How do you act, speak, think when your alone? Is it the same way you are in public, at work, at church?
Would you be ashamed to share who you are at home or what you do?
Does who you are change depending on where you are? Or who your around.
If we have Jesus living in us and we are living by the guidance of the Holy Spirit we should be the same person whether we are alone or surround by thousands.
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.
When we are in leadership we should be the example of how to serve others and how to put others before ourselves. We should be cheering on those that we are leading. Guiding them to achieve more then we have. How else can we grow if we don’t encourage others to go further then we have.
Paul saw the potential in Timothy and Timothy was sent to help the Philippians. The Philippians in turn were to lead others to learn about the gospel.
If you are a leader in anyway, as a boss, parent, mentor or coach. Your legacy should be that you taught others how to do what you do better then you do it.
Paul was a leader in the early church and he never lorded it over anyone, he lead by example and humbled himself over and over again.
What legacy will you leave behind? What will people say they learned from you?
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”[Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
We are meant to stand out by our words and by our actions. We are to be know by how we react. We should have peace in times of trouble and pour our lives out for others.
Jesus never complained, he served people without prejudice or regard for himself, and we should do the same. Not out of obligation, but out of love. We are to serve, to demonstrate his love to others, to stick out like stars in the sky because of our compassion.
If you are serving or volunteering out of obligation or because you think it will earn you points with God. Stop.
Ask God how he wants you to help others and ask him to show you those you serve the ways he sees them.
I have been on many missions trips and seen destitution and poverty but I have also learned from the people I have served because I saw them as equals. Don’t serve people because you see them as less fortunate, uneducated or less then you. Serve because he asked you to and learn from those you serve.
We are all people and we all have the capacity to share God’s love with each other.
Yesterday I talked about Serving without Complaining in
Philippians 2:14-18. This passage also mentions rejoicing for others.
It’s easy to get distracted by others minisry. To say my ministry isn’t as big as their’s or I wish I could do that. But you don’t know where they started.
Every ministry starts small. No one immediately has a mega church or crusades to millions, no they started out small. Even Jesus started out small. He saw each person as valuable and stopped crowds, just to focus on one person. Like Zacchaeus, or the cripple lowered though the roof or the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus focus was always on the individual.
Ministry is about reaching people. So whether it be big or small if you have reached a person you have ministered.
So rejoice for others in their blessing to reach the multitude and know that they started just like you, by reaching one person at a time.
