JULY 26 “INTIMACY IN GIVING (Part 4): GIVING YOURSELF TO SERVE GOD”

When we think about serving God, especially as non-pastoral members of the church, what immediately comes to mind is working with other brethren in a Ministry, Committee or Department in the church. Although this is needed for the smooth running of the church and highly commendable, service to God is not limited to that. It involves using our total being to show who we are serving and this must include diligence, commitment, dedication and reverence for God.

God sent His Son Jesus to the world for a purpose and when He was here, He served His Father, doing what He was sent to do. In His service, Jesus did not fail to let His followers know His closeness to His Father. He served in an atmosphere of intimacy with Him. When you are in an intimate relationship with someone, you want to spend quality time with that person. Jesus spent quality time with His Father. Mark 1:35 says, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” It was at times like this that He received power for service from His Father by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and instructions for the next thing to do or the next step to take. As a result, He did only that which was good (Isaiah 61:1).

As God sent Jesus, He in turn has sent us (John 20:21) to continue from where He stopped. If Jesus could give so much of Himself in prayer resulting in His successfully giving Himself to His Father in service, we need to do the same even much more. It is important to first give yourself to God in an intimate relationship before giving yourself to serve Him. Serving God is not working for Him, but working with Him.

PRAYER: Father, help me to offer myself to You in a close, intimate relationship before offering myself to serve You in Jesus’ name, Amen.