iServe (or, giving ourselves to others) june 7

Psalm 134
A Pilgrim Song

Come, bless GOD, all you servants of GOD!
You priests of GOD, posted to the nightwatch in GOD’s shrine,
Lift your praising hands to the Holy Place, and bless GOD.
In turn, may GOD of Zion bless you- GOD who made heaven and earth!

(The Message)

**Priests were people who lived and worked in God’s temple. They offered sacrifices to God and took turns being on duty day and night. This Psalm instructs those priests to bless God and God will in turn bless them.


Already this week you have had the opportunity to give of yourself by serving someone else. Maybe you have painted someone’s living room. Maybe you helped build a shed. Maybe your hands were helpful in carrying limbs or boxes or furniture.
In what ways have you been able to offer yourself in service this week?

Sometimes our service is very visible to those around us. Sometimes our service is behind the scenes and we get no recognition for it. No matter what kind of service you do, let it be as an act of worship and praise to God.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus tells us we should not give our gifts to people or serve them as a performance or act. This is not pleasing to God. Rather than looking for the applause of the world we should work quietly behind the scenes, like God so often does.
Has there been a time in your life when your service was for the applause of other people and not for God?

Psalm 134 calls the priests of God to bless him and lift their hands in praise. Through Jesus, we Christians are now God’s priests on earth. We do not offer animal sacrifices, but we do offer God a living sacrifice, which is our own life. As you serve, remember to bless God in all you do. Do your work today as an act of praise to Him. You just may find he blesses you in return.
How can your work today be an act of praise to God? How will you worship him through your service?

A Prayer...
God, you know it is going to be hot outside today. We may find it hard to do our work. We may find ourselves at odds with someone else on our team. We may find that we like to work, but we do for our own glory, not yours. Whatever we may face today, please be with us God. Give us strength to work for you.
Thank you for sending Jesus to serve you and people while he was on the earth. Thank you for giving us the perfect example of what a servant should be. Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for us. He died for us! May Jesus’ sacrifice be our inspiration as we live our lives for the good of other people.
You never said service would be easy, God. But you did say you would be with us, even while we work in the hot sun. Thanks for working with us. We pray in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.