Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”
Our Bible verse for today: “… whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life – a ransom for many” Mark 10:43-45 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Great men and women of God are servants at heart.”
There probably is no greater measure of spiritual stature and greatness in the eyes of God than a person’s willingness to serve others. The greatest men and women of God think of others before themselves, and put aside their own concerns in order to serve others.
Conversely, when a person is self-absorbed, always thinking of themselves, always talking about their own problems, and who seldom does much of anything for others, that person is of small spiritual stature and certainly is not great.
Great men and women of God are servants at heart. They think of others first. They look for ways to serve. This is the example Jesus set with His own life and it is the standard He established for His followers as well.
Interestingly, when we do put others first, and when we do focus on being a blessing to them rather than being self-absorbed with our own issues, our lives suddenly become more meaningful, fuller, happier, and we discover we’re not nearly so worried about ourselves and our own issues anymore. In Matthew 10:39 Jesus told us that, “Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.”
This is one of the reasons that at Oak Hill Baptist Church we place such a heavy emphasis on service and missions. It’s because when a person focuses on helping others, their own spiritual life becomes much richer and they discover that they themselves are happier, fuller, and more content. This is the truth Jesus was teaching in Matthew 10:39. When you give your live away in service to others, that’s when you truly find it.
Do you doubt that? Try it. Test Jesus. For just a while stop focusing so much on yourself and on your own issues and turn your thoughts instead to helping others. Then just watch to see what happens in your own life. You will discover that serving others makes you more like Jesus and the more like Jesus you become, the happier and more content you will be. And that will be true regardless of your circumstances.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 