Category: Serve

Gourmet Cooking

It takes time and effort to learn to cook God’s gourmet meals – but the results are so outstanding that we can be only glad that we spent our time and effort in learning to cook in this manner.

Meditation Thought: “Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one [who questions you].” (Colossians 4:6 AMP)

A good cook is accomplished because they have had experience. Just pouring ingredients together in any mixture or any proportion does not make a tasty dish, and in fact, can make on that is actually harmful or wasteful.

We can become good cooks with the ingredients God provides for us (His Word, His Spirit, our minds, our bodies, our spirit) – only if we follow His recipes and advice as to how to use and mix these ingredients. Even then, the more time and effort we spend in “cooking”, the better we will become at producing tasty, nutritious and attractive dishes for ourselves and for others. We must learn that perfect proportion and method to produce the best result for the particular dish we are preparing – for no salt can make a dish too bland to be interesting, and too much salt can make it unpalatable.

It takes time and effort to learn to cook God’s gourmet meals – but the results are so outstanding that when we are enjoying the dish, and others are enjoying it, we can be only glad that we spent our time and effort in learning to cook in this manner.

Do as I Do

My people must be as lightening rods – raising themselves up to draw My Spirit unto themselves.

Meditation Thought: “Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3)

“Although you may chafe at the variety and number of your duties [you have not seen that because a wife and mother does fulfill so many roles that she is able to spread My Love, My Mercy and My Compassion to many more people than most persons are able to do], when you do your solitary tasks, absorb My teaching – when you do your public tasks, teach My Way by your example:
– Sacrifice as I sacrificed
– Love as I love
– Adapt as I adapt
– Be joyful as I am joyful
– Be understanding and kind as I am compassionate
– Communicate with your spirit – not just your mind.

My people must be as lightening rods – raising themselves up to draw My Spirit unto themselves.”

Infused with Enthusiasm

The key is in the knowing that the harvest will come.

Meditation Thought: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

We get weary when we are really not interested in what we are doing – we are doing it out of duty, of necessity or inertia. But when we excitedly choose to do a job – even if it is not especially pleasant in itself – because we can hardly wait for the results – then we get so enthused that we forget to become tired, or if we do eventually tire, we have the will power to continue because of our anticipation.

God wants us to catch such a clear picture of the elements of His Kingdom that we can hardly wait to appropriate them in our lives. Once we can picture that luscious harvest, we can hoe in the hot sun without being discouraged. In fact, when we do become weary, if we will share our feeling with God, He will give us clear, cool water to quench our thirst, and new strength to our muscles, and even hand us better tools for doing the job. The key is in the knowing that the harvest will come, and that we will be greatly blessed when it does. This enables us to ignore distractions, ignore tiredness, ignore set-backs – and to concentrate happily on the job at hand.

Clear Focus

When God is the focus of our devotion, all else focuses clearly in our lives too.

Meditation Thought: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” (Matthew 4:10)

Even in our earthly activities, we are most effective when we loyally execute our commitments – our energies are multiplied as we enthusiastically and with concentration commit them to our purpose. When we choose God to be the purpose of our commitment, He takes our energies in serving Him and transforms them into His worship, His miracles, His purposes – when we serve Him only. This assures that our efforts are channeled in effective, pure, positive, loving results: God’s final results – not the results we might see, for we see only partial results, while God sees the whole. When God is the focus of our devotion, all else focuses clearly in our lives too. Gradually, as we come to know our Master as we serve Him, the meaning of our lives in every area, in total inter-relationship of all brought together, focuses more clearly and more brightly; our hesitant first trust and tentative service changes to complete trust and eager service as His glory and love are revealed more completely to us… “Praise God from whom all blessing flow.”

Mission Possible

Picture a row of ladders lined up against a wall. At the top of the wall is God’s ultimate fulfilled plan. Now with that in mind:

  • Each of us has a mission and talents to be used to perform that mission to the completion of God’s ultimate Plan and His glory.
  • We are to help each other discover the individual mission and to enable each other to complete the mission.
  • There is an inter-relationship in the ability of each mission to be completed; all missions are connected by a link of some kind so that the progress of the mission of one affects the progress of all. Therefore, it behooves each person to not only work on the completion of his own mission, but to give any possible help to the completion of all missions.

Back to the ladder image – each person must climb his own mission-talent ladder to God’s final Plan – but arms can be reached out: to pull another up, or push another down, or both arms can be used on one’s own ladder. However, since the final Plan can be realized only when everyone is up the ladder, the person who climbs without helping the others to rise too, finds that reaching the top alone has no purpose. That person has to wait longer to have the ultimate satisfaction because they must wait for the others to arrive at the top. Their ultimate satisfaction could be reached more quickly if they help others move ahead more rapidly as they move up, and if they push another down, it will take that person that much longer to reach the top and contribute to the completion of the ultimate satisfaction of all.

Word Farming

What joy it is when the harvest comes.

Meditation Thought: “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15)

“Honest”, “good”, “patience” – 3 keys to the knowledge of the spiritual kingdom. The kingdom is true – real, though perceived by the mind and the heart rather than by one of the 5 senses.

If our heart is dishonest, we deal in illusions and will flounder, never being secure and sure and at peace. Our heart must be good to be the nutrient that grows good fruit. If it is hard, hoarding its life-giving blood, it does no nourishing to that which it should feed. If it is soft and flexible, and pumping out pure, clean blood – nutrients – it feeds new life – new ‘fruits’. But it takes time for growth. We do not plant the seed one day, nourish it for a day and harvest the fruit the following day. We must take the seed-word and feed it and care for it, giving of ourselves, sacrificing other interests and activities, before we can harvest that fruit. What joy it is when the harvest comes – wonderful fruit to enjoy ourselves, to share with others. All the toil and sacrifice is more than worthwhile. After we harvest our first crop of fruit (the God-works completed), it is so exciting and fulfilling that we eagerly cultivate more seeds. Oh, there will be problems in the tilling – but we must not give up because of them, or there will be no harvest. In overcoming the problems, we may even learn new, better methods of tilling – resulting in a faster harvest, or a more abundant harvest.

Dear Father, I ask this day to be a starting point to be a better farmer of Your Word – that I learn new, better methods to bring Your seed to abundant harvest. Amen.

Transactions & Transfusions

When our hearts and our minds are in Christ Jesus, they are in the best of care.

Meditation Thought: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

“Hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” – Send up the requests in a container of prayer, supplication and thanksgiving – and God sends back answers in a mantle of peace, which serves to protect us, to warm us, to enfold us together with Jesus within the mantle. The more transactions we have, the more exciting, fulfilling and effective the results become. The partnership under the mantle becomes stronger, the mantle becomes even more effective protection from chaos and evil. We become confident in every circumstance, knowing that we have power and protection for every possible contingency – when our hearts and our minds are in Christ Jesus, they are in the best of care; as long as He is surrounding them, they are protected, loved, and have His superior strength supporting them, reinforcing them. His blood surges through them, revitalizing them, sending them to new heights of accomplishment. It is as if we are receiving a blood transfusion under that mantle of peace which encloses us together. Others can see the results in our thinking as we share ideas, in our actions as we are prompted to unselfish love. They may or may not be aware of the blood transfusion that is the basis of the energy which they see manifested and to which they are drawn – but for those who do become aware, they too, can come to receive a transfusion.

Going Along

The basic obedience and tasks are still there, but there is an added glow, a new knowledge and attitude, a new awareness of the rewards of the relationship.

Meditation Thought: “Have this mind among yourselves, which you have in Christ Jesus… who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant..” (Philippians 2:5,7)

“Emptied himself” – that the Father would fill him, that the Father’s works would be done. I must empty myself of the accumulation of pre-knowledge of Christ trivia and evil and selfishness and cares, so that the Father’s will and works can flow into me.

What better way to purge these things than to lose myself in service and care (caring!) for others – and as there is more room for God within me, the caring and loving, and blessing intensifies, magnifies as my mind and my body become a servant to Him, obedient to Him. And as we go along in the relationship, it becomes one of realization of a loving child serving a loving Father blessing His beloved child; the basic obedience and tasks are still there, but there is an added glow, a new knowledge and attitude, a new awareness of the rewards of the relationship.

Power Source

We must be properly connected to our Source of Power in order for there to be light.

Meditation Thought: “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14)

The lamp cannot burn and give light without a power source – whether it is oil, electricity, battery. So, too, we must be properly connected to our Source of Power in order for there to be light. Without it, our purpose is never fulfilled. We may be an ornament without it – but never become the comfort, the guide, the help that we should be to the world. The more Power we allow to flow through us, the more light we shed – and the more helpful we will be.

Step One

We need to study the principles and pray for enlightenment so that we are acting with knowledge and with the will of God – which ensures that “all is possible”.

Meditation Thought: “All things are possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

The first step to any accomplishment is to believe that it is possible so that we will make the effort to succeed in it: we need to learn all we can about the situation, how to solve the problems and what cause will have what effect. When we learn the principles of life as set out by our Creator, we can apply them to each situation and know that they will work. But if we are ignorant of even one factor, the results can be vastly different.

We need to study the principles and pray for enlightenment so that we are acting with knowledge and with the will of God – which ensures that “all is possible”.