Scripture Meditation: Prov. 16:26

"A worker’s appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on." (Prov. 16:26, NASB). The Message paraphrases it like such, "Appetite is an incentive to work; hunger makes you work all the harder."

This is what we can take away from this passage:
1. Find out what is your appetite for work, volunteering, serving the church, serving one another, ministry, and so on (i.e. what is it that urges you on/makes you work harder?). For our appetites can work for us or against us.
2. If our appetite for work, volunteering, serving the church, serving one another, ministry, and so on is not centered on the Gospel, the glory of God, souls being saved, and believers being built up, then our appetite is self-centered and (a)we'll only work toward the end of whatever our appetite is for, (b)we'll grow weary and discontent because our appetite is for something temporal and not eternal, (c)we'll bail out when our appetite isn't being satisfied, and (d)we'll slowly become a slave again to our self-centered appetite.
3. If our appetite for work, volunteering, serving the church, serving one another, ministry, and so on is centered on the Gospel, the glory of God, souls being saved, and believers being built up, then our appetite is Christ-centered and we'll hunger to serve, help another, sacrifice, and so on all the more, despite the obstacles, to satisfy our godly appetite!

If you find after careful examination that your appetite is off, then take a break and focus on readjusting it away from the self-center towards the Christ-center. Don't be discouraged if this is you. Be encouraged because your spiritual health is far more important, and God cares more about you than your service. For the rest of us, continue to love and serve in excellence unto our Lord Jesus!

2011

Scripture Meditation: 1Pet. 5:6-9

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world." (1Pet. 5:6-9, ESV)

This is what we can take away from this passage:
1. Remain humble unto God's power. (v. 6)
2. If we're sincerely humble, God will honor us at the proper time. (v. 6)
3. Give all our worries and cares (about whatever it may be) to God. "Anxiety has become a common plague that affects approximately...up to 25% of the general [U.S.] population." (p. 7, Caring For People God's Way). God knows what we're dealing with, and He cares about our holistic health. Give it over to Him. His shoulders are big enough to handle it, and He's gentle enough to help His fragile children with it. (v. 7)
4. Be self-controlled. (v. 8a)
5. Be watchful of the enemy. (v. 8a)
6. The devil is at work trying to hinder God's plan in your life and steal God's glory. (v. 8b)
7. Resist the enemy by standing firm in our faith. Do not allow ourselves (yourself) to be used by him. (v. 9a)
8. Know that we have brethren all over the world fighting this same fight and undergoing the same sufferings (some more worse than others). So let that further motivate us not to give up! (v. 9b)

Be encouraged, and continue to love and serve in excellence unto our Lord Jesus!

2011

Scripture Meditation: 1Thess. 2:1-6

"My friends, you know that our time with you wasn't wasted. As you remember, we had been mistreated and insulted at Philippi. But God gave us the courage to tell you the good news about him, even though many people caused us trouble. We didn't have any hidden motives when we won you over, and we didn't try to fool or trick anyone. God was pleased to trust us with his message. We didn't speak to please people, but to please God who knows our motives. You also know that we didn't try to flatter anyone. God himself knows that what we did wasn't a cover-up for greed. We were not trying to get you or anyone else to praise us." (1Thess. 2:1-6, CEV)

Here are some things we can take away from this passage:
1. Know that the time we expend for Jesus (whether in service, in devotion, in persecution, in obedience, in sacrifice, etc) is never a waste!
2. There may be times (or have been) times where we will experience discomfort in our service for Jesus, but God can and will give us courage to keep going forward with the Gospel despite the hardships.
3. Check our motives. Why are you truly serving, or in devotion, or in ministry, or obeying, or sacrificing, and so on? Can you say like Paul says here that you have no hidden motives for selfish personal gain?
4. Desire and pursue God to be pleased to entrust us with His Message.
5. Don't do whatever it is you may do to please people, but to purely please God!
6. Constantly align our motives to God's motives--which is His Gospel being presented in every form and fashion!
7. Do not desire nor seek recognition or praise for whatever it is you may do for Jesus; and be sure that God's knows (both: if we are, and how we are).

Continue to love and serve in excellence in all you do unto our Lord Jesus!

2011

Scripture Meditation: Acts 3:11-12, 16

While the healed man clung to Peter and John, all the people rushed toward them at Solomon’s Porch, completely amazed. Seeing this, Peter addressed the people: “You Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us as if we made him walk by our own power or piety?....His name itself has made this man strong. That is, because of faith in Jesus’ name, God has strengthened this man whom you see and know. The faith that comes through Jesus gave him complete health right before your eyes. (Acts 3:11-12, 16, CEB)

Here are some things we can take away from this passage
1. Oftentimes people--whether innocently or purposely--will misdirectly cling to or rush, in amazement, to other people, ministries, churches, and so forth as if they're the source of whatever they received (v. 11)
2. Knowing this, we have a duty to graciously correct their misdirection (v. 12).
3. We also have to humbly remind ourselves that it is not by our words, our service, our concepts, nor the event that brings about the individual blessings (v. 12).
4. The name of Jesus going forth in the service and ministries is the source of whatever blessing someone receives (v. 16).
5. Our individual faith in Jesus is where we find strength to do whatever we do, especially when we get weary or it gets hard; and our individual and collective declaration of faith in Jesus will offer strength to others (v. 16).

Be encouraged, and continue to love and serve in excellence unto our Lord Jesus!

2011

Scripture Meditation: 1Cor. 1:17-18

"God didn't send me out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what he has done, collecting a following for him. And he didn't send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center—Christ on the Cross—be trivialized into mere words. The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out." (1Cor. 1:17-18, Msg)

Here are some things we can take from this passage: 

1. Our coming and going, our service, and whatever else it is we do, is not about us. 

2. Our coming and going, our service in whatever it is we do, is about letting the Gospel be seen and heard---it's about Jesus! 

3. Some will not understand why we come and go, speak and listen, comfort and encourage, and love and serve like we do, and some will understand and be inspired. 

4. In all this know that God is at work, and the Gospel is the power of God for the saved and those being saved. 

Be encouraged, and be intentional on remembering "the powerful action at the center", the Gospel! 

2011

Scripture Meditation: Heb. 13:1-2

"Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!" (Heb. 13:1-2, NLT) 

Here are some things we can take away from it: 

1. Keep loving each other as brothers and sisters, especially when it is hard to do so. That's when we need the love most! 

2. Be hospitable (friendly) to everyone. Why? Because we have no idea who the person may be or where they are at the moment in their life. Our hospitality could prove to be beneficial to us---as if we were to entertain an angel---or our hospitality could prove to be beneficial and life-changing to the recipient---they may come to know Jesus, they may be uplifted, they may be comforted, and so on. 

2011