“A Servant by Choice” — Harvest Daily Devotion for 10/20/2016

Thursday, October 20, 2016

A Servant by Choice

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

—1 Corinthians 6:19

The apostle Paul often referred to himself as a bondslave or a doulos—a voluntary servant. Doulos is a Greek word often used in the New Testament for a slave or servant. It describes a unique class of servant, someone who was not made that way by constraint or by force. A doulos was someone who had been freed, but chose to serve his or her master out of love. Thus, this servant would be called a doulos—a bondservant, a servant by choice.

As Christians, that is what we are. Christ has paid an incredible debt for us. He has pardoned us. He has forgiven us. And now we should become His voluntary servants, serving Him not because we have to but because we want to. We serve Him because we love Him, recognizing that He has instilled certain gifts, certain talents, and certain resources in our lives that we are to use for His glory.

The Bible says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).

Jesus said, “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33). The words forsake all mean surrender your claim to and say goodbye to. This doesn’t mean taking a vow of poverty; it simply means recognizing that it all belongs to God.

Our lives belong to God. Everything is the Lord’s. We as Christians will stand before God one day and give an account for what we have done with all that He has given to us.

Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie
P.O. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514-4000 Phone: 1-800-821-3300

How Do We Keep An Eternal Perspective During This Election?

I am rejoicing that as I write this column, I can finally see the light at the end of the dark tunnel of the 2016 election. Regardless of who wins, I will be thankful for an end to the mean-spirited and downright nasty political advertise-ments that have dominated television for the past several months.

It’s hard to keep an eternal perspective when you are constantly bombarded with political hype. All of us need to pause, take a deep breath and remind ourselves that our true home is not America; rather, it is Heaven.

Regardless of the outcome of the election and what happens thereafter, God is still on the throne, and He still laughs at all the feeble efforts of the world’s political leaders to thwart His purposes (Psalm 2:1-6). He is not laughing because He does not care. No, He is laughing because He has the wisdom and power to orchestrate all the evil of Satan and Man to the triumph of His Son.

In the meantime, as the world grows increasingly dark, those of us who profess Jesus as our Lord and Savior need to stand strong in behalf of righteousness (Matthew 5:10-16).

One of my heroes in the faith is Don Wildmon, the founder of the American Family Association (AFA). He has stood boldly against the increasing immorality in our society for years, and he and his son, Tim, continue to do so. The sad thing is that he has often reported that some of his main critics come from within Christianity and many of them are pastors!

He says a typical letter he gets from pastors, reads something like this:

Don, you are wasting your time. Evil has greatly multiplied since you began speaking out about it. You need to face up to the fact that you are losing the battle.
I love the response that Don always gives to such a letter:

God did not call me to win. He called me to stand. We will not win until Jesus returns.
And then, my friends, when Jesus does return, we are going to win BIG TIME, for Jesus is returning to pour out the wrath of God on those who are currently mocking Him and His Word. And then, Jesus is going to start reigning over all the world from Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and the world is going to be flooded with peace, righteousness and justice (Isaiah 2:1-4).

I can hardly wait for that glorious day! It is because I yearn for it so passionately that I always tell people:

I’m not a Democrat or a Republican. I am a Monarchist because I am devoting my life to doing everything I can to prepare the way for my soon coming King.
Here’s the way Christian social commentator, Todd Starnes, put it recently in one of his books:

We don’t need more Americans bowing down to the Democrat donkey or the Republican elephant. We need more Americans bowing down to the Lion of Judah.
Ephesians 6:12-13

12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

13) Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.