Dear Ones,
Hope you had a great weekend!  We are going to the lake shortly and spend the night. I am going to stop to see a friend on the way and have coffee in the gazebo, and later we are going to celebrate Al’s birthday with Ann’s family. Tomorrow I hope to go to my old Bible Study group and I have missed that.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
How good are we at serving and putting others above ourselves? I know I so often have to confess at the end of the day that I am selfish and need forgiveness from the Lord. I read today from Phil. 2:3-4 (God’s Word), “Don’t act out of selfish ambition or be conceited. Instead, humbly think of others as being better than yourselves. Don’t be concerned only about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others.” One young man in love, proposed to his girlfriend by washing her feet. What an example of servanthood and thinking of her before himself! Another gal who was engaged kept bragging that she was her daddy’s little darling and he would give her anything she wanted. She said this as she tried on a wedding dress for $16,000 that he would have to pay for. She always got her way and now will have a rude awakening in marriage when she is called on to sacrifice for her husband and possibly children in the future. Life doesn’t revolve around us but the apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 3 to be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle and patient with others.  We are to put up with each other and to be forgiving. God knows that we are happiest when not focusing on me, me, me, but putting ourselves aside and having our hearts open to serving others. We have many examples today, that sometimes makes the news, of children raising funds to help a cause. It could be to help their family’s sponsored child in a poor country or maybe someone who has lost everything. Their smile tells it all and expresses their joy in doing something beyond themselves. Love is like a beautiful garment we need to put on every day; so let us be directed by the Holy Spirit to serve others.
Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to give you joy in serving someone else today in some way.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy