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Called
to ServeBy Paul Chappell
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Saturday, Feb 11, 2012
"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence
with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he
that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his
people, and the sheep of his pasture."
Psalm 100:1-3
The story is told of a young man who had been hired
by the personnel department of a large supermarket
chain. The young man was excited for the opportunity as
he reported to work at one of the stores. The manager
greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile, handed
him a broom and said, "Your first job will be to sweep
out the store." Shocked, the boy replied, "But I'm a
college graduate." The manager looked down and replied,
"I'm sorry. I didn't know that. Here, give me the broom
and I'll show you how."
Sometimes we can pridefully believe that we are
better than menial jobs. Whether because of training or
degree or prestige, we can look down on "lesser" jobs
and refuse to do them. In God's plan, however, no job is
too menial for a believer.
There are many jobs that must be done to support
God's church each week. Some need to teach, others must
sing, others will conduct the service, some help in the
nursery, while others clean up afterward. Whatever the
task, the result is helping God's work advance each
week.
How are you serving the Lord in your local church?
God has called everyone to serve Him in some capacity.
For instance, while you may not be able to sing in the
choir, you could perhaps send weekly encouraging emails
or cards to people in your Sunday school class.
God wants every believer to actively be involved in
serving Him. Ask God how He would have you be involved
in serving Him through your
church.
Today's Rooted Principle:
There is no job too small
that God will not be glorified in you doing it.
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Old Testament
Reading
Leviticus
11 |
CHAPTER 11
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to
Aaron, saying unto them, 2 Speak unto the
children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts
which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are
on the earth. 3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof,
and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among
the beasts, that shall ye eat. 4 Nevertheless
these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of
them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because
he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he
is unclean unto you. 5 And the coney,
because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof;
he is unclean unto you. 6 And the
hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the
hoof; he is unclean unto you. 7 And
the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be
clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is
unclean to you. 8 Of their flesh shall ye not
eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they
are unclean to you.
9 These shall ye eat of all that
are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and
scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers,
them shall ye eat. 10 And all that have not
fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all
that move in the waters, and of any living thing which
is in the waters, they shall be an
abomination unto you: 11 They shall be even
an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their
flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the
waters, that shall be an abomination unto
you. 13 And these are they
which ye shall have in abomination among the
fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an
abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the
ospray, 14 And the vulture, and the kite
after his kind; 15 Every raven after his
kind; 16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and
the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, 17
And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great
owl, 18 And the swan, and the pelican, and
the gier eagle, 19 And the stork, the heron
after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
20 All fowls that creep, going upon
all four, shall be an abomination
unto you. 21 Yet these may ye eat of every
flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four,
which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon
the earth; 22 Even these of them ye
may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust
after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the
grasshopper after his kind. 23 But all
other flying creeping things, which have four
feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
24 And for these ye shall be unclean:
whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean
until the even. 25 And whosoever beareth
ought of the carcase of them shall wash his
clothes, and be unclean until the even. 26
The carcases of every beast which divideth
the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth
the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that
toucheth them shall be unclean. 27 And
whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of
beasts that go on all four, those are
unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be
unclean until the even. 28 And he that
beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and
be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto
you. 29 These also shall be
unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep
upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the
tortoise after his kind, 30 And the ferret,
and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and
the mole. 31 These are unclean to you
among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when
they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.
32 And upon whatsoever any of them,
when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean;
whether it be any vessel of wood, or
raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it
be, wherein any work is done, it must be
put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even;
so it shall be cleansed. 33 And every earthen
vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever
is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.
34 Of all meat which may be eaten,
that on which such water cometh shall be
unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every
such vessel shall be unclean. 35 And
every thing whereupon any part of
their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether
it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall
be broken down: for they are unclean, and
shall be unclean unto you. 36 Nevertheless a
fountain or pit, wherein there is
plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth
their carcase shall be unclean. 37 And if
any part of their carcase fall upon any
sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall
be clean. 38 But if any water
be put upon the seed, and any part of
their carcase fall thereon, it shall be
unclean unto you. 39 And if any beast, of
which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase
thereof shall be unclean until the even. 40
And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his
clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that
beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be
unclean until the even. 41 And every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth shall
be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and
whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever
hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon
the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an
abomination.
43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable
with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye
make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be
defiled thereby. 44 For I am the LORD
your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye
shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye
defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth. 45 For I am
the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt,
to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I
am holy. 46 This is the law of
the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living
creature that moveth in the waters, and of every
creature that creepeth upon the earth: 47 To
make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and
between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that
may not be eaten.
CHAPTER 12
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,
If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child:
then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the
days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be
unclean. 3 And in the eighth day the flesh of
his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 And she
shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three
and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor
come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying
be fulfilled. 5 But if she bear a maid child,
then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her
separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her
purifying threescore and six days.
6 And when the days of her purifying are
fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring
a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a
young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the
priest: 7 Who shall offer it before the LORD,
and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed
from the issue of her blood. This is the law for
her that hath born a male or a female. 8 And
if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring
two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt
offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the
priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be
clean.
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New Testament
Reading
Matthew
26:1 |
1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had
finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
2 Ye know that after two days is the
feast of the passover, and the Son of man
is betrayed to be crucified. 3 Then assembled
together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the
elders of the people, unto the palace of the high
priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 And
consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and
kill him. 5 But they said, Not on the
feast day, lest there be an uproar among the
people.
6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the
house of Simon the leper, 7 There came unto
him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious
ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at
meat. 8 But when his disciples saw
it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose
is this waste? 9 For this ointment
might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
10 When Jesus understood it, he said
unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath
wrought a good work upon me. 11 For ye have
the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
12 For in that she hath poured this ointment
on my body, she did it for my burial.
13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this
gospel shall be preached in the whole world,
there shall also this, that this woman hath done,
be told for a memorial of her.
14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas
Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And
said unto them, What will ye give me, and
I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with
him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from
that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
17 Now the first day of the
feast of unleavened bread the disciples
came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we
prepare for thee to eat the passover? 18 And
he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto
him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep
the passover at thy house with my disciples.
19 And the disciples did as Jesus had
appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
20 Now when the even was come, he sat down
with the twelve. 21 And as they did eat, he
said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall
betray me. 22 And they were exceeding
sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him,
Lord, is it I? 23 And he answered and said,
He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the
same shall betray me. 24 The Son of man goeth
as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom
the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that
man if he had not been born. 25 Then Judas,
which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I?
He said unto him, Thou hast said.
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Proverb of the
Day
Proverbs
11 |
1 A false balance is abomination to
the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
2 When pride cometh, then cometh
shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. 3
The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the
perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but
righteousness delivereth from death. 5 The
righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but
the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright shall
deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in
their own naughtiness. 7 When a
wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish:
and the hope of unjust men perisheth.
8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble,
and the wicked cometh in his stead. 9 An
hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his
neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be
delivered. 10 When it goeth well with the
righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked
perish, there is shouting. 11
By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but
it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12 He that is void of wisdom despiseth his
neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace.
13 A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he
that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
14 Where no counsel is, the people
fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there
is safety. 15 He that is surety for a
stranger shall smart for it: and he that
hateth suretiship is sure. 16 A gracious
woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain
riches. 17 The merciful man doeth good to his
own soul: but he that is cruel
troubleth his own flesh. 18 The wicked
worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth
righteousness shall be a sure reward.
19 As righteousness tendeth to life:
so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to
his own death. 20 They that are of a froward
heart are abomination to the LORD: but
such as are upright in their
way are his delight. 21 Though
hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be
unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be
delivered. 22 As a jewel of gold in a
swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is
without discretion. 23 The desire of the
righteous is only good: but the
expectation of the wicked is wrath. 24
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and
there is that withholdeth more than is
meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he
that watereth shall be watered also himself.
26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall
curse him: but blessing shall be upon the
head of him that selleth it. 27 He
that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he
that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.
28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall:
but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
29 He that troubleth his own house shall
inherit the wind: and the fool shall be
servant to the wise of heart. 30 The fruit of
the righteous is a tree of life; and he that
winneth souls is wise. 31 Behold, the
righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more
the wicked and the
sinner.
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