Doing Unto Others

“Put your love where your mouth is.”

“Actions speak louder than words.”

To remain humble and forgiving, to ask strangers and our enemies to sit and eat at the table that the Lord has prepared for us is sometimes the hardest – but also the biggest – way to show God’s love. By serving others, we put our love where our mouth is and show the world our faith.

If you have a hard time evangelizing – that is, telling people about Jesus Christ and salvation – show them. Think about the image of someone with an “I (heart) Jesus” sticker on their bumper but behaving badly in traffic. It leaves an impression; just not a favorable one.

It’s difficult to live out what we know Christianity should be about, but that’s what people see. By actively living our faith, we show others around us the love of Christ.

How do you serve the stranger on the street, the co-worker you have never gotten along with, even your own friends and family?

In Craig Groeschel’s book, The Christian Atheist, he writes about the many different ways in which we can serve and how service is a great way to share our faith. He writes, “You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to take some time to serve… When you serve others in Christ’s name, with no strings attached, people will notice something is different about you.”

Notice he said serve with “no strings attached.” It’s as simple as asking your neighbors if they need help with chores or volunteering at a food pantry or other outreach, without sharing anything Biblical at that point—just serving them. Then when they ask, “Why are you so nice?” or “Why are you doing this for me?” you can share the love of Christ!

Galatians 6:10 (New Living Translation) says: Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Serving others is a huge way to share our faith in Christ. By giving our life away, we receive so much more in return.

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Sandra D. Bricker is a best-selling and award-winning author of laugh-out-loud romantic comedy for the Christian market. Her most popular series (that started with Always the Baker Never the Bride) will conclude this spring with Always the Baker FINALLY the Bride, which is now available for pre-order at Amazon.

Sandie leads a team of writers in creating the Living It Out daily Bible study for CedarCreek Church. Today's devotion is based on the Living It Out study on the importance of service. If you enjoyed it, feel free to check out the daily studies by e-mail or audio podcast by clicking HERE.

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Trusting God with the Outcome

Believe in God’s miraculous power and trust in His will.

   

The power of prayer and the sovereignty of God are indisputable. God is God, and declaring so helps us to recognize that He governs all things. Who is to say what God can do? When we believe—with all our heart, soul and strength—and trust God with the outcome, His will is done and miracles occur. 

 Though God can, has and does perform miracles without our help, He tells us to ask and we shall receive. So we have a tendency to pray selfishly, seeking only what we want, and base God’s goodness on His answers. God promises to provide what we need, the desires of our hearts, but our prayers often seek what we want. Imagine if God always said “Yes!” to everything.

In the movie, Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey, God bestows His power onto Bruce. However, with this power comes numerous prayer requests. Instead of considering each one, Bruce hits Reply All and answers “Yes.” It doesn’t work out very well. What if God had said “Yes” to Jesus when he asked not to endure the suffering of the cross? Our reconciliation with God would no longer exist and we would have to pay the wages of our sin. It can be very difficult to accept God’s answer to our prayers, but, when you pray, trust that God’s answer — whether yes or no — is in line with His will.

Should you pray for miracles then? Yes, absolutely! Pray for healing from    terminal illness. Pray for God to open each person’s eyes to His glory. Pray for the Red Sea to part again, or for the deaf to hear and the blind to see. Regardless of His answer, God’s love for you never fails. 

God knows the desires of our hearts and, when we pray, He wants nothing more than to grant us those desires. However, God’s plan is much bigger than any one person. Even Jesus prayed earnestly to avoid suffering, but he trusted God with the outcome.

Matthew 26:39 (New Living Translation)

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My  Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

God’s plan for you is so much more than you can fathom. Though at times it may seem that He only intends for you to suffer, God’s love for you is great. What happens when we trust in God and demonstrate our love for Him?

Romans 8:28 (New Living Translation)

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

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Sandra D. Bricker is a best-selling and award-winning author of laugh-out-loud romantic comedy for the Christian market. Her most popular series (that started with Always the Baker Never the Bride) will conclude this spring with Always the Baker FINALLY the Bride, which is now available for pre-order at Amazon.

Sandie leads a team of writers in creating the Living It Out daily Bible study for CedarCreek Church. Today's devotion is based on the Living It Out study on trusting God. If you enjoyed it, feel free to check out the daily studies by e-mail or audio podcast by clicking HERE.

Read More