What If I Am Tired Of Serving The Lord?

Are you tired of serving God?

Sometimes, you just get tired of serving God because it is so draining on your time and energy, and after all that work, it seems like no one appreciates it. So what do you do?

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58. 

BROTHERS AND SISTERS...
In the writings of St. Paul, serving God was not exclusive to the clergy or the faithful of a certain rank; he saw serving God as a privilege and a mandate for every believer.

STAND FIRM...
At first glance, this phrase does not convey a lot of activity. More than once in the Old Testament, God says, "Be still and know I am the Lord," Psalm 46:10. Exodus 14:13. 2 Chronicles 20:17.
To stand firm means to not give way to an enemy in battle or leave a position. A soldier on the battle line does not need to advance as much as he needs to hold his one place in line, so he must stand firm. If he fails to stand firm in his position, the entire line may collapse, and the battle will be lost. When we fail the Lord, those we love are hurt too.

LET NOTHING MOVE YOU...
"Let" is a word that indicates we have a choice. Choose and resolve to allow nothing to move you. We must be watchful for the many little things that can move us by an inch from our place. If the enemy can get us to move enough inches, then we will have moved a yard. We must be vigilant and diligent to be watchful of all temptations, big and small.

ALWAYS...
There is no exception. There is not a day off and no vacation from persevering in service to God. Every situation is an opportunity to demonstrate faithfulness.

GIVE YOURSELVES FULLY...
Again, we are challenged to choose to be all out for the Lord. We don't give ourselves halfway or 90%, or mostly; we must be fully given to the Lord.  This is a reasonable response because he gave himself fully for us in his death for our sins.

YOU KNOW...
We can be assured there is no doubt.

LABOR IN THE LORD
A condition. Not all church work is in the lord. Two people can be doing the same work simultaneously and place, but one may be in the lord, and the other is not.  The difference is the heart attitude; if we are serving selfishly or seeing it as drudgery, it is not in the Lord. But if we are serving with an attitude of  Love, devotion, joy, and obedience, we are doing that task in the Lord.

NOT IN VAIN...
We may not see the fruit of our labors but are like the patriarchs who sought a city not made with hands, which is to say we obey God's calling in faith. We do not know the outcome and may not even see the fruit of it in our lives here on earth, but we have this promise in this verse that our labor, our energies, and our lives will not have been wasted.

Resolve that no matter how tough it is to stand for the lord where you are, he is the one who makes it worth it.

To learn more about how to have a relationship with God, CLICK HERE.

(c) Adron 7/7/16

If you are interested in seeing some calligraphy art for 1 Corinthians 15:58 CLICK HERE

What is the one thing that could change the world's view of Christians?

People today see Christians as narrow-minded with hidden agendas and rigid views.  If there was only one thought that we could live out that would change how the world see God's people what would that be?

"Let all you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14

LET
This word suggests a choice.  You must choose to love overall options.  You must choose love over being right, better, leader, correct doctrine, or political view.

You must open the door to love from our lives to those around us. You must allow things that facilitate love, this takes thought and planning but to let something happen is to be intentional.

You must not stand in the way of things that are love either.

ALL
This is a word that means everything and without exception.  It means there is no situation that acting in love can be suspended, and there is no situation where love is second place.

YOU DO
To love is a personal responsibility.  You cannot say that it is for others to do or that since a church has a program for the homeless or the poor or a ministry of a loving nature that it satisfies the mandate for you to love, just giving to a loving church is not enough- you must love.  It has to be you expressing love to your community and every person you meet.

BE DONE
These two words are past tense in a present tense sentence.  This is a strong emphasis.  It shouts that the end result of all you are doing in the now must have the effect of love.  There is no I'll start tomorrow, it always does love now.

IN LOVE
So much has been said and written about love that I dare not burden the universe with anymore.
     * Learn and memorize the scriptures on love such as 1 Corinthians 13.
     * Meditate on Jesus teaching on love.
     * Study his example of love.
     * Pray God to open your eyes to ways you have not shown love.
     * Read God's Word looking for scriptures that teach about love, and make plans to specifically obey them.

May God's standard of love be our standard and the measure of all we do.

Without a relationship with the God of love then we are not able to live out true love, to learn how to have God in your life see my other post.

Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I sincerely hope this post is helpful and and encouragement.  For more like this see the most popular post in the left sidebar.

(c) Adron 6/14/15

What Do You Do When You No Longer Want To Serve God? 1 Corinthians 15:58

There are times when everyone who serves the Lord gets discouraged.  What does the Bible say to do then?

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."                1 Corinthians 15:58,

STAND FIRM
This is stated as a command, but that means it is a choice, so it must be in your control.  To stand firm means:
     * To take ownership of enduring.

     * To choose to not give up.
     * To prepare for the long haul.
     * To refuse to retreat.

LET NOTHING MOVE YOU
In ancient warfare, soldiers would stand side by side facing the enemy; each one had to keep their place beside others and not let the enemy conquer the one place they held.  To give way would mean defeat to the one who yielded and the comrades on each side.

Many things try to move us away from service. We must learn to recognize them, turn from them, and deal decisively with them.

ALWAYS
Always means not just once in a while but at every turn and every opportunity. There is no room for the attitude of standing firm in one situation and then yielding in another.

GIVE YOURSELF FULLY
These three words offer much to think about.  We are to give ourselves away and if that is our attitude then discouragement or defeat are not considerations.  Discouragement and defeat are opposed to giving yourself away because it implies you were hoping to gain something, but giving yourself away is the sacrifice of yourself and all rewards.

WORK OF THE LORD
One effect of salvation is that God has made us His servants/partners. We do good works as if we were His hands and feet.

It is not our work- it is His work.  We are not responsible for success or failure, after all, the Bible teaches Jesus has already won the victory.  Our purpose is not the outcome but the work.

KNOWING
Knowing means you are certain and assured.  We know that our work is valued by our Lord.

NOT IN VAIN
So many things we do are vain and wasteful, but even a glass of water given in His name will not lose its reward.  (Matthew 10:42, Mark 9:41). If it is done in the Lord, it is not vain.

You might do many mighty great works, but they must be in the Lord, so those works are in fellowship with and in concert with His purpose and will.  If our works have the guidance of the Lord in keeping with his Word, they will be worthy of the "Well done good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:23).

If you want to learn more about coming to God, please see my other blog about salvation.

(c) Adron Dozat 5/27/15

Why The Gospel Of Jesus Makes No Sense

The Gospel makes no sense from a human point of view, but from God's point of view, it comes together.

“God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things to shame the strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27. NIV.

WHO ARE THE WISE?
The "wise" in this verse are the worldly-wise who define salvation based on human insights and with elaborate religious philosophies. They seek a kind of salvation they can boast about, such a salvation needs to be easy to explain, pretty and poetic.

But we cannot resist the wisdom of God. God is always right: he is the Supreme Lord and Ruler so He has the power to choose as He will. With purpose, God chose the "foolish" things to "shame the wise."

WHO ARE THE FOOLISH?
One of those "foolish" things is the Gospel of Jesus.

     * We want salvation by our own efforts- God gives it freely.
     * We ignore sin- God pays for our sin Himself on the cross.
     * We want to come to God through steps of discipline- God came to us, born in a manger.
     * We want exclusive revelation- God gives the Spirit to all who come.
     * We want to show off our spirituality- God wants to show Jesus in us.
      * We hide our sins- God wants us to confess our sins.
     * We want to earn forgiveness -God wants to give it freely through Jesus’ death.
     * We want to merit God's love- but God says we love him because He first loved us.

WHAT IS THE WISDOM OF GOD?
If the gospel were easy to understand, it would be only the result of human thought, but since it comes from the infinite God, it is above our understanding—since God is.

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?
Do not reject the things of God because they sound "foolish." The Gospel says salvation is by trusting God’s promise that He will credit the death of Jesus on your behalf as payment for your sins and give you eternal life- this sounds foolish to many. Still, the "foolishness" of the gospel makes it available to everybody, not just the "wise" few. God asks us to accept salvation as a gift; it is not foolish to do so but wisdom for those who have.

To learn more about the gospel see my other blog.

(c) Adron 5/10/14

Why Are There So Many Different Interpretations to the Bible?

Why is the Bible hard to understand? Why are there many different ideas about God?

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1st Corinthians 2:14, NIV.

This scripture teaches that you must have God’s Spirit to understand the things of God. The things of God are unnatural to us, they go against our logic. The things of God are unpopular to the man of the world, since “they are foolishness to him.” Foolish things seem juvenile, not thought out, or just plain stupid.

We are not equipped to understand the things of God. “Because they are spiritually discerned." We need God’s Spirit to show us. Instead, we take what small light we have and mix it with the ideological fog around us and come up with a wrong idea of God.

The world cannot understand the things of God such as:

• God is love.
• God would become a man.
• God would condemn sinners for their sin.
• God would die on the cross to pay for our sins.
• God gives man free will to choose Him.
• God waits for us to seek Him before He reveals himself to us.
• God gives free eternal life to those who receive Him.
• God rejects good works as terms of salvation and honors the act of faith in Jesus instead.
• God wants us to have a relationship with him instead of a religion.

To the worldly-minded these are foolish, but these are the truths God has chosen to reveal.

We can’t understand God without His help. We must be open to what He shows us of Himself. We must accept the things of God though they seem foolish and reject the world’s wisdom. We must come to God and agree to His terms.

Pray and ask God to reveal His truth to you, invite God into your life, and be open to His Spirit. Accept His plan of salvation.

I would rather be a fool for Jesus than wise for everybody else.


My Prayer for Understanding

Dear God, You are the All-Wise Lord of All, seen and unseen

I know You want to reveal Yourself to me with truth.
I confess I tried to conceive You on my own,
And build a concept of You out of cheap stuff.
My best ideas are far short of the Infinite You.
Forgive the idolatry and vain pride of my efforts.
My sin has quenched Your Spirit’s sweet voice in my heart.
Help me to cast away my lowly man made concepts.
Enter my life, and fill me with your Holy Spirit.
I pray that You reveal Yourself to me in pure truth.
Help me to be humble, help me to understand You.

Thank you, Father, for this new beginning with You

To learn more about how to understand God's plan for you click here to see my other blog.

(c) Adron 11/2/13

Is It Any Good To Serve God. 1 Corinthians 15:58

Does it do any good to serve God? Is it worth my time? What if, after all this work, no one comes or is blessed by it?

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know your labor in the lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15: 58, NIV*.

STAND FIRM

God does not ask us to be full of busyness but to stand firm as in the "Be still and know I am the Lord.*" statements that are repeated in scripture.  Sometimes it is the misdirected busyness that wears us out.  God does not want us to be busy for the sake of doing something; He wants us to serve and give ourselves as an act of worship.

ALWAYS

We should not let an opportunity to serve God pass us by.  We should always be willing to serve and always be ready to do the work of the Lord.

GIVE

To give yourself to the work of the Lord is a choice you must make for yourself.  We must do this as an offering of worship.  We must not give halfheartedly or just sometimes, like on the days the church meets.  We must be fully turned on for every opportunity to serve God willingly and cheerfully. Being sour-faced and complaining indicates that one is not giving themselves fully to the Lord.

WORK

So much of what we do is not the work of the Lord because our attitude is vain or selfish.  If we are doing something to be seen and receive praise or because of guilt or because we are pressured to do it, this is not the work of the Lord, no matter the mission or project.  If we do something, even an everyday household chore, with an attitude that it is given to God as an act of worship, then that becomes the work of the Lord.

LABOR

Serving the Lord is labor, and sometimes it is hard.  Sometimes you come early and leave late and serve meals without having time to eat.  Sometimes, you are up late at night preparing to serve, then getting up early to give service.  The willing, joyful heart that gladly makes these sacrifices in his name turns labor into the work of the Lord.

NOT IN VAIN

This is a promise that our labor would not be in vain.  We may not see the fruit of our efforts, but it is not in vain, nor is the effort wasted.  The results may be hidden from our eyes or may take a long time to come, but they will come.

*Psalm 46:10

To read this verse in other translations, then follow this link: Online Parallel Bible.

To learn more about coming to God, follow this link: Salvation.

Adron 8/27/12

What Makes a Successful life? 1 Corinthians 10:31

We want a good life full of satisfaction, fulfillment, reward, and free from regret. What is the key?

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."1 Corinthians 10:31, NIV.

The Apostle Paul instructed the church about their freedoms in Christ and the limits of conscience and love. Paul did not fill his Apostolic teaching with many "do this" or "don't do that" types of commands, but he gave boundaries and guidelines that open up more of our lives.

Click HERE to see some art using the words of this verse. 

Do for the Glory of God:
To do something for the glory of God is not just doing something big but doing something moral and right.

If we are doing what we do for the glory of God we...
*     Will do honorable things,
*     Will do good things,
*     Will do things that make the lives of others better,
*     We will be lifters of burdens and lights in our communities,
*     We will be working in integrity,
*     What we will be done without sin,
*     We will be guided by a moral compass that others lack,
*     We will have excellence.

Whatever You Do:
We do not need to be establishing monuments or great institutions or giving huge sums of money to do something for the glory of God.  It says, "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do." Eating and drinking are widespread daily activity and all healthy people do them. Even the common task can be done to the glory of God and become service in His name if it is done thankfully, in a righteous manner with love and thoughtfulness.

We are not told here to do only some special things for the Glory of God, like observing worship once a week or giving a huge donation once a month, but the instruction is to do all for the glory of God. This is inclusive of all the activities. If I clean house, I should clean house for the glory of God; if I work at a job, I should do it for the glory of God.

In Order To Do All Things To The Glory of God You Might...
*     Begin with a prayer,
*     Invite God's participation or help.
*     Confess any struggles, bitterness, resentment, vain pride, etc.
*     Thank him for the task and ask his blessing,
*     Publicly proclaim that your intent was to do it as unto God.

It's Why We Are Here:
We were made to glorify God, and the strange thing is that when we do focus on giving God glory, we are fulfilled. When we make doing the dishes for God's glory or changing diapers for God's glory, we find a sense of satisfaction; if we change car tires for the glory of God, we will find it rewarding.

(c)Adron Dozat 7/13/12

Can Christians Be Tempted To Do Evil? 1 Corinthians 10:13

We often feel tempted to do evil. Sometimes the temptation feels so big that we think we have no choice. What should we do?

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out, so that you can stand up under it." I Corinthians 10:13, NIV.

SEIZE
To seize something is to grab it firmly so it can't escape. We may feel like we have been seized by temptation and can't escape but we have hope in this promise.

The temptations we face are not unique and we all share the same struggle. We can never say, "No one was ever tempted like I was."

GOD AND TEMPTATION
The Lord does not tempt us to do evil; we do evil because we have a nature in us to do wrong and we live in a society that does wrong. God is in control, it would be an offense to his holiness if he allowed us to be tempted to evil in such a way that we could not choose to get out; it would make him guilty of the sin by association, so God must provide a way for everyone who is facing sin.

We can be assured that no temptation is so big that we have no choice. It is not just that God being holy must provide a way out, he loves us and his Son died to pay for our sins. God hates sin and will not trick anyone into sin, and because of his hatred of sin will offer every help so we may "stand up under it."

This verse does not say that temptation will just go away or stop, but that we will have the endurance to finish the time of testing without falling into sin.

A PROMISE
This verse is a promise and like all promises, it can't be left idle and expect to happen. We need to accept the promise and act on it.

 As Christians, we do not live out rules we live a relationship with our Savior. A relationship is a personal thing and we each must bring our Lord into the things we experience. Any relationship must have communication and we communicate with God through prayer; therefore pray this verse and if the concept of claiming the promise helps then do so while you continue to look to God to show you the way of escape.

WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY
We must be vigilant about staying out of situations that lead to sin. We must resolve not to feed the evil we are prone to through modern media, experiences, or associations. We should pray daily to be kept from sin and for God to show us the pathways out of temptation.

A prayer:

Heavenly Father and holy God.
I am prone to evil and fall in sin,
forgive my frequent transgressions.
Give me a heart that resolves to follow you
make me disdain the sin in me
and to turn from opportunities to nurture it
Show me the way out of situations that lead to sin.
make me sensitive to the Holy Spirit's guidance
Help me to follow you singly
and not break from spiritual communion.

© Adron 3/11/12

The Most Important Truth About Spiritual Gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:31

We try to find and use our gifts, but books and seminars still leave us unsatisfied. Is there one primary something that if you just did that one thing it would all work out?

“But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.” 1 Corinthians 12:31. NIV.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND
In 1 Corinthians 12 through 14:5 the Apostle writes to correct confusion and error in the early church. He explains that God gives gifts to individuals; gifts such as preaching, miracles, healing, leadership, apostleship, and prophecy.

THE GIFTS WERE NOT THE POINT
The list of gifts leads up to one final summery word. Paul’s last word is “And now I will show you the most excellent way.” Logically the next paragraph will be about some mystical discipline like prayer, fasting or some other duty that will give deeper more powerful gifts.

THE MOST EXCELLENT WAY
The next chapter of Paul’s epistle lays it out. A chapter that is read in weddings and embroidered in flowery patterns in pop Christian art- the Love chapter of 1st Corinthians 13. The most excellent way is the way of love. We have gotten so caught up with programs, seminars, books, clubs, family and life that we have forgotten the “most excellent way-” love.

OUR PREOCCUPATION
By practicing “The most excellent way” we would change the church and the world. We can even start a revolution of love in our homes, neighborhoods, and even the world, but we must become disciples of “the most excellent way.”

The occupation of the church and the preoccupation of every Christian should be “the most excellent way” of love. It should be the guiding value in every decision. Let's write love in our day planners and love on top of our do list. Make every human encounter a commitment to act out the most excellent way of Love. We should resolve to do nothing unless it is done in love.

P.S. And about all those Spiritual gifts, if we are living the love we will de-facto act out those spiritual gifts we want sooner or later anyway.

Prayer

Help me to learn, Dear Father God of Love
That most excellent way, your way of love.
Help me to follow the path of Jesus love;
Who on the cross for me showed true love.
Forgive me for my complacency to love.
Help me to understand the treasure of Love.
Make me into a person of passion for love.
May I fulfill the commandment to love.
Direct me to make all my plans in love.
Let me measure my motivations by love.
Show me the opportunities I have to love.
May I be transformed by the way of love,
And change my community by love.
Make me a disciple of the most excellent way.

(c) Adron 1/20/10