Self Service

 “If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”” Acts 11:17-18 NKJV

Reflecting on the danger of self service in the account of apostle Peter, it became alarming how the scriptures are awash with many characters of strong worth and sacrifices who struggled and slumped on the altar of self service. Notable among these characters is Abiathar the priest at the close of his service before king David. Considering the ties between David and Abiathar which were cemented by the blood of 85 peoples in his household and several other sacrifices, it was incredibly touching how Abiathar fell alongside Joab by following Adonijah in rebellion against the counsel of God (1 King 1:7). Peter probably remembered how self service led to his denial of Jesus Christ; and even now, it took his absolute surrender to the spirit of God for him to escape this satanic manipulation. Therefore, self service is not really motivated by outright disobedience to God; it is merely the pursuit of a perceived good for self at the expense of prioritizing the revealed counsel of God…a service that eventually withstands God.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Loved Life

  “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. ”” Galatians 2 : 20 - 21 NKJV Loosed lives often fake liberalism as freedom of expression and privilege to be controlled by societal influences. But in actual fact, this fake liberalism is an expression of an absence of the love that matters, i.e., God’s love. God’s love brings grace through the death and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. So, when Apostle Paul shared the testament of his loved life as “ I have been crucified with Christ “, it confirms that a loved life is a crucified life; and not a copied life. Unfortunately, in our fast-paced world with complex worldviews on diverse subjects, a copied life is faced with complicated opinions on diverse cultural, political, an...
Read more

Peaceful Pathway

  “ Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. ” II Thessalonians 3 : 16 NKJV Truth be told, the pursuit of righteousness is simply and straightforwardly the following of the right pathway, not necessarily the safe, the polite, and the popular pathway. Little wonder Martin Luther King once said, ‘On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, “ Is it safe?” Expediency asks the question, “ Is it polite?” And Vanity comes along and asks the question, “ Is it popular? ” But Conscience asks the question, “ Is it right? ”’. Unfortunately, finding the right pathway is not up to philosophers, psychologists, and politicians in our world, to whom there is no such thing as absolute truth. Whereas, the pursuit of the right pathway is the following of the One who says “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me ( John 14 : 6 )”. Jesus is the only Giver of peace; He gives grace, guidance, and ...
Read more

Wrangled Way

  “ Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways. ” Psalms 119 : 1 - 3 NKJV There is no doubt that those who abuse the grace of God have little or no understanding of the concept of the narrow way. For  “ Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it ” ( Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬-‭14‬).  The narrow way cannot be widened because it is not only strait , it is extremely wrangled. So, when the scriptures proclaimed the blessedness of “ the undefiled in the way ”, it merely commends their consecration to righteousness and commitment to the wrangled way. The wrangled ways are the divine molding wheels for forming God’s children into His effective a...
Read more