In Touch Devotional By Dr Charles Stanley

In Touch Devotional 23rd February 2024 || The Act of Serving

READ IN TOUCH DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRIDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2024

You are welcome to Today’s In Touch Daily Devotional written by Dr Charles Stanley and published by In Touch Ministry. Charles F. Stanley is the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. He demonstrates a keen awareness of people’s needs and provides Christ-centered biblically-based principles for everyday life.

Today’s Topic: The Act of Serving

If you want to serve others but don’t know how, just listen to the Holy Spirit’s gentle prompts.

Scripture: Romans 12:1-8

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

IN TOUCH DAILY DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE FOR FEBRUARY 23RD, 2024

Spiritual gifts assessments are popular for good reason—learning about ourselves is interesting, especially when it comes to our role in the church. In today’s passage, however, Paul says we shouldn’t just know our gifts; we must “use them properly” (v. 6, emphasis added). So let’s spend the next four days looking at a few that he mentions, beginning with service.

The apostle, whose writing can be somewhat verbose, tells us the proper way to serve is “in the act of serving” (v. 7). That may not seem like much to go on, but there’s a beauty in the precision of his statement. He’s saying there aren’t fancy rules to abide by when helping others—the proper way to serve is simply to serve.

The Greek term Paul uses to mean “service” offers some clarity. At its most basic level, diakonia (from which we get the word “deacon”) means “waiting tables.” It refers to the idea of “active service, done with a willing attitude.” Furthermore, New Testament writers often use it in conjunction with the Greek term pístis (see v. 6), which means “faith, trust, or confidence.”

What does this mean for us? We’re to help willingly and in faith, knowing the Holy Spirit empowers us. He will tell us what must be done and how. All we need to do is follow His lead and pitch in whenever and wherever we’re called. It’s as simple as that!

Bible in One Year: Deuteronomy 6-8