Your Daily Bible

Seven Men Chosen to Serve
6 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

5 Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). 6 These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

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10 “If you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to pick up the item he is giving as security. 11 You must wait outside while he goes in and brings it out to you. 12 If your neighbor is poor and gives you his cloak as security for a loan, do not keep the cloak overnight. 13 Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can stay warm through the night and bless you, and the Lord your God will count you as righteous.

14 “Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. 15 You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.

In Deuteronomy we find Gods advice to us about how we are to treat the poor. In the time that Moses was writing the law a poor neighbor’s only valuable possession for use as collateral might be his cloak, his outer tunic or only way to keep warm at night. God said that the holder of the pledge is told to return the cloak to the owner by sunset so that he may sleep in it. This thoughtfulness would be totally unexpected. Imagine literally giving the coat off your back to secure money for food to feed your family. Now the end of the day is coming and you haven’t been able to earn enough money to pay back the loan and get your coat back, looks like it’s going to be a cold night. But then a knock on the door, and the man that you owe the money to is standing there and you have no way to repay him but then something unexpected happens he returns your coat and wishes you peace.  This would bring about great thanksgiving! And we are told that God views this as the lender as a just, and righteous act.

As Scripture challenges us to get involved with helping people in need, it also reminds us of our own poor spiritual condition. Without Jesus, we have absolutely nothing to use as collateral for our salvation, and no way we could ever pay it back. Even so, he freely and generously grants us forgiveness and new life. He saved us by dying on the cross.

Are you responding with gratitude and thanksgiving?

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Psalm 41:1 (NKJV)

41 Blessed is he who considers the poor;

The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

You may have heard of the blessings Jesus spoke of in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-10). Here’s a “blessing” from the Old Testament that is less well-known: “Blessed is he who considers the poor” (Psalm 41:1).

The Hebrew word translated “considers” means “to take thought for others.” The word translated “poor” means “those in need.”

There are many people around us who are poor—in love, in hope, and in the knowledge of God. Even though we cannot solve all their problems, we can show them that we care.

We may not have lots of money, but we can give of ourselves. We can let needy people know that we’re thinking of them. We can listen as they tell their stories. We can treat them with courtesy and respect. We can pray for them. We can write letters of encouragement. We can tell them about Jesus. If we can do nothing else, we can love them.

Think about those who live only for themselves, always trying to get ahead, looking for the next thing to make them happy. Compare them with people who give themselves to others. Which ones possess inner calm, strength, and joy?

The place of God’s blessing is easily entered: Consider the poor.

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Proverbs 29:7 (NKJV)

7 The righteous considers the cause of the poor,

But the wicked does not understand such knowledge.

The year was 1780, and Robert Raikes had a burden for the poor, illiterate children in his London neighborhood. He noticed that nothing was being done to help these children, so he set out to make a difference.

He hired some women to set up schools for them on Sunday. Using the Bible as their textbook, the teachers taught the poorest children of London to read and introduced them to the wisdom of the Bible. Soon about 100 children were attending these classes and enjoying lunch in a safe, clean environment. These “Sunday schools,” as they were soon called, eventually touched the lives of thousands of boys and girls. By 1831, Sunday schools in Great Britain reached more than a million children—all because one man understood this truth: “The righteous considers the cause of the poor” (Prov. 29:7 nkjv).

It’s no secret that Jesus cares greatly for those who struggle. In Matthew 25, He suggests that followers of Christ show a readiness for the Lord’s return by helping the hungry to get food, helping the thirsty to get a drink, helping the homeless to find a home, helping the naked to get clothes, and helping the sick or imprisoned to receive comfort (vv. 35-36).

As we bear witness that Christ is in our hearts, we honor our compassionate Savior by considering those on God’s heart.

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10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

 We often ask what is the most important qualification for a leader? We must not bypass that quality which so completely characterized the life of Jesus Christ, the quality of unselfish servanthood. Jesus said, 

 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45) 

 The apostle Paul added to this focus when he wrote, 

 “Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but the interests of others as well” (Phil. 1:4). 

 But then pointing to the Savior as our great example, he quickly added, 

 “You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had.” (Paul then followed this exhortation with a strong reminder of the humiliation of Christ) who, though being God, emptied himself by taking the form of a slave. There is no question that if we as Christians are going to grow and mature into Christ-like character, we must experience progress in giving of ourselves in ministry to and for others. While we can and should find comfort and encouragement in Christ (Phil. 2:1), that comfort should propel us into servant-hood of the Savior and one another. Servant living stands opposed to the primary concerns of people we see today where the focus of our culture and society is more on our own personal happiness and comfort.

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5 I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you. 6 An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. 7 A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money.

8 Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. 9 He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.

There it is: the perfect job. It’s the one you’ve dreamed about, prepared for and always wanted. It’s there in the ad, an email, or at the end of the boss’s sentence—‘We’d like to talk to you about an opportunity.’

In Titus 1:5-9, Paul lists the job description for such an opportunity—church leadership. His want ad used words we still find in effective leaders today: blameless, faithful, not overbearing, not quick-tempered, self-controlled, holy and disciplined—even being a good parent is covered.

 As individuals, spouses, and parents, we have the responsibility to lead.

But, maybe thoughts of leadership bring feelings that say, "not worthy, ill-equipped—terrified!"

We may shy away from leadership. We don’t have or want a title or position that includes it. What we do have is a Savior who says ‘Lead!’ In John 21:15-17, Jesus tells Peter to feed and care for His sheep. As Christ followers, we lead others to know who Jesus is and share what He is doing in our own lives.

Each Christ follower is a leader—with a job description just like Paul gave to Titus—whether we are at home, with friends or on the job. As individuals, spouses, and parents, we have the responsibility to lead.

Most of us look into the future dreaming of the position we wish we had. God calls us to be responsible for the one we already have—showing the world Jesus by being like Him.

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2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

 Notice the generations here.  Paul says I gave it to you, Timothy … Timothy, you’re to give it to reliable leaders … and they’re supposed to give it to other people.  There’s 4 generations in that verse—Paul, Timothy, reliable leaders, others.  Friends, that’s what The PEACE Plan is all about.

 I’m teaching you how to do some things.  You’re going to teach other Christians how to do some things.  And they’re going to teach others and they’re going to teach others.  That’s how the multiplication process works.  

 Let’s get real practical right now.  Let me show you how to do this.  Let’s take these 3 areas of The PEACE Plan – Personal peace, Local peace, and Global peace.  How would you practice being a servant leader in a Personal peace plan?  Showing people how.  Here’s what I would suggest you do.  Sit down sometime this week and make a list of the things you’re good at.  What are you good at?  What do you like to do?  Your hobbies?  Your skills?  A lot of things you’re good at you don’t even know you’re good at.  You think everybody else is good at it … but they aren’t.  (Need help with this we work together on this in STEP 3 of our discipleship program.

 Some of you are really good at organizing your closet and you think that’s easy … everybody’s good at it!  No way!  That’s a gift.  You’re good at it and you figure the things you’re good at everybody else is too.  But they’re not.  You have lots of skills and gifts that you’re good at.  Most people have never sat down and done a talent assessment of their life.  What am I good at and what do I love to do?  If you love to do it then you’re most likely going to get good at it because you’re rarely good at something you don’t like to do.  

 Then once you make a list of the things you’re good at and you know how to do… I know how to balance a budget … I know how to crochet … I know how to close a deal … I know how to cook a perfect Traeger prime rib … and on and on and on.  Then what happens you say, “Who do I know that would like to know what I know?”  That’s called leadership.  Servant leaders show us how.  They don’t just do it.  They pass it on.  They don’t keep a secret what they’re good at, they give it away!  So you ask, What do I know how to do and who could I share it with?  

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Matthew 20:28 
“The Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”

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1 Peter 2:12 (ICB)

12 People who do not believe are living all around you. They might say that you are doing wrong. So live good lives. Then they will see the good things you do, and they will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.

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24 and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds,

“A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can change a life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach her potential.” — John C. Maxwell

One of the great things about encouragement is that you don’t have to be brilliant to encourage people; you just have to have a heart for other people. Find ways to encourage others. Put your arm around them, and tell them how much you appreciate them. You never know if that one good act of kindness is exactly what they need.

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