30 for 30
Day Twentyone
Stop
Come, Holy Spirit. That is our simple prayer as enter this devotional. Spend some time quietly inviting the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit into your day. Give Him every part of the next 24 hours and invite Him to lead and guide and re-direct and convict and empower today.
Look
Read Matthew 20. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you. You may want to make notes, underline in your bible or journal all that God is saying.
Thought of the day
Matthew 20:25-26 ‘But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant…’
Life in the Kingdom stands in stark contrast to the life in the world.
The way of Jesus is a total antithesis to the way of our culture.
We live in a world today centred around ‘self’, where everything has a purpose of self-promotion, self-fulfilment, self-gratification and self-glorification. A challenging truth is that even our good works are often an extension of our own selfishness – the need to feel morally superior to others and good about ourselves.
Tim Keller says: To truly become Christians we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right.
As followers of Jesus our wrestles don’t vanish overnight. In some respect we all still fight the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil – invitations in every moment to live as the king or queen of our own hearts.
Here, Jesus offers another way to live, another posture to take – one of a servant.
A servant is someone who lays down their rights and desires and dreams to promote and lift up someone else.
A servant places the needs of another above their own needs.
A servant considers in every moment ways to honour others.
A servant values others above themselves.
A servant lays down their life for others.
Greatness, Jesus says, comes from servant others instead of ourselves.
May we be a church known for our greatness – not because we’re the coolest church, or the biggest church, or the best church – but rather because we’re a church radically committed to serving our city.
Pray
Pray for the compassion ministries and projects of our church. Pray for individuals in need of practical and emotional support in this time. Pray for the homeless in Hull and those who are experiencing addiction. Pray for children and young people living in poverty and those experiencing domestic violence.
Live
Find a way to demonstrate generosity and serve someone this week. Maybe pay for someone’s shopping, buy lunch for someone, send a card or an encouraging message. Maybe bring some food to our food bank this week. Live out the call to be light in a practical way.