September 20, 2023 … Serving Others Serves Him …

September 20, 2023 … Serving Others Serves Him …   

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Kristian Stanfill singing … More Like Jesus … Poignantly, yet powerfully singing of how we Christians must take on God’s grace to serve others as Jesus served mankind, … being willing to suffer and die to serve us as our slave.  

Willing to wash their feet ... 

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Highlight Passage: … Mark 10:43-44 [NLT] … 

43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.  

… Jesus teaches Christians on how our ambition to serve our Lord should be channeled to serve others, … not for personal power and control.                    

               

Highlight Passage (Context): … Mark 10:35-35 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK …  

… Jesus teaches His disciples on how service to others should be the ambition of all of His disciples rather than power and control.                                                                                           

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Reference Passage: … Matthew 23:10-12  [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK …  

… Jesus teaches His followers and His disciples that the greatest among them must be a servant (i.e., “a slave”) to others.   

Reference Passage … John 13:12-14  [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK …  </b>

… Jesus uses foot washing to illustrate what all disciples of Christ should be … ie., slaves to one another.     

Reference Passage: … Acts 20:35  [NLT] …  

35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

… Paul teaches, by example, that Christian leaders must serve and give to others, which was Jesus’ way of living for others.    

Reference Passage: … Philippians 2: 3-5 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …   

… Paul teaches that fellow Christians must take on the attitude of Christ to serve and live for others.                    

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 4:10 [NLT] …  

10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 

… Peter teaches fellow Christians that we must be willing to use what God has given us - especially our Spiritual gifts - to serve one another.    

                                                                              

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Tom Felton  … AT THIS LINK …   tells of an engineer, trying to set the world record for the length of an arrow shot from a bow; and in the process of trying to set the record, shot himself in the foot.          

And then the ODB author referred to the biblical story of two of Jesus’ disciples - James and John - coming to Jesus requesting to sit at the right/left hand of Jesus when He, The Messiah, establishes His heavenly kingdom (see highlight passage).  But Jesus showed His two ambitious disciples that James and John would be “shooting themselves in the foot” with their request, … because we Christians must learn to serve others as our way of serving God in His kingdom (see reference Scriptures above)).  So, … are we - as “slaves” of Christ - learning and living to serve others as the way to lead others in this life or the next?    I pray so!!      

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for calling me to faithfully serve others as the way to serve You, Lord.              

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to be willing to serve others, Lord, as the way to serve You.       … Amen

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Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.