April 22, 2022

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! It is a windy cool day but at least no snow. I spent the morning making a pot of stew, and egg dishes and shopping. 

Tomorrow we have a funeral for a Pastor friend who use to live just down the hall from us. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

As followers of the Lord, we are all called to serve; not just the ones that have the motivational gift of serving but each of us. I was reading an article in the Lutheran Ambassador by Jennifer Holt, and again made aware of how we are called to serve others humbly, actively, and sacrificially, as Jesus did.

We often see important people who receive a lot of attention, being catered to, given the best seats and others attentively serving them. Maybe we also have to admit we deserve service and get impatient when we don’t get it instantly and have to wait. While taking friends out for lunch, we got slow service and the owner of the restaurant apologized as he was short staffed and had to do most of the waiting on customers himself. We empathized with him as he demonstrated a servant’s heart; we then just sat back and enjoyed leisure time with friends as we waited and waited.

We are all given the mandate to serve  and Jesus gave us the greatest example of what it means to humbly serve. He said in Matt. 20:25-28 (God’s Word), “ Whoever want to become great among you will be your servant. Whoever wants to be most important among you will be your slave. It’s the same way with the Son of Man. He didn’t come so that others could serve Him. He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many people.”              “

Jesus came to serve and give, and He is the King of Kings, so deserving of being served.  We remember how He met the needs of others in a variety of ways, as He provided food for the multitudes, healed so many and sometimes not even given a thank you. He gave and gave of Himself, even when He was busy, tired, and desiring to get away from the crowds.

The question Jennifer asks is one we need to ask ourselves, “How much should I serve?” She says her own comfort level is not the deciding factor but what is God’s will and how He is leading her. Sometimes it is not convenient and we may be weary but we will be blessed when we follow His leading to do what He is prompting us to do. That doesn’t mean we will burn out serving others to exhaustion, but rather we will serve where and how He directs us.

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord how you can humbly serve others and do it with joy.