Friday, November 4, 2011

"FAN THE FLAME" FRIDAY - Serve

Welcome to "Fan the Flame" Friday.

This is a weekly post that will be "short and sweet" (kinda like me...)

Just a word and a phrase, a sentence or a question...just a little something to "fan the flame" of your creativity!


Today's word: serve

What does it mean to serve the Lord?

What are some ways we can serve the Lord (or how do you do it)?

Why don't more people volunteer to serve the Lord?

Can we still serve the Lord, even if we have a bad attitude about it?


Let me know what you think!!


"This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you…For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7)


BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

8 comments:

  1. Because serving is hard. It takes work, effort, and commitment. Some times it means to deny ourselves. Pretty hard in today's world. Serving is a choice. sandie♥

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  2. I think God is not just concerned about our doing(serving) but the why and how we do it as well.

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  3. I believe the Lord is more concerned with just having a real relationship with Him than serving Him. Many Christians spend their entire lives just doing and doing for Him when what He wants most is our heart in fellowship, sitting at His feet. But when we love Him we will naturally serve Him in all aspects of our lives.
    Thank you, dear Sharon for the sweet birthday wishes you sent my way.
    Love,
    Sandy

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  4. Great questions. I try to shelter others who need rest for their body and rest for their soul. God called me to serve in this way. I think sometimes other's ministry looks more "important" to us. We make the mistake of trying to serve where God has called them and it just doesn't work. When serving where God leads we have the added blessing of Himself.

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  5. I think the best example and definition of serving is Jesus and as he served us and died for us, we should take his example and do likewise. I think it is putting someone's needs before yours, looking to help, to assist, to look for opportunities to do so too. I think we benefit ourselves by serving because it humbles us, I do believe. I think God takes delight in us when we do help others and serve, but if we just doing it out of a sense of obligation with reluctance, I don't think that is the best circumstance in which to serve!

    another great word, Sharon! We are getting rain here, I'm sure you are the same?

    have a good weekend!

    betty

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  6. Bless you Servant of the Lord Sharon...

    Short and sweet: to serve is to give selflessly to another in Jesus' name as HE WOULD you know WWJD?

    In everything you do, you can serve...with your family in your home, at your church, in a organization, in your community,... you name it.

    Time (and lack therein) and selfishness or not caring about reaching out or others.

    No... we may try and just do it, but the attitude changes the servitude magnitude!
    It becomes duty or out of obligation and it may seem better to help out but do not consider it serving then.

    It's better to have served at all, than never to have served at all... may not be true, if our attitude is not humbled as a servant. It's not in the doing, it's in the calling.

    Now I'll go read what others wrote... and this has got to be close to one of my shortest and most direct answers.

    Love you and hope you and your family sandwich are doing well and enJOY a great weekend!
    Peggy

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  7. I believe Jesus set the example when He said that the son of man came not to be served but to serve. It requires great humility to truly serve... the root word of the word servant is serve... It is my desire to truly serve the King of Kings, with the right heart, for the right motives!

    Love
    Lidia

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  8. Interesting that this was our fan the flame word this week since I was just contemplating something on this line as I prepared for this week's lesson.

    I'm still studying those plagues, and I noted that God repeatedly says to Pharaoh, "Let my people go... that they may SERVE me." Check it out. It's all over the story. Moses, on the other hand, repeatedly says that they must go to "sacrifice to the LORD our God."

    As I was studying, I thought of two things:
    1. How our service is an expected outcome of our deliverance.
    2. How service is tied to sacrifice.

    I don't know how this applies to your question, but I thought of it nonetheless.

    One thing I know: We can't fool God. If our service is for any other reason that to serve Him with our hearts, He'll know it. If we serve as we are called to do, but it's outside of our comfort zone, it's more like sacrifice than willing service, but that's OK because it's service nonetheless.

    As long as we're doing it for one reason only, to serve Him.

    Sometimes, our church leaders like to make us think that serving "the church" is always equivalent to serving God. That isn't always the case. Sometimes, our civic leaders try the same ploy. Just felt the need to add that.

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"So [I] have been greatly encouraged in the midst of [my] troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. It gives [me] new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord. How [I] thank God for you!" (1 Thessalonians 3:7-9)

Thanks for your comments - it is such a joy to be sharing my journey with friends like YOU!

(NOTE: Anonymous comments will be removed. Thank you for understanding.)