The Joy of Serving God by Luther

“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.” Romans 12: 1 NIV

Martin Luther explained Romans 12:1 in this way:

“A lawdriver insists with threats and penalties; a preacher of grace lures and incites with divine goodness and compassion shown to us; for he wants no unwilling works and reluctant services, he wants joyful and delightful services of God.”

The Sovereign Purpose

Prophecies and fulfillment of prophecies fascinate us. In fact, most visitors to The Sovereign are searching for “Babylon.” I hope, though, that what they really end up finding is God. And not just God as a loving Father or the truest Friend, but a Universe-creating God who knows and cares about them.

The Sovereign informs its readers of prophecy-related news and explores what it means to us that the King is returning. The goal is for readers to grow as obedient stewards of the King of Kings.

The Waiting Room

If you have Christian magazines, take some with you next time you are visiting a waiting room.

Your pediatrician might enjoy having Focus on the Family magazines for his waiting room or exam rooms. The magazine could be their monthly newsletter magazine or a subscription. Take a handful of Significant Woman tracts with you on your mammogram appointment for the waiting room. (Beginning Your Journey of Significance and Living a Life of Significance).

Maybe you have a Christian video for your doctor’s waiting room or flyers for your church’s next big outreach event.

Be sure to ask permission to leave materials at:
• A medical office (doctor, dentist, clinic)
• An auto mechanic’s
• A professional office
• And anywhere with a waiting room

Some other materials you might donate to a waiting room:
• Worldwide Challenge magazine
• Creation magazine
• Answers magazine
• Tracts

You might enjoy reading some more stories from my waiting room experiences.
• Well-behaved kids in a waiting room
• Taking a stand against obnoxious TV programming in waiting rooms
• Recycling
• More suggestions

Whose Hands?

“I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s hands,that I still possess.” ~ Martin Luther

The Dinner Plans

“Whenever you give to someone who is helpless or needy, you are serving Jesus and, in turn the Father. In addition, I can tell you from personal experience that serving those who can’t repay you brings the deepest satisfaction.

“Several years ago, Vonette and I were about to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I was trying to think of a special, elegant place to take her that would express how important she is to me. I wanted it to be a meaningful evening.

“But . . . after discussing the plans with Vonette, we agreed that instead of going to an elegant hotel . . . we would serve meals to the homeless. We knew a friend who ran a kitchen for the homeless, so he arranged for us to go.

“Soon after we arrived, we were given our assigned places in the serving line, and people began walking by cafeteria -style. Right away I noticed that these people carried an air of defeat. No on e looked me in the eye. I found myself identifying with them. I thought, But for the grace of God, what happened to them could happen to me, and I began to weep.

“I served for an entire hour with tears streaming down my cheeks. I thought about the compassion Jesus had for people as He ministered to them. I recalled . . . Matthew9:36: ‘[Jesus] felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know where to go for help.’ The experience . . . gave me a deeper compassion for people who are less fortunate than I am. “

–[Excerpt from Discover the Real Jesus by Bill Bright, pp. 107 -108]

The Exact Amount

Recently, our friends, Tom and Betsy, wrote us how God directed them to donate toward our ministry. We wanted to share what they wrote because God encouraged us very much through this letter.

“Tom and I wanted to share the following with you because we felt it would be a wonderful testimony to how God provides and works through his people.

“We have been praying about your situation for quite some time. You can imagine the requests we get for assistance each day . . . Each time Tom and I receive a request we pray about it separately and together, then after a period of time we come together and discuss what God has revealed to us. . . most of the time if God wants us to give he will give us both the same amount.

“. . . for the last month and a half our schedules have been extremely busy and neither one of us had been spending the quality time in prayer that we should have been. . . I was mowing the yard and talking to God and the two of you were on my mind. I told God that if he would provide extra funds, then I would take that as He wanted this for you. That day, . . when I greeted Tom I asked him to retrieve the mail and when he returned he said, ‘look at this.’ It was a check from the IRS for $329.47!

“I looked at Tom and told him it had to be fake and . . . I shared my conversation with God from the morning mowing.
Tom said, ‘Well now we have our answer.’

“Tom called [the IRS] on Tuesday and found out that the check was from 2005 from an over payment of $300.00 . . . and that the $29.47 was the interest.

“May God continue to bless us all in unexpected ways and may we always be the stewards that he created us to be.”

We could not have said it better!

A Jubilee

I decided a few days ago to have my own version of a Sabbath Rest. Every seven years, the Hebrews were to allow the land to rest. On the fiftieth year, the Jubilee, slaves were freed and all debts canceled.

I could use a rest and the freedom that goes with it! I have such a backlog of paperwork and other things to do that it is impossible to catch up, so I am starting over.

I spent a good part of 2007 tossing things out from various closets and am now mostly left with unfinished paperwork. And yet, I felt chained when I looked at all the things that were left undone.

Now that I have a Jubilee mindset, each day for the last few days, I have gone into various areas of the house where paper is stashed and cleaned them out to what is only a few weeks old. I am giving myself the freedom to have a fresh, new start for 2008.

My goal will be to have the stray piles of stuff gone by the end of the year, as well as some new good habits to keep things under control so I am managing myself well. I am expecting to be freed from pressing and nagging to do’s. I am hoping to have more time for what I really want to be doing. I may even think about doing this again in seven years.

The Walkie-Talkies

I kept looking toward the roller coasters, nervously tapping my foot. I had waited more than a half an hour, instead of enjoying the theme park. I needed to meet up with the rest of the family, but time crawled as I fidgeted on the bench. It was only natural that I asked for walkie-talkies that next Christmas.

For several years after that, the walkie-talkies were a great help on a lot of our vacation trips. Now in 2007, we use our cell phones when we need to connect, but actually our kids really don’t want us to split up anymore. They want us to spend the day together when we go to a park.

The walkie-talkies waited silently in a drawer for two years until last month when I came across them and knew it was time to find a new home for them. They were still in good condition and worth a little bit. However, I don’t do yard sales anymore, so I did not even think about selling them. Instead, I started thinking about who might use some walkie-talkies.

I tried our church because our campus is getting more spread out, but they already have some. I was getting a little tired of the time and effort of looking for new owners when I thought of friends of ours who were expecting their fifth child. This little princess is due soon and will find herself in a homeschool family with four active brothers, ages four to fifteen.

I sent an e-mail off to Jo. She was thrilled and so was I. Now she can stay inside when she needs to rest or watch little ones and know she can easily reach her active boys. The boys will have a lot of fun with the walkie-talkies, too.

Of course, I could have just donated these to a charity. It would have been easier, but it is a lot more fun and rewarding to find a need and help to meet it.

True Riches

I was reading in Light of Eternity by Randy Alcorn. He was discussing the parable of the unjust steward in Luke 16: 1 – 13. I was particularly impressed by his thought of “true riches.”

God reminds us repeatedly in His Word that He owns everything and we are stewards of what He gives us. It can be challenging to live that way and keep that mindset.

In this life, God desires for us to be faithful stewards of our lives: the time, the talents, treasures, opportunities,… that He has given us. If we are faithful with what is His, then He promises us “true riches” in eternity.

One meaning of true riches is that only in Heaven do I have ownership. For the first time, God will give me what I can call “my own.”

Also, true riches are only possible in Heaven where no one can be impoverished by my gain. No one is needy in eternity.

This also raises the thought for me this morning. Is someone missing out because I will not loosen my grip on something that isn’t really mine in the first place?

Stewards of Grace and Gifts

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10

This was a new thought to me that I am a steward of God’s grace and of the spiritual gift He gives me. The gift belongs to Him. I should not be proud about my spiritual gift.

I should be a good steward and use what God has given me. To make the best use of my spiritual gift I can study about it as well as apply it. My gift is to be used for others to the glory of God.