And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 2:24-25
Sometimes it is so hard for me to imagine Jesus on Earth. That was so long ago, and it was such a different time. Although He walked among the poor, the defeated, and the sinful, I still tend to imagine Him sitting on a throne. After all, He is the King of Kings. Yet, He didn’t act like it. He got dirty. He rolled up his sleeves and worked hard. He was kind and meek. He never thought of Himself better than others, and He was the epitome of selflessness. He is absolutely everything that we should want to be. In studying how to truly serve others I have read verse after verse about Jesus’ character, the fruits of the spirit, and how Jesus interacted with the people around Him. It’s not easy, but it is attainable (with Christ’s constant help). This feat should be something that we strive for at the start of each new day. By reading our bible more, memorizing scriptures, and applying that scripture to our life, the closer our walk with God will be. As we draw closer to God we will be more readily aware of our actions toward our brothers and sisters. As we cling closer and closer to God, the more our actions will reflect His. We will start holding our tongue where we normally would spout off. We will start exuding patience when we normally would absolutely lose it. We will start looking for ways to help others even if it means sacrificing personal wants. We won’t be shaken. 1 Peter 2:23 says, “When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.” Jesus was not shaken. He held close to God, and God held close to Him.
Dear God, Please help me cling closer to you every single day in hopes that your love and spirit will shine within me. I want to have your qualities. I want to be the friend that you were. Amen.
Burdens: Death, divorce, losing a job, parenting troubled-teens, strained relationships, drug addiction, alcoholism, and financial instability to name just a few. These circumstances can wreak more havoc on an individual than they can possibly handle on their own. The only way to survive from day to day is a relationship with Jesus and a very strong support group. When Jesus asks us to bear one another’s burdens He meant it. There is no doubt that without help these roads on life’s journey would simply be impassable. This is where we are called to serve with a heart like Jesus. A heart without judgment or condemnation. As humans battling the flesh, it is easy for us to become a critical Christian, quickly forgetting that we too have sinned. Jesus didn’t make people feel bad when he helped them through troubles, and we shouldn’t either. If we are “serving” with a haughty spirit then we really are not serving at all. Rather, we are breaking people down more than they already are. We are shattering their already feeble spirits and painting a picture of false Christianity. We are basically boarding up the doors of the church because who in their right mind would want to be a part of something so ugly? And when we are judging our fellow brothers and sisters that is exactly what it is – ugly. I like (love) what the bible says in Matthew 11:28-30,”Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Jesus said to come to Him when you are buckling under the pressures and burdens of life. He said that He is gentle and lowly in heart. That’s how, as Christians, we should be. Gentle in heart. Not judgy. Not ugly. We have all been broken by life. We have all tripped, or maybe even belly-flopped, along the way. So instead of throwing out banana peels to make people slip again, let’s mop up the floors, hold their hands, and boldly walk through this messy, but beautiful, life together.
The controversy. I know. Women have equal rights. We are strong and fearless. We can conquer the world. Yes! This is all true, but how are we using the traits and characteristics that God gave us specifically as women to support our husbands? God has called us to be a helpmate, not a burden. Remember when you first started dating and you were so in love? You wanted to go out of your way to help your partner, you wanted to surprise him, and you wanted to show him in different ways that you were thinking about him. In modern day America this type of behavior is expected when you are dating, but when you get married all of a sudden the consensus on what is acceptable or not acceptable changes. If you do all of the laundry in your household then you are weak. Never mind your husband is doing all of the yard work. If you get up early to iron for your husband then you are being taken advantage of. Never mind that he runs the family budget and bank account. If you stay home instead of going out on the town every weekend then you are powerless. It’s really a bizarre mindset. It’s seriously time for us to change our thinking on this subject. Your husband has great qualities or you would not have fallen in love with him in the first place. Y’all chose each other. So why can’t we proudly serve our husband because we love him? Why does this whole submission thing have to have such a negative connotation affiliated with it? Where we get caught up, and I know because I’ve been there, is in our own selfish expectations and attitude of entitlement. 10 years ago, even five years ago, I had a much different mindset about marriage. Why should I do the laundry today? Why should I do the dishes? Why do I have to get the groceries this week? I could only see myself. Making a checklist in my mind of all the things I was doing was not Christlike, especially when I wasn’t mentally writing down all of the things that my husband did – which is a lot. Thank goodness that Jesus isn’t keeping a tally sheet of all that He did – and that we don’t do. I wouldn’t want to see that list. Serving and loving our spouse the way that Jesus does means putting our spouse first, and that is ok with me. Throw the attitude of entitlement and selfish expectations out the window and watch God move. Let’s serve our husbands in love. Let’s serve him because that’s what Christ did (does) for us.
u love someone you go out of your way to show them that adoration. You make it a priority to spend time just with them, or at least you should. When you are in a relationship it is important to show the other person that you are in fact devoted to them. We should love God more than anyone else. He should be the one person each day that we have to spend time with. Reading God’s word is the perfect way to walk and talk with Him. And the more you read His word, the more you’ll know. The more you know, the more you’ll grow. His word will become so deeply embedded in your heart that when it’s time to make a decision, or when something tries to tempt you, you will have the strength to do the right thing. His word will guide us through life’s ups and downs while constantly steering us closer to Him. I like rules and procedures. Knowing that there is a certain way to do something makes me feel calm. I love having things lined out clearly for me, and I certainly don’t like confusion or not having a plan. I am absolutely the opposite of spontaneous. That is just one reason I am so thankful to have God’s word as life’s road map. I would absolutely be lost without it. There are so many decisions to make each day, and by having a solid foundation in Christ we are more apt to make the correct choice. Romans 10:17 states, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” If we do not faithfully immerse ourselves in God’s word then we will never fully experience the magnitude of his grace, mercy, hope, strength, guidance, and love. By hanging out with God each morning we are serving him through love and obedience, and I know without a doubt that He will honor that. He will be our light on a sometimes dark path.
If we are not careful church can become just another object to check off of our list at the end of the day. We go because that’s what Christians do. That’s what Grandma and Grandpa did, and they would certainly be disappointed if we didn’t follow suit. Nonetheless, the church should be more than just a ritualistic duty in the life of our religion. We should go with the distinct and passionate purpose to learn, to worship, and to fellowship with our brothers and sisters. When church becomes just another task to complete we are essentially saying that worshipping God is boring. It shouldn’t be. We should look forward to this day more than any other day of the week. The church should be our safe place. It’s our home. Our family is there. They need us, and they need us to show up. We are each other’s familiar, kind faces in a scary and unpredictable world. We laugh together, cry together, and if you are baptist then I know you eat together. A lot. Our church family is depending on us for prayer and to pick them up when they fall. We need each other. The church needs us to draw people into the doors by the love of Christ, but it we don’t want to go to church, why would anyone else? Get excited. Get others excited. We get to go and worship The King of Kings. We get to hangout with Jesus. It’s better than date night. It’s better than a sports event. It’s better than your favorite TV show. If we are not eager to go then we are doing the church a huge disservice. Our enthusiasm can ignite a spark that has been missing in another person’s life. By serving with a genuinely happy disposition someone may begin to wonder how they can also feel that type of joy. So, Christians, let’s have each other’s back. Let’s look forward to serving with one another, and when you see someone start to fall – pick them up. Let’s get excited to worship Jesus. Let’s go to church on fire because we love Jesus, and we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We all have the same goal – get as many people into Heaven as possible. It’s go time.
When we serve others we are serving Jesus. That really puts things into perspective. It may sound crazy, but it really is the perfect opportunity to serve Christ. Think about it. If Jesus was standing on the corner asking for money for a meal would we dismiss him as quickly as we do the homeless man? What if Jesus was walking through a parking lot carrying a ton of groceries and a baby on His hip? Would we walk hastily right past Him, or would we stop and lend a hand? If Jesus asked us to cook dinner on Wednesday night for the church would we be too busy, or would we step up and do it? Yikes. I definitely struggle in that area. I am the person that brings store bought cookies on Wednesday nights. Not the good ones with icing and sprinkles either. I bring Chips Ahoy. It’s shameful really. I know I need to try harder. I wouldn’t bring Jesus Chips Ahoy. I would bring him cookies with extra chocolate chips that were homemade. It’s time to start treating others as esteemed as we would Christ. It’s really easy to get so caught up inside of our own little world that we shrug off helping others and don’t even realize it. In today’s modern society our minds are going ninety to nothing the majority of the day. When we are walking through the parking lot we are more than likely looking down at our phone checking emails. Guilty. It’s time for me, and for you, to look up and look around. There are opportunities all around us to extend a helping hand. I guarantee if we knew that Jesus was going to be in the parking lot needing help we would chunk our phone to the bottom of our purse and run to him. We would sprint. So let’s try a little harder. Let’s look around and reach out to our brothers and sisters. After all, they are a part of Christ.
en. We want to know that people have our best interest at heart. However, when we are interacting with others do we focus on making them feel that same way? When someone makes us angry do we focus on what caused them to act that way, or are we just focused on getting even? It’s easy to get caught up in our own emotions from day to day. Maybe someone hurt our feelings, maybe someone ignored us, or maybe someone invited someone else to go with them to eat. These acts, intentional or not, can really get us down in the dumps. It is so hard to overcome these feelings of insecurity. And even though it is hard when we feel slighted, we still need to treat others the way we want to be treated. No matter what they have done. No matter what they have said. It is so important to rise above these situations and extend the love of Christ to every single person. Being nice to someone who is not nice to you may just change their perspective. It may be the only glimpse of Jesus that they ever see. No matter how hard it is for us to swallow our pride, and no matter how hard it is for us to hold our tongue, this type of self-control is definitely a characteristic of the type of person Jesus is calling us to be.
This is where it gets hard. This is where our flesh tends to creep in. We have worked so hard serving others and not one thank you. Either no one noticed or no one cares. If we are not careful we can quickly become bitter. When we set our expectations on how the people around us are going to respond to our acts of servanthood then our heart is in the wrong place. This is especially hard when we have spent so much time giving of ourselves and there is no earthly return. How can we get to the place that serving others is truly just about serving and not about the hope of accolades? Prayer. Worship. A strong foundation in Christ. Remembering who we are serving and why. We need to constantly remind ourselves that Jesus came to this Earth to save us, and we killed him in the most inhumane and brutal way. Who are we to think that we deserve some high honor for bringing food to the church potluck when Jesus gave his life for a race that half the time isn’t grateful? So many tasks that we do on a daily basis often times seem meaningless. It is important to remember that if these works are for Christ then they are definitely not insignificant. Although we are weary and tired here on Earth, and we are unsure if what we are doing even matters, we do have a reward in Heaven. 2 Chronicles 15:7 states, “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” So keep going, guys! Keep on keepin’ on because no matter how tired, how overworked you are, there is a huge reward in Heaven. And even if you do not hear one thank you here on Earth, I know Jesus is thanking you. I know He is proud of you. I know that he would be working right by your side. Let’s get to the point where serving others is just that. No strings attached, no expectations, just love.
Missionaries amaze me. They selflessly give up all of their earthly treasures and travel to a new place. A place that is far away from family and far away from Americanized amenities. They leave their home, their church, and their closest friends. That kind of surrender to Christ is the epitome of what true servanthood looks like to me. I stand in awe of missionaries because God specifically called them to serve in the hardest possible way that I can imagine. He knows their hearts, and He knows their hearts are pure and selfless. He knows that they will go. So, why doesn’t God ask all of us to uproot and move from our nice, comfortable homes? This is something that I have wondered about a lot. Even Christians, if we are not careful, can get caught up in the comparison game. We ask, “Why not me God? Is my heart flawed?” When in all actuality God just knew that we were better suited in a different area of serving. Not a lesser area – just a different one. All around us people are hurting. They are sick and tired of being sick and tired. They are chasing after things that will never satisfy their souls. As Christians, we are called to point them in the direction of Christ. We can do that right where we are at. Right here in our own community. He wants us to reach out to people that will not reach out on their own. He wants us to tell them about the hope and peace that only He can bring. People in other countries may not have heard about Christ, and it is imperative that missionaries go and spread the gospel. But don’t forget about the work that needs to be done right here at home. People in our community have heard about Christ, but do they really know the power of having a relationship with him? Do they know that He can and will wipe away all of their tears, calm the storm that is raging in their heart, and give them the hope that they need to keep going? People are hurting. People are hurting right here. If God hasn’t called you to a far away country I can promise you this – He has called you somewhere. You were called. We are called. There is a community/town/city somewhere that has your name on it. This is the place where God wants you to preach his Gospel. Let’s serve by speaking God’s truths into our place. Wherever that may be.
What did Christ do for us? The obvious answer is that He died on the cross for our sins, which is huge. This was absolutely the ultimate sacrifice. The big picture. But let’s not forget the many other things that Jesus did and still does for us. Jesus washed feet, ate last, stopped and listened at the well, rolled the stone away, made the blind see again, turned around, helped the lame walk, and cleansed the lepers. He was a friend, a confidant, a steady hand, and He calmed the storms. Can we literally make a thunderstorm or tornado go away? No, we cannot. However, with prayer, a kind word, and a tender heart we can help ease the storms that are surfacing inside our neighbors’ lives. Can we heal the sick? I’m not a doctor, but I know the greatest healer of all, and He is just a prayer away. All through the bible, Jesus has painted a picture for us of how we should treat and serve others. Yes, He performed some large-scale miracles that prove how amazing our God truly is; He also showed us through small acts of grace and service how Christians should live out their daily lives.
Rays of Sunshine inc 