Originally published Wednesday, 24 June 2015.
“Ministry” is from the Greek word diakoneo, meaning “to serve.” At my church, our pastors believe that every member of God’s Church is a minister, so obviously that would mean that every believer is called to serve- serve Jesus and serve His Body. Jesus was the servant of all. In fact, He was the Servant King.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45 NKJV)
Jesus asks us as Christians to lay our lives down continually, denying our wants and desires, or as the Apostle Paul said to do, “die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31).
Do we know how to do that?
It is human nature to seek after what our hearts and flesh crave, but we do not have to give into that kind of nature for we have a new nature in Christ Jesus (Colossians 3:10/ 2 Corinthians 5:17/ Ephesians 4:24).
The Holy Spirit empowers us to set aside our selfishness and learn how to be selfless like Jesus, preferring others above ourselves. That kind of lifestyle starts in the mind, in the way we think.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[b] being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”(Philippians 2: 3-8 ESV emphasis added)
Not only is the mind of Christ pure and wise, but it is selfless.CLICK TO TWEET
When we declare that we have the mind of Christ, we are declaring that we can think selfless thoughts and our thoughts will then begin to affect our words, which will in turn affect our actions, which will in turn affect our behavior, which will in turn affect our character, which will in turn affect the course of life.
Who is God asking you to serve?
What do you need to do to lay aside your selfish desires and put someone else’s life before your own?
It isn’t easy, but it is worth it because Jesus promises us that whoever loses his life will find it and find it abundance (Matthew 10:39/ John 10:10)!
Minister to someone today and find the kind of abundant and amazing life that you’ve always longed for full of so much love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control- enough to both to give out and receive! True abundance!
Serve or Be Served is also posted on www.emilyrosemassey.com! Check out my website for more information on how to stay connected with me as well as info about my book Yielded in His Hands- now available on Amazon.com!
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