Brothers and Sisters, I wish to share this devotion with you.
I remember a preacher said that in a motorcycle training school, the instructor taught him that where he looked there his motorcycle would go. If he did not keep his eyes straight on the road but looked in the ditch , his motorcycle would end up in the ditch. So should we always look to Jesus in order to receive strength from him instead of allowing the problems around us to weigh us down.
We will experience seasons of ups and downs in the ministry. There are days when we feel like an eagle soaring on the high winds, while other days we feel like a deflated balloon. How can we get the strength we need in order to finish the race God has set for us and to finish well ?
Firstly, we must look to Jesus.
The author of the Book of Hebrews tells us,
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12:2
Secondly, we must not grow weary in doing good.
Paul recognized that that his fellow workers needed his encouragement not to grow weary and lose heart. The key is to look at the coming harvest and not quit.
In Gal 6:9 Paul says, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Thirdly, we must always renew our love for Jesus.
I wish to highlight that the Lord does not only want our services to him. He first wants our hearts to love him. When we go about being busy working for our Lord, let us also be reminded that He first calls us to be lovers of God. This takes precedence since the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and strength. Our service to the Lord is an outflow of our love and our devotion to Him.
In Lk 7:36 -47, a woman was using her tears and hair to wipe Jesus’s feet in the house of Simon, the Pharisee. Jesus taught Simon a lesson on love. He said, the person who recognizes that he/she has much to be forgiven will loves much. In contrast, the person who does not recognize his/her needs to be forgiven much will love only a little.
Let us always come back to the first time when we encounter the Savior who saved us from our sins. It is genuine love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that will give us the impetus to propel us to give our very best for the Lord to serve in the ministry.
In closing, I wish to bring our meditation on the lyrics of a hymn written by Isaac Watts, entitled WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDEROUS CROSS.
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When I survey the wonderous cross
On which the Prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride
Forbid it Lord that I should boast
Save it in the death of Christ my God
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His Blood
See from His head, His hand, His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing , so divine
Demands my soul, my life , my all …
Lord Jesus, we ask you to give us a fresh revelation of your divine love and to response by loving you and serving you even more. We also pray for a greater anointing and power of your Holy Spirit upon all pastors, brothers and sisters in order to run the race you have set for them. We pray this in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
