Too Busy to Serve?

The following is a devotion from Greg Laurie. Greg was here this summer for the HARVEST CRUSADE at the RBC Center.


Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

— Matthew 8:21–22


Everyone who serves the Lord is busy. We all have a lot of things to do. But I thank God for every volunteer in the ministries that we so often take for granted. When you go to church, there are people who will help you find a seat, minister to your children, and maybe even show you where to park. All of these people are volunteers. And they are doing these things because they love Jesus.

Maybe the Lord has spoken to you about getting involved in a ministry. And maybe you have been resistant, saying, "I am very busy. I have other things to do."

That's what one man said when Jesus called him to service. He responded, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father" (Matthew 8:21). Now, this man's father was not actually dead. Rather, he was using a Near Eastern figure of speech, a common expression that described a son's responsibility to help his father in the family business until the father died and the inheritance was distributed. In other words, this man was saying, "Lord, not now. I will do it later. I would like to go and preach the kingdom, but I am busy."

The same can happen to us. God might speak to our hearts about serving Him more. And we respond, "Lord, I love You. I check in every Sunday. I put a little something in the offering. But I don't have time to go out and do those extra things. I am so busy."

If you haven't discovered the joy of serving God, then you are missing out. There is something for everyone to do in service to Him. Don't miss out on that.

HIS Ministry!

I found this a long time ago and I don't have the author but it always encourages and motivates me...

SERVING GOD IN YOUR PLACE

God knows you and He knows your heart desires to serve Him. You are someone that He will use to make a difference, to share His love, and to touch the hearts of others.

What has qualified you for this high privilege of being used by Him?
Is it your talents, your personality, your education, your influence, or your résumé?

It is none of these; rather, it is the response of your heart toward Him. God is always searching for those whose hearts are yielded to Him so that He can work mightily through them.

Sometimes we can be led to think that God’s work is dependent upon us, upon what we do, and upon what we know. The truth is that God wants us to be totally dependent upon Him.

He is the Treasure, we are the vessels;
He is Vine, we are the branches;
He is the Living Water, we are the channels through which He flows.

The apostle Peter was someone who needed to learn this important truth. Jesus taught him the futility of trying to get results through his own efforts by allowing him, an expert fisherman, to labor all night and come up empty. Afterward, when He followed Jesus’ word to cast out into the deep, Peter pulled in a catch that was beyond his dreams.

As His servant, remember that your ministry is His idea and not yours. He is the One who knows you, who has called you, and who has equipped you to serve Him. Remain true, remain faithful, remain restful, and remain totally dependent upon Him.


God is not looking for those who are clever,
but for those in whom He can be wise;

He is not looking for those who are talented,
but for those to whom He can be all sufficient;

He is not looking for those who are powerful,
but for those through whom He can be almighty.