Serving others is something that Jesus illustrated quite well to His disciples and set up a model for us to follow. John 13:1 explains the big idea behind serving when it says:

“…Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love”

After saying this Jesus began to wash his disciple’s feet, a task that was usually done by a servant. As His last lesson to the disciples He showed them what it truly meant to serve. We are called to have a sense of selfless service which requires humility. Jesus wasn’t washing their feet because he was required to but because he wanted to. The Creator of the Universe humbled himself to be as low as a servant to present the best model for serving others.

Selfless service is something that is hard for most of us to do, because we still believe that the world revolves around us. Our days are about what we can do for ourselves, about what we can do to get ahead at work, about what other people can do for us in our life, and about the stuff that shows off what we are like to everyone else. Until we grasp the concept of humility we can never truly serve others in the spirit that Christ demonstrated. The first step to being humble comes out of surrender and bowing down to Christ before all other things.

We tend to be afraid to serve because if we do we may feel no one will exalt us for the work we did. We never did anything to get where we are, and we tend to become ungrateful because of our self-centeredness. It becomes scary when we ask God to show us some way to serve and what He asks may put us in the background. The only way we can truly serve in a way that is pleasing to God is to bow down to His will first and trust that He will take care of us.

There is a major difference between serving and doing acts of service. Many times the things we do have good intentions, but not the right heart intent. We begin to serve people and expect them to recognize we did something. Jesus is the only reason we are here and his opinion matters above all others. Self serving people end up living a life full of treasure on this earth but miss the point John 13 is talking about. Christ is more pleased with us when we serve with the right motives to please Him rather than to please others. We  must become content with our recognition in Christ.

Humility is a hard thing to practice because it goes against the grain of what the world tells us. We are not of this world but created for a specific purpose by God. We have to be in the world but not of the world. We should be the people going against the grain when the rest of the world says fight for yourselves.  We should be fighting for others. When the world tells us to learn things to get ahead of others in ways that cut others down then we should be uplifting others first. Humility and contentment come hand in hand, and if we can begin to practice those things we will be able to serve out of selflessness, not selfishness.

This week we want to encourage you to start to bow down to our Creator in things that you know are keeping you from living a full life of worship though service. Even if this is not your pathway as the body of Christ we should be living this out in our lives in reverence for our God. Try actually bowing on your knees when you are praying or worshiping. It may feel awkward at first but as you get used to it you will find it may help you connect better. Pray for a spirit of humility and contentment thoughout this week. These are qualities that Christ believes are required for us to have as Christians to be set apart but not self apart. Take the step in living a life of selflessness not selfishness.

Dive Deep,

KC

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- This is your spiritual act of worship.”

What Paul was really saying is that worship is not only the song you sing but the life you live. Everything you do expresses you in worship. Some of us do great with worship with song, but what about the rest of the time? How are we doing in that? Over this series we want to unpack what Paul is talking about and dive into the subject of worship. Come along with us as we learn more about worshiping our amazing Father in Heaven.

Probably the best way to understand worship is for us to understand more of the reason why we were created. There are many people who believe they are here for different reasons, but we have been placed here for a specific reason and that is to serve and worship our God. Sometimes we casually toss this to the side, but our God desires for us to worship him wholeheartedly. By God’s design we are all created differently and as parts of the body of Christ. With that in mind we all connect in different ways to our God.

Worship happens when we have an intimate connection with our Heavenly Father. It requires a heart interaction as opposed to a head interaction. Our attention is focused on Him, and we end up feeling much closer to God in times of worship. Some people can’t fully engage in a worship song, but the way they worship is through acts of service or quiet times. The fact is that we as Christians tend to find it strange when someone isn’t engaged in worship on a Sunday morning, but that’s the beauty of the way God made us all unique.

When we look in Romans, Paul says  “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices…” He presents a paradox for us, because traditionally in Biblical times you would sacrifice animals as atonement for your sin. What most people don’t do is look at the context of this verse to understand that the idea of being a living sacrifice isn’t a paradox at all.

The word therefore means that we have to look at what was said in the past verses. Paul has been writing about how God has sent His Son to save all of us through His mercy. In response we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices, because His Son was the ultimate living sacrifice.

We know worship is having a connection with our Father. When we think about it there is no way to obtain that status without the blood of Jesus Christ, but even that is not enough. Paul goes on to say in Romans 12:2 that we:

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

We can not stay stagnate if we are to truly worship our God. If we are connected to the Father we will want to change. Paul is communicating to us that we can not just show up in church every Sunday, sing a few songs and call that worship! We must change something within us, because if not we aren’t really worshiping our Father. Our change starts on the inside deep in our soul and overflows to our outward appearance. Worship becomes a process, not a moment.

If you wonder how you are worshiping God look at how you act in day to day life. Are you truly allowing a transformation to take place and renew your mind, or are you just worshiping without the heart. Paul was passionate about followers grasping this concept. In this series we want to unpack what it really means to worship our Father who has poured out His mercy on us. Take this week and do a self inventory of how you are really worshiping our God and begin to see where you need to undergo a transformation.

Dive Deep,

KC

Mathew 6:33-34 says

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We have all probably heard this verse at some point in our lives, whether it was while singing a song in bible school, or in a sermon somewhere. In this chapter of Matthew, it is talking about worry. Then we are told seek first the kingdom and His righteousness. What God is trying to tell us is if we put him at the center of our lives, He will give us everything that we need.

The most common mistake among Christians is that we start off wanting to spend time with God, and that is our hearts desire, but we allow the busyness of life to get in the way. We start putting things in front of God, or just make God something we check off our list. We do this, then we wonder why God isn’t blessing us.

To solve this problem, we have to make some needed corrections and put things into perspective. Our thinking must be adjusted to view our relationship with our Creator as the most important relationship we have, because it is. He spends all day with us, but we rarely strive to spend time with Him, so no wonder when we don’t make time for Him, he doesn’t make time for us. He can no longer be a priority, but must become a lifestyle.

As a lifestyle, there is no question to who comes first. God wants us to talk to him about everything, so we always need to be in constant communication with Him. He should be our first thought in the morning, and the last before we go to bed, and occupy all those in between. We need to get to a point where we rely on God as much as we do the air we breath.

With life moving so fast, this can be hard to do, but only if you make it that way. We all have excuses why we can’t talk to God about things, but it all comes back to our priorities being messed up. So take God out of the priority checklist of your life. Make Him what your life’s priorities revolve around.

Proverbs tells us that we should put our relationship with God at the top of everything. It’s not just a good idea, it actually works. If your having problems with your priorities, relationships, work, habits, or anything, start seeking God first, and you would be amazed at how things will change.

God loves us, and nothing gets Him more excited than when we go to Him. We are His children, and as our Heavenly father, He wants to know whats going on, and lead us with advice when we need it. We need to live what we believe, not just check it off our list. God gives you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and sometimes the best we can do is 5 minutes a day. When we signed on to be a Christian, we said that we commit our lives to Him. Is this really represented by 5 minutes a day, or should we be always in contact with our Creator? If we are living as Mathew 6:33 says, we should be the second option.

So if your not being blessed by God, or feel there is a distance, God hasn’t gone anywhere. He is actually closer than ever, just waiting for you to talk to Him so that He can bless you. If we don’t make time for Him, does He really have a reason to make time for you? He wants to, but will you let him?

Challenge yourself to rise above the culture of convenient Christianity. Make God the center of your life, not a priority in your life, and watch what happens. Things will fall into place, and you will begin to see things as never before.

Lets go after this as a community, and let God do the rest.

May God bless you in all you do. To Him be the glory!

Dive Deep,

KC