A Mind to Serve

The one thing that continues to hit home with me on this Christian walk is that this life is not about me. For longer than I care to remember, I made everything about me, even as a Christian. I was totally self absorbed. I know some of you may be thinking, "Well, it's about time you figured that one out. That's Christianity 101." It took me far too long to reach the conclusion that everything does not revolve around me. My old perspective was, "What about me!" Notice, I ended the question with an exclamation point instead of a question mark. That's because I didn't ask the question, I demanded it. I demanded that everyone take notice of me and my wants. If I was tired and didn't feel like cooking I thought... If I changed the baby last time, I thought...If I couldn't get a new outfit, I thought, "What about me!" I was totally consumed by thoughts of myself. I put me first, and I expected everyone else to put me first too. It's been a process, but I've learned that this life is so much bigger than me. Once I got the revelation that God has my complete back... that my life is in his hands... that he has good plans and intentions towards me, and that he has plans to prosper me, I realized that He had me better than I could ever have myself. I had to take the trust that I had in myself and place it in him. Since I reached this understanding, I've had to beat my flesh and consider others, not just when it was convenient, but at all times. I had to actually practice putting the needs of others first. Believe me when I tell you that this was by no means easy for me to do. Talk about painful, my flesh was so uncomfortable with putting the needs of others first that it wailed under the pressure. Honestly, doing this right thing felt so wrong to my flesh. Boy, I had to talk myself into it. While serving someone else, " I'd have to tell myself, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me." From time to time, my flesh would attempt to rise up and whisper, "What about..." I wouldn't let it finish. I'd stomp it right back down again. Over time, it became less and less difficult to do. I can now say that serving is a way of life for me. Instead of saying, "What about me!" I say, "What about you?" I know that my role in the kingdom of God is to serve others. That's what I do. I am a servant of the Lord. This is what all Christians are called to do. We are to imitate the number one servant, Jesus Christ. In Matthew 20:26-28, Jesus shared with his disciples, "Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." If Jesus came to serve, without consdering himself, then who was I for all those years to only consider myself? Who was I to think, "This serving thing is too hard." Jesus came to serve. Imagine being born to serve. As deep as that is to me, that's exactly what I and all Christians are called to do. The nerve of me. I placed my self in the position of being great without the work of servitude that was involved. As a Christian, I have the mind of Christ. Since Christ had a mind to serve, we should too.

Get Out of the Boat

At some part in our Christian walk, we must reach that defining moment when we make the decision to trust God about a particular situation. That is the moment according to 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we must, "Walk by faith and not by sight." At some point we have to put our faith in the Lord and trust him to carry out his word. However, we must first walk out our faith, put our money where our mouths are, do the thing and move on our faith. The disciples were faced with that defining moment in Matthew 14:25. After Jesus and the disciples finished feeding 5,000 men not including the women and children, he told the disciples to get in the boat and to go ahead of him to the other side. Once he sent the crowd on their way, Jesus went to pray alone on a mountain. When Jesus finished, he caught up with the disciples on the lake. Jesus walked on water. "When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost, they said," and cried out in fear. "But Jesus immediately said to them, Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord if it's you, "Peter replied, "Tell me to come to you on the water." "Come", he said. "Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink cried out, Lord, save me! Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him." "You of little faith," he said, "Why did you doubt?" His own disciples didn't know who he was. They had been with him daily watching him do all types of miracles, healing, freeing, feeding, and raising. They had seen him do all of this, yet they didn't know him. Instantly, they put him in a box. The diciples may have thought, "Well, he can only do those things we've seen him do before. We've never seen him do this, so he can't. Walking on water, we've never seen him do this, so that can't be him. It must be a ghost. Although he's fed 5,000 men in addition to woman and children, raised the dead, healed numerous, released numerous from demon possession, fed the multitudes, taught everywhere he went, that can't be him." They only had a faith for what they had previously seen. If they hadn't already seen it, they didn't believe it. For them, seeing was believing. How was that faith? Faith is believing what you don't see. As they cried out in fear of him, he said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Then Peter spoke up. Peter still wasn't sure it was Jesus because he said, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you." Peter said, "if." Now, Peter was a step ahead of the other disciples, because he was attempting to believe even with his "if." "Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on water, and came toward Jesus." At least Peter got out of the boat, none of the other disciples did. Peter did something. He was a willing participant in the faith process. Instead of sitting back and watching, Peter made a move on his faith. He acted by getting out of the boat. The Lord can work with little faith. He can't work or do anything with no faith but with little faith he could work with him. Peter's little faith allowed him to get out of the boat and walk on water too! What can our little faith cause us to do? His move of faith caused him to do something that none of the other disciples did. Look at what faith can allow one to do. In order for the Lord to reward our faith, we have to work it by doing. We have to attach our faith to an act, just like Peter did. He attached his faith to walking on the water with the Lord. It worked! He was actually walking towards Jesus. His eyes were set on Jesus. He had Jesus as his focus. He was doing it. We must do as Peter did and attach our faith to something. Sooner or later, we must act on our faith and get out of the boat. Some may think, "I'm staying in the boat. If I never get out of the boat, I'll never get scared and sink. I'mgoing to play it safe." If we never get out of the boat, we will never lead the supernatural lives that God has called us to live. We can only play it safe when we abide by the word of God. His word is a safe haven for us. His word abiding in us should cause us to act. To never get out of the boat is proclaiming, "Lord I don't trust you. Lord I don't believe your word is true." Our faith can't grow if we don't get out of the boat. We will never have a testimony to stand upon or recall for the next boat situation. But..."But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" What happened? Peter took his eyes off Jesus. "But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" He lost his focus. He took his eyes off the Lord and saw the wind. He saw the wind whipping fiercely, and it distracted him. He became distracted and lost his focus. The wind looked menacing, like it might over take him. He may have thought, "What made me thing I could do this? I should have stayed in the boat with the rest of them. What was I thinking?" Distraction here is key. The purpose of distraction is to cause one to lose focus. Once focus is lost, it is inevitable that doubt will likely enter. Doubt may have caused Peter to wonder why he was doing what he was doing eventhough he had the OK from God. It was Peter's responsibility to remain focused. It was Peter's responsibility to say I will not be deterred. At times like this we need to proclaim, "Wind you don't have anything on me. If my God said come, nothing's going to stop me. Lord you have not given me a spirit of fear, but of love, peace and a sound mind. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." It is our duty to remain focused. We can't allow ourselves to get caught up in the enormity of the situation (self, stress, pressure, busyness) that we lose focus. Distraction was definitely doing its job effectively here. While Peter focused on Jesus, he was fine, full of confidence. The instant that he took his eyes off Jesus, he became afraid, doubtful, and started to panic. Don't allow distraction to enter. When he saw the wind he was afraid, and he started to sink. He said, "Lord save me!" Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "Why did you doubt?" Notice the doubt could only creep in when Peter took his eyes off the Lord. This is a valuable lesson, "Keep your focus on the Lord." Focusing on anything other than the Lord is a distraction which can lead to doubt, and doubt can cause sinking. We should wear spiritual blinders to keep us focused straight ahead on the Lord. Blinders will prevent us from seeing distractions (barriers, obstacles, snares, wind) to the right or the left. The wearer can only look straight ahead. This is how Christians should walk. We must walk a focused walk with blinders, so that we don't become distracted and sink. Eventhough Peter began to sink, Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him. He caught Peter even when he was sitting down on the job. He caught Peter even when he was doubting. Jesus caught Peter even we he had little faith. Get out of the boat and exercise your faith today.

Pressing to Break Through

There is much to be learned about perseverance, determination, and humbleness in viewing the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15. She was not above begging and pleading to get what she needed. She was seeking Jesus to save her daughter from demonic possession. She was a woman with a mission. She yelled, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." Jesus did not answer her. She was a foreigner. The disciple asked him to send her away, because she continued to call out after them. Jesus answered her, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." The woman was undeterred. The woman came and knelt down before him. "Lord, help me! she said. He replied, "It is not right to give the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." She persisted. She humbled herself further and said, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed that very hour. This woman was unrelentless. She didn't care that she wasn't the right nationality. She didn't care if anyone heard. She didn't care what anyone thought. All of that was irrelevant to her, because she had an issue that she knew Jesus could end immediately. The first time she approached Jesus with what she wanted he ignored her. That didn't stop her. She didn't get an attitude. His response to her was, "I was sent to the lost sheep of Israel." Basically he was saying, "I'm not here to help you. I am under no obligation what so ever to help your kind." How many of us would have been more than a little put off? We would have said, "The nerve of him" and left without getting what we so badly needed. She persevered. She was focused on Jesus, because she knew he was the only one who could help her. She knelt before him and said, "Lord help me." She was desperate. Jesus was the only help for her daughter. Jesus said, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." The children he was referring to were the Israelites. The dogs were the gentiles, everyone else. Jesus was saying why should I take my gift intended for the Israelites and give it to their dogs? He called her a dog. By this time, some of us would have been thinking, "No, he didn't. I know he didn't just call me a dog. Forget it. I'm out of here." Our daughters would be lost. This Canaanite woman humbled herself and remained focused because she knew her assignment...get my daughter help. She knew without a doubt that Jesus could do it. So, she pressed. She would not quit. She would not give up. She would not allow herself to become distracted by the name calling. She put her flesh down. "Yes Lord," she said, "But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table." She was saying Lord you're right; however, can't I just get the crumbs? Can I get the little morsels that fell from the master's table? I know I'm not an Israelite. I know you're not obligated to give me your gifts. I know I'm being a nuisance. I know that. I still desperately need what you have. I still know that you can save my daughter. The crumbs from you're table will be sufficient to heal her. The woman would not rest. She was determined. Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. The Lord was telling her that her faith was so great that although what he had was not intended for her, he had to give it to her to reward her great faith. His action said, "Because you have not turned away but remain boldly standing, I must reward you. She remained constant. She remained fixed on her assignment. No matter what the Lord said, she wasn't leaving until she received what she came to get. She got it. Jesus was moved by her great faith. He was moved by her standing on her faith. He was moved by the determination of her faith. She fulfilled her assignment. How many of us know how to stand like that? How many of us could have endured what she did? Could we have patiently endured being ignored, being talked about, being told that what I have isn't for your your kind? How many of us would have left dejected and feeling sorry for ourselves. How may of us would have said, "Well, I tried. It wasn't meant to be." How many of us would have wanted to give the Lord a piece of our minds? Well, we must if we expect to get the results that she did. See, she didn't care because she had a need that only Jesus could meet. Her need for her daughter caused her to do some things that she may not have otherwise done. Her daughter's life depended on a move from Jesus. Christians must stand as she stood on the very word of God as though our lives depend on it. There is no other option for us. There is no retreat. So many times when we stand on the word of God and things don't happen when or how we think they should we throw up our hands in frustration. We may think something similar to, "I guess this isn't for me." We don't stand boldly and determined as though our very lives depend on it. See, the Canaanite woman was driven by the need of her daughter so much so that there was only one option to her situation...her healing. That was it. She refused to settle for anything less than healing for her daughter. That's the type of faith we need. But guess what? Unlike the Canaanite woman, he is for us. His word is for us. According to 2 Corinthians, "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes."For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ." That means that what God says we can have, we can have. We don't have to beg, nor do we have to plead. We must act as though these verses are true. Just as the woman had to walk out her faith and stand when faced with adversity we must also do the same. We must stand when it isn't easy. We must stand when it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Stop, quit, can't must be removed from our vocabularies. As Christians, we must consistently press our way to break throughs just as the Canaanite woman did.

Peace Be Still!

"Peace be still." That's exactly what Jesus told the waves as they rocked the boat containing himself and the disciples as they crossed the river in Mark 4:35-41. He rebuked the wind and told the waves to be quiet and be still. Right before this, the disciples woke him from a much needed rest. They became frightened by the whipping wind and the waves that crashed into the boat and over its sides. They were probably wondering how in the world could Jesus be sleeping through a storm like this. They probably thought here he is sleeping and we're about to die. The question is if Jesus was sleeping peacefully at this time, why weren't they? So, they woke him and said, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" This is the question that they asked the the very one whom they witnessed teaching and healing with such authority that everyone took notice. Jesus was preparing the disciples to be fishers of men. He was training them to do what he did. He was teaching them to have the very same authority that he did. When Jesus went to the synagogue to teach, the people were amazed at his teaching because he taught with such authority, not like the teachers of the law. His disciples witnessed the sick making their way to Jesus at all costs. They were there in Mark chapter 2 when some friends of a paralyzed man could not make their way through a huge crowd so they cut a hole in the roof and lowered him through the hole to get his healing. They witnessed such faith acts as these and still allowed the fear of the storm to get the best of them. Here they were on the boat with the redeemer of all mankind and they were consumed with fear. The disciples had a limited view of Jesus. They knew him as a teacher and a healer, because that's what they saw him do. They only believed what they could see. They had no faith. They were walking by sight. That's why Jesus responded to them by saying, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? He was essentially saying, "Do you not know who I am?" "I thought you knew!" After Jesus rebuked them, they said, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" The very ones who had traveled with him day after day and didn't know who he was. Since they didn't know who he was, how could they possibly have faith in him? Since they didn't know who he was, they couldn't have peace in him. Peace would have come from knowing who he was and trusting that he controlled the situation. They called him, "teacher." They saw him as one who instructs. They didn't see him as saviour, one who could save them from death. To take this even further, because they didn't know who Jesus was, they didn't know who they were in Jesus. Because, they didn't know his full authority, they didn't know their own. Here they were appointed by Jesus to go out into the world to do what he was doing. Any one of them could have stood up and rebuked the waves, but they didn't. Mark 3:14 states, "He appointed twelve-designating them apostles-that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons." They chose to allow this situation to almost over take them, because of their limited view. The disciples were waiting for Jesus to do something for them that they could have done for themselves. This is a wake up call to Christians. You must get a revelation of Jesus. Once you get that revelation, you must get a revelation of who you are in him. For as Jesus was in this world so are we. Today, ask the Lord to give you a revelation of who he is.