Five Qualities of a Servant's Heart

Five Qualities of a Servant’s Heart

The Heart of a Servant Is Humble – What is humility? Humility is not denying your strengths. Humility is being honest about your weaknesses. Humility is when you’re so focused on serving other people that you don’t even think about yourself. “All of you must put on the apron of humility to serve one another. For God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5

The Heart of a Servant Is Compassionate and Loving – Sympathy is when you say, ‘I’m sorry you are hurt.’ Empathy is when you say, ‘I hurt with you.’ But compassion is when you say ‘I’ll do anything I can to stop your hurt.’ In Matthew, chapter 9, the Bible says that Jesus was filled with compassion.

The Heart of a Servant Is Obedient – A servant obeys God, not out of convenience, but conviction. A lot of people want to serve the Lord if it’s convenient, but a real servant will serve the Lord from conviction. “The one thing required of a servant is that he be faithful to his master.” 1 Corinthians 4:2

The Heart of a Servant Is Not Selfish – A servant will put others before himself. He will relinquish his rights in order to serve others. It was once said that the true way to joy in our lives is Jesus first, Others second, You (ourselves) last. “Jesus gave up everything and became a slave when He became like one of us.” Philippians 2:7

The Heart of a Servant Encourages Others – A true leader will build up those around him. A true leader makes those around him better people with his words, actions and reactions. “Encourage and help each other, just as you are already doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Keep Your Fork-The Best is Yet to Come

Keep Your Fork

There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live.
So as she was getting her things "in order," she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.
Everything was in order and the pastor was preparingto leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. "There's one more thing," she said excitedly. "What's that?" came the pastor's reply.
"This is very important," the young woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand." The pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say. "That surprises you, doesn't it?" the young woman asked. "Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request" said the pastor.
The young woman explained. "My grandmother once told me this story, and from there on out, I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who arein need of encouragement.'In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.'
It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!' So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder "What's with the fork?". Then I want you to tell them: "Keep your fork ... the best is yet to come."
The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question, "What's with the fork?"
And over and over he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.
So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you ever so gently, that the best is yet to come.

Feed My Sheep

Edward, the author of this message has painted the above picture of Jesus. You can see Edward also in the above photo. Edward is a co-worker with us, hailing from Vegas, USA.


When Jesus heard of it, He departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed Him on foot out of the cities. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick. And when it was evening, His disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children (Matthew 14:13-21).

Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. And His disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children (Matthew 15:32-38).

In God's family today there is a famine and a drought going on. This is not a only a famine of hearing God's truth harshly being spoken out by our apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, but a famine within the body itself. The love of many in the church has waxed cold, as foretold by Jesus in Matthew 13:15.

"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them".

John 21:16 : "He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep".

As we read above, Jesus desires us to feed His sheep. But in today's churches, there are those who are unwilling to serve, yet they desire only be be waited on themselves. This goes beyond the example the Lord gave to us when He washed the disciples' feet:

"After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded" (John 13:5).

If we, as the body of Christ, desire to be more like Him, if we desire to "put on Christ", then it is time that we do as the Master did and rise up from being served ourselves, laying aside our garments in complete humility, and washing the feet of the saints (John 13:4).

We need to "take heed" and stop looking to our own selfish needs, and set our eyes on the feeding of the church of God, of which the Lord has made us all overseers . Acts 20:28.

Remembering that in our faith, the Lord will also clothe us. Matthew 6:30.

And we must also do this because we love the Lord, and we love his church, laying aside any obligation and any thought of reward. Remember, Jesus will never force us to serve others, yet again, we are showing Jesus how much we love him by serving others. This is the way to show the unadulterated, simple, unrestrained, but immense love of the Lord that resides within each of our hearts to others. This is the way that we need, and are called, to witness (1 Corinthians 13:3).

Are you willing to feed the 5,000 plus? Are you willing to feed the 4,000 plus? Then start today. In His ministry Jesus fed a total of 9,000 plus people with only 12 loaves and a few fish. This is a true miracle that Jesus gave us. But He has empowered us today to perform the same miracle. How many loaves of bread, how many fish does it take to witness the love of Jesus to the church, and the world today? I encourage the body of Christ to remember the words of Jesus:

"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many," remembering that revival tarries even in our hearts, because we do not as in the early church and have all things in common (Acts 2:44).

May the Love of Christ fall on us all

A Kindom Offering

A Kindom Offering

"And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all." Luke 21:3

A friend of mine was telling me about a teaching that she had heard on the difference between being a "kingdom person" or a "church person". She said that the teaching was very good, but when the preacher got ready to take up the offering, what he said really bothered her. He told the congregation not to give a "church" offering, but to give a "kingdom" offering- (from all accounts he meant that they should put in a big offering that was becoming of someone who was blessed and favored of the Lord).

I would like to clarify something, just because you put "big" offerings in the offering plate doesn't necessarily mean that you are a "kingdom" person. One day Jesus was sitting near the treasury watching people come and put money in the offering. In this story He mentioned two different people- those who were rich with plenty to spare and a poor little widow woman with only two mites. He was also showing us a picture of "kingdom" people and "church" people. Kingdom people are those who give everything without reservation to God (whether it's a little or a lot); they are those who don't hold anything back from Him no matter what it cost them; they don't give to be seen of man. In the story of the rich young ruler, the thing that stopped him from "entering into the kingdom of God" wasn't the fact that he didn't give, it was the fact that he wasn't willing to give it all- he wasn't willing to give everything he had to God; holding nothing back for himself. (Luke 18:18-24) Church people, on the other hand, give but they always make sure that they save something for themselves to fall back on should they need it (they give "out of their abundance"). They also like for others to notice what they are giving.

Being a "kingdom" person is a state and condition of the heart,"The kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21b) - not the amount you give, not the ability to give big offerings, it's not how much you posses materially, it's not what kind of car you drive or house you live in or name brand clothes you wear. Thank God if you can give big offerings, but the size of the offering doesn't determine who is and who isn't a kingdom person.

Have a great day. A real kingdom offering is... yourself (given without reservation to God).

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Love, Alice

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