Dan Gould

Tag: My Reward by Kristian Stanfill

  • Bible Challenge Matthew 20

    “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” v.28 (NLT)

    I’ll be honest, this is challenging! Jesus came to serve and He molded that for His followers and told them to serve others.  But, in the church today, we have 20% of the people doing 100% of the work.  This seems backwards to me. . . . and honestly, it’s convicting me at the same time. It’s causing me to wrestle with these questions, “What does it truly look like to serve?”, “Why is it so difficult to find servants?”, “Where can I serve more … am I serving in the way that pleases God?” These are questions that I am thinking through today and Hope you will also as we head into the weekend. God has gifted and called you and I to be servants, lets serve faithfully!

    Today, will you think and pray through these questions with me?
    1.  What does it truly look like to serve?
    2. Why is it so difficult to find servants?
    3. Where can I serve more … am I serving in the way that pleases God?

    [youtube.com=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPOWMApmacY]

  • Bible Challenge – Matthew 6

    “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” v.1 (NLT)

    Do you find it easier to serve when people are around? Is it easier to follow the commands of Christ when people are watching?  I think many of us would say yes to some extent. The fact is, we all want people to have good thoughts about us, so we try to do our best, and God wants our best.  But, when we are more worried about what others think of our serving, we have missed the whole reason we serve.  We serve in-order to advance the Kingdom and His name sake, not to advance our popularity, or to make much of our name.

    The reality is we serve because He served, we give because He gave, we love because He loved, everything we do should be a reflection of what He has already done.  As you go through today, think of ways that you can serve in secret.  The richest blessings are found in secret obedience, where worldly applause is silenced by a heavenly celebration!

    Today, will you serve in secret? Will you live for an audience of 1?

     

     

  • Bible Challenge – 1 Corinthians 10

    “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” v.12-13 (NLT)

    Temptation is everywhere! And at anytime anyone of us get drawn in to its appeal. We’ve all heard the phrase, “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time” or, “I don’t know how it happened, it just happened.” If you are not careful you will become a victim to something you may say, “Oh that will never happen to me” right now.  I have seen men and even women who never thought they would have an affair, have an affair. Simply because they weren’t careful and thought that would never happen to them.

    Temptation is out to get you.  If you do not set up some boundaries what you thought could never happen to you will turn into, I don’t know how I got here! Because of this, there are places I won’t go and things I won’t do. It’s not that I can’t do these things and it’s not that these things are bad, It simply that I am protecting the things that are more valuable. For example, I do not go places with the opposite sex alone.  We do not ride in a car alone, we do not eat alone, we do not meet alone. To some, this may sound foolish! But this is the place I draw the line and protect my relationship with my wife.  Doing this reveals that I value my relationship with my wife so much, that I will not put myself in a situation where temptation could get the best of me, even if I think it wont!

    Today, What kind of boundaries do you need to set up so you don’t get caught in the moment and give into temptation? I don’t know what kind of boundaries you will set up, but I do encourage you to have them!