Zeal, Day 3

Zeal, Day 3

Zeal, Sharing the Word of God

Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. Romans 12:11
(Or but serve the Lord with a zealous spirit; or but let the Spirit excite you as you serve the Lord. )

Oh, I like that one. Serve the Lord with a zealous spirit. Or better yet, to let the Spirit excite you as you serve the Lord. That is what I was looking for. Those are the words.

In Acts Paul shows us what it means to have enthusiastic devotion. There will be struggles and there will be consequences. The way of the believer is not an easy road; being a Christian does not solve or remove all problems. Paul never quit, never gave up. The message of salvation was so important that he never missed an opportunity to share it. He even designed his messages to fit different audiences. The message remained the same for all who heard: Turn away from sin and turn to Christ by faith. The Christian life will have its rough times, its tears, and its sorrows, as well as its joys, but we should always be ready to tell others what good things God has done for us. His blessings far outweigh life's difficulties.

Have you ever missed an opportunity to share the message of salvation? Do you always look for the good things that God has done in every situation? When you are faced with difficulty, try to look for the blessings in the situation and your testimony of the good things will prevail over the things you have no control over.

Acts 20:18 When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now 19 I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. 20 I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. 21 I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.

When you have a moment, please read all of Romans 10. Here is a link with 5 versions, choose your favorite one http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2010;&version=51;31;45;50;72;
Here is a little insight on this particular passage.
What happens to those who believe in God but not in Christ? Since they believe in the same God, won't they be saved? If that were true, Paul would not have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to teach the Jews about Christ. Because Jesus is the most complete revelation of God, we cannot fully know God apart from Christ; and because God appointed Jesus to bring God and people together, we cannot come to God by another way. The Jews, like everyone else, must find salvation through Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Like Paul, we should pray that everyone will be saved and lovingly share the Good News with them.

Dear Lord, I pray that we will be willing to go through some tough times and when we do, we will look for your blessings, your hand, your will in those times. I know that we don't get a "get out of situations free" card, so I pray that we will all eagerly desire you in our lives, no matter what persecution comes from it. That we will not be lukewarm in our devotion to you, willing to waiver in our faith. Lord, I pray that we will choose to be Hot or Cold and that we will share the Good News every opportunity that we have. Amen.

Revelation 3:15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

Please continue to pray for Kelly H. (IA) this week.

Tomorrow is praise and prayer Friday. It would be encouraging to hear from you all as we wrap up this series of A-Z Emotions and Feelings. We look forward to learning what God has in store for our group in the weeks to come. Please pray with us as we seek his guidance on the next series. Satan is already at work to drive a wedge in the devotional. He won't win, we'll stand strong.