The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

”But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).

Yesterday I spoke of the word “servant” which is “doulos” which gives the idea of “Giving one’s self up to the will of another.” It is quite literally saying to the Lord Jesus, “Lord, I am not in charge of my life. I will go anywhere, do anything, and be anything that you want me to be as long as you will go with me.” I don’t hear many believers being willing to pray such a prayer today. I am concerned that one of the greatest privileges in life is being lost in our own generation. That privilege is the joy of being the Lord’s servants. It is the privilege of coming to the place where I literally give myself over to the will of the Lord. It is being a servant of righteousness. Have you come to this place? It isn’t easy. It is always blessed.

For today: It’s easy to be a servant of sin. It’s blessed to be a servant of righteousness.

“But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).

When I was young I can distinctly remember hearing older people talk about the younger generation. I grew up in a very small community in Western New York. I can remember the old general store with the big coal burning pot belly stove. I can still hear my grandfather talking to the owner of the store. I can see the operator of the nearby grain store, and I can picture the man who oversaw the dump. I can still see them standing around that stove and talking. I loved to listen to these older men. They seemed so wise to me even then as a young boy. They expressed concerns about their current situations. Now I have become part of the older generation and I am very concerned about the condition of our country and the state of the church. In our Daily Prescription for today and tomorrow I want to focus on a word seldom heard today. It is the word “servant.” The word is doulos which gives the idea of “Giving one’s self up to the will of another.” We’ll think more about this tomorrow. For now, think of what the Bible means when it speaks of us being the “Servants of righteousness.”

For today: For those who know the Lord as Savior, a life of being a servant is not an option. It is a privilege.

“Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25).

Three men were discussing spiritual things at the table during a break from work. One of the workers at the plant died suddenly and frankly, it left many of the co-workers shaken. Harold looked at the other two men and said, “Well if there is a Heaven, I want to know how to get there. Phil, who was older than the rest said, “I’ve got more at stake. I don’t have as much time left as you guys. I am going to be the best I can be so that if there is a Heaven I’ll be good enough to get there.” What an open door Larry had that morning of explaining from the Bible, God’s Word, not only about the reality of Heaven, but also about the one and only way to get there. He concluded by sharing “Remember guys, it is not by our good works. The Lord Jesus was delivered because of our sin. The Father raised Him for our justification.” With that it was time to return to work. But what great opportunities awaited him as he further shared with his co-workers. How about you? Are you hoping to be good enough or do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior? Remember that the Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

For today: I am going to praise the Lord throughout the day for being the One who delivered for my offences and raised for my justification. How about you?

“And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gave me a kid, that might make merry with my friends.”

Basically the older son was furious with his father because dad never gave him a party! Anger does that to a person. It distorts everything. This older son had a quite a distorted view of the situation as well as distorted view of himself. You and I need to be very careful never to allow anger to consume us. Life is unfair and sometimes people are unkind and unjust. Even in times that anger is warranted, it is never to be without limitations in amount and duration (Ephesians 4:26). I think of the dear father in this account. He had one son who insulted him and wasted his inheritance because of poor choices. On the other hand he had another son who insulted him by wasting the fellowship and friendship of the father because of his anger issues.

For today: May the Lord help us to guard against sinful anger. It can burn very suddenly and always has devastating results.

”And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in” (Luke 15:27-28).

You will remember the account of the prodigal son who highly insulted his father by demanding his share of the inheritance right now. He wasted his inheritance with wicked living. Finally when his funds ran out (as did his friends!) the prodigal repents and returns home where he is forgiven and the celebration of his return takes place. Meanwhile coming in from working in the fields, the older son wants to know what all the party sounds are about? The answer is given and does the older son/brother light up with the hot emotion of anger. He is furious. We will think more about this tomorrow. However for now, we need to beware. Undealt with anger is not only sinful it is destructive.

For today: Lord, please help me to guard my heart from anger. Anger always brings about hurt.