ARE YOU LACKING IN JOY AND SATISFACTION?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse
our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may
serve the living God!
(Hebrews 9:14)

MEDITATION:
Some people want to serve the Lord, but cannot seem to get started.
Often times, it is because they are not sure how or where they should serve.
The question is,
    “What prevents us from knowing where the Lord wants us to serve?”
And secondly,
    “What prevents us from being motivated to serve?”

Knowing how, and being motivated are key components of serving the Lord.
As with everything pertaining to the Lord,
we can find answers to our questions in God’s Word.
In Hebrews, we can clearly see that the blood of Christ needs to “cleanse
our conscience” of all sinfulness in order for us to serve our living God.

We have all seen examples of people serving God
who have not had their consciences cleansed.
When the sinfulness of some was exposed, the impact on others was devastating.
It caused those who trusted them to become skeptical of trusting others,
(including those who are genuinely serving the Lord with cleansed minds).
This is a good reason why believers should be followers of the Lord
and God’s Word, instead of following some charismatic individual.

God has called some to be expositors of His Word in order to help
guide us in developing a better understanding of the scriptures.
We need sincere, dedicated servants like this, but when we worship,
we have a responsibility of comparing what we hear from them to
what the Bible says.

Why?
Because even sincerely dedicated expositors can unintentionally
misinterpret a scripture; and another reason is, we might have
misunderstood what they said about a portion of God’s Word.

I have been teaching bible classes for over forty years and from time
to time I remind those in attendance to scrutinize the things I present
and let me know if they have concerns about anything I said.
That is one of the main reasons I like to have interactive
discussions which invites the opinions of everyone
(I have learned that God may speak to us through anyone, at any time).

God calls us to serve and not to arrogantly think that we have all the answers.
We are called to serve Him with a humility that will listen to, and
discuss different (and sometimes opposing) interpretations of the scriptures.
There are some who seem to have a misunderstanding of God’s calling and
have developed an assertive, unbending, prideful attitude that causes them
to be offended whenever someone has a conflicting thought or opinion.

Rather than considering that God may be speaking to them through someone
else, they are determined to prove they are right and the other person is wrong.
This is not reflective of a person God has called to humbly serve Him.
Sometimes the other person might be wrong,
but it is not a matter of who wins and who loses,
it should be a discussion to better understand what God is saying.

Personally I believe that sometimes both parties involved could be correct.
Why would I say that?
Because I believe that as a God of dispensation, He may
use the same scripture to speak to two different people
in different ways, based on what each one needs.
How many times have you re-read the same verse and understood it differently?

We should never be so vehement and unyielding that we
never consider the possibility of God speaking to someone
else in a different way than He is speaking to us.
We should be willing to consider and respect another person’s interpretation.

One of the ways God speaks to us collectively and individually
is through His Word, so it is important for us
to dedicate time each day for reading the bible.
And, we should not be alarmed whenever the same scripture
speaks to us differently depending on when we are reading it
and what is going on in our lives at the time.

ACTION:
How has the Lord called you to serve Him?
Is there anything preventing you from knowing where He wants you to serve?
Do you have an idea of where He wants you to serve,
but you are having trouble getting motivated to start?
Serving the Lord is not some daunting chore, but it is
an opportunity to become satisfied with having a purpose
for living, and for experiencing the joy of developing a
closer relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I pray that You would make me aware of any sinful
thoughts that are preventing me from becoming one of Your servants.
Forgive me for harboring these thoughts and cleanse me of them so I
can honor You by participating in Your ministry here on earth. Motivate
me to respond to Your call, so that I can experience the joy and satisfaction
of doing what You want me to do. Guide me so that I will serve in the area
You have chosen for me and not in one I have chosen for myself. Create in
me a sincere and humble attitude that will listen to You while I am on my
journey of serving You.”

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