Todays verse is the verse of the day from Biblegateway.com so I picked it and decided to write about this verse today just to give myself a challenge. Instead of reading and finding one that gives me inspiration I am going to just pick a scripture and set off writing on what I feel like it’s saying to me and I pray this will speak to many of you.
Hebrews 6:10 NIV God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
Let’s look in depth at this verse. God is not unjust – of course not. He has told us clearly in the Bible what we need to do and need to not do, it’s pretty clear. If you are unsure about this one let me give you a few scriptures that can help. Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.
And then there are the commandments God handed down to Moses -
The Ten Commandments Exodus 20:2-17 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
If any of these don’t make sense or you don’t quite understand them, feel free to reach out to me or go to Biblegateway.com and select the scripture and select the Message version of the Bible – I think it will explain well for you.
The next part of our scripture today is - He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. How amazing it is that God loves us first and most, then He is pleased when we love others. How do we love others?
There are so many ways, you can serve at your church, that not only helps the church staff but it helps the folks attending and the new people coming in. I have served in several places at church over the years, I’ve been a greeter – stand at the door and say hello, hold the door, give the kids high fives, sometimes folks need directions or just a friendly face. I’ve done some field work – my daughter and I went to a battered women’s shelter and did manicures for them, my daughter did manicures on the children. I have done some lighting in children church, I was a table leader for a class called Divorce Recovery, I was a Small Group Leader, I’ve stuffed backpacks for kids going back to school who needed supplies, I’ve set up rooms for classes, I was a table leader for a class called Growing Kids Gods Way – great class, stuffed Easter eggs for the kids, I have served in any capacity needed for the yearly conference, the last service place was to fill bags for the first time visitors who would come to church, bag had some reading material and little gifts for the person attending, the list goes on but you can see a variety of places. I did this because I wanted to experience several of the places that interested me and find where I fit and where I could do the most good. It is a great thing to try things even if you are not sure they are a fit for you. Check it out and see first before you decide on one thing.
My last service area was very much behind the scenes and I will tell you that sometimes you need to be out front in the crowd greeting and talking, and sometimes you need to be behind the doors doing something that nobody typically sees. It helps you understand that limelight does not matter, who sees and who knows is not as important as the task you are doing.
Putting these supplies in the bags in a specific order is important The volunteer who would greet and talk to that new person knows the bags are in a certain order so they can pull out the contents and know they are right – we took a lot of pride in that work. The other part is this – these bags represent a new person coming to church for the first time. If you stuff that bag well and they appreciate the gifts, they enjoy the service and they like being there – they could say the prayer of salvation – get saved, join the church and you had a small part of that. Talk about loving on God’s people. These little parts all add up to the big parts.
Now there are also other ways to love on people besides volunteering. Right now we can stay 6 feet apart when out and about – we can still be friendly and loving to those out with us. I will tell you – my biggest challenge right now is traffic, my gosh folks are just driving goofy these days now that there are not as many cars on the road. It’s just not nice and we all need to do our part – I am raising my hand!!! We all have neighbors, find out if they need help, need a call to visit, need groceries. Those are ways to help. I will tell you – I try to avoid grocery stores so since this whole thing started I’ve gone inside a store only a few times. My daughter has to get my toilet paper. It’s crazy how this situation has changed our lives. How can we be the hands and feet of Jesus in this time – think on that and see what it looks like for you. Then do that!
Last but certainly not least – call your friends, call your family, email them or text them. Check in on them. Find out if they need anything, find out how they are. Makes sure you make the effort and make sure they know you love them. Right now this one is most important. Mental health is vital at this time, I know for me so it must be the same for others. I have been coming to my office – I have not had to work from home and I’m honestly glad. We are very safe at the office and do lots of things to keep safe. I just feel like being at home would drive me nuts. I’m not a sequestered type. I would it if was mandatory though.
The point is friends, myself too, lets find ways to love and not be angry, not be mad, not be upset or down. Let’s find ways to reach out and love on others because I assure you it’s what God wants and it will make you feel better too. Turn and Serve!
Let’s Pray
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You so much for the gift of Your Love. Thank You for sometimes putting hard hurdles in our way to help us see what is most important. Go with us as we figure out ways to show Your love to others out there so that when this is over what will be left after the dust settles is clear, it’s love and it’s YOUR love. Help each of us reading this to know just the ways to serve others in a way that is loving, helpful and kind. Lord, please bless all those reading this right now, bless them and the family they represent, keep each person safe and healthy, protect against this virus and protect financially (Job and security). For those Lord who have this please heal them and let them get back to the good work soon. We thank You so much for all the blessings. In Jesus most Perfect Name – Amen.