Faithful People Serve Others

Nov 10, 2014 Faithful People Serve Others by Rick Warren “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10 NLT) God uses my talents to test my unselfishness. You have to decide in life for whom or what you’re going to live. You’re either going to live a self-centered, miserly life or you’re going to live for something greater than yourself — the kingdom of God. Faithful people don’t live for themselves. They realize that the talents God gave them are not for their own benefit; they’re to make the world a better place. When God made you, he gave you all kinds of gifts, talents, and abilities. We call it your s.h.a.p.e.: your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. These five things make you you. And God made you you. There’s nobody like you in the whole world, and he wants you to be you for his glory.  God shaped you to serve him, and there’s only one way to do that: by serving other people. Faithful people realize that their talents are not for their benefit. You may have a talent for art and say that you do it “just because you love to do it.” That’s nice, but that’s not a good enough motive. God didn’t give you artistic ability just so you can love to do it. He gave it to you so you can use your art in some way to help other people. Some of you have an ability to fix things. Some of you are good at math. Some of you are good at closing deals. Some of you are good at music. Some of you are good at organizing. And some of you are good at trimming and gardening. God made us all different so that everything in the world gets done. If we all liked to do the same thing, there would be a whole lot left undone. You are the steward of your talents, and God is watching to see if you use what he gave you effectively on Earth. If you use them effectively on Earth, he’s going to give you more responsibility in Heaven. Have you ever thought about why didn’t God just create us and take us to Heaven? Why does he put us here on a broken planet for 80 or 90 years? He put you here because life is a test and a trust and a temporary assignment. He’s watching to see if you are faithful to use what he gave you here on Earth to bless other people. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (NLT). God gave you talents, and he’s watching to see if you’re faithful with them. Talk About It How are you using your talents to serve others? Test your motives in everything you do. For example, are you serving somewhere to help others and glorify God or so you will receive some notice or glory for yourself?

When the Storms Come TODAY’S SCRIPTURE "The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”" (Matthew 7:25, NKJV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria We all go through difficulties and things we don't understand. It's easy to get discouraged and think, “Why am I having these problems?” The scripture says, “Rain falls on the just and the unjust.” No matter how good a person you are; no matter how much you honor God, you are going to have some rain. Jesus told a parable about a wise man who built his house on the rock. He honored God. Another man built his house on the sand. He didn’t. The winds blew. The rains beat on the houses. The same storm came to both people, the just and the unjust. If the story ended right there, you would think, “It doesn't make a difference to honor God. The same thing happens to me that happens to everybody else. I built my house on the rock, yet I’m in this storm.” But, that's not the end of the story. Jesus went on to tell that the man who built his house on the rock, his house was still standing after the storm. The man who built on the sand, his house washed away. Here's the difference. When you honor God, the storms may come, but you have a promise that others don't have. When it's all said and done, you'll still be standing! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, thank You for the promise to bring me through every difficulty, hardship and adversity I may face. I receive Your strength; I receive Your victory knowing that my house is built on the Rock in Jesus’ name! Amen! ​PS...​   ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XkmWym9vo4