VERSE OF THE DAY:
MATTHEW 20:28
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many
THE GREATEST SERVANT
If we're being honest, most of us would rather be served than to serve others. We'd rather feel special than ordinary. We'd rather feel important than insignificant. And though God has made each of us special, important, and created in His image-His children cannot be above serving, because Jesus was never above serving.
If the King of kings and Lord of lords didn't come to be served, but to sacrifice His life for the sake and salvation of others, we should pay attention.
Jesus warned against doing impressive things just to be seen, praying extravagant prayers merely to be heard, and taking the highest-ranking positions simply to be known.
Instead, Jesus engaged the outcasts, fed the hungry, healed the sick, helped the hurting, stopped for the broken, washed dirty feet, and laid down His life-even though He was innocent- so that even the "worst" of sinners could discover: they're never too far from His love.
As you think about what it meant for Jesus to die in your place and erase your sins and mistakes, what does it trigger inside of you? Worship? Gratefulness? Are you compelled to go and tell others? Today, ask God to show you how you can serve others like He has served you.
SHARE YOUR FAITH
Today, ask God to open your eyes to opportunities to serve the people around you. Then, go do it!
Jesus, thank You for showing us what humble service looks like. Today and everyday, please show me how to follow the example You've set. Make me aware of the people in my life that need help, and those I can selflessly serve. Let my acts of service reflect my deep love for You and for the people You created. In Jesus' name, Amen.
1 PETER 3:15
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.
Breath in deeply and if you're able to, open up your hands and place them in front of you. Think of 1-3 things Jesus has done for you, and thank Him for that. Imagine giving your praise to God.
PHILIPPIANS 4:19
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
God notices you-and He cares.
Bring your concerns to Him, and ask Him to provide for your needs.
God, even in the middle of hard circumstances, You provide for me, You protect me at all times, and You set me apart as Yours. Nothing can separate me from Your love. No matter what I might face, I belong to the God who overcame death, and He fights for me and makes me an overcomer. Thank You, Lord! In Jesus' name, Amen.
DAILY BIBLE READING:
JUDGES 11-12
LUKE 6:1-26
Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob. Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.
29Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: âIf you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lordâs, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering. When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter." From this comes the Israelite tradition 40that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
JEPTHAH AND EPHRAIM
IBZAH, ELON, AND ABDON
JESUS IS THE LORD OF THE SABBATH
Jesus answered them, âHave you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?4He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.â5Then Jesus said to them, âThe Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.â
On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled.
Then Jesus said to them, âI ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?â
10He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, âStretch out your hand.âHe did so, and his hand was completely restored.
TWELVE APOSTLES
BLESSINGS AND WOES
who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
who weep now,
for you will laugh.
when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
âRejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
EXODUS 14:1-4, 8, 10-14
I will harden Pharaohâs heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.â So the Israelites did this. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11They said to Moses, âWas it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12Didnât we say to you in Egypt, âLeave us alone; let us serve the Egyptiansâ? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!â
13Moses answered the people, âDo not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.â
INSIGHT
Exodus 14:1-14 shows the tension between how things can appear to us and what Godâs really doing. When the Israelites were fleeing from Pharaoh, God told them to turn back, placing them in what looked like a military trapâboxed in between Pharaohâs army and the sea (v. 2). But this was Godâs plan to lure and defeat Pharaoh once and for all (v. 4). When Israel panicked (vv. 10â12), Moses reminded them that their rescue wasnât dependent on their strength but on Godâs (vv. 13-14). Even when we donât understand His plans, this passage invites us to trust that His purposes are always good.
By: Monica La Rose
GOD'S VIEW
Hudson Taylor was troubled. Heâd left England to share the gospel about Christ in China, and ministryâthough challengingâhad gone well. But in 1865, as he considered sending more people to minister to a more dangerous part of the country, without protection, he felt âintense conflict.â After wrestling with God in prayer, he wrote, âThe Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God . . . [recognizing] that all responsibility . . . and consequences must rest with him.â
Moses received a call from God that likely left him troubled. As he was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, God said to Moses, âTell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the seaâ (Exodus 14:2). This meant they were trapped between Pharaoh and a vast body of water! The Israelites trembled as âPharaoh approachedâ (v. 10). Panic-stricken, they told Moses, âIt would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!â (v. 12). But Moses replied, âDo not be afraidâ (v. 13). And he was right. God provided rescue and victory for His people as they rested in Him (vv. 15-31).
At times, we wonât understand what Godâs doing in our lives because we donât have His view. It was during such a moment that Hudson Taylor wrote, âAs his servant it was [my responsibility] to obey and to follow him.â We too can rest in Godâs view and plans.
By: Tom Felten
REFLECT AND PRAY
Why is it vital for you to surrender to Godâs plans for you? How can you rest in Him?
Loving God, please help me rest in Your perfect plans for my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
A PARTING GIFT
Have you ever noticed that some people are better at giving gifts than others? They understand your style and know what you would actually like. Others are just as kind and itâs still very nice⌠but when you open their presents you mean it when you say, âYou shouldnât have!â Itâs not that you're ungrateful, they just missed by a lot. Then when the smoke clears youâre left wondering what to do with this random present.
In today's passage, we see Jesus promise His followers the gift of the Holy Spirit. A gift is a tangible demonstration of love. It's one thing to say "I love you," but love is proven when dialogue gives way to deed. Through the giving of the Holy Spirit, we get an actualâalbeit invisibleâdemonstration of God's love. And this gift comes with a clear purpose. Jesus promises us a comforter who will be our constant companion. This is something that will change every area of your life. Through the Holy Spirit, we also have constant communication. Though Jesus is not here physically, we are not stranded in the desert without cell service. This had immediate application to the Gospel writers who would put on paper the teachings of Jesus, but it has ongoing application for us today. It is through the Holy Spirit working in us that we grow and learn in our walks. "These things we also speak, not in words which manâs wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:13-14).
The result of this ongoing communication is something we all want, something we're all looking for: Peace. Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). The world offers a peace that is a temporary escape. Whether itâs drugs, alcohol, sex, or whatever. But Jesus doesn't give peace like the world givesâHe gives lasting peace. How do you encounter this comfort, communication, and peace? How do you get "filled with the Spirit"? The same way you get saved: Realize your need and ask in faith. Like any other gift, you must choose to receive it.
Remember: Through the Holy Spirit, we have comfort, communication, and peace.
JOHN 14
JESUS COMFORTS HIS DISCIPLES
1 âDo not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me
JESUS THE WAY TO THE FATHER
âI am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
JESUS PROMISES THE HOLY SPIRIT
âIf you love me, keep my commands.16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you foreverâ17the Spirit of truth. he lives with you and will be in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.â âAnyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
