Raymond A. Foss Poem~~~All at the Table~~~(Matthew 26:14-30,Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:12-26, Mark 14:24-26, Luke 22:1-30, Luke 22:14-20, John 6:53-59, John 13:1-30, John 13:27-30)

they were all at the table..sharing the Passover dinner..all set apart, sitting with the Master..sharing the ancient words..the remembrance of the deliverance..the saving by the creator..the people being passed over..by the blood of the lambs..

all sitting at the table..the disciples, the betrayer too..all sharing the grace of Christ..in the foot washing,..his servanthood, his lessons..and in the meal,..the recasting of the ancient words..

a new covenant with a new people..his body, his blood,..to be rent, to be poured out..sharing, all of them at the table..in the supper we share..the meal sanctified at your altar..the table you have prepared..all of us at the table..just as we are..

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.  But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:10-12).

I will try to explain to you what kind of a heart a servant of God should have.  In verse 10, the Apostle Paul said if he had been more devoted to please men than following the will of God, then he would not be a servant of God.  It is because Paul lived as a servant of God that the true and uncorrupted gospel was delivered to us.  Just as he considered it essential for him to preach and defend the gospel as a servant of God, so it stands true to us, who have been born again by believing in this true gospel to live as God’s servants.

We all should examine ourselves to see whether or not we really are God’s servants.  Like Paul, we too, have received remission of our sins from God by believing in Jesus…His only begotten Son.  But are we really living as God’s servants?  Or are we living as the servants of our own flesh?  As whose servants are we living our lives?

By faith, we share the gospel of Jesus Christ that contains the righteousness and holiness of God, so we can fulfill the will of God.  We offer ourselves to God as dedicated servants to be used according to His purpose and plan for us.  As servants, we must say, ‘not my will but thy will be done’.  Our hearts desire is to please ’The Master’…our precious Lord and Savior.  Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee (Psalm 73:25).

All of us must now choose whether we would live as God’s servants or men’s servants.  We should realize that if we do not live as God’s servants, then we may very well live as His enemies.  I am reminded of the songs, “I Surrender All” and “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus”.  We are suppose to be dead to sins and alive in Christ Jesus.  We cannot serve two masters.  For either we will hate the one, and love the other; or else we will hold to the one, and despise the other.  We cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (1Peter 2:24).

A servant is someone who seeks his master’s interests, not his own.  We must set our hearts as God’s servants and live out our life seeking the Lord’s interests.  There are brothers and sisters who have submitted it all to God to live as servants.  They live surrendered lives unto Jesus with a servants heart desiring to please the One who died for them.  He or she who pleases God is a true servant of God!  The servants of God are precious in His sight!

As you read this, untold men and women all over the globe are laboring with devotion for Christ’s gospel.  Some serve in the poorest and most hostile countries in the world.  Others minister in the toughest areas of America.  Many labor with no temporal reward.

Called into service by the Holy Spirit, such men and women pour out their lives on behalf of others.  Night and day they are called on to help meet people’s spiritual, physical, and emotional needs.  By its very nature, the work of ministry calls for deep and lasting commitment.  These beloved servants of God give their all toward their holy calling.

I do not only admonish you as I write this devotion but these fingers point back at me too.   I write this to help us become the best servants we can be for Jesus.  God has called us as His servants and entrusted us with His work that we can faithfully carry out the task He’s assigned to each one of us.  I believe with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will finish victorious!

Although we face many hardships and difficulties, we still rejoice in the Lord!  He keeps a song in our heart!  He keeps our spirit strengthened, uplifts our heart, and reminds us to guard it and keep it with all diligence.  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).  It is so vital to maintain a servants heart that will not relinquish to following a stranger.  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers (John 10:5).  Therefore, let us live in the ‘Joy of the Lord’ by our faith in ’The True Servant Of Mankind’!  He has endued us with power from on high, and filled us with His Spirit to serve Him supremely (Luke 24:49)!  Halleujah!

~~Let us as the servants of Christ, do the will of God from the heart~~(Ephesians 6:6)