Freed From Sin
Romans 6:22: But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
What happens when we are made free from sin? We are free to be servants of God instead of sinning. Servants of God do what He wants and servants to sin do what He doesn*t want. Servants to sin do what the Devil wants and servants of God do what the Devil doesn*t want.
This devotional was written by Dr. Robert A. Cook. You can subscribe to his free daily email articles at Walk With The King Today and listen to his Spirit-filled 15-minute messages. Used with written permission.
Romans 16:1: Phebe... a servant of the church. Read also through verse 27.
I firmly believe the Bible teaches that God has something for every believer to do in the local church. That being the case, how can each of us become an effective servant in the church? Here is where common sense as well as zeal come in. We must be honest and realistic about our fitness for particular tasks. For example, if the Lord hasn*t given you a solo voice, don*t press to *help* the church by singing solos. If you are not gifted in public speaking, don*t expect to be the voice of the congregation.
Dr. Ted Place, a precious man of God who has a ministry of preaching, counseling, and writing, told me that as a high school student he had gotten down on his knees one day and said, *Jesus, I want to give You my life. But I don*t have any abilities. I stammer. I get embarrassed when I try to speak in a group. I can*t sing. The only thing I can do is gymnastics. So I*m going to give you that.* The following day, he went to the park to work on his tumbling routine. When he paused, he was surprised to find an audience had gathered. The Holy Spirit prompted him: *Tell them about Jesus.* Although he thought he couldn*t, in a moment he was facing the crowd and explaining: *You*re watching me do these tumbling tricks and gymnastic exercises. I want you to know that just yesterday I gave my ability to do this to Jesus, my Savior, and I want to recommend Him to each one of you.*
Small thought here. That was the beginning of Ted*s ministry. He later learned to lead music, to speak in public, and, after seminary, to direct overseas Gospel teams. All because he had given his gift to Jesus. He became a true servant of the church just like Phebe.
You may contact Ron with questions, comments or prayer requests via email at ronsbibletopics@yahoo.com. |