“Whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”– Mark 10:44

Over the years I’ve noticed that some people are held at arms length, shut out of the circle, by some church members–as though those folks are in some way inferior. That is a sad indictment against anyone calling themselves a Christian. Since Christ received us we should never reject and disrespect others. The following article by the Baptist Bible Hour says it well:

“Do you want to make a difference in the kingdom of God? Do you desire to be used in a mighty way to the glory of Jesus Christ? Do you have high ambitions for yourself in Christ’s body?

Then don’t settle for holding a significant position or for being especially prominent. Raise your sights even higher — make it your goal to be the chief person in the kingdom of God…and start serving everyone around you.

Jesus told his ambitious, contentious disciples on several occasions the only way to be great in His kingdom. The person that wishes to be great must take on the lowest, self-emptying, others-oriented, servant-spirited position in the church. He or she must become the servant of all.

Is there anyone in the church that you would disdain to serve? Do you still see yourself above certain individuals because of their background, or social status, or financial situation, or educational level, or personal hygiene? Then you are not yet chief in the kingdom of God. You have not yet risen high enough in the service of the Lord. Because you are not yet the servant of all.

Look today for opportunities for promotion in the church of Jesus Christ. Search out the lowliest and become lower still by serving them. There is no person too small, or smelly, or ugly, or sick, or handicapped for you to serve in Christ’s kingdom, if you are spiritually ambitious enough.”

Believe it or not the very worst thing that has ever happened to you can turn out to be the best if that’s what it takes for you to be saved. You can be bankrupt, divorced, incarcerated, or terminally ill and still go to heaven. You can be mistreated, abused, and neglected by others and still be a child of God. Regardless of what you are going through it isn’t as bad as dying without Christ. That’s as bad as it gets. So rather than despising your trials allow them to draw you to Christ. Rather than cursing your suffering consider His. He suffered beyond anything your mind can imagine and died in your stead so that you might be saved. That is proof that he cares for you. Trust Him and he will turn your burden into a blessing.

“ It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed , because his compassions fail not.They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”-Lam. 3:22-33

We have not to live on yesterday’s manna; we can gather it fresh to-day. Compassion becomes stale when it becomes thoughtless. It is new thought that keeps our pity strong. If our perception of need can remain vivid, as vivid as though we had never seen it before, our sympathies will never fail. The fresh eye insures the sensitive heart. And our God’s compassions are so new because He never becomes accustomed to our need. He always sees it with an eye that is never dulled by the commonplace; He never becomes blind with much seeing! We can look at a thing so often that we cease to see it. God always sees a thing as though He were seeing it for the first time. “Thou, God, seest me,” and “His compassions fail not.”

And if my compassions are to be like a river that never knows drought, I must cultivate a freshness of sight. The horrible can lose its horrors. The daily tragedy can become the daily commonplace. My neighbor’s needs can become as familiar as my furniture, and I may never see either the one or the other. And therefore must I ask the Lord for the daily gift of discerning eyes. “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” And with an always newly-awakened interest may I reveal “the compassions of the Lord!”  –John Henry Jowett

“There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.”– Psalm 130:4

This is a striking statement from beginning to end. First, there is forgiveness with the holy, perfect God who does not pardon sins? How could this be? On the other hand, even this forgiveness of God should lead us to a reverential fear of God. Why would this be?

The psalmist observes in the preceding verse (130:3) that if God were to keep account of our sins, no one could stand such a scrutiny. We are all sinners to the core and we have each sinned enough to justify a hell-sentence.

But, because Jesus Christ took our sins on Himself and paid the penalty for them, God has not dealt with us according to our iniquity (Psalm 103:10). Thus the holy God maintains His perfect and just standard, but is also merciful.

But what a fearsome forgiveness! To be snatched from the brink of never-ending torment, to be saved from our well-deserved damnation, makes us irrevocably and eternally indebted to our Savior. This forgiveness is fearful because it means we did nothing to deserve it, and we can do nothing to pay it back.

And God now demands the same kind of unconditional forgiveness from us, toward others. If God has so freely and kindly forgiveness us, do we not fear to hold a grudge or transgression against a brother or sister?–Baptist Bible Hour

I’m said numerous times, God’s will is always right, best, and safest. Here we see an evidence of this. Doing God’s will makes the heart rejoice. The late, J. R. Miller said: