Why serve others?

Why do we serve others?

“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.” Mark 10:45

All the time we hear that we should be serving others- at church, at home, at school. There are groups that are solely devoted to community service, people who live to do acts of service. We all know serving others is important, but why? And how do we do it?

There are so many reasons as to why we serve. The first being that Jesus served us first. He came down from heaven to serve humanity, not to be served, as stated in Mark 10:45. We do not serve others because we have to, we serve them because we want to in response to what Jesus did for us. Our service shows Christ to the world. Once we have been saved, that should be our main goal.

We also serve God when we serve others. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus says that what we do to the least of these, we do to him. If we feed the hungry, we fed Jesus. If we clothe the poor, we clothed Jesus. But, if we ignore the hungry and poor, we ignored Jesus. When we do service for other people, we are directly serving the Lord.

A major reason I serve is that I want to share Jesus with the world. When we serve, we are the hands and feet of Jesus. We have the opportunity to pour love and hope into someone’s life. In serving others, we can show them the personality of Jesus.

One thing to keep in mind is to meet physical needs before spiritual needs. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the bottom level, the largest level and the one that supports the entire pyramid, is physical needs. All other needs, emotional, social, environmental, and spiritual come after that. For example, you cannot preach with words to a starving person. That is not what they need. The most effective way to show Jesus is to meet people where they are and minister to them there. They can see Jesus in a sandwich or new pair of shoes. You do not necessarily have to give your testimony.

As to who we serve, that depends on your personal calling. I, personally, do not do as well with seniors as I do with elementary students. Yet, I have friends who love seniors and do not do well with children. There are so many groups you can serve: children, senior citizens, military/police, the homeless, widowers, animals, the disabled, students, teachers, even the environment. Some people may prefer animals to people or teens to children. That is okay! God put a special calling on your heart for a specific group. So, while my friends go to the nursing home, I will help in a preschool classroom. But, one thing to remember is to not deny your love just because you are uncomfortable. I went to a special needs prom and was incredibly awkward, but since I was there, I made the most of that. God put me out of my comfort zone so that I could learn and love. I got so much out of that night, and I know the people who came loved it! Don’t deny opportunities because you will be uncomfortable. God loves pulling out of our personal bubbles!

There are many ways in which we can serve people. Who you are serving will decide how you do it. For the military, I cannot be with them, but I can send them care packages. For the homeless, I cannot buy them a home, but I can make them food or give them toiletries. We cannot take all the dogs at the shelter home (as adorable as they are), but we can play with them and help the shelter owners with feeding them. Some sample projects you can do with your church group or community  include homemade dog toys, teacher agape, mailable hugs, and military care packages.

I hope after reading this you will feel encouraged, motivated, and equipped to go and serve others. We serve because Jesus served us. Service is the response to salvation. Go and do as Jesus would, spilling love and hope into people’s lives.

Are there any service projects you would like to see featured on my blog? Please comment them below! I would love to hear from you!

Jesus is the Center of Faith

Jesus is the Center of Faith

There are days when life just gets hard. It gets even harder when we don’t have a place to go to and rest, something we can put our faith in. There are so many things we try to base our faith on. It can be feelings, experiences, the day of the week, yelp reviews, opinions of our friends, and so much more. It can be so complicated to find what the truth is and where we should put our faith.
Jesus tells the story of the wise builder and the foolish builder in Matthew 7:24. The wise builder builds his house on the rock, but the foolish builder builds his house in the sand. Then, a storm comes and the house in the sand is demolished. Meanwhile, the wise builder’s house survives. The foolish builder didn’t find the right place to build, so his home did not survive. He did not know what was right and true. Yet, the wise builder found a firm foundation on which to build. Jesus is the rock in our life. If we build our faith and our life around him, we will withstand the storms.

Jesus must be the basis of our faith. If we build our faith on feelings, we will have some really high days and some really low days. We would question if God was really there simply because we had a bad day. If we base our faith on the faith of our friends and family, it will soon fail. We cannot ride on the coattails of those who came before us. Our faith must be our own. If we only practice faith on certain days, our faith will fail because we are not constantly trusting on God. Having faith is a daily relationship, not a special dinner platter.

The only place we can put our faith is in Jesus. He is constant, he never changes and he never leaves you. If you build your faith on Jesus, you will be sure to survive every storm in life.

Easter Songs

Easter Songs

I know we all have our favorite christmas songs, but I have quite a few favorite easter songs, too! These songs remind me of what Jesus did to save me from my sin and celebrate the new life that we have found in him! If you have never heard any of these songs, I have created a playlist so that you can listen and enjoy them as much as I do!

1. “True Love” by Phil Wickham is a beautiful song about when Jesus died. It is rather slow and sad, but powerful in reminding us what Jesus took on so we could live. My favorite lines are “When blood and water hit the ground, walls we couldn’t move came crashing down, we were free and made alive, the day that true love died.” This song is so beautiful in saying that we are made alive when Jesus died, that the day he dies marks the day I lived.
2. “Glorious Day” by Passion is very upbeat and exciting. It says, “You called my name and I ran out of that grave, out of the darkness into your glorious day.” This song reminds me to be joyful for the new life I have been given. While “True Love” is beautiful and powerful, this is a song for celebration!
3. Christ is Risen by Matt Maher is a call to come and be with Jesus now that he has risen. The words are, “Christ is risen from the dead, we are one with him again, come awake, come and rise up from the grave.” He shouts that our God is not dead, he is risen and we need to be with him! This song is so catchy and has such a wonderful message!
4. Hosanna by Hillsong United is a classic Easter song to me. The chorus is, “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.” This song focuses on the glory of God, using the words that were shouted before Jesus as he entered into the city.
5. Length of the Cross by Chris Quilala is another upbeat song. It says, “How long will You wait for me, and how vast is Your love for me, and how far would You run for me, the length of the cross.” In this song, we see the lengths that Jesus went to, so that we could be free. I love this song, as it is so encouraging and joyful!

Check out the playlist here.

Do you have any favorite Easter songs? Please comment them below! I would love to hear from you!

Constant Communication

Constant Communication

To be in constant communication with God, talk to him all the time. Always be speaking to him, telling him your joys and your sorrows.  When something good happens, thank him. When something bad happens, ask him for guidance and support.

There are so many times in which we can talk to him. You can thank him when you get home safely. When you are walking to the bus stop, think about all of the good things God has done in your life. When you are running, thank God that you have legs and lungs that work. Thank him for the flowers and the bees and the blue sky. Doing little things like this keeps the Lord at the forefront of your brain.

Whenever you get bad news, quickly ask that his will to be done in the situation. It can be so easy to get caught up in whatever is happening, but give it to God. It makes it so much easier to endure when you know that God is taking care of you.

As you go through your day, find peace in the fact that God is always there. He cares about you and wants for you to willingly give your days to him. Constantly communicate with him and know that he will surely listen when you come to him.