The Season To Serve

Romans 12: 3-8

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith:

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence: he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

As followers of Jesus Christ, one of our responsibilities is to serve. The way that you serve is going to be an individual thing. I personally think that our childhood and our upbringing play a huge part in the things that we are passionate about. It could also be experiences you had as an adult before you were led to serve the Lord that could affect how you serve. No matter what leads you one thing made very clear is that we are all equal. There's no service that is greater than any other. Each of us as a whole makes up the body in Christ.

The past couple of years has been rough on a lot of people. Many lost their jobs due to them closing during the pandemic. Some had no choice but to quit because their children were learning virtually and no day care was available. Several people left jobs that remained open because they were front line workers and they were afraid of becoming ill. Some people lost breadwinners in their family or the other half of their financial stability due to Covid. Whatever the reason, many households have taken a financial hit over the past couple of years. I'm not going to mention what the government is doing to help because they are intentionally ruining our economy. My point is households are hurting.

Then you have households that thrived during the pandemic. They were able to keep their jobs and not be affected by the pandemic at all. Many worked from home and to this day still work from home. Children learned virtual for a period of time but they made it all work. They don't even know anyone personally that died from Covid.

This is not the season to be cocky or think that you are more blessed than someone else because you didn't die from Covid or you didn't lose your job during this pandemic. Yes you are blessed because God was watching over you but by no means are you better than someone else. As a matter of fact, these past couple of years should have you reflecting on your life and asking yourself if you are doing enough to please the one that has the power to give you life and take it away. If you learn nothing else from the pandemic, you know now that you can be here today and gone tomorrow. It's not meant to sound harsh, but Covid has been a wake up call for many people; myself included.

I just want to mention that those whose eyes are open know that we are nearing the time of Jesus' second coming. A lot of people are being called on by God right now to help spread the word, through ministry, through prophecy or through other gifts that God has given them. We are to try and get as many people to repent and turn their life around before His Holy Spirit leaves this earh. As I mentioned in a previous post, He has to fix us before He can use us. That's not an overnight process. For me personally it took almost a year. I'm still not quite where I want to be yet.

On a regular basis, I hear that the church needs to get back to serving the community. My grandmother talks to me all the time about how they minister to people living on the streets. She's done it for a while. She always suggest that I find a way to do that because she knows where I am currently in my walk with Christ. I live in a city with a growing homeless population. Most families that live paycheck to paycheck are one paycheck away from being homeless themselves. It is heartbreaking to watch people begging for money with their kids by their side. I know what my plans are to help serve the community in my city.

What will you do to serve this season? Below you will find ways to serve the Lord.

1. Teach A Child About God.

Set the foundation at home. Teaching your young children about God is a great way to serve Him and it can come naturally for most. I think the smaller they are the easier it is. Teach them a prayer that covers all things. Talk to them about how good God is and how much He loves us. I found a kids bible that would summarize each chapter and then ask questions to make sure that the children understood what they heard or read. My daughter is at the age now where she is curious about God so she has a personal bible for girls and she also has daily scriptures on her tablet. We pray every day on the way to school. I let both kids say their own prayer. It could be out loud or in silence. Then we say one together. Then I say my own prayer to speak protection and blessings over them for the day. Proverbs 22:6 says "Train a child up in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." There's a saying, "when you know better you do better". There's an entire generation of kids starting their lives that didn't get this and we are now seeing the results of a lack of parental guidance when it comes to God and spirituality.

2. Be A Mentor To A Young Male

Are you young at heart or feel like you can relate to issues involving our young men? Can you be compassionate and empathize with them unbiased? Are you able to separate the person from the spirit they are dealing with? A lot of young men need someone that can relate to what they are going through and show them to conquer fears and feelings on a spiritual level. Satan is working overtime on men because He knows the importance of the role of a man in households and families. Men are the head of households, and they are to put their wife and children's needs ahead of their own. If Satan can get the man out of the household then it throws the whole dynamic of the family off. Boys grow up too fast and feel led to take on the father's role as the man of the house. The mother is working more to pay the bills so she's not around. You see where this is going, dont you? Males need a mentor that is stable, reliable, trustworthy and will lead them in a Godly direction and not the other way.

3. Become Active In Your Church

This is a great way to accomplish a few goals you may have if you want to grow in your walk with Christ. First, being in the right church environment will put you in a different space mentally. If you are truly wanting a greater relationship with God, being around like minded people can keep you motivated. If you are in a season where you are being called on to fulfill a bigger purpose and you don't know where to begin, start with attending church. When opportunities present themselves, just do it. It could be the stepping stone to your real purpose. Everyone has to start somewhere. Be an usher, join the choir, teach Sunday school, clean the church, be the camera man or woman. You're more likely to attend regulary and in the right environment you get what you need spiritually. This is not to say you have to be in church in order to serve. It's just one more way that it can be done.

4. Be Kind To Everyone (Even Your Enemies)

This is one of the hardest things to do, especially in a time when it seems like nearly everyone you come across is rude to you, or rude to others, or just one word away from losing it. We all know the saying 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31)'. We tend to do unto others as they do unto us. I like the phrase 'kill them with kindness'. When people know you are trying to get a closer relationship with God, it seems like they will purposefully try to get you to act out of character. Some will bend over backwards just so they can see you backslide. Stay the course. Perform random acts of kindness. A perfect example is when you go through the drive through window at a restaurant. Pay the meal for the car behind you. It starts a chain reaction to where your act of kindness just rubbed off on someone else. If someone is rude to you for no reason, tell them to have a blessed day or God bless you. They won't know what to think. You don't know what people are dealing with. Your Good morning, or Hello, can make their day. Some people just need a hug. One thing to remember, Satan is working overtime right now. Don't put yourself in harm's way to prove you can be kind. There are people out there that just won't get it and what's worse is they get more offended by it.

5. GIVE From The Heart

If you have attended church then you likely know what it means to tithe. Where the confusion comes in is everyone assumes that tithing comes in the form of money and that it is automatically 10%. Tithes have received a bad rep because unfortunately you have preachers on the pulpit that were placed there by people and not God. They push tithes on their congregations and use the money for personal expenditures. You tithe to show gratitude for what God has allowed you to have. You plant a seed when you tithe trusting that God will bless it and multiply it and place it with your treasures in heaven. There are several scriptures on tithing. One is Matthew 6:19-21.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

When you tithe, you are not paying the church. You are giving to God. There are other ways to tithe as well. You can tithe with time spent with God. Dedicate a specified time in the mornings and evenings to pray, read your bible, and meditate in His word. I know we all lead busy lives, so you can pray in the shower or your vehicle, or wake up to Gospel music in the morning. Dedicate 30 minutes in the evening to reading a couple of chapters. For me, I wake up at the same time every night usually around 2 or 3 am. I know realize that those are the times I'm supposed to talk to God. It's uninterrupted and I can give Him all my attention. Your tithing can be investing in others. Maybe give gently used clothing to someone in need. Give to a food pantry. Volunteer at your child's school or somewhere else. Those are a few things you can do but what you should take from this is where you place value shows where your heart truly is. You can't hide your heart from God, so when you give whatever you give make sure it's genuine.

6. Pray For Someone Other Than Yourself

Prayer should be a daily thing in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. You have something to thank God for daily if you are able to get up in the morning. Starting your morning off with prayer sets the tone for your day. If you have a husband or kids then I'm sure a part of your prayers are dedicated to them. Have you tried praying for other people though? People ask for these general unspoken prayers for a friend on social media all the time. Everyone puts up the praying hands (which is actually a high five) and says they are praying. How many actually go through with it? I'm only saying this because I have been guilty of doing it too. I don't pray for those unspoken prayers because you don't know what people are asking for. Now if I know the situation and it is worthy of putting in front of God, then yes I will pray for that person. It got to a point in the past year where I had to keep a list of names because everybody was getting sick or going through something. This is another way in which you can serve the Lord. You don't have to tell people you are praying for them. Just watch and observe. You'll know if those prayers are being answered.

I gave you 6 ways you can serve in this season we are in. There's more but this is a start. Remember to be intentional in everything you do. Do it from the heart or don't do it at all. Watch God move in your life when you choose to move in someone else's. I would love to know what you are doing to serve or what you plan to do to serve. If you need help deciding say that too. It needs to come naturally. I hope this helps someone today. One thing to also recognize is a time when millions of people have died you are still here. That alone should have caused a shift in your heart and your mindset. Never leave out an opportunity to let someone know how good God is and what He has done in your life. It might just be what someone needs to hear to begin their relationship with our Lord and Savior.