The One Goal Servant

“Well done, good and faithful servant” Matthew 25:21 NKJV

The loyal and faithful servants in English novels were not forgotten or unappreciated by their masters. The good master would always leave a bequest for the perpetual care of his lifelong servants. Many times those servants were simply kept in the same house to serve succeeding generations of the family who had come to totally depend on their quality care. In such a case they served until age made it totally impossible to carry on. Then they could live out their lives under the assured provision of their master.

Not all servants received this care, however. If they were indolent, disrespectful or dishonest they would be dismissed and have to fend for themselves. The goal of the good servant, however, was to please his master in all respects and then to hear the final acknowledgment of his lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Jesus used various parables to instruct his hearers concerning this one phrase. He wanted them to fully understand that they would not be forgotten no matter how humble their service had been. Our goal as believers is to hear Christ say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Precious Savior, Help me daily desire to hear You say, “Well done.” Amen. 

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

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The Ever Ready Servant

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'.” Luke 17:7 NKJV

I love English novels. For relaxation they are my first reading choice. A good story needs a wealthy lord and many servants. I am constantly amazed at how long and hard a good servant worked. They were always up before the household and done when the last member of the house went to bed. There was no thought of servanthood being a nine-to-five job. Moreover, servants were always invisible. They were not an object of attention. Their devotion was unquestionable and their readiness simply an expected part of their position.

When Jesus spoke of servanthood He did not speak of being an employee. He spoke to those who understood what it meant to be a servant – tireless, enduring, silent, self-effacing, ever and always at the Master’s call. When Jesus spoke of servanthood He did so in terms of carrying a cross which marked the servant’s death to self. Paul told the Romans “This is your reasonable service.” Jesus is still looking for such servants to labor for Him in His house. May we be ever ready.

Precious Savior, You have been a servant for my salvation, help me to follow in Your path. Amen. 

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The Agendaless Servant

“Thy will be done” Matthew 6:10 KJV

A number of years ago I read a wonderful missionary book A Sus Ordenes, Senior. The theme of the book was simple. Each of the missionaries to Latin America that were discussed in the book had said one simple phrase to God, “Thy will be done.”  This is the perfect picture of the servant. He has no agenda of His own. His life, his activities, his commitment is to the master. Servants don’t go off doing their own thing around the master’s house. They do what they are told to do and don’t say, “But I’d rather do this instead.”

Jesus was this type of servant. He said in the Garden of Gethsemane “Not my will but Thine be done.”  He repeatedly said in the book of John that He did not speak or act of His own will, but He did what the Father showed Him to do and spoke what the Father told Him to say. He humbled Himself and became a servant as Paul said in Philippians chapter 2. A servant dies to themselves and that is what Christ did for us. The servant does this voluntarily out of love. So let us love our Master.

Precious Savior, Help me to better understand servanthood each day. Amen. 

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The Focused Servant

“No one can serve two masters” Matt. 6:24 NKJV

Imagine you are a worker in a plant owned by Mr. Jones. One day Mr. Jones is showing Mr. Smith around his plant. They come to your work station and Mr. Smith says to you, “You shouldn’t be doing it that way. Do it this way instead.” What do you do? The obvious and correct answer would be to look to Mr. Jones for direction. He is the boss. If Mr. Jones says, “Carry on,” then you can ignore Mr. Smith however angry or upset he may appear. You have one master and you obey one master.

The servant of Christ, who has volunteered his devotion, is to hear but one master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan in his many disguises will come by every day and say, “You should be doing things this way.” He will never be quiet or pay attention to only his servants until we die. Still, he is not our master. The wise worker listens to his boss. The wise servant listens only to the voice of the one to whom he has dedicated his service. May we all be faithful servants heeding only one voice.

Precious Savior, Help me each day to discern Your voice and obey it only. Amen. 

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The Voluntary Servant

“But if the servant plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free’.” Exodus 21:5 NKJV

The hardest thing for any organization to recruit is volunteers. The cause may be greatly loved, the work admired, the goals agreed with, but finding volunteers is not an easy job. Many people love the Name of Christ. They applaud His death for sinners. They admire the sacrifices made by those who proclaim Him daily and they agree that all men should know Christ. But, they just don’t want to be on the volunteer list to get those goals met.

Jesus, like any famous person or master, has both followers and volunteers. Many seek to hear the “tweets” of what He is doing. They like to catch up on sermons when they can. Then there are the volunteers. They so love the work of Christ, so love His salvation, so love the family of God that they say, “I will stay and serve”. Like the servant in the Old Testament they want to bear in their body the mark of servanthood to the beloved Master. They volunteer to stay and labor for Him who has blessed them with His care and given them a family to love. Jesus is looking for just such a group of willing volunteers.

Precious Savior, Thank You for volunteering Your death for my salvation. Amen. 

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

For quality inspirational, educational, and fictional Christian books visit www.davidccraig.net

Vain Repetitions?

“I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.”        Ps. 143:5 NIV

Do you have a spouse or a child? Are you a child with a parent around? Do you think your loved one ever tires of hearing you say, “I love you?” If you said it once and then said it again, is that a vain repetition. Have you ever been a student and wanted to store something in your memory so that it would always be there? Is repeating it over and over to yourself vain repetition? Of course the answer to all these questions is “No”. Is meditating using the Creed as part of the meditation vain repetition? No.

The psalmist said, “I will meditate on your works.” To reflect on the wonderful things our Triune God has done is a beautiful and encouraging exercise.  Those things are recorded in the Apostles’ Creed. His power, His love, His sacrifice, His hope, His help and our eternal life are all wonderful thoughts. Paul said, “Whatsoever things are pure, just, lovely and virtuous, think on these things.” The Creed is a wonderful item to add to every daily meditation and reflecting on God’s work will never be a vain repetition.

Almighty God, Thank You for all the wonderful things You have done; help me to be mindful of them daily. Amen.

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Be Ready

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1 Peter 3:15 NIV

I drive an Oldsmobile. They aren’t even made anymore. If I am asked why I drive this car I can answer simply, “It is a great road car, gets good mileage and has a bench front seat so that my bride can still sit next to me.” That is a simple and straight forward answer. We can give answers like that for many of the things we do. For our faith we need to have a similar answer.

Therein is the value of the Creed. Each section of the Creed says what we believe and gives testimony to why we believe it. I believe in God because you just have to look around and know that it cannot all be possible by chance. He made it. I believe in Jesus because He has given me new life by His death and resurrection. He is not a myth but a real historical person with countless eyewitnesses who can testify to everything in the Creed. I believe in the Holy Ghost because I believe in the Father and the Son and they both promised Him to me. The Creed is a simple way to be ready to give an answer for faith.

Precious Father, Thank You for giving me truth and the Holy Spirit’s power to tell it. Amen. 

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