Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong United’s “Take It All” as you read today’s devotion on serving.

Scripture
“Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Luke 12:37

Observation
Why do managers get frustrated with counter staff? Why do owners get annoyed with managers? For the same reason that masters became angry with their slaves. There is something about being an owner that  changes how all the world looks. The little piece of litter that a minimum wage person can step around, is the same thing that can make Walt Disney stoop to pick up. Owners see things differently.

Success in life comes when we see the world around us with owner’s eyes. When I see my world as my job, my church, my business then my eyes are opened to little things as big things. With owner’s eyes I do not have to be told what to do; I instinctively know what must be done.

There is a cheap duplicate that can pass for owner’s eyes, but it is not. The counterfeit is called “pleasing the boss.” What drives that is a fear of getting in trouble and a desire to please to be rewarded. But owner’s eyes are more than making the boss happy. Their focus is on what is the right thing to do whether the boss notices or not. The danger of living to please the boss is that we will perform when he is  present or when she directs, but out of sight or if nothing is said, performance sags. The greatest danger of all is that the slave would one day become a boss, and having lived all his life to please those above him, now in the place of leadership does not know what to do. We must have owner’s eyes, to see what must be done, even if nothing is said and if no one notices.

Application
How can I get owner’s eyes? By looking to the Lord. If I am doing what I do for the Lord Christ, I will playowner’s above the rim.  It is a delightful promise, that if I serve well, that in turn Christ will serve me. The motivation in this is not notions of resort living, but the thought that my dearest friend and brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, would want to have a relationship with me so close that he would welcome me, the servant, as a guest. That is true friendship from the truest friend I’ve ever known. That is motivation enough for me.

Prayer
Father, this day, I ask for owner’s eyes. I want to see the church I serve as if it were my own. I want to see the people I influence, the actions I take, the plans I make done before you. There are times humanly that I “space off” and I’m not as alert as I need to be. The problem can be before me, but I don’t see it as I should for what it really is. I cannot see, unless you give me sight. So Master, help me to see and serve. I look forward to the days to come when I will be in your house as your guest. There our friendship will grow to new depths because you will find in me a heart that cherishes your interests. I want to serve you today with owner’s eyes so that one day I can inherit the kingdom as a son and a brother and not as a slave. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong United sing “All I Need is You Lord” while reading today’s devotion on your true self.

Scripture
He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Luke 4:1-2

Observation
The three temptations of Jesus are remarkable because they show us all of our own. The bottom line was Satan’s attempt to lure Jesus to live by a false self rather than his true self.

The false self, is contorting ourselves so that we conform to the expectations of others. Those expectations can be high or low, for the Devil isn’t picky. He’s quite content to snare us at the edge or the center of his web. What matters to him is that we are caught.

The true self, is what God says about us and letting that definition express itself through our lives. Living by our true self is the most difficult yet the most simple way to live. It is difficult because it is so vulnerable. It requires a moment, by moment, relationship with the Father and complete reliance upon his power and protection. The vivid picture of that vulnerability, is the gaunt, silhouette of the starving Jesus in a desert sand storm.  The true self is the most simple way to live, because we never have to remember how we are to act. Instead, we simply are what Christ has called us to be.

Satan tried to get Jesus to live up to a false self.

The first temptation was to prove that the Father loved him as his Son. But Jesus would have none of that. A relationship cannot be proved, or else it ceases to be a free gift. A relationship can only be enjoyed privately and intimately. The moment we boast about it, the gift is gone and we must prove it over and over. True confidence in a relationship with the Lord is to enjoy it privately while all the world imagines that they know him better than we and that we do not.

The second temptation was to compromise a value so Jesus could get what he really wanted. Jesus was called to be King of kings, and so the allure of all the kingdoms of all the ages in an instant was a real one. But the trigger was to worship Satan. Jesus would not compromise a core value of loving God to shortcut his way to his destiny. Nor should we.

In the last temptation, Jesus was tempted to take his eyes off of the Father and to live up to the expectation of the crowd. Again, Jesus resisted this with a steady dependence on the words of his heavenly Father. The crowd could add nothing to him.

Application
As a pastor, I am tempted constantly to toss my true self for a false imitation. There are times I want to prove how valuable I am to the Lord and his plan and end up being plastic. There are times I want to compromise what I value to get what I want, but the wreckage of the ministry of others warns me. There are times that I am tempted to give the people what they want. But today, I make a renewed choice to be true to the true self God has called me to live.

Prayer
Father, today, I choose to follow you. Lead me not into temptation but please deliver me from evil, whether that is by your guiding hand or by my deliberate choices to move toward you. Today I make the choice to be real, authentic and true even if it leaves me hungry and alone in the desert. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong sing “This is Our God” while reading today’s devotion on heaven.

Scripture
God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. Rev 21:3-4

Observation
We think about heaven, occasionally. Maybe we do on the death of a loved one and if we bump into the odd Bible verse about it. Beyond that, most humans think about the life right in front of their eyes rather than in the life to come.

On the other hand, God thinks about heaven a lot. Heaven means more to him than it does to us. There is a yearning in his heart. Since Jesus returned to heaven, preparing a place for us has been his prime objective. Once we are in heaven with he is going to live with us forever. If you want to live with someone that long you know that you really love them.

What makes heaven is first and foremost that God himself is there. Everything else takes its beauty and meaning from his presence. John defined heaven as this, “[God] will live with them….”

God’s presence defines everything in heaven.

We can see God’s presence in heaven by what is there.  Everything in heaven is superlative excellence. Gems, gold, pearls, and more. Excellence honors God for it reflects his nature best. These things are excellent not in themselves, but because God is in them.

We can see God’s presence in heaven by what is not there. Two things are missing in heaven. There is no sun and there is no temple to worship God in. The reason given is that God is the sun and the temple.

The point is this, in heaven the Lord is everything. What the Lord wants to share with us more than anything else is himself.

Application
I’ve been thinking recently that until I understand what heaven is that I cannot pray well that prayer, “Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Heaven is where God is and where he is all changes. When I grasp heaven then I can pray it down earth.

Prayer
Father, help me to long for heaven in some fraction of desire as you desire it for me. Amen.