Serving Christ

Just like Joshua and the Israelites we in America have a choice to make. Are we to serve the gods of American culture ' cable TV, sports, pleasure, sexual immorality, drugs, politics, gambling, drinking, money, power, prestige ' or will we serve the Lord.

Joshua and the Israelites made the correct choice, they chose to serve the Lord. Unfortunately, they did not eliminate the culture of the people whose land they conquered. The people and culture, little by little, invaded the lives and hearts of the Israelite people. Soon they were up to their eyeballs in "serving" the gods of the people whom they conquered. Are we, as Christians in America today, falling to the same fate that they did'

I would like to look at three areas where we need to be steadfast in our serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Those areas are ' our lives, our talents and our finances.

Serving Christ With Our Lives

First, and foremost, we need to serve Christ with our lives. Now you may say, "I am a Christian. Of course I am serving Christ with my life." But are you really' What does it mean to serve Christ with our lives'

I just imagine that all too often the typical Christian feels that as long as he/she attends church on Sunday morning and then tries to live a decent life the rest of the time that they are living a life serving Christ. But this is not so! Serving Christ demands much more than this.

Serving Christ with our lives means that we will be faithful to the worship services as often as it is possible for us to attend. That means that attending worship service, Sunday School, mid-week Bible Study and so forth is our first priority. Not that we will attend if something else doesn't comes up. We should plant to attend all of these occasions to worship and praise God. The only time that we should miss one of these is when we simply cannot attend!

Serving Christ with our lives means that we take Him to work with us every day. I cannot imagine having a job that I could not talk about Christ with others. I realize that often we must be selective with whom we speak of Christ for many will simply not accept any instruction in becoming a Christian. However, we should always be looking for an opportunity to tell our fellow workers about Jesus and what He means to us. Then there are those that we work with that are Christians as well. It is really great to be able to talk about Christ with those we work with and to share with each other. I am not talking about ignoring our work duties. It is important that we give our employers a good days work for the money we receive. But there are always times and opportunities to witness for Christ.

It is also important to have Christ on our minds as we work. The day seems to go so much better when I can think about Christ and what He has done for me as I go about the many tasks I must accomplish. I have a job where I must make decisions each day which affect people. To ask for God's guidance and trust in Him makes those decisions easier to make and uphold.

What about serving Christ during those times which are recreation in nature. I certainly do not mean to imply that when one serves Christ that he/she cannot attend sporting events, play golf, go to the movies, watch TV or any number of other recreational activities. However, how we approach those activities does have an affect on our serving Christ. Do we put those things first' If so, then we are not doing the right thing. Are we selective when we choose the things we want to do for fun' Again, we must be selective if we are to serve Christ with our lives. We should not watch most of the filth on TV and the movies. Most of it is nothing but sex and violence. Be selective. Don't watch the filth.

When we play golf, go bowling, and so forth we must also be selective. While it is not bad (in and of itself) to play golf, etc., the people we choose to play those game with can have a very negative effect on our lives. If those we choose to participate in these recreational activities are drinkers, gamblers, womanizers, and so forth, these attitudes will rub off on us. You know the old saying, "Birds of a feather flock together."

Serving Christ With Our Talents

One of the disappointments in life for me is that I cannot sing or play a musical instrument. I really wish that I could! Perhaps some day I'll be able to learn to do one or both of these. However, I do have other talents. So do you. The important thing is that you and I use what talents we do have to glorify the Lord.

What better thing could we do with our talents than serve the Lord' If ......

Read More ...