Thank God I'm Forgiven! Amen! Tell God about what makes you thankful about your salvation, redemption and new life in Christ and worship!
Good Morning Faithful Servants of the Lord! Amen! I think in some way or another all of us are faithful servants and that is the desire of the heart of those reading this. Thanks Lord! Help us all want to and pursue being Your faithful servants. Amen! I am focusing on Our Daily Bread Devotional (below) . God grabbed my heart as I abided in Him and spent some time with the associated Scripture from 2 Tim. 4:1-8 (below). Paul wrote to Timothy as his student, protege, and friend. He warned Timmy to stand firm and be the servant he was created and trained to be. Don't we all desire to get to heaven and hear, "Well done good and faithful servant"? How will that happen? By being faithful servants and doing what we are created and gifted to do for such a time as this. Do you know your calling and why God gifted you as He did and placed you where you are? You can as you abide, seek His will and way and do what He made you to do. if you aren't sure of your gifts or calling, sometimes you just have to try different things until you find your sweet spot in Christ and then continue with Him to His best for you. maybe your service involves actually serving others, maybe praying, maybe teaching, maybe giving? There are many ways to serve and we are all created and gifted according to our faith and God-given abilities. he has a custom plan just for you and for us as His gathered Body. Seek first His Kingdom and righteousness and He will give you all you need for His plans for you . Stay focused and grounded in His Word and the Living Word, Jesus. And it is very helpful to find some accountability teammates to seek, pray, plan and go together with. OBD asks this critical question: "How much heart are you putting into your everyday tasks?" Well? Process that with God as you invite Him to examine your heart and process with your accountability partners and make some adjustments as needed. God does have great plans for you to discover and step into. DO IT! And know you are blessing Him and others and will be blessed back too. Amen!
This Scripture always confronts me and my heart and following issues. Am I seek, hearing and doing what God has for me as a pastor. Am I completing and running my race well? Help me Lord! Have Your way with me! Help me to discharge my duties as Your servant and shepherd. Come fill be and lead me and purify me to serve and lead. May I run and complete my race well and glorify you and bless those you are sending me to and everyday. May I preach the Word and always be ready to share Your heart. Grant Your Word and wisdom as needed. Help me to correct with love and wisdom and discernment. Help me to always encourage and build up in You and Your good ways. Help me to endure, keep my head always, do the work of an evangelist and fulfill my duties well. Help me to pour myself out and empty myself of me and filled with Your Spirit. Send and use me well. Cleanse and forgive. May You always be glorified and may I grow as you faithful servant. Thanks! Amen
2 Tm, 4:1-8
Greetings from Paul
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.
2 I am writing to Timothy, my dear son.
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.
Encouragement to Be Faithful
3 Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.
5 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
8 So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. 9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
ODB:
Faithfully Serving Others
Discharge all the duties of your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:5 2 Timothy 4:1-8
On a , in the church’s fellowship hall, sandwiches and watermelon slices were set out, waiting to be consumed by mourners sitting on metal folding chairs placed on stained carpet. It was a perfectly normal funeral, except for the preacher. He was a well-known speaker who has preached to stadiums full of thousands. Now he was speaking just as enthusiastically to this weekday gathering.
Paul told his protégé Timothy, “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season . . . . discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:2-5). All the duties. Not only the big ones performed on large stages with bright lights. Also ordinary, weekday duties. The speeches that won’t be recorded and broadcast for generations to come. The tasks that few will see. Do those well too.
Because someone is watching. Paul told Timothy he was serving “in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead” (v. 1). Your platform may be small, but your audience could not be more important. Jesus waits expectantly for your service. Do it for Him, relying on the power of His Spirit. He will be honored as you humbly, faithfully minister to others.
By Mike Wittmer
REFLECT & PRAY
How much heart are you putting into your everyday tasks? How would God have you think about your ordinary jobs on this ordinary day?
Heavenly Father, may I serve You and others faithfully .
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
While encouraging Timothy to be faithful to his ministerial calling, Paul summarized his own service for Christ and what he looked forward to after he died: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). As the apostle anticipated his departure from labor to reward (v. 6), he was conscious of what really mattered in life. Each believer in Jesus has been given different tasks to do on this earth. With the Spirit’s help, we can strive to do them faithfully. We all long to hear the voice of Christ, our Savior, say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21).
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