The Daily Grace - True Greatness

Some people feel like a small pebble lost in the immensity of a canyon. But, no matter how insignificant we judge ourselves to be, we can be greatly used by God. In a sermon early in 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted Jesus' words from Mark 10 about servanthood. Then he said, "Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve... You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love."

When Jesus' disciples quarreled about who would get the places of honor in heaven, He told them: "Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:43-45).

Is that our understanding of greatness? Are we gladly serving, doing tasks that may be unnoticed? Is the purpose of our serving to please our Lord rather than to gain purpose? If we are willing to be a servant, our lives will point to the One who is truly great. Little things done in Christ's name are great things.

Today We Pray

Dear Lord, fill my spirit, and the spirit of all the people today.  Fill us with faith and hope, for a new day has dawned. Set our hearts today to worship You in spirit and in truth.

I acknowledge and confess my guilt to You, Lord. Ease me of the burden of my sins. Give me grace that I may rise from the slumber of sin into the newness of life.

Let me live according to Your Holy Word. Make me to know what is acceptable in Your sight. And, bless the people of this land, Lord.



Amen.

Today's Godly Reminder - Mark 10:43

"Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant."

Almost everybody want to be a leader someday. But before anything else, we will start first as a servant to someone else. It all starts there. We will be trained first to be a leader before we become one.

If you desire to be a great leader, fix your eyes on Jesus, the Great Leader of all. Ask wisdom and guidance from Him. And, ask a humble heart to let you go on through the process. You are a precious gem in the making! Shine bright like a gem, even on the process.

The Daily Grace - Fixing our Eyes on the Eternal

It is too easy to be caught up in the immediate pains and sorrows of life. The worldly-minded person loses their soul in running after the present. How many pleasures can they consume today? It is easy to see this in the lives of those ruined by substance abuse. But it is true of everyone apart from Jesus Christ. Sadly, the things of the moment consume their souls.

Paul is urging his dear friends not to imitate the ungodly. There is a far better way to life than paycheck to paycheck. We must fix the eyes of our hearts on what is eternal. This will not make sense to the unsaved person, because these things cannot be seen by the physical senses and they are spiritually blind. But we look at things that are not yet visible.

We know that the things of this world are only temporary. One day, all we presently see, touch, taste, hear, and smell will be destroyed by fire. We look for a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Pt 3:13). True Christianity has a forward look, a confident anticipation of sharing in eternal glory, joy, and peace. Therefore, don’t quit; don’t be discouraged (4:16). Confidently look for eternal glory and live as heirs of glory.

Source: http://christmycovenant.com/reasons-to-press-on-2-corinthians-416-18/

Today We Pray

Dear God, I acknowledge that I am a sinner, and I need Your forgiveness. Thank You, Jesus, for dying for me and giving me eternal life. Transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to You alone.

The heavens are telling of Your glory and the wonders of Your love, the sun by day, and the moon and stars by night. Please help us to see this life from a heavenly perspective. Remind us that our trials, however difficult, will one day fade from view when we see You face to face.

Lethe word of Christ richly dwell within me all this day. And whatever I do in word or deed, may I do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Through Christ I pray.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - 2 Corinthians 4:18

Look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen. For the things which are visible are temporal. It is just brief and fleeting. But the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.

 So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

The Daily Grace - Respect for Life

In Psalm 139, David describes God as fashioning his tiny body together in the darkness of his mother's womb. God loved David before he ever existed. God designed the person David was to be, and He brought that person into being according to His pre-determined plan. In this psalm, David used the intriguing metaphor of a journal in which God first wrote His plan and then brought that plan into fruition through His handiwork in the womb. "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written" (v. 16).

Put another way, David was shaped by his heavenly Father's love into a unique creation. He came from the inventive heart and hand of God. What was true of David is true of you. You are special - along with everyone else in the world.

This being true, we must be pro-life in the purest sense of the word. We are to respect and cherish all human life: the born and those still in the womb; winsome children and weary seniors; the wealthy executive and the financially destitute. All persons are unique productions of our Creator's genius. With David, let's exclaim: "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14). All life is created by God and bear His autograph.