Called to Serve in Love by John W. Errington (books to read for self improvement .TXT) 📕

have the “Ninety and Nine” and all too often ignore the few or the one that left.

As Shepherds we should have the “mind of Christ” and see the few or one as he does!

Luke 12: 6 & 7

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Psalms 139:13-16

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.aWonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

As cHRISTIANS we should strive to be like Christ, The Great Shepherd who placed great value on the few or the one. In ministering to the flock let’s not forget that there are times when the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many!


SERVING IN SMALL WAYS

Small things have value too!

Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose.
Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had.

Yes Paul goes on to describe the mind of Christ, however I want to direct your attention to a couple of passages in the Gosples that I feel shows the mind of Christ toward us.

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, YET GOD FEEDS THEM. How much more valuable are you than the birds!Luke 12
Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, YET YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER FEEDS THEM. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? Matt. 6

Typically when we read these scriptures we think in terms of not worrying or being worried, However I would like to point out that our God is mindful of the small things of this world, the birds! They are taken care of because the mind of Christ is such that he looks after the things that seem small and insignificant.

Serving others does not also require a grand gesture, we may not have $5000 to donate but we may have a nickel to give to someone who needs it. Yes its may seem like a small thing to us but to that person it has a huge impact! How often do we overlook opportunities to minister to each other because we feel what they need is too small to merit our time and attention?

Jesus made this statement in Luke 16:10a HE WHO IS FAITHFUL IN WHAT IS LEAST IS FAITHFUL ALSO IN MUCH; In other words if we are careful to give our time and attention to the small things then we will be found to be dedicated to the big things also!
Beloved, Let us each have this same mindset! IN this day of Social Media it is so very easy to demonstrate the mind of Christ!

Perhaps it is in clicking the Like button, or Share/Re-tweeting a post or status message, perhaps it is taking 15 minutes to read a blog or 30 minutes to listen to a Radio broadcast or attend an online bible study, to you it may seem so unimportant yet to the person behind these things it important!

Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.

In this we truly have the mind of Christ!

IF love is our highest goal then serving others should be our highest calling. In just about every letter that Paul wrote he encouraged the churches to love each other and to put others ahead of themselves.

It seems that Paul would face the same challenge today – encouraging us to love and serve each other.
Beloved we do not have to wait until a catastrophe happens to serve each other, we can serve each other every day in small ways.

Remember what may seem small and insignificant to you and I may be extremely important to someone else

Beloved allow me to remind you that without Love we have nothing and we are nothing!

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

I Corinthians 13 1-3)

Furthermore if we do not love then we do not know God!

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (I John 4:7-8)

Seems to me the Bible holds serving each other through love in nigh esteems and considers is vital to a healthy relationship with God, because if we are not walking in Love and serving others in love then we do not know God.

However when we have Love we have the fullness of God in our inner man and receive strength to comprehend the riches of His love.

Paul’s Prayer:

14 for this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 1: 14 -21)

So I end with this: Philippians 2
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

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Dedication:
To all God's Chilfren