Simple, Spiritual Self-Service


 

1.Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)
Self-service kiosk
Self-service kiosk (Photo credit: melitroncorp)

Self service is a common part of human services that we realize throughout the course of every day. Whether it is at the ATM, airport, gas station, supermarket, workplace, etc., there is always some type of self service facility where you can serve yourself.  It has become the basic standard of service that we as Americans have come to expect. It is a simple, time and cost effective service tool which provides us with a new level of independence.  You can go, choose what you want and quickly keep it moving. It’s that simple!

 

The key to spiritual self-service is the acceptance of Christ’s unconditional service to humans, through His birth, life, Earthly ministry, death and resurrection, thereby establishing and fulfilling a Divine plan of redemption through the forgiveness of sin.  His Service to us At the Cross was unconditional work because He was born to provide us with the means of spiritual salvation  that we all can benefit from Eternally.  Whether we choose to believe in Him or not, His service to us is forever established. When we surrender our bodies to our Heavenly Father because we need forgiveness of our sins on a daily basis, we begin the process of spiritual self-service. True holiness is realized through your own personal identity with your need for forgiveness.  Spiritual self-service is that simple!!

 

There is Spiritual power of unknown proportions available to you when you are willing to present your body to God on a daily basis, totally surrendered to His Sovereignty over your life. His Power is revealed in your walk, your talk and your manner of life. Through every opportunity that makes up your day, you can experience the spiritual freedom of the conqueror lifestyle.  You see, when you choose to start your day, or in some cases re-start your day, by surrendering yourself under God’s authority, you are securing His leadership over every aspect of your day.  However, if you go through your day without this simple, spiritual self-service,  you are living a life that is solely reliant on your own abilities. Every idea, desire, motive and goal is born out of a spirit that is quenched by a soul that is sickened by unconfessed sin. Your body becomes a host for evil rather than God’s goodness. Unconfessed sin is a breeding ground for a swarm of complications that are designed to continue to distract you from His goodness as the world’s appeal demands your attention.

 

Your life can greatly benefit from the simple, spiritual self-service of surrendering to the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ daily.  The reasonable service begins with a mindset to pray without ceasing, having a thankful heart and mind willing to submit your body, mind i.e soul and spirit to Him all reliant on His will for your life from day to day.  A healthy prayer life and daily attachment to His Word completes the simple, spiritual process. It is a simple process that can humbly begin every time you wake up from rest you are blessed to realize. It gets you going spiritually!

 

Find out how I was trained to realize the importance of this self-service model in my new book     “A Conqueror In Training

 

When the Sail is Broken


 

 

Yesterday I received a delivery. The young delivery man appeared to be unbalanced – nervous, twitchy, inattentive to details about the delivery process and payment – and aloof. I had never encountered such a delivery experience before. My heart became sensitive to his inner turmoil. Ultimately it was time to start talking about the solution. He listened. He received the gift of Salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and left my home revived. In the midst of all his turmoil God is present and ABLE to save.

 

 

Psalm 34:18 NASB declares “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

 

 

Humiliation breeds resentment. Face it, when a situation occurs that is a direct blow to your pride (ego) your immediate response is subversion – get rid of this thought, issue, desire, person, place or thing that is attempting to destroy you.  If you can remove the threatening element yourself and keep your pride in tact, your ego is fueled. But if you are unable to thwart the process of humiliation then you are faced with a pierced ego/broken heart.

 

 

The Hebrew word for “BROKENHEARTED” is derived from shabar (unto them that are of a broken) and leb (heart). David describes that of a broken mind. The breaking process is likened to a ship wrecked in a stormy sea.

A Nonsuch 30' under sail
“Without Him life would be drifting like a ship without a sail.”

Picture a sail boat gracefully gliding across a body of water. Instantly a violent storm produces winds and lightening that ultimately destroys the large sail on the boat. The storm then moves on leaving the boat stranded in the water unable to navigate the waters because the sail is broken.

 

How precious it must have been for David when he realized this process of humiliation yielded a closeness to The LORD.

 

Jehovah“the self-existent One, He that is who He is, the eternal I AM; a special relation of Deity, in His Jehovah character, to man, and all Scripture emphasizes this; the redemption name of Deity, a beautiful type of the righteousness provided by the Lord God through sacrifice (Romans 3:2125 http://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/romans/passage.aspx?q=romans+3:21-25); 

 

in God’s redemptive relation to man, various compound names of Jehovah are found which reveal Him as meeting EVERY need of man from his lost state to the end {Jehovah-jireh – the Lord will provide – Jehovah-rapha The Lord who heals and Jehovah -shammah – the Lord IS PRESENT.” (the Scofield reference Bible, pg.117)

 

 

God has our entire existence in His hands. Humiliation gives rise to the reality that you are in need of Him. The flesh laments in the disdain of ego assassination but the spirit is primed for God’s Heavenly intervention. “He saves those who are crushed in spirit” The “saving” implies a significant force or power behind the action. God saves us at the level of our spirit through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is an inside job!  Humiliation of the flesh crushes the spirit of a man in such a way that he/she is WILLING to receive DIVINE INTERVENTION or HELP in the time of trouble. My experience with the deliveryman demonstrated how IMMEDIATELY God can restore. Your circumstances outside of you may not change right away BUT God’s Word changes the condition of your heart and fortifies you, equips you with the strength, courage and wisdom to navigate through the difficulties with grace, love, peace, hope and perseverance.

 

 

You can’t tell HELP how to HELP. You can only ASK for HELP. When HELP shows up just RECEIVE IT. To my surprise the deliveryman asked for a solution to the angst of fear, uncertainty and heartache attached to him. His inquiry surfaced after hearing the Word of God.  All that was happening up to that point was God’s Sovereign hands preparing the way for this young soul to receive the message of God’s Saving power.

 

 

When the sail is broken, God is present to help restore you, revive you, rebuild you from within. It is then obvious that His presence was in effect during the humiliation process evidenced by His grace. If you are honest with yourself you can realize that your humiliation could have been a lot worse. The fact that you are still alive, able to realize His presence and receive His power is the proof that He Is.

 

 

Embrace humiliation and get into the solution. David’s pronouncement of the Lord’s nearness generates hope in times of hopelessness, strength in times of weakness, power in times of powerlessness. OUR LORD JESUS SAVES to the UTMOST.