Luke 16:1-13 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ 3 The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg –  4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ 5 So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’ 7 Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
 
HOW do you respond to this parable? Is Jesus rewarding deceit? Is he saying you can buy your way into Heaven? It seems so as the parable goes to this point: “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
    Jesus’ point here, though, is not to teach that works or wealth qualifies you for Heaven. Instead, he uses the dishonest manager to teach we must be wise and diligent to use our gifts for his kingdom.
    As the crooked manager wasted his master’s possessions, we can be prone to waste our Lord’s gifts to us. For example, money is very precious to most people, isn’t it? The Lord may have blessed you with wealth and comforts. Do you, in turn, wisely use the wealth for kingdom purposes? Or do you store them away for a “rainy day” that may never come? Or waste the wealth on useless items?
    Wisely offer to God what he has given you physically and spiritually. Many ungodly people attain great wealth. Some achieve fame and personal accomplishment with gifts such as singing, writing, caregiving, compassion, administration, etc. They deliberately work to expand their gifts for their own benefit. As the crooked manager, they have no thought to use what the Lord has fundamentally provided to them for kingdom purpose. Abusing and neglecting our gifts, we can think, “I’m sure the Master doesn’t know I’ve been negligent.” But he does. And he will, as the master in the parable, hold us accountable one day.
    As Jesus’ disciple, you are to wisely use God’s gifts to live righteous lives in God’s Word. Your gifts, too, are to be your means to proclaim, “Jesus saves!” to the world. Be obedient, wise and generous with all gifts God has given to you. Shrewdly manage them to change the view of our self-focused world.
 
Prayer: I pray, Lord, I am not selfish with all you have given me. Stir my mind to wisely use your gifts to glorify your name. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Luke 15:11-32 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 25 Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 8 The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
 
MUCH has been written of this parable, and the focus is normally on the lost son’s repentance and his father’s gracious love to welcome him home. Indeed, this is a wonderful view of our heavenly Father joyfully celebrating his lost children who “were dead” but now have come home to live with him. What blessed comfort to know he welcomes us with open arms as we realize the Father’s home is the best place to be.
    Let’s remember, though, that Jesus is correcting the Pharisees’ condemnation that “This man (Jesus) welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2b) Thus, the parable is more about the older son than the younger. The older son saw his brother as the Pharisees saw the tax collectors and sinners. As the law experts rejected the Lord hosting a meal for such people, the older son was irate over his father’s grace to celebrate his prodigal (wasteful) brother’s return. The Pharisees viewed the sinners to be unworthy of Jesus’ care. The brother viewed his “sinful sibling” as undeserving of any kindness. Why would his father have a party? His brother had left his family and had squandered a good share of his father’s wealth – and decreased his brother’s own share.
    But see the father’s love. He ran to meet the prodigal. He rejoiced. He forgave. He received the son. He longed for his older son to feel the same joy. His brother was home! 1 John 3:1a How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 
    What is your response to sinners? Do you stand off to judge them, or do you run to meet them? Do you celebrate those who were “dead and (are) alive again; (who were) lost and (are) found”?
    As God has granted you a life of joy and peace in his salvation, sometimes it is very difficult to see God’s high value and eternal grace for the broken people around us. Remember, though, as both sons were precious to their father, all are precious to our Father in Heaven. 
 
Prayer: Turn aside any judgment in my heart, Lord, to know how precious everyone is to you. Fill my heart with joy to celebrate with you all who come home to you. Amen.

Luke 15:8-10 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” 
 
ON the day I write this, we have just celebrated our grandson’s high school graduation. Today we rejoice in his accomplishment, and we are joyful for the man our Lord is forming him to become.
              What was necessary for Jes to graduate? What has happened for Jes to confess Jesus as his Savior? The answer is that Jes, his parents, his friends, his extended family, his church and, most of all, the Lord God have had to deliberately move toward this day. Many steps have been taken to help Jes learn in school and of God. Jes has been taught, corrected, encouraged, praised and urged on to seek more knowledge. In turn, he has responded, sometimes resisting, many times accepting. There would be no rejoicing today to celebrate the treasure of his education and salvation if this deliberate process had not occurred.
              In a like manner, how was it possible for the widow to discover the lost coin? Did she sit around mourning and wailing? Did she blame others for the loss and demand someone give her a new coin? No, instead she had to take specific steps to restore the coin to her possession. She swept the house and carefully searched. Deliberately, she moved to recover the coin, a very precious possession to a widow who often had very little.
              Then see the joyful discovery! She didn’t say, “I’m glad I found it.” She rejoiced! She called her friends to celebrate. The coin could be her food for a month or so. It could be a way to help someone else. The coin was irreplaceable. What joy we experience when we receive God’s precious provisions.
              Again, the three “lost but found” parables in Luke 15 demonstrate your value to God and the joy he experiences at your precious salvation. When “you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,” (Romans 10:9) you should surely rejoice. Call your friends to tell them, “The Spirit of God has acted to deliberately “find me”! Hear your Father in heaven joyfully celebrate, “I have found my lost child.”
              Revel each day that you have “graduated” from sin into Jesus’ salvation. Thank God for those people who have been deliberate to help you along your journey, even when you resisted. Alive in God’s knowledge, rich in his salvation, rejoice the Lord has “found” your precious soul.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Father, Son and Spirit for the way you have taught me of you. Thank you for the many people you have put into life to teach me. I am in awe that you came to seek and to find me. Amen.   

Luke 15:3-7 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
 
THIS is the first of three “lost but found” parables Luke 15 records. The key to hearing Jesus’ lesson in these parables is to remember he is responding to the Pharisees’ self-righteous comment in Luke 15;2 “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus’ parables (Remember a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.) are spoken directly to the Pharisees to awaken their hearts to two elements of God’s relationship with his people: 1) You are precious in his sight. 2) He is joyful to welcome you home. Jesus wants the Pharisees to see “God is love” (I John 4:8b) and themselves as sinners whom he has graciously come to invite to his table.
    See Jesus’ love as he describes one lost sheep’s value. Jesus reminds the Pharisees a good shepherd protected and cared for his sheep. A good shepherd is a loving caretaker to keep his sheep safe from thieves and predators. Such a shepherd would even risk his life to keep his sheep in the fold, safe under his care.
    Second, note the shepherd’s joyful response. “He joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.” The shepherd doesn’t punish the wayward sheep. The shepherd doesn’t lead or chase him home. The shepherd doesn’t simply put him with the rest of the flock. He joyfully carries him home! Celebrating the sheep’s return, he even calls his friends. This good shepherd, caring for and loving his flock, proclaims the good news of the wayward, but beloved, precious sheep returning to the fold.
    Yes, Jesus wants the judging Pharisees to love God and love others as themselves. He is the Good Shepherd, who has come from Heaven to eat and drink with his sinful creation. Surely the dinner was a joyful occasion. Jesus had come to find his lost people, and they had come to feast with him. This is a picture of Heaven’s response to each person who says, “Jesus, you are my Good Shepherd. I come into your fold.”
    We easily look at people to judge them, forgetting we are sinners, too. Turn your heart, instead, to lovingly seek their souls for Jesus. Be as the Good Shepherd. Go after them with love, tenderness, forgiveness and kindness. Do what the Lord gives you to do. In his power, carry them home.
 
Prayer: Forgive me, Father, if I have pointed to others to say, “those sinners”. Turn my heart to love those who need to hear the good news. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Luke 15:1-2 Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
 
WHAT truth you speak Mr. Pharisees! Aren’t you glad the Lord of Hosts, the King of Kings welcomes sinners and eats with them? How else would you be in his presence? In what manner would the world exist if our God did not graciously come to earth to welcome sinners and sit down to eat with us?
    How glorious, how praiseworthy is our Lord! This is cause to, “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.” (1 Chronicles 16:23). God’s welcoming love is the reason we can pray, “Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. 19 Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen. (Psalms 72:18-19) Because, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” we celebrate the truth of Ephesians 2:3-5 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions –  it is by grace you have been saved. 
    Let’s pray we are not as the Pharisees, who pointed to others as “sinners”. Let’s, instead, recognize our own sin and then point to our Savior to say, “Thank you for your gracious love, oh Lord.” Let’s love other “sinners” as he loves us. Recognize God’s gracious love for you. Rejoice in his saving love for all who confess, “You are the Christ.” (Mark 8:29)
 
Prayer: “How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” (Psalms 36:7-9) Amen.

 

Luke 14:34-35 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
 
ONE way we understand how to be a Kingdom Builder and a Kingdom Warrior (See the previous lesson.) is to “meet people where they are.” This method is a mark of Jesus’ ministry. He very often asked questions as he began to minister to particular people. He wanted to learn where people “were” spiritually and physically, so he could effectively respond to their need. One example is this question to the blind man Bartimaeus in Jericho: Mark 10:51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” And he asked the Pharisees: Luke 20:4 “John’s baptism — was it from heaven, or from men?”
    These questions are some of Jesus’ kingdom building tools. He uses them to discern, “What is the best way to meet them where they are?” With that informaiton he would respond in effect with such words as, “Now I understand. I can begin to take them from where they are to direct them into the kingdom. I’ll heal the blind man. I’ll point the Pharisees to my authority. I will show them the Father.”
    With his salt illustration, he concludes his lesson on the cost of discipleship. He urges his disciples to stay firm in him. As we follow Jesus, we are often in a place that can seem uncertain. Many temptations and limitations can cause a us to lose effectiveness. There are far too many stories of people who were once passionate for Jesus but now ignore him. They have lost the distinct flavor of God’s favor. It seems nothing is left to salt their hearts with the gospel message.
    Where is your salt level? If it is low, then please go back to the One who wants to meet you where you are. When he asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” tell him, “I want to see you again, Jesus. I want to be in you as before. My life needs the flavor of your joy, your friendship and your love.”
    With your confession and submission, he will come to you where you are. The Savior will begin to take you refreshed and renewed into his kingdom love. In your heart, receive his blessing, “You who have ears to hear, may you hear.”
 
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, you didn’t leave me where I was the day you came to me. May my steps always be faithful steps in you. Amen.
 

Luke 14:28-33 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
 
WHEN Barb and I moved into our current home, we decided to add screening to our back porch. We wanted to be outside without the mosquitos! The question was: Should we do this ourselves or hire someone? To decide, we counted the costs. We looked at an estimate for tools and material. There was also a potential cost to our relationship – would we still be talking to each other when it was done? Third, we considered the cost of quality. How would it look when two amateur builders did this? Then we counted the cost of a professional screen company. Considering all the costs we had discussed, we decided the professional way was the most cost-effective way. As a result, we thank God for this often-used, comfortable and attractive addition to our home.
    But what would have happened if we had not done this? Perhaps we would have begun, but it would still be unfinished because we would view, “The cost is too much.” Jesus teaches us to be sure we understand the cost of discipleship. His’ “count the cost” teaching here immediately follows, “anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Jesus teaches that as one prudently count costs of a building project or a leader counts the costs of war, we must count the cost of being a Kingdom Builder and a Kingdom Warrior.
    Be prepared and faithful to join Jesus. And know it will cost you. Consider and plan for the best way God directs you to fulfill Jesus’ call to be his disciple. Be humble to know that as Barb and I needed building help, so do you. Being a Kingdom Builder and Warrior is not a do-it-yourself project. On your own, you may start well. But too many obstacles will discourage you. You may even argue with other builders and inhibit other warriors because you do not work together with a common goal
    Eagerly, confidently and wisely, seek God’ help to be Jesus’ disciple. Pray for the Spirit to strengthen you. Pray for expert guidance from experienced Kingdom Builders and Warriors. Be humble, strong, true and courageous, even as the cost may be your life. Faithful to God, receiving his power, your work will become a joy for many.
    A well-built disciple’s life shows to others how attractive it is to dwell in the house of the Lord.
 
Prayer: I am ready for the work you have assigned to me, Lord. I pray for your expert instruction to be a Kingdom Builder, a Kingdom Warrior with you. Amen.
 

Luke 14:25-27 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters –  yes, even his own life –  he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
 
HOW deeply do you love Jesus? After all, discipleship is costly, and Jesus wants to know if your love for him is enough to pay the price. Peter was astounded and even frustrated at the cost one day when he said to Jesus in Matthew 19:27 “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
    Yes, Jesus does require you to leave everything to make him your everything. “Hate” here is not an emotion against your family. This is Jesus’ radical word to awaken your faith to love your Lord above all.
    We should not be surprised or shocked at Jesus’ “love hierarchy”. After all, God commands our highest love in Exodus 20:3-4 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” It’s true, family members are not idols or gods, but we can be tempted to put family wants before God’s will. People I know have been turned from God’s clear call to ministry because a parent said, “Don’t go. That’s not for you. I’m afraid for you. I don’t think it’s right for you.” Some have rejected God’s love when family members opposed to their faith to pull them from church and discipleship. In contrast, many faithful witnesses have expressed their compelling love for Jesus even as siblings or parents were opposed to their faith.
    Yes, we are to honor and obey our parents, submit to spouses and love our children. But all this earthly love can be complete only when our love is grounded in your heavenly Father. When God is not your first love, your relationship with family will be less than your Lord desires. Moses described this “Love God, Love Family” process in Deuteronomy 6:4-6 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 
    Speak love to God. Teach God’s love to your family. Live God’s love in your life. God’s love will transcend into your heart, into your household and into all who even oppose you.
 
Prayer: I love you, Father, Son and Spirit. Teach me how to love my family, so they will love you, too. Amen.

Luke 14:15-24 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
 
JESUS’ parable defines the Jews’ cool response to God. The Lord declared his guest list through Abraham: Genesis 12:1-2 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
    He then affirmed his gracious invitation through Moses and the prophets: Isaiah 58:14 then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” Purposefully, the Father then reaffirmed his “feast with me” invitation through the Son: Luke 22:19-20 And Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”  The Jews’ response, though, was to refuse Jesus, the Bread of Life. (See John 6.)
    Why do so many excuse themselves from the Lord’s eternal table? Should we not be eager to go and eat of the Lord’s Word? Wouldn’t we have an appetite, also, to invite others? Certainly there is no greater banquet than to “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6b) What then, might keep us from eagerly feasting on God’s everlasting love, forgiveness, blessing and even everlasting life?
    Could it be we do not “hunger and thirst for righteousness”? (Matt 5:6)
 
Prayer: Lord God, forgive my poor appetite for you. I pray my heart, mind and soul are eager to receive the eternal banquet you have prepared for me. Amen.
 
 

Luke 14:12-14 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
 
DO you see the results? One challenge you may  experience as you serve others for God is a lack of response to our work. For example, we can join in a ministry to serve homeless men. Diligently, you prepare a nutritious meal. Hopefully, you want to touch their hearts with Jesus’ love. But reality is they come into the dining area, eat their food or just pick it up and leave. What good have we done? After all, we wanted to talk with them, get to know them and encourage them in Christ.
    Or we can sit and pray with someone who longs for healing of soul and body. But God is silent. And both of you wonder, “What good did it do?” People, too, who teach Bible classes, help unwed moms, care for fatherless children and invite people for a meal in their home seldom see reward for their work. We become tired and discouraged. Eagerly, even desperately, we long to see some fruit of our labor.
    This is a natural human longing. The work we do should produce immediate results, right? One reason people in ministry have such hobbies as gardening and woodworking is to see immediate results from their labors.
    But God’s kingdom time and purposes are much different than our own, aren’t they? As we worship a sovereign God, we must know all things are under his authority. In our heart, we must faithfully know he is at work in his time. The Bible’s narrative pointedly takes us from creation to a new creation. Mankind does not dictate to God how and when he fulfills his will on earth. God works in his sovereign plan for his creation. A day, a decade, a century, a millennium and eternity are all the same to God. His Word never says, “You will have my response right now.”
    Be mindful that your service for the Lord is to benefit those you serve, to point people to salvation and to fulfill his commands. Servant work is about those you serve. When you keep your servant eyes are on your Servant Savior, his promise is, “You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
    Be encouraged, too, with the apostle Paul’s words to the Corinth church: 2 Corinthians 13:4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.
    How great will be your reward when the Lord God acknowledges you, “My righteous one.” Rejoice in the opportunities he gives you to serve his people. Work in God’s power. Be satisfied, even joyful, your reward is Heaven’s praise. 
 
Prayer: Give me servant hands, Lord, to welcome people to your house. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.