My daily Bible readings today sang one song to my heart...the song of a servant of the Lord. Jesus, came as God’s Servant, lived as God’s Servant and died as God’s Servant. In this, He is our greatest example. When we have the mind of Christ, we have a mind that is clothed with humility. A mind whose chief joy is to do the will of God. A mind who puts others before Himself...even to the point of willingly laying down His life for another. All Jesus did here on earth, He did with the sole purpose of glorifying His Father in heaven. He did nothing out of selfish ambition or vain glory...but in lowliness of mind He esteemed others as better than Himself.
With that said, here are the verses that reminded me of my position in His kingdom.
The first was from the book of Numbers:
23 At the command of the LORD they remained encamped, and at the command of the LORD they journeyed; they kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by the hand of Moses.—Numbers 9:23
Father...May my eyes be ever toward You. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so my eyes will look to You, my Lord and my God.
Beloved...Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
The second was from Mark 9:30-37:
30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. 31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” 32 But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
Just as an aside here, I kinda got the impression that the disciples were feeling pretty convicted by Jesus’ question in verse 33. Their silence was deafening. While Jesus had been talking about his coming suffering and death, the disciples were arguing about who among them would be the greatest. Definitely not getting the humility message
Jesus goes on to say that if anyone desires to be first, He shall be last of all and servant of all.
Father...Your kingdom is so unlike the kingdom of men! Weave these words of Jesus into my heart. Use them to make me more like Your Son, who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Help me to be as a child before You...humble and trusting.
The next verses were from the same chapter in Mark:
49 “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”—Mark 9:49-50
I usually think of salt as something that makes food more flavorful, but it had other uses especially before refrigeration. Salt in Jesus’ time was used as a preservative. It was included as far as I could tell, in every OT sacrifice. Jesus here tells us to have salt in ourselves. Beloved, Jesus is the salt in a believer...He gives flavor, He preserves, He cleanses and He keeps us from sin, corruption and death. Romans 12:1-2 says this:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for us and in so doing preserved us who would believe from an eternity spent separated from Him in hell. We are to do the same for others...it is our “reasonable” service.
Father...May Your Spirit use Your word to produce the likeness of Your Son in me. May my presence preserve and protect those You have sovereignly placed in my life for Your good purposes.
The last verse was from Psalm 31:
But I trust in the LORD.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have known my soul in adversities,
8 And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a wide place.
Father...in my role as a wife and a mom, You have set my feet in a wide place. Placing me in this role has been such a grace to my heart not only because it enables me to see the joy that serving brings, but it also gives me ample opportunity to fulfill my God given role by serving the ones I love through love.
May the love of Christ compel us (hold us fast) today. May His self-sacrificing love be what motivates and controls our thinking and our behavior. May our hearts and minds along with Paul’s be that of our Savior’s who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. Help us today, by your Holy Spirit, to live not to please ourselves but to please You, for we are Your servants.
For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. —2 Corinthians 4:5-15
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