was forced to kneel and place both arms on a block where they were chopped off at the elbow.  He staggered to his feet and lifted his bleeding stubs to heaven and prayed, ‘Thank you, Lord, that I can gladly give my hands in sacrifice to you.’  Had Watchman Nee loved his hands more than he loved Jesus, he would have saved his hands and lost his witness, his reputation as a faithful servant.”

There are many people today devoted to good causes but devotion to the cause of Christ is really Who we should be devoted to.

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse                            

What to do: 

✞No one is asking that you lose your arms for Christ; God is simply asking that you use them for Christ.

Submit

Bible Reading:  Luke 18:18-24

Key Verse: Verse 23 - “And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.”

Key Words: he was very sorrowful

I do realize that Luke 18:18-24 is dealing with the subject of salvation and that the rich ruler was not willing to give up his riches to follow God.  But there are even more believers who refuse to give up their “goods” to be a servant of God’s.  The keys to being a servant are:

1. 1.Admit: we must first admit that we are not being a servant.
2. 2.Commit: commit ourselves to service.
3. 3.Submit: to what God wants us to do and be.  This also includes “our goods, riches, and bounty.”

A missionary was witnessing to a native chief in a primitive culture.  The chief offered gifts of blankets, jewelry, and horses.  The missionary wisely said, “My God does not want the chief’s blankets, jewelry, and horses.  My God wants the chief himself.”  Instinctive wisdom guided the chief’s response, “You have a very wise God, for when I give Him myself, He also gets my blankets, jewelry, and horses.”  God wants the assets He has put in our trust, not in order to take them away from us but to enable us to use them for their highest good.  When they are yielded to Him, they are glorifying to Him and gratifying to us.

I read the following in regard to serving and thought it to be a good illustration of what we should be to God.

Franklin D. Roosevelt had a constant companion named Harry Hopkins.  Someone asked the President, “Why do you keep that frail sickly Harry Hopkins at your elbow?”  Instantly, the chief executive gestured toward the door and replied, “Hundreds come through that door daily who want something from me.  Harry Hopkins wants only to serve me.  That is why he is no near to me.”

 

What to do: 

✞Remember, one’s nearness to God is in direct proportion to one’s service for God.

Commit

Bible Reading:  Psalm 37:1-13

Key Verse: Verse 5 - “ Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”

Key Words: Commit thy way

The word commit means totally sold out.  If we are to be successful servants, then we must commit our way unto the Lord.  Commitment is vital to success.

Someone once said, commitment must be:

• Thought out – How can I be committed?
• Bought out – No turning back!
• Wrought out – It should grow day by day.
• Fought out – Satan doesn’t want you committed to servanthood.  See Job for an example.

But commitment is the key.  Below is a story I once read.

“On a recent trip to Haiti, I heard a Haitian pastor illustrate to his congregation the need for total commitment to Christ.  His parable: A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000.  Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn’t afford the full price.  After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: He would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door.

“After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell.  So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned.  Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.

“The Haitian pastor’s conclusion: ‘If we leave the devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ’s habitation.’”

                                        

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Commitment doesn’t leave any nails hanging around.

 

Admit

Bible Reading:  Luke 10:25-37

Key Verse: Verse 34 - “And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”

Key Words: And went to him, and bound up his wounds

Who is your master?  There is a definite way to tell.  It doesn’t matter who we say our master is.  What we do reveals who it is.

Here is the test to determine your master.  Romans 6:16, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

Mark the words, “yield yourselves servants to obey.”  Our servanthood is not our words but our actions.  

A practical application of this occurred some years ago when a Salvation Army worker found a young woman lying helplessly abandoned on a city street.  She leaned over and whispered to the sobbing discard, “Jesus loves you.”  She then gently kissed her on the brow and, upon seeing a slow response, helped her to her feet. A bond began which resulted in that human reject receiving Christ as her Savior.  Later she told the Salvation Army worker, “I didn’t care when you told me that God loved me.  It wasn’t until you showed me He did that it mattered.”  There is a big bruised, bewildered, and bleeding world awaiting your demonstration.

 So before I can be an effective servant, I must be willing to admit that as of today, at this very moment, I’m not one.

    

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse                    

What to do:

✞If you are not a servant, take step one toward becoming one: admit you’re not.