New Year, New You: Become a Servant

What is the second thing God directed me to for the New year?  Let's consider how important it is to be a servant.  Are you willing?  Jesus was.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  Mark 10:45

Even our master became a servant.   Even He became a friend of the unpopular and lowly.  Do you want to be like Him?  Jesus, build our Love.  To be a servant and do so joyfully, we need to have His Love.  We need to have it lit up within us.  We need to have it light us up.

Once we focus on Him, we have fulfilled the first five commandments.  We have loved Him with everything!  So let's allow Him to take us further.  Let's love our neighbor as ourselves.  Let's become servants.

When Jesus saw people in need and oppressed, He was moved with compassion.  We need to be the same way.  Our desires need to be spent on God, and then on giving Him to others.  Jesus said, "feed my sheep".  Do you love Him?  Then bear fruit and obey Him.  Let's all feed His sheep (John 21:17).

God wants to save His people from any evils, and He wants to bless them forever (Psalms 28:9).  Will you join Him in the work that He's given Himself since before time?  He will accomplish His purposes regardless.  Don't you want to partner with Him? It takes loving and being loved to truly serve.  But these love exchanges testify to our true identities--as the sons and daughters of God.  Let's serve accordingly.

God wants to give you His passions.  Jesus is the most passionate One in the universe.  He has more than enough passion for you, and He has more than enough passion to give you.  Allow it to compel you.  Allow it to give you humility.  Allow His love to give you unconditional thankfulness.  Allow serving others for His purposes to become pure joy.  

Following Guidelines vs. Following God

1.  You shall have no other gods before Me.
2.  You shall not make idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4.  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5.  Honor your father and your mother.
6.  You shall not murder.
7.  You shall not commit adultery.
8.  You shall not steal.
9.  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10.You shall not covet.

Why are these commandments in place?  They are restraints against the sinful, fleshly nature of humans.  They instructed the Israelites to come out from sin.

In the new testament, Jesus showed a better way.  He did not abolish the law-- instead, He said that "not the least stroke of the pen" would ever disappear from these commands (Matthew 5:18).  Instead, He showed us how to fulfill it!  Love for God is the fulfillment of the law.  When we love God, we will have His love for our neighbors.  God doesn't command us to love like the world does; He wants us to love like He does, because He first loved us (1 Joh 4:19).

God wants us to seek His face.  That's the best way; that's the ancient path.  The Creator is more important than created guidelines, even if He created those guidelines.  If we seek His face, we will fulfill the law as Jesus did.  Jesus raised the standards when He came, but He also gave us the Spirit to enable us to love!  Yielding to His Spirit will lead us to completely obey His commands, and not be distracted by the devil or the flesh.  The Spirit will preoccupy us with Jesus to the extent that we leave the letter of the law far behind.  With Him, we will fly to higher ground, and become passionate about God and passionate about His passions.

If we walk in the Spirit and stay filled with the Spirit, we will not be tempted to "just" follow the Ten Commandments.  We will become more than conquerers over the sinful nature.  We won't be concerned over the law or it's gray areas.  Instead, we will be distressed over possible insensitivity to His leadings and flee from sin of all kinds!  Let's earnestly follow God today.