| Author | Message | ||
| River Registered user Username: River Post Number: 1183 Registered: 9-2006  |
I would like to share with you this article that I wrote for this month of august. In these articles that I write I could give a treatise on theology, what this or that scripture means, I could wax intellectual and philosophical words about such and such a subject, but I had rather write things from my own experience even if it makes me look stupid, I had rather write about life and where the rubber meets the road. What does this article have to do with coming out of Adventism? Much in every way, the former Adventist coming out of Adventism is coming out of Adventism looking for churches and in many cases, new friends and finding new life in Christ so tis a struggle, not wanting to fall into something else even worse, so I believe this article has everything to do with coming out of Adventism and finding new churches, dealing with family still in and myriad other things. I pray that in sharing this with you that it speaks to hearts, I have only one thing to share and that is a little bit of myself. The key to solving many questions is here if you if you can only see it, if you can, then take this key and open the doors of blessing. Heart of a servant In the great example Jesus gave to the disciples in John 13:13 "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. John 13:14 "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. John 13:15 "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. John 13:16 "Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. John 13:17 "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. One time back in the seventies the Pastor of our church decided to hold a “foot washing” and so on a Sunday evening service the men were to wash the feet of the men and the ladies were to wash the feet of the ladies. Our church had two rows of pews so the ladies were on one side of the church and the men on the other. Now I was very young in the Lords way at that time so I really did not know what to make of it at the start. True I had read the gospels so I knew what the Lord had done, but still it was a little strange, it just so happened that I drew my Pastor as a foot washing partner so I washed his feet first and I had no feeling much about that, but when it came to his washing mine I was very humbled by that experience and I experienced what Peter experienced, who was I to allow my Pastor to wash my feet and I came away from there humbled. The thing was I got the humble part but I did not get the realization part of what this is all about, I learned how to be humble of spirit, but I did not learn the servants part in it. Learning to be humble is a good thing but learning to be a servant is an even better thing. Like Peter when the Lord told him he could have no part if he refused, I pretty much said in my Christian youth, wanting to be a part of my Lord, not only my feet but my head also. It seems all too easy to get the humble part but not the servant part and so I went away not yet realizing the lesson I was supposed to learn. Since then I have attended the college of hard knocks and although God taught me many things through that hardship I still did not learn what I consider to be the most important lesson, I learned to hear his precious voice and other things. So the years passed by, this and that with God sometimes having to take a back seat to the things I selfishly wanted to get accomplished in this world. Finally I just quit going to church, I couldn’t get any satisfaction out of it so I just pulled back in among my computers and electronics and all the other things I had learned to do, I was lonely in ways but in other way I didn’t need humanity much, I hated to deal with people while computers were my friends, they were not complicated like humans and computer logic was my orderly world. So I sat there for several years just having what contact with humanity I had to have in order to survive. Oh, I still loved the Bible and I still loved the Lord, I still did my best to hear his voice, I just worshipped more or less by myself and I was perfectly satisfied without complicating my life with humans. One morning as I sat and thought on the things of God the Holy Spirit spoke to me, I knew very well who it was who was doing the speaking, I had been listening to his voice long enough to know. He said to me “Get up and get out and find yourself a church and support it!” I said right back “Aw Lord, you know how I feel about people; I am comfortable with Just me and you!” But the conversation was over, I had been around him long enough to know he wasn’t going to argue, so I said “O.K. Lord, for you I will go and serve” so I picked up the phone book and looked up the nearest church, I drove over and found the one I thought I might like and drove past to get the lay of the land, he didn’t say which one so I thought to try this one for a couple months and If didn’t feel like it was the one for me I would just move on, to make a long story short I moved to another church after two months, as I drove to the other one I said “Lord now its getting skimpy already here and ain’t a gonna drive 50 or 60 miles to church” we live in a small country setting with the largest city 60 miles away. I did find where I felt the Lord wanted me to be in that next church. But through all this time I went with the attitude of the servant, I was determined to serve in whatever capacity that came my way, with finances and whatever else if it was just my presence, whatever, and as I did this I realized the lesson Jesus gave his disciples, I finally got it after all those years, to serve others is the greater part. To give service to others, to stoop low and to serve every day is the lesson he was giving with that foot washing. Since then God has added so much I am beginning to lose track of the times I am able to minister to some one else. Not only that but he has taken away some of my quirks and I am able to associate better with people. So now when I go I am able to go with a servants heart, oh, people still seem complicated, their lives are very complicated and much of the time I am too blunt and I feel like a bull in a china closet and I am subject to mess up, but I am getting better. I never go to receive any more, I go to give of myself to the service of the Lord and in giving I receive a hundred fold, think what I could have done with those years if I had only gotten the full picture in the first place, but we can’t sit around crying over the past, we have today and we must go on. Now you may think “Why didn’t you see it?” but now I observe those around me all the time that seem to have not “Gotten it”. The church pews are full of them, always going to receive instead of give, they haven’t yet “Gotten it” it is so simple to begin laying aside our desires for the sake of others and yet so hard to get hold of. It’s a complete flip from the way we normally think. We don’t begin to have a servant’s heart in a big way; we just begin, to go, to support, and to serve. We can determine to go on missions to the heart of Africa, but without a servant’s heart I daresay we might not accomplish much. Back in those years I wanted to serve in a greater way, but I failed to find a servants heart, I failed to learn the greatest lesson of all time. A lesson that could turn this world upside down for Christ is still waiting to be learned by a Christian world. You see, if we desire to be like him we must be like him and he came to serve, to give up his life for the sake of others. A servant is not greater that his master. River | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 6427 Registered: 12-2003  |
River, that is an amazing essay. What you say is profound, and it is the essence of Jesus' ministry and His legacy to us as His disciples. Thank you for sharing your writing/thinking with us. Thank you for having a servant's heart with all of us here! Colleen | ||
| Sara Registered user Username: Sara Post Number: 32 Registered: 5-2007 |
Thanks River, You are ahead of me. Im still a consumer at chruch. I have been praying to be more of a servant, to be more concerned with others, and I start, and then another bomb drops on me, and I'm back asking for more prayer and more support and trying to stay afloat one way or another. I am asking God for that, for a period of time where I can give back what I have been given. Where do you publish your articles? I much prefer an honest, personal article like you wrote most of the time. Lots of theological mumbojumbo in my adventist backgroud. Give me an article from someone who has met Jesus! Sara | ||
| River Registered user Username: River Post Number: 1186 Registered: 9-2006 |
Sara, You go right ahead and ask for the prayer and support you need, that is not a sign of weakness but of strength, people go through needless suffering simply because they are to proud or afraid to ask for prayer and support. Thank God, in my church we pray for one another and take prayer request midweek, Sunday and Sunday night. If you are in a prayerful and supportive group I thank God for that. I am not ahead of you, I don't want to be ahead of you, I want to be beside you in Jesus, I want to support you in whatever way I can. Besides I will tell you another secret, you cannot give back what you have been given and when God is through with you, teaching you through the trials of life, it is he that will give to you to give. I know it makes no sense right now but it will eventually, in his hands we can only become a willing vessel, so he gives us even that that we give. I will tell you yet another secret, God inhabits the praises of his people, practice laying aside the things that plague you if you can and just begin to praise him and lift up his name, find yourself a quiet place and begin to lift up his name, he is worthy of the praise any time of the day or night and in those times of pure praise he will lift your heart far above the darts of the wicked one, he will give your soul ease. Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones Can you see that there? Peter I 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; Samuel II 22:50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. Psalms 9:11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people. Psalms 22:3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. Psalms 59:17 To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy. Lift him up in your heart and he will give you peace. River (Message edited by river on July 31, 2007) |
