anglican devotional

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 6 January 2023 – Selfless Service

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TOPIC: Selfless Service

READ: Luke 3:15-22

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.
16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[a] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire.
17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done,
20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened
22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

THE MESSAGE:

In life, most of us place God first when we are in need of His help but place our interest first when God is in need of our service. The life and ministry of John is a great lesson to us today in our mode of service. John had the influence and crowd to exalt himself but he decided to stick to his calling as a fore-runner to Jesus. He never allowed the view of the people to influence his position in service. He exalted Jesus above himself and promoted the ministry of Jesus before the people. John was put in prison because he condemned evil.

The radical desire for self-projection, position and possession among some of us today has no place in Christian service. Today, it is unfortunate that some of us hardly do anything for God’s service without negotiating for our personal gain. In our programmes and services, we tend to project ourselves to the world rather than projecting the glory of God. The life of John should serve as a good example for us; he who calls himself a Christian should behave like a Christian. Pride, selfishness and self-projection are not part of Christian culture.

PRAYER: Dear Father, grant me the enablement to be a worthy ambassador of the Christian faith.