Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “A life of service”
Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Our thought for today: “The decision to live a life of service can transform you.”
The Hebrew word “Haphak” means “a turning-point moment”. It’s a moment in time when something occurs to a person, or within a person, that changes everything and from that moment on, nothing is the same.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 the Apostle Paul describes such a moment in the life of someone who makes a decision to place their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. In that instant the person’s sins are forgiven, their eternal destiny is assured, and the Holy Spirit of God takes up residence in the person’s heart. It’s a transformative moment that changes the person’s life, and their eternity.
Although salvation is the most important “Haphak” moment a person can ever experience, there can be other such moments in life too. In the book “The Sender”, the main character Charlie had such a moment. While he was enduring an awful regime of chemotherapy to battle a very aggressive form of cancer, an anonymous writer sent him daily notes of encouragement. The notes were filled with profound wisdom and insight that never failed to lift Charlie’s spirits and to motivate him to persevere.
One of the letters urged Charlie to take his eyes off of himself and his own struggles and to focus instead on others who were struggling too. The author encouraged Charlie to seek out other cancer patients on his ward who were suffering and who needed some encouragement. He also told Charlie to consider the nurses and the medical staff who were caring for him – they have issues in their lives too and they too could use a kind word and a motivational lift.
What Charlie discovered when he did that was that there is great joy and satisfaction to be had from being a source of encouragement and blessing to others. In fact, the more of it he did the more he found he enjoyed it. Also, the more he focused on others the less he focused on his own problems and the better his own attitude became. His own problems didn’t magically go away, but they did become a lot easier to deal with.
Long story short, Charlie became so enthused about encouraging and blessing others that it became a “Haphak” moment for him. It transformed him and gave him a new purpose in life. Charlie decided that the rest of his life was going to be spent in service to others as he constantly sought ways to be a blessing and encouragement to those who were struggling.
Charlie’s thoughts began to focus on the question, “How can I be a blessing to someone today?” And when he began to think like that, he suddenly began to see opportunities to bless and encourage people all around him. So will you. Charlie also discovered that his new positive attitude, and his desire to bless others rather than to dwell on his own problems, went a long way towards helping him to get well too. Why would that be? “A cheerful heart is good medicine.” (Proverbs 17:22)
A decision to live a life of service could be a transformative moment for you too. Be an encourager of others and you will find yourself being encouraged. Be a blessing to others, and you yourself will be blessed.
Tomorrow I want to return us to the subject of yesterday’s devotional – the example of Aaron and Hur lifting the arms of Moses once he could no longer lift them himself.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 