Devotionals for the Heart: How to let God to lead you in service to Him

Serving as the Lord Leads
A devotional by Casey Wayne

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 

–1 Peter 4:10-12 (NIV)

I catch up with a friend over the phone as I pace my living room and simultaneously fold laundry while trying to focus on being an active listener in the midst of so many things swirling in my head. All the while, chores, Bible study homework, classroom parent duties and so much more bombard my brain. Have you ever been this busy?

The topic of discussion between my friend and I over the phone was busy schedules and the hope that it will calm down sometime before the holiday season. For my friend and I who are both married, we might discuss the intentional conversations we have with our husbands about keeping a good balance of family life and serving at church. In recent months, the topic of serving has been a theme. Through conversations with other followers of Jesus Christ who obediently serve and are beautiful examples of servant leaders, I have been reminded of the importance of serving as the Lord leads.

There are so many good deeds and ways to serve, such as joining your church’s Children’s Ministry, becoming a Small Group Leader, or donating to a local food pantry.

The beautiful thing about the Church is everyone has a story and gifts we are called to steward well for God’s glory (Matthew 5:16). As we work together, it becomes a beautiful array of love and support for all people. But how do we navigate the tension of knowing we are called to serve and seeing more need than we can fill?

You start serving in one area and then you notice a need for volunteers a different night of the week. Or maybe you start to wonder if you should go help out your friend who has been serving at the local food pantry because she mentions they need more volunteers. Next thing you know, you feel like your family is getting only the “stressed out, too busy version” of you. The thought of serving less breaks your heart because you cannot let go of the idea that there is a need. 

However, you are starting to discern that you are spread too thin. Maybe this is not what God had in mind for you.

If you have been following Christ for a while now I am guessing you can relate to that feeling. In obedience you want to serve and follow Christ’s example, but one thing leads to another, and before you know it you feel the Holy Spirit remind you that you are not meant to carry the weight of it all. Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”. 

As we pursue a life for Christ, an important part of that is reminding ourselves that we are told to ask God what His will is for us. Serving in only the ways He instructs us to, in His timing. Otherwise, if we are not careful, we can find ourselves chasing a work-based faith focused on production, instead of devotion to what God has for us.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) tells us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”. 

Take time today to sit at the feet of Jesus, soak in His restoration for your soul and pray for the discernment to serve faithfully in whatever way He would have you to. Pray over every area of need you see and trust God with the details. Give God room to reveal the way He wants you to serve Him and the wisdom to walk away from those ministry opportunities that are not meant for you.

Let’s Pray:

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the opportunity to participate in what you are doing in people’s hearts. As I live out my daily life, use me to show others the amazing grace and hope we have in Jesus Christ. I pray for the wisdom and discernment for how you are calling me to serve. As I trust your faithful provision, give me the eyes and ears to know where You would have me go and what You would have me do for your glory alone.

In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Make Room” feat. Elyssa Smith and Community Music. Listen to it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

Casey Wayne is a wife and mother of two children.

She enjoys time with her family doing simple things like movie nights and cooking together.

As a devotional writer, Casey strives to share her story with relatable honesty, showing how God is faithful throughout the big and small moments of life.

She has a heart for encouraging the faith walk of other moms, praying they gain a deeper connection with our Heavenly Father.

Her family lives in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.

~*~
Connect with Casey:
Website: https://www.caseywayne.org/
Blog: https://peaceoffaith.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caseylwayne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Peace.of.FaithCaseyWayne

Devotionals for the Heart: Aroma of a Life Devoted to Jesus Christ

The Sweet Scent of a Life Devoted to Jesus Christ
A devotional by Glynis Becker

“Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?” –2 Corinthians 2:15-16 (NLT)

We have been created by God to experience life in all of its fullness.

This includes sights, sounds, and tastes unique to each natural season. I especially love the moments that we get to experience right now as the seasons of Spring and Summer bloom. I enjoy the deep rumble of the first thunderstorm, the scent of lilacs carried on a light breeze, and the juiciness of the first ripe strawberries. I love to feel the first drops of warm rain that are a welcome change from the stinging sleet of a driving spring snowstorm. There is something wonderful, too, about hearing lawn mowers power up and inhaling the pungent smell of freshly cut grass.

But one of my favorite scents of Spring and Summer is from a campfire or a fire pit.

While I’m not one to actually go camping, the ability to step outside into our backyard on a calm evening and enjoy food, music, and conversation around a crackling fire is one of my life’s pleasures. I really love that smell while I’m sitting there. However, the problem is that the next day, the clothes that I wore when I sat around the fire now smell acrid and out of place. My hair carries the remnants of those moments surrounded by smoke and ash. The fragrance that was once fresh and lovely, has now become stale and uncomfortable.

In the Bible book of Exodus, the Lord gave many instructions to the priests and people on how to worship Him. There was information about feasts, sacrifices, and many other things, including specifics on incense and how it should be created, burned, and handled. Let's read an example of this in Exodus 30:7-9 (NLT): “Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the Lord’s presence. This must be done from generation to generation. Do not offer any unholy incense on this altar, or any burnt offerings, grain offerings, or liquid offerings.” 

As I recently sat by our fire pit and inhaled the scent of wood smoke, I wondered what the smell of that ancient incense was like. Was it sweet? Pungent? Delicate? When the Israelites smelled it, was it like a powerful trigger for them, a way to remember all the things God had done as they had wandered through the desert? Did their enemies recognize that scent and tremble with fear because they knew the Lord was present with His people? Will heaven smell like that?

Then in the New Testament, Paul speaks about those believers who live out their lives in obedience to Jesus Christ, sharing His teaching and loving those around them. In doing those things we become like the incense that once burned in the Temple. We smell sweet to God and to those who know Jesus as Lord and Savior. But to others, to those who do not believe, we smell like death. How does that make you feel?

While I don’t set out to be offensive to nonbelievers, I realize that not everyone will like what I have to say about Jesus. I’m content to smell like the day-old campfire if it means I have had one-on-one time with Jesus and I am a sweet sacrifice to Him, regardless of what others think.

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, please accept my humble sacrifice. Allow me to carry the scent of life into a world that doesn’t see the Gospel the same way I do. Help me to love You and those around me more than ever before. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Glynis Becker writes devotions and inspirational fiction, hoping someday to have a published novel on her resume. 

She has co-written several screenplays, including the film Sinking Sand, available on DVD and digital streaming.

Glynis, whose childhood was spent all over the country as an Air Force brat, has called South Dakota home for many years, along with her husband and two college-age children.

When she’s not writing or reading, she is watching more television than she should and crocheting.

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Connect with Glynis:
Website: www.glynisbecker.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beckerglynis/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlynisBecker7

Words of Faith: Dr. Gray's story

Faith and Faithfulness
A Words of Faith story by Ekwenzi Gray, Ph.D.

A few years ago, one of my cousins was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The news was a heart-wrenching game-changer for the family. My cousin has a husband and two adult daughters and she wanted to see them both finish their degrees and get married. But this news seemed like it could derail those plans. The doctors were reserved in their predictions, giving her 4-5 years to live. But without a transplant and other treatment, her chances were slim. And with pancreatic cancer having one of the most serious mortality rates around (the 5 year survival rate is 6%), time was not on our side.

Family member after family member was tested to be a potential donor, but were ruled out again and again, and the years kept on rolling. Year 5 came and then year 6, and we all (my cousin included) felt like she was living on borrowed time. But she never gave up, never stopped living, and her faith held strong. And finally, she was rewarded. In year 6, her goddaughter, who is a girl her daughter's age who happened to be adopted, was identified as a possible donor. It was nothing short of a miracle because the fact that the girl was adopted, meant that she was that much further outside of the genetic pool where a match should have been found. 

Thankfully, she agreed to donate. Both the girl and my cousin survived the transplant and recovered marvelously, inspiring others and strengthening the faith of family, friends, and strangers alike when they hear the story.

Marvelous and miraculous, right? It's a true blessing that lives were saved, hearts have been changed, and the testimony continues to inspire all those that hear it. That's what faith stories are supposed to do. And quite frankly, I don't like them.

Stories like this suggest that faith is only for grand, supernatural gestures and interventions. They are the stories that movies are made of, when most of us live TV-level lives. We don't face life-threatening illnesses but we face the struggles of making it through the day when we're battling the flu. Many of us don't find ourselves facing homelessness but we have bills and mortgages or rent payments and jobs that keep us going day to day and living paycheck to paycheck, feeling like we're one step away from being homeless. And when we, or let me speak for myself, when I hear stories like this, I can't help but think, "That's great for them, but what about me? Does God care about my day to day struggles when He has so many other more serious concerns to address?" Not that I'm wishing my life was harder, not at all. It's just that sometimes, I feel like I'm wasting God's time by coming to Him with concerns that are decidedly smaller.

And yet, that's where faith really becomes important. Faith and faithfulness.

My faith calls me to believe that God cares about me whether my issues are earth-shattering or mildly frustrating. My faith calls for me to believe that God wants what's best for me no matter to what. But my faithfulness? That's where things get interesting. 

You see, faith is a belief in something, whether we see it or not. Faithfulness, however, implies action. Faithfulness is what I do to act on my beliefs. Faithfulness is more than just praying for a stronger relationship with God, it's actively praying and studying His Word  (The Holy Bible) and doing my part in developing a relationship with Him. Faithfulness is more than just praying to, say, write a book or record a CD. Faithfulness is sitting down every day, for whatever few minutes I can carve out, and writing or practicing my instrument. It's about doing my part to use the gifts and talents God has blessed me with along with the seed of an idea that I believe He planted in my heart. It's about trying to nurture those things until the time is right for the finished product to be birthed. 

Faithfulness reminds me that everything I do is not for my edification, but for His glory and honor. 

So, maybe saying that I don't like the large stories of faith is an overstatement. We need those stories to be inspired, to be reminded that our God does great and wonderful things all the time. But we need those small stories too, in order to be reminded that God needs our faithfulness to increase our faith. And He doesn't just want our faith in one situation, He wants it ALL...in all that we do, all the time, and with all our hearts.

Don't just have faith...be faithful.

Read the following Bible verses to encourage your faith:

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) - "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV) - "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

~*~
Author bio: 

Dr. Ekwenzi Gray is a Clinical Psychologist, licensed in the District of Columbia. He has been in clinical practice for nearly 10 years, both in private practice which is called 

J.E. Gray and Associates and in working on staff at the Howard University Counseling Services. 

He earned both his Ph.D. and M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Howard University. 

While versed in treating a variety of psychological conditions, Dr. Gray has a particular passion for helping clients struggling with issues related to depression and anxiety, spiritual concerns, and anger. He also works with people dealing with issues related to relationships, sexual identity, orientation, and interests. 

Dr. Gray continues to provide psychotherapy to individuals and couples, and conceptualizes client challenges from a cognitive theoretical orientation while using interventions from a variety of models. 

Outside of the office, Dr. Gray enjoys spending time with his family, playing music, and writing among other things. He can be found on Facebook (J. E. Gray and Associates) and on Twitter (@jegrayphd).