And this is all fine and good, but those of us who have secured our salvation we need to remember this:
Lamentations 3:22-23 (NASB)
22 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness
New every morning. As believers we get to have a fresh start every day. Not that consequences don't continue, but we can wake each day excited to serve the Lord anew. We just need to stay with Him, continue walking with Him, have that relationship with Him that shows that we are the good seed.
I find resolutions to be daunting, maybe even intimidating. I like goals, like praying more, reading a Psalm a day, essentially small steps to get closer to God ad further from my old self. But I even admit this is pretty vague. I do like the notion that has developed in Christian circles the past few years of claiming a word for the year. And many Christian websites have quizzes to help you find a word.
Claiming a word to guide my year has been very beneficial for me. For 2019 I chose "intentional" - I wanted to be intentional in my reading, relationships, my comings, my goings, in all I did. And I would say I was. I did it. Maybe no as good as I could have, but when it came to interacting with others, I know that the word "intentional" would come to mind repeatedly making sure that I made eye contact, used the persons name in the conversation, the word "intentional" helped me to become more genuine in my interactions.
So here we are, day 3 of the year 2020 and what word will define me, define my life?
I took one of those quizzes I mentioned previously 20202 Word Quiz and it gave me the word: Stand
I decided to look up the word "stand":
stand
/stand/
Learn to pronounce
verb
verb: stand; 3rd person present: stands; past tense: stood; past participle: stood; gerund or present participle: standing
1. have or maintain an upright position, supported by one's feet.
2. (of an object, building, or settlement) be situated in a particular place or position.
3. be in a specified state or condition. adopt a particular attitude toward a matter or issue.
4. withstand (an experience or test) without being damaged. INFORMAL be able to endure or tolerate.
noun
noun: stand; plural noun: stands
1. an attitude toward a particular issue; a position taken in an argument.
2. a rack, base, or piece of furniture for holding, supporting, or displaying something.
3. the place where someone typically stands or sits.
4. a large raised tiered structure for spectators, typically at a sports arena.
5. a cessation from motion or progress.
6. a group of growing plants of a specified kind, especially trees.
For me, for my Christian walk in the year 2020 I am going to stand for Christ, for His commandments. I am going to solidify my position, my faith, what I believe. I will make my stand for Christ and not be moved.
Before I took that quiz, the Lord had been placing another word in my heart and I feels strongly that the two go together. 2020 for me will be defined by 2 words, and the second is serve.
serve
/sərv/
verb
verb: serve; 3rd person present: serves; past tense: served; past participle: served; gerund or present participle: serving
1. perform duties or services for (another person or an organization).
2. present (food or drink) to someone.
3. LAW deliver (a document such as a summons or writ) in a formal manner to the person to whom it is addressed.
4. be of use in achieving or satisfying.
5. (in tennis and other racket sports) hit the ball or shuttlecock to begin play.
6. NAUTICAL bind (a rope) with thin cord to protect or strengthen it.
7. MILITARY operate (a gun).
How the word serve came to me is beautifully woven through my interactions and life with two beautifully, godly women who I admire.
The first woman is Mrs. Diane. I want her energy and her zest. She is hard on herself, she sees her shortfalls, but oh friends, the fire and passion in her - you not only see it but you feel it when you are anywhere near her. She will fill in from time to time in my connection group when our main teacher needs to be out. And when she teaches? It stays with me in ways I cannot explain. My main teacher has fed my soul, and her messages have impacted my life, but Mrs. Diane feeds a different part of my being. I am thankful for both these lades.
Awhile back Mrs. Diane subbed in for a few Sundays, and over time she went over numerous womenin the Bible. Wow, it was amazing. And when she went over Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, God inspired me. Any woman who has had walk with Jesus for any length of time has studied these two godly women. And identified more than likely, with a self-negative perspective, with sister Martha. And then longed, with doubt of aspiring, to be more like Mary.
The lessons she taught, reaffirmed that Jesus needed both of these ladies in His life, and hat humanity needs both types of women. The house Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived in was Martha's house.
Luke 10:38 (NASB)
38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
This lesson was so eye opening. Martha wasn't just a woman running around doing all the work, she was a business woman, who owned a home big enough to house her, her sister, and her brother, and host Jesus and the disciples. She was business savvy enough to be able to afford to feed this large group. Which makes her appeal to Jesus a bit more understandable. Martha provided for Jesus a resting place, as He was a man with no earthly home.
And then Mary. In light of her sister we can say she was lazy. But oh friend, both these sisters were socially abnormal, and what examples they set for us. Martha owning property as she must have, was not the normal. And for Mary to sit at the feet of Jesus was socially taboo. Men and women did not sit together as such. Mary was at Jesus' feet. She risked ridiculed and tisked, but she chose Jesus. It is implied that Mary was rooted where she was. And Jesus was her light and her water, His words and His teachings fed her spiritually for her to produce fruit that would later serve her well in her Kingdom task.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
I was so inspired by the idea of Mary rooted at the feet of Jesus I even did a drawing for Mrs. Diane. I haven't draw in ages, but I was happy with the final product.
After I finished this drawing, the week of my church' Christmas program, I ran into Mrs. Lynne.
She is the wife to our Minister of Music, and caretaker of the banners. Oh my favorite part each year at the Singing Christmas Tree is the presentation of the banners. Each one represents a name or attribute of Jesus, and they are brought into the worship center with ceremony. It is breathtakingly stunning.
Her and I had a private conversation as she was mending one of the banners to be used, but it got my mind thinking about the drawing I did of Mary at the feet of Jesus. In my mind there was a flip, and it wasn't Mary at His feet, but it was Jesus at the feet of the disciples He wasn't rooted, but he was serving. And until then, I am not to sure I had given much thought to that attribute of my Lord and Savior.
Matthew 20:28 (NASB)
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45 (NASB)
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His [a]life a ransom for many.”
John 13:1-17 (NASB)
The Lord’s Supper
13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them [a]to the end. 2 During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 *got up from supper, and *laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.
Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
5 Then He *poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” 8 Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord; and [b]you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
Jesus came to serve. And from the definition above, when we serve, we have someone in authority over us. Jesus had God the Father. And as a Christian we serve Jesus and God.
Jesus came to serve. Oh, He came to do more, and He did and He will. But He served as part of His ministry. And He is calling me to serve.
I have this blog, which I must and will do more with. This is but one platform I can utilize to do my part of the Great Commission.
Matthew 28:16-20 (NASB)
The Great Commission
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
I have also felt God put on my heart to do an in-home Bible study on the Book of Joel, and a few other tasks. I am willing and waiting.
So in 2020 I will stand and serve God.
