Next week, we will begin a study of Ephesians which was a letter written by the Apostle Paul, so I thought it appropriate to post this devotional even though it was based on verses from Romans, another of Paul's epistles which I studied a few years ago. (Susie)
Like Paul
Father,
is it possible that I could be like Paul?
Could
I serve you with my whole heart and give to you my all?
The
Holy Spirit that led the apostle, you’ve placed in me today.
Help
me to listen for your call and your perfect will obey.
Strengthen
me to serve you and to walk the paths you show,
Being
not ashamed of the Gospel and not afraid to go.
Let
me live by faith in the Christ who died for me.
Let
me speak and write of him boldly so others may be free.
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for
the gospel of God…”
Romans 1:1a
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ
for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God,
whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my
witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray
that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.”
Romans 1:8-9
servant – dŏulŏs – a slave (lit. or
fig., invol. or vol.; frequently therefore in a qualified sense of subjection
or subserviencey): bond-servant. (Strong’s
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible)
Christ has
called us to be his people. He has set us apart to share the gospel with the
world through the power of his Holy Spirit within us (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts
1:8). Paul understood this well and often referred to himself as a bond-servant
or slave of Jesus. He was completely
committed to serving the Lord no matter what the cost. He served with his whole heart, fulfilling
what the Lord Jesus named as the first and greatest commandment, “Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind.”
(Matthew 22:37-38). Because of this dedication, Paul reached a tremendous
number of people both through his journeys and his letters. In fact, the books
of the Bible ascribed to him have continued to bring people to a saving
knowledge of Jesus throughout history.
I have
thought in the past, “All that was well and good for Paul who had the
experience on the Damascus
road of being confronted by the Lord in a blinding light!” But, of course, I’m
just an ordinary person. I could never do great things. Paul was an ordinary person as well. He struggled with temptation (Romans 7:15),
but he continued to “press on” (Philippians 3:14). The driving force behind
Paul was the Holy Spirit. He chose to be
a slave to the Lord rather than to the desires of his flesh.
The Lord
has saved me from sin, and I will be with him in heaven when he returns.
However, I must choose daily to walk according to the spirit or the flesh. The
more I choose to follow the direction of the Holy Spirit in my life, the more I
will be like Paul and, more importantly, like Christ. As I feed my spirit with reading and obeying
God’s word and praising and worshiping my Lord, the flesh will have less and
less power over me. As I seek to know Jesus more each day and to be his
servant, he will use me to further the gospel and minister effectively in the
specific ways he has called me.
Father, moment by moment may I
choose to obey your will. May I be able to honestly identify myself as a
servant of Christ Jesus.
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