daily devotional

i susbscribe to Saddleback’s daily devotional (which i love) and wanted to share today’s with you- it caught my eye and grabbed my heart. imagine what the world would look like if all christians lived this way. amazing.

We Serve God by Serving Others
by Rick Warren

Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Mark 10:43 (MSG)

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We serve God by serving others.

The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you’ve arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept.

Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you.

This is so contrary to the world’s idea of greatness that we have a hard time understanding it, much less practicing it. The disciples argued about who deserved the most prominent position, and 2,000 years later, Christian leaders still jockey for position and prominence in churches, denominations, and parachurch ministries.

Thousands of books have been written on leadership, but few on servanthood. Everyone wants to lead; no one wants to be a servant. We would rather be generals than privates. Even Christians want to be “servant-leaders,” not just plain servants. But to be like Jesus is to be a servant. That’s what he called himself.

While knowing your shape is important for serving God, having the heart of a servant is even more important. Remember, God shaped you for service, not for self-centeredness. Without a servant’s heart, you will be tempted to misuse your shape for personal gain. You will also be tempted to use it as an excuse to exempt yourself from meeting some needs.

God often tests our hearts by asking us to serve in ways we’re not shaped. If you see a man fall into a ditch, God expects you to help him out, not say, “I don’t have the gift of mercy or service.”

While you may not be gifted a particular task, you may be called to do it if no one who is gifted at it is around. Your primary ministry should be in the area of your shape, but your secondary service is wherever you’re needed at the moment.

Your shape reveals your ministry, but your servant’s heart will reveal your maturity. No special talent or gift is required to stay after a meeting to pick up trash or stack chairs. Anyone can be a servant. All it requires is character.

It is possible to serve in church for a lifetime without ever being a servant. You must have a servant’s heart.

How can you know if you have the heart of a servant?

Jesus said, “You can tell what they are by what they do” (Matthew 7:16 CEV).

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

neato

my roommate just came back from Costa Rica. i just got back from Rwanda. quite the household of travellers

almost go time!

well the fundraiser is just around the corner. man, there is so much that goes into these things that i never really thought about. i honestly thought once the big plans where set in motion, all the other little things just fall into place. ha! was i wrong! lisa is a machine let me tell you! she is constantly on the ball and thinks of every little detail. from carboard boxes to stencils- this lady has got it covered. i appreciate her attention to detail a lot, because looking at the big picture, she makes it easy for people to want to help. if you have 1st time volunteers, an event that isn’t planned out well might be the last volunteer job they sign up for. and that, my friend,  pretty much goes against everything i stand for….

learn something new everyday

so today’s lesson- learn to move on. erwin mcmanus spoke about how it is human nature to flock to those whose personalities mirror our own. it is our challenge to reach out and accept those unlike ourselves. i realized that i tend to expect people to do and act the same way i do. that will never happen. God made each one of us a little different so we can all bring something new and unique to ‘the table’. i need to celebrate our differences and not be discouraged when things don’t work out exactly like i want them to. so i will be praying- and say one for me too!