The Faith Journey #2

Welcome to my new Sunday series, The Faith Journey.  This is actually week two for the series, but I didn’t have a title for it yet when I wrote last week.  This series is about my faith walk, and the things I am learning as I go.  I hope you will join me on this journey and grow in your faith as well. 

 

Last Sunday, I said that our purpose in life is to serve the Lord.  But how do we go about serving Him?  This can be a hard question for some, but the simple answer is that to serve the Lord we must serve others.   For today, let’s take a look at some of the biblical examples of service to others.

• Joseph} Genesis 37 – 50 tells us the story of Joseph.  Young Joseph served his father when he went to go check on his 10 brothers who were far away watching their father’s flocks.  This event eventual led to him becoming a slave to Potiphar.  He spent many years in service to Potiphar and his wife. That is until Potiphar’s wife had him arrested for something he didn’t do.  Later in life, he was brought to serve Pharaoh when God allowed him to be the only one able to interpret the man’s disturbing dreams.  In the end he spent his life in service to the people of Egypt, Israel, and the surrounding areas as he planned for, and provided them with supplies needed to survive a 7 year famine.

• Rahab} We learn about Rahab in Joshua 2-6.  Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho.  She is known for hiding two Israelites spies and later helping them escape from the city unharmed.  This single, risky act of service resulted in saving the lives of her whole family.

• Ruth} The story of Ruth is found in the book of Ruth;)  One of my favorite characters of the bible is Ruth.  Ruth was a young widow.  She moved to a foreign country with her mother-in-law, Naomi.  Ruth stayed and took care of her even though Naomi had tried many times to send her away.  Ruth gave up everything to live in the service of her mother-in-law.  When Naomi suggested that Ruth go to Boaz, a distant relation, and request that he be the family savior, Ruth did it.  Ruth then married this man in order to provide for her mother-in-law. 

Source: turnbacktogod.com via Michele on Pinterest

 

• Jesus Christ} Jesus’ story is told through the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  The best biblical example of service to others is Jesus Christ.  Jesus had the humblest of beginnings.  He was born in a barn, and used an animal feeding trough as his bed.  He was raised as the son of a carpenter, a trade’s man.  At a young age he began to teach others about His Heavenly Father.  As he grew older he continued to teach, but he also began to perform miracles.   People began to see him as more than just a great teacher.  They saw him as Lord.  Jesus’ whole life was about service to others.  Jesus wanted to encourage others to do the same thing.  John 13 tells about Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.  John 13:12-17 says “12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”  We know that Jesus’ ultimate act of service was His death on the cross.

There are many other references and examples of service throughout the bible, but I picked these for a reason.  In each one of these examples the person doing the service had to humble themselves.  There was no complaining despite the risk or trouble they might have been experiencing.  They all gave of them self to benefit someone else.  They all came from different backgrounds, but all had a heart that wanted to please the Lord and acted on it.  Next week I will explore more about how this translates over into our lives.

Please join me in sharing your own faith journey.  **I was going to add a link for this, but couldn't get it working.  If I can figure it out for next week I will add it.  If not, feel free to leave a link to your posts in the testimonial area.**