Free to Serve

Have you ever read a passage or a verse that God used to just warn you or convict you? Well, God used Psalm 69:6.

It says, “Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord of Host, let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel.”

I don’t want anyone who has put their hope in Jesus to ever be put to shame because of anything I did or said.

I don’t want anyone who is seeking Jesus to experience dishonor because of something I did or said.

Jesus’ desire is to do good to us and for us to do good to others.

That allows my life to not shame or dishonor others.

Galatians 5:13

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

I have noticed a lot of anger and frustration in our nation. I believe the church has the answer.

The answer is recognizing that Jesus has made us free, not to declare our freedom to do what we want but to serve others in the love of Jesus.

Galatians 5:14

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The one word is love. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We need to remember that our neighbor is as Jesus defines it: anyone who has a need.

2 Corinthians 5:14 says, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”

God’s love frees me and His love compels me to do what Jesus did: serve others. Jesus gave His life as a ransom to serve and save us. We are to die to selfish desires and use our freedom, given to us because of the love of God, to serve others.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is, in the freedom that Jesus purchased for us, to serve others in love.

When my freedom as a follower of Jesus is used selfishly it grieves God.

Ephesians 4:30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

How to we grieve the Holy Spirit? Ephesians 4:31 tells us how that happens. It says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”

A follower of Jesus who has bitterness, wrath, anger, complaining, slander, and hatred toward others is not truly showing the character of Jesus.

Instead we as followers of Jesus are to do what Ephesians 4:32 says to do: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

The follower of Jesus replaces the negative actions and attitudes of verse 31 with the characteristics of Jesus in verse 32. We are kind, compassionate, and forgiving.

Raise the Roof an Remove the Walls is exhibiting the character of Jesus so that others can come to know His love and forgiveness.

The result of not using our freedom to serve others and of not exhibiting the character of Jesus is found in Galatians 5:15. It says, “But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”

The result:

We devour each other.

We consume each other.

The person of Jesus is brought down.

The person hoping in Jesus is shamed.

The person seeking Jesus is hindered.

So, in a time of great anger and frustration, let us as followers of Jesus, the church, step up and use our freedom to serve those who are in need.

In Freedom Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                           Joe