Devotional Tidbits April 9-15, 2012

The Word for You Today

1.      “What It Means to Serve”

·         “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”  Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”  (John 13:8)

·         we serve God by serving others – put others first

·         Christ loves “the least, the lost, the last, and the lowest”, and so must we - we must serve them

·         You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.  (Philippians 2:5)

·         Attitude is more important to God than achievement

·         Worship the Lord with gladness.  Come before him, singing with joy.  (Psalm 100:2)

·         Service for any other means than God’s approval is without value

·         Serving others for Christ should be both our job and our joy

2.  “Salvation”

• What the law was powerless to do…God did by sending His own Son.  (Rom 8:3)
• To enter heaven we need a Redeemer, not a resume
• It is hard for inflated egos to acknowledge they need Jesus, for they are nothing without Him

3.  “Bearing Fruit”

• I choose you…to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.  (John 15:16)
• Who we are is decided and discovered through a relationship with Jesus Christ
• Strength comes from the Vine – so stay connected
• God has to prune the branches to produce more fruit – so let those things go that He takes from you, for He has something better for you

Sparkling Gems from the Greek

Luke 22:49-51 (NLT)

When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!”  And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear.   But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

·         Peter displays his impatience and impetuous character as he slices off the ear of a soldier – totally human.

·         Jesus displays His supernatural love as He reaches out and heals the servant’s ear – his last miracle before the cross – totally divine.

·         We must pattern our lives after the love of Jesus, and not the impatience of Peter.

·         When we take matters into our hands, as did Peter, we only create a mess that Jesus must clean up – and we will live with regret.

·         Follow Jesus, wait on Him, and display His love.

·         When others make mistakes, rather than being judgmental, we need to be compassionate toward them as Jesus was with Peter.  Jesus healed the ear to keep Peter from being punished for his act of cutting off the ear.

·         Other people’s problems are opportunities from God to help them in any way we can.

·         We must remember our own mistakes and how God’s mercy intervened, and give that same compassion to others.

 

Matthew 26:53 (NLT)

Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?

·         Jesus could have had thousands of angels with Him at the point of His arrest, but He willingly gave Himself to be crucified for us.

·         We have that same power working for us…we just need to be patient and let Jesus work out our difficulties.

Matthew 26:57 (NLT)

Then the people who had arrested Jesus led him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of religious law and the elders had gathered.

·         In unfair situations, draw close to God and entrust yourself into His care, as Jesus did during His trial.

 

Matthew 26:67 (NLT)

Then they began to spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. And some slapped him,

·         Even though His accusers spit on Him and beat Him with their fists, Jesus still willingly went to the cross for them…His love is that great.

·         We must learn to forgive those who do harm to us, and love them with the love of Jesus, consistently, for the Holy Spirit within us is the same One who lived in Jesus, and He will empower us also.

 

Luke 22:63-64 (NLT)

The guards in charge of Jesus began mocking and beating him.  They blindfolded him and said, “Prophesy to us! Who hit you that time?”

·         “mock” – to play a game, to mimic or impersonate, a game of charades meant to make fun of Jesus

·         We must refuse to play games with Jesus or cause Him any pain by slapping Him in the face with our words or beating Him with our actions.

·         We must guard our mouths and let the Holy Spirit contain our emotions so that only the love of Jesus comes out of us.