Day 29: Accepting Your Assignment

LONG DAY.

Not bad. Just long. Very long. I don't like to not eat much (my own fault) and be out of my apartment for my entire Sunday.

BUT.

One Lord, One Faith this morning was amazing. Amazing. I'm so thankful I have that opportunity to participate in my church's worship service that way (and so bummed that I can't do it Friday night!) and especially thankful for the quality and, more important, the heart that Reggie brings to all parts of the music ministry at SBC. It's a lot of work, and he does a phenomenal job. It's because he allows himself to be used by Him (if you catch my drift), and what a benefit we receive from his sacrifice.

And then there was Rigoletto. . . not so good. I mean, the singers were good, but they were a little too German (read: technical) for me, and come on, it's Verdi! Even worse were the violins and their inability to tune (and the oboe too; it was sharp), and then at the curtain call, Glinda (that's not right. . . Gilda! not Glinda. . . Wicked would have been WAY better haha) was a TOTAL diva (and completely undeserved, although she had a pretty voice) and kept forcing applause out of the audience. I half expected her to do the Hulk Hogan "I can't hear you" motion. My students were generally unimpressed and bored with it, and I can't blame them. It makes me sad that I missed the next installment of the Nehemiah series and the business meeting for that, but you do what you gotta do as a music teacher I suppose.

Alright, enough rambling. I need to get to PDL or I will never get to bed (and I really want to get to bed), because I still have to make lunches and pick out clothes for this upcoming week.

New week, new theme! I can't believe I'm in week 4 already. I'll be exploring "You Were Shaped for Serving God."

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So much greatness in this simple statement: While many best-selling books offer advice on how to "get" the most out of life, that's not the reason God made you. You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it. I'm still working out this idea in my life. For example, when I was first seeking out a church here (and even the time I tried to find a church in Kalamazoo) I was looking for a place that would serve my needs and wants. While that's not a bad thing (because going to a church that you don't agree with is not the greatest idea), I didn't really give thought about finding a place I could serve. In fact, the thought never really crossed my mind (except "I could probably play offertory once in a while"). But after God lead me to SBC, He started working on me. And now I'm putting Him in a place priorty (actually, I had a thought this morning about how I would spend 1st period. . . and this is what I'm doing instead of practicing the piano) and doing what I can to be involved in my church (although it's tough sometimes with my unpredictable schedule, which is why I'm excited to see what kinds of things I might be able to do that I don't know about yet).

The book gives us (guess how many?) four things to think about concerning our personal ministry. First, we were created to serve God. There's a song from Avenue Q that says "When you help others, you can’t help helping yourself." While there is some truth in that, the attitude and spirit meant by it is not correct. When we help others, we are serving God directly. Ultimately this is storing up treasures in Heaven, and that might seem greedy in our capitalist society (i.e. "you are only serving because you know you're going to be rewarded in Heaven"). . . well, it really isn't that way. Where your treasure is, your heart is there also;the spirit of serving is love, not reward.

Second, we were saved to serve. The book says it best: "Read this verse. We don't serve God out of guilt or fear or even duty, but out of joy, and deep gratitude for what he's done for us. We owe him our lives." I don't know what to add to that except to say that it is very humbling to be a servant of God.

We are also called to serve God. That doesn't mean we will all work in our church and be paid money for it! There are so many places to serve (VBS, choir, clean up crew, being a greeter, just to name a few). The book says that a non-serving Christian is an oxymoron. I would have agreed with this statement before, but not in the way that I see life now. Christians do not serve just because God asks them to (out of duty, as said above), but that's what I used to think. Now I am seeing that serving is a pleasure, a little piece of Heaven on Earth. And because everyone has different strengths, everyone has to be involved in the church. The analogy of the human body becoming sick when just one part doesn't work is potent, and certainly something I am taking into consideration as I continue to seek out my place at SBC.

Finally, we are commanded to serve God. I feel like a lot of people enjoy going to church, hearing God's word and singing the songs, and going to Bible studies, and special events, and thinking that that is being involved with chruch. While all that is great and helps us to grow, if we aren't serving, we are missing the point of it all (that whole spiritual obesity thing). What good does it do us to have all this knowledge if we aren't doing anything with it? One of my favorite quotes I got from my internship is "Knowing what to do and doing it are not the same thing." The first is a sign of immaturity, spiritual or not; little kids break rules they know because they aren't yet old enough to make themselves behave 100% of the time (adults can be this way too).

I have to put this list from the book, and it pretty much speaks for itself: "If you're not involved in any service or ministry, what excuse have you been using? Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Loseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was codependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was a wido, John the Baptist was eccentric to say the least, Peter was implusive and hot-tempered, Marth worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed marriages, Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts, Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid."

Point to Ponder: Service is not optional.
Amen!

Verse to Remember: Ephesians 2:10- "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." New International Version
"We are God's workmanship". . . . and not just created on a whim, but created for love and by love. We're going to face our Creator someday, and He's going to ask what we were doing with the time given us on Earth. What a day that will be indeed!

Question to Consider: What is holding me back from accepting God's call to serve him?
Well, right now it's just waiting to see what positions are available in my church and figuring out what God wants me to do. I've been pointed to Scripture about spiritual gifts and serving the church, but still haven't found any answers yet. In a few weeks there's going to be a special morning service about, well, service in the church. I am anxious to get there, but I need to be patient and continue to seek out His will. Maybe the answer to my question will come in the weeks between now and that Sunday (whenever it be).