Faithfully Serving Our All-Sufficient Master

Philippians 1:1
Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:

Paul and Timothy understood and taught that through the crucifixion of Jesus, because of what He did on our account, we are all bound to Him through His death, His burial and His resurrection. Through the fullness of His love and eternal provision, we are forever bound to Him.

In the days of slavery, the slaves were keenly aware of who their slave owner was and what their slave owner expected of them. When the slaves had a good master, they understood the value of the provisions that they were given. They would delight in pleasing their good master because their good master fulfilled their every need. They would serve their master faithfully each day because they had faith in the continuing provision of the one to whom they were bound.

As Christians, we not only have a good master, we have a good and perfect master. We have Our Lord, Jesus, as our Master. We should be in constant praise and worship for the provisions that we have received, the provisions that we will receive and the eternal provisions that have been set aside for us. We should delight in meeting every calling that Our Master places on our lives. We should purposefully sign away our own rights in order to be bond-slaves of Jesus Christ.

Let us surrender all that we are, all that we will ever be, all that we have and all that we will ever have to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us rejoice in knowing that we will be His bond servants day after day without end.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for legally binding us to Your service for all eternity. We rejoice in knowing that we will praise and worship You forever as our needs are met and satisfied beyond our imaginations. We pray, Lord, for the wisdom and the strength to renounce any ownership that we seek to claim from this earth. May we live in the comfort and triumph of Your grace. May we live every day in surrender to Your Son. We ask all these things in the name of the Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us, Jesus Christ.

Casting Our Burdens Upon the Lord

Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

It is obvious from this verse that we are to have burdens in our lives. But God in His mercy promises us that He will not give a burden that is larger that the provision that He will grant to overcome the burden.

God gave His own Son a cup of sorrow and suffering that was so intense that Jesus sweat blood as He faced His upcoming crucifixion. But Jesus did as the verse commands, He cast His burden upon the Father. Thus He was provided with all He needed to face the Cross and rise from His trial in victory.

No affliction or tribulation is joyous. They are all troublesome. Some are much heavier than others. At times they even seem to gather together or to extend much longer that we would care to bear. The total of it all adds up to the burden we face. Our relief is to look to Jesus Christ who bore it all on the Cross and took it away from us.

Let us cast our burdens upon the Lord. Let us claim the promise of Our Heavenly Father that He will not let His righteous children fail. Let us rest upon His providence and promise. Let us rejoice in His faithfulness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your promises that we can lean on as we deal with the cups of sorrow and suffering that we must swallow. We thank You for using our trials to build our faith in who You are. We thank You for insuring our victory through Your Son, Jesus. We thank You for insuring our righteousness through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We pray for Your mercies to be granted us each day as You release fresh supplies of strength and comfort just as we need them to overcome our trials. We ask these things in the name of the One who gave His life for the ransom of many, our all sufficient Lord, Jesus Christ.

Making Jesus Our Master

Philippians 1:1
Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:

Paul and Timothy understood and taught that through the crucifixion of Jesus, because of what He did on our account, we are all bound to Him through His death, His burial and His resurrection. Through the fullness of His love and eternal provision, we are forever bound to Him.

In the days of slavery, the slaves were keenly aware of who their slave owner was and what their slave owner expected of them. When the slaves had a good master, they understood the value of the provisions that they were given. They would delight in pleasing their good master because their good master fulfilled their every need. They would serve their master faithfully each day because they had faith in the continuing provision of the one to whom they were bound.

As Christians, we not only have a good master, we have a good and perfect master. We have Our Lord, Jesus, as our Master. We should be in constant praise and worship for the provisions that we have received, the provisions that we will receive and the eternal provisions that have been set aside for us. We should delight in meeting every calling that Our Master places on our lives. We should purposefully sign away our own rights in order to be bond-slaves of Jesus Christ.

Let us surrender all that we are, all that we will ever be, all that we have and all that we will ever have to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us rejoice in knowing that we will be His bond servants day after day without end.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for legally binding us to Your service for all eternity. We rejoice in knowing that we will praise and worship You forever as our needs are met and satisfied beyond our imaginations. We pray, Lord, for the wisdom and the strength to renounce any ownership that we seek to claim from this earth. May we live in the comfort and triumph of Your grace. May we live every day in surrender to Your Son. We ask all these things in the name of the Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us, Jesus Christ.