WEEK 24 – DAY 1

June 14, 2021

LIKE PAUL

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers. Romans 1:1, 8-9

Christ has called us to be His people set us apart to share the gospel with the world through the power of His Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8). Paul understood this well and often referred to himself as a bondservant or slave of Jesus. He was completely committed to serving the Lord no matter the cost. He served with his whole heart, fulfilling what the Lord Jesus named as the first and greatest commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37-38). Because of this dedication, Paul reached a tremendous number of people both through his journeys and his letters. In fact, his letters have continued to bring people to Jesus throughout history. We have thought in the past, “All that was well and good for Paul who had the experience on the Damascus road of being confronted by the Lord in a blinding light!” But we’re just ordinary people. We could never do great things! Paul was an ordinary person as well. He struggled with temptation (Romans 7:15), but he continued to “press on” (Philippians 3:14), even writing some of his letters from prison. The driving force behind Paul was the Holy Spirit. He chose to be a slave to the Lord rather than to the desires of his flesh. The Lord saved us, and we will be with him in heaven. However, we must choose daily to walk according to the Spirit or the flesh. The more we follow the direction of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the more we will be like Paul and, more importantly, like Christ. As we feed our spirits with reading and obeying God’s word, the flesh will have less and less power over us. As we seek to know Jesus more, He will use us to minister effectively in the specific ways He has called us.

Father, moment by moment may we choose to obey Your will. May we be able to honestly identify ourselves as servants of Christ Jesus.