“As
each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good
stewards of the manifold grace of God”. (I Peter
4:10) We tend to stop there but Peter
seldom gives us a principle without giving us the practical application to go
with it. His next words clarify this
point, “Whoever speaks, is to do so as
one who is speaking the utterances of God; who-ever serves is to do so as one
who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God
may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen. (v.11).
Hey Gang: NOW HEAR THIS! Peter says, “Each of you has received a very special gift to use to serve others.”
Max Lucado puts it this way: “There is only so much sand in the hourglass and
we must decide who will get it.”
Here is some food for thought from
an evangelist by the name of Frank Constantine who wrote a book titled Holes
in Time. He stated there is no
question in his mind that he was programed by God, at birth, to fulfill a plan
that God had established for him. Constantine states in the book, “ I choose a
route that was counter to that very call, a pathway that lead to an isolation
cell in a nasty Georgia Prison.”
One night he/Frank had a visitation
from God who informed him that he had been programed to carry God’s message to
a multitude of people, many of whom were lost and floundering because he/Frank.did
not fulfill his program. That night he/Frank
knelt beside his concrete mattress and sought God’s forgiveness and committed
his life to Christ.
Shortly thereafter a miracle
occurred in Frank’s life, His sentence was committed and he was released, much
to the chagrin of the legal system that thought they had put him in a place
they would never see his name on a police plotter again! Frank surrendered and
God retooled him into a very effective evangelist.
Each of us has something to give. We can give our money and our
time to charity, be a friend to someone who is sick or lonely, do volunteer
work, or be a peacemaker, teacher or minister. We may give unselfishly of our
time to our spouse, children or parents. We may choose a service-oriented
occupation, or we may just do our everyday jobs with integrity and respect for
others.
The apostle Paul phrased it this way: ”We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's
gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is
serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging,
let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give
generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing
mercy, let him do it cheerfully” (NIV, Romans 12:5-8).
In my NASB rendition of the Word Matthew 25:31-40 is given a sub
title “The Judgment”. We are told “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and
all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne and all the
nations will be gathered before Him. He
will separate them one from another, the sheep on His right and the goats on
His left.”
“Then He will say to those
on His right, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”. Notice Jesus criteria for being on the right:
“I was hungry, and you fed me”; I was
thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked,
and you clothed Me; sick, and you visited Me; in prison, and you came to Me”. (vs.
35-37). But when did I do this Lord? The King
will answer “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these
brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” (vs. 40).
You will have opportunity today, perhaps within the hour, even
before you leave your home for your day’s labor, to be a “Seed Planter” for the
Lord. I pray that each who reads this
morning message will be able to say, “Yes, Lord, I did all of these things
because of my love for You.” Careful,
friends, do not let an opportunity to be a seed planter this day pass you by.
Blessings,
Gramps
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