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- Apr 25, 2006
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SERVE IT UP (2)
'Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.' Philippians 2:5
'It's all about meeee, (my name), and all this is for meeee, for my glory and my fame!'* Wouldn't sing that on a Sunday, would you? No doubt there'd be a tut-tut from old Doris if you did, and a quick escorting out of church for your blaspheming tongue. It's fair to say we'd never sing that. But it's scary how easily we can live that way. Even when we're serving God, our hearts can be pumping with the motivation of wanting to be noticed and admired.
It's the heart behind what we do that's important to God. Paul says this: 'Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant' (vv. 5-7 NIV). In other words, serving God is about serving others rather than yourself.
What if you feel treated like a servant, bossed around and belittled? Jesus said: 'If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life...' (Matt. 5:41 TM).
What now? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal times when you have acted or thought like you were better than others. (Maybe there's a recurring issue in your life that is preventing you from putting others first.) Pray through those times with Him. * With apologies to Paul Oakley
written by Bob Gass
'Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.' Philippians 2:5
'It's all about meeee, (my name), and all this is for meeee, for my glory and my fame!'* Wouldn't sing that on a Sunday, would you? No doubt there'd be a tut-tut from old Doris if you did, and a quick escorting out of church for your blaspheming tongue. It's fair to say we'd never sing that. But it's scary how easily we can live that way. Even when we're serving God, our hearts can be pumping with the motivation of wanting to be noticed and admired.
It's the heart behind what we do that's important to God. Paul says this: 'Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant' (vv. 5-7 NIV). In other words, serving God is about serving others rather than yourself.
What if you feel treated like a servant, bossed around and belittled? Jesus said: 'If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life...' (Matt. 5:41 TM).
What now? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal times when you have acted or thought like you were better than others. (Maybe there's a recurring issue in your life that is preventing you from putting others first.) Pray through those times with Him. * With apologies to Paul Oakley
written by Bob Gass
