10/25/2011

Luke 17:8 “But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?

In this verse, the master presents the expectation that even though the servant is fatigued from his day at work, he must resist being strengthened by food until his Master has eaten and drank himself. Obviously, our Lord is a gentle and caring Master but at times, as His bondservants, He does ask us to do hard things for the furtherance of the kingdom.

 When you haven’t had food for a while, especially after a very laborious day you become very weak and it is often hard to have a good attitude from the hunger pangs. I was thinking back to the times that I have served the Lord. When I feel weak either physically or emotionally, I often back off from serving and put my needs before others.

I want to apply this to my life by serving even when the flesh is weak God can be made strong through me. I want to serve with a happy heart to the end asking God for His forgiveness when I find myself begrudgingly or simply not doing what He has placed before me.

10/26/11

Luke 17:9 “Does he thank that servant because he did the things which were commanded him?” I think not.

As a servant, he would not even expect a thank you because he was doing what was commanded him. For some reason, this servant is indebted to his master and as payment, he does whatever the master needs done.

When I “serve” others I am just doing what the Lord has commanded me to do. I am indebted to Him and I need to look at my serving not as a gift of my choosing but obedience. If I were not to do the things commanded me then it would be disobedience.

I want to apply this to my life by looking at serving as an act of obedience not of choice. I am commanded to serve and I desire to be obedient unto my Maker.

10/27/2011

Luke 17: 10 “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”

Out of obedience, these servants had done what they were commanded to do….and were unprofitable servants. Unprofitable caught my attention. It was not that the servants’ work was unprofitable to their master or whoever else they were serving….it was unprofitable to their own bank account. Physically they gained nothing for themselves.

However, as servants of the Lord we have eternal profit that we will receive on Judgment Day. Even though we may not gain anything for ourselves physically, we can have pleasure in the fact of doing something for someone else that helps them out and gaining eternal riches in heaven. On this earth, there is a satisfaction that we gain.

I want to apply this to my life that even when something is unprofitable for me to do for myself, I will remind myself that it is not unprofitable to the ones I am serving. There are eternal and physical rewards in doing what is our duty to do.