June 14, 2024 8:00 pm
When my “uncle” Emory passed away, the tributes were many and varied. Yet all those honors carried a consistent theme—Emory showed his love for God by serving others. Nowhere was this more exemplified than during his World War II military service, where he served as a corpsman—a medic who went into battle without a weapon. He received high military honors for his bravery, but Emory was most remembered for his compassionate service, both during and after the war.
Emory’s selflessness lived out Paul’s challenge to the Galatians. He wrote, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13). But how? In our brokenness, we’re hardwired to put self first, rather than others, so where does this unnatural selflessness come from?
In Philippians 2:5, Paul offers this encouragement: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” Paul describes Christ’s willingness to even experience death on a cross out of His great love for us. Only as His Spirit produces the mind of Christ in us are we set apart and enabled to sacrifice for others—reflecting the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made when He gave Himself for us. May we yield to the Spirit’s work in us.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. I'm Bill Crowder, and I called our reading, Part of Service. When my uncle Emery passed away, the tributes were many and varied, yet all those honors carried a consistent theme. Emery showed his love for God by serving others. Nowhere was this more exemplified than during his World War II military service, where he served as a corpsman, a medic who went into battle without a weapon.
He received high military honors for his bravery, but Emery was most remembered for his compassionate service both during and after the war. Emery's selflessness lived out Paul's challenge to the Galatians. He wrote, You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather serve one another humbly in love.
But how? In our brokenness, we're hard-wired to put self first, rather than others. So where does this unnatural selflessness come from? In Philippians 2, verse 5, Paul offers this encouragement. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Paul describes Christ's willingness to even experience death on a cross out of His great love for us. Only as His Spirit produces the mind of Christ in us are we set apart and enabled to sacrifice for others, reflecting the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made when He gave Himself for us. May we yield to the Spirit's work in us today. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Galatians chapter 5, verses 13 through 18. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather serve one another humbly in love, for the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, love your neighbor as yourself. If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, for the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.
They're in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want, but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Let's pray. Loving Father, thank you for the perfect example of Jesus and His sacrifice for us. Please help us to have the mindset of Jesus in our service and sacrifice for others. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-06-14 21:15:50 / 2024-06-14 21:17:14 / 1
