REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVICE

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24 NKJV).

The Lord Jesus never misrepresented what was required when it came to the matter of service. In fact He seemed to emphasize the hardships more than the rewards. In our verse the Lord Jesus gives three ingredients for service. Three words sum it up - deny, cross, follow.

Deny – “Let him deny himself.” If we are going to do any kind of service for the Lord, it will involve denial of self. This is where many folks make a run for it since they are not prepared to deny themselves for spiritual matters. To hear these folks talk, it seems almost a crime to have to deny oneself of some legitimate pleasure in order to do some work of the Lord. Yet, self-denial is essential if we would serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

Cross - “Take up his cross.” The cross was the main work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to earth primarily to die on the cross for our sins. If we would serve Him, it will mean a cross of some sort. A cross involves suffering, pain, mocking, blood, sweat, and tears. Many like to be in God’s army when it involves a parade, recognition, and medals. But when the cross is involved, that is too big a price, so they drop out and go home.

Follow - “Follow me.” We will not serve the Lord Jesus Christ well if we are not prepared to follow Him. To follow the Lord means that we will go wherever He goes. And note there is nothing between “follow” and “me.” This means that to follow the Lord we must be devoted to Him. The apostle Paul said in Phil. 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ.” If our devotion to the Lord is lacking, we will fail in service.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 2)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“A non-serving Christian is a contradiction in terms!”

Rick Warren (1954 – Present)

American Baptist Pastor and Author

Word Study

Exact representation

In Heb. 1:3 we read, “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (NASB).

Exact representation is the Geek word charaktḗr (χαρακτήρ = khar-ak-tar'). The word means a mark or figure burned in, or stamped on. It is an impression, the exact image of any person or thing in every respect. In classical Greek charaktḗr originally denoted an engraving tool, but gradually came to represent the traits natural in human personality, especially those features which distinguished one person from another. In the Septuagint, charaktḗr carries the idea of a scorching or a scar. In the New Testament, charaktḗr was spoke of exact representation. Thus in essence, nature, and in every way, the Son, the Lord Jesus is like the Father, thus affirming His deity. The Lord Jesus is identical with God the Father, and yet distinct from Him.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine” (Isa. 43:1 KJV).

Did You Know…

“Lord of hosts” describes God as the sovereign Lord of the host of the stars (Isa. 40:26), the angelic host (Psalm. 103:20-21) and the armies of Israel (Ex. 12:41; Ps. 46:7, 11).

Bible Quiz

“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” According to the Book of Genesis, to whom were these words spoken?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According Daniel 6, what was unique about the laws of the Medes and Persians? It could not be changed (Dan. 6:8).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“IMAGE OF GOD”

"Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them!” (2 Cor. 4:4 NKJV).

1. Meaning – IMAGE OF GOD speaks of the Lord Jesus as the One who is in the form of God and equal with God.

2. Insights – In Bible times, the concept of an “image” could never be understood without an understanding of physical representation. That the Lord Jesus is the “Image of God” clearly conveys the sense that He is the visible manifestation of the invisible God. He is the embodiment of God’s own nature and character. To know the Lord Jesus is to know God. Further, He revealed God the Father by His words and actions. As the “image of God,” the Lord Jesus Christ brings clarity to our hazy notions of the immortal, invisible God who lives in unapproachable light (1 Tim 1:17; 6:16).

Did You Know – Christian History

James Ramsay was born July 25, 177 in Fraserburgh, Scotland in 1733.He was a Scottish ship’s surgeon, Anglican priest, and leading abolitionist in Great Britain.

Ramsay was educated at King’s College, Aberdeen between 1750 and 1755. After two years as a doctor’s assistant in London he entered the navy in 1757 as a surgeon aboard the HMS Arundel. In 1759, the Arundel intercepted a British slave ship, the Swift and, on boarding the vessel, Ramsay found over 100 enslaved people living in the most inhumane conditions. This incident was to have a lasting effect on Ramsay.

When an injury disqualified him from further service, Ramsay took holy orders in the Anglican Church and moved to the Caribbean island of St Christopher (now known as St Kitts). Along with his pastoral duties Ramsay practiced medicine. He welcomed all of his parishioners, black and white, into his church and set out to convert the slaves to Christianity. Further, he strongly criticized the planters for their cruel treatment of the slaves and initiated many measures intended to better the condition of the slaves.

The planters resented Ramsay’s interference, and he soon came under attack. Letters were written to local newspapers, an angry notice was pinned to the church door, and his church was boycotted. His enemies said that he was unfit to preach to whites to which Ramsay replied that the souls of the poorest blacks were priceless and he would gladly preach to them. But, worn down by opposition, he finally admitted defeat after twenty years and retreated to England in 1781.The following three years were spent writing the Essay on the Treatment and Conversion of African Slaves in the British Sugar Colonies which was published in the summer of 1784. This was the first time that the British public had read about the suffering of enslaved people on the West-Indian plantations.

This event immediately embroiled Ramsay in pamphlet debate with various agents and supporters of the West-India Interest. Ramsay then met with William Pitt the Younger, the English Prime Minister on several occasions and with William Wilberforce in 1783, and with Thomas Clarkson in 1786 that played an important role in the formation of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade the following year. In spite of Ramsay’s importance to the anti-slavery movement, he did not live to see its fruition. Ramsay died in 1789.

A Little Humor

A mother walked into her young son’s bedroom just in time to hear him begin his nighttime prayers. He said, “Andy, please forgive me for what I did wrong today, and Andy, please keep my mommy and daddy safe.” After he had finished, she asked him who Andy was. He told her that was God’s name. She asked him how he knew that, and he said that in church they sang to Andy. They would sing, “Andy walks with me – Andy talks with me …”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“God’s grace meets us where we are, but doesn’t leave us where it found us!”