POINT TO PONDER: Service is not optional.
REFLECT: How did today's reading impact you?
I was put on earth to make a contribution. I was created to add to life on earth, not just take from it.
       "It is God Himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives
   from Christ Jesus, and long ages ago He planned that we should spend
   our lives in helping others." (Ephesians 2:10 - Living Bible)

       "It is He who saved us and chose us for His holy work, not because we
   deserved it, but because that was His plan" (2 Tim 1:9 - Living Bible)

  1. I was created to serve God
    2. Ephesians 2:10 shows us that was God's plan all along. That's what life is all about!
  2. I was saved to serve God.
    3. Have you ever wondered why God doesn't just immediately take us to heaven the moment we accept His grace? He leaves us here to fulfill His purposes. God has a ministry for me in His church and a ministry for me in the world. Every member of God's family is a minister.
  3. I was called to serve God
    4. My call to salvation included my call to service. They are the same. Regardless of your job or career, you are called to "full-time" Christian service. A "non-serving" Christian" is a contradiction of terms. Your service is a vital part of the local Body of Christ. If a body is not functioning correctly, it can wither, atrophy and die. Today thousands of local churches are dying because body parts(Christians) are unwilling to serve. Most of the time we're more interested in "serve us" than in "service".
  4. I was commanded to serve God
    5. For Christians, service is not optional, something to be tacked onto our schedules if we can spare the time. Jesus Taught that spiritual maturity is never an end in itself. Maturity is for ministry.

Impression without expression causes depression. Study without service leads to spiritual stagnation. God wants to use you and I to make a difference in our world. What matters is not the duration of your life, but the donation of it... Not how long you've lived, but how you've lived.
PRAYER:
"Gracious Father, I want to experience true life. I know it only comes through You and by serving others int he way that You've designed me. Help me to be like you as I give and serve today. Amen
FOR MY CONSIDERATION:
    What is holding me back from accepting God's call to serve Him? Whose needs can I meet?
This week's Memory verse: 
 	“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others.”  
 I Peter 4:10 (NIV)
CBF Home How can we help you in this journey? Please let us know
-- Keep up to date with www.cbfchurch.org/go/40days