Slideshow image

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received

to serve others,

as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms…

If anyone serves,

they should do so with the strength God provides, 

so that in all things God may be praised 

through Jesus Christ.

~1 Peter 4:10 & 11b



Good morning dear Sister!

I am so excited to sit down with you today…. I have had a lightbulb moment! (and not because I had to turn a few lights on when I woke up this morning)

We all live our lives with routines, and those routines eventually become habits. A habit is something you do or say without even thinking about it. I like to think that good routines begin with well thought out intentions and plans that will lead to a successful outcome. However, being only human, as our good routine becomes a habit, we can lose track of why we’re doing something the way we do it or Who we’re doing it for and begin to slack off. 

One good habit that my Beloved and I have developed in the last couple years is reading the Bible together every morning, after breakfast, for 15 minutes or so. A while ago we were challenged to read a chapter of Proverbs every day and start over every month. I love a challenge, I love the Proverbs, and I love my husband, so it has been a pleasant challenge. (Thank you Pastor G!)

We usually even read a little extra out of our two favorite devotional books. Both of them are written in “King James english” and sometimes leave me a little in the dark. But this morning, the Lord turned the lights of my understanding on!

The devotional verse of the day was from Micah 5:7: …. “And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.” Get it? Me neither, until the Lord illumined me!

My first thought was, Wow, that’s pretty heavy…. God’s people like the dew that burns away in the sun. 

But the interpretation of the author* was quite different! He was likening the believing people of God to the refreshing dew that He causes to fall on every blade of grass, a metaphor for believers and unbelievers alike!! 

Godly people, the remnant of Jacob, were the dew, ministering life, growth and joy to the people around them through the vehicle of God’s goodness and grace, not necessarily their own!

My casual reading and my thoughtless interpretation of it almost caused me to miss the blessing! That scared me, and it made me wonder how often in life do I wander, looking, but not seeing?

The verse in Micah begins with the Lord pouring out His gifts to His remnant people so that they may be serving the people around them in His strength! Sound familiar?

I started thinking about the concept of service, after all, it’s been a big topic at HCF the last couple years. (Thank you Pastors and Elders!) When I went to look in the concordance of my Bible for verses about service, I found that the words relating to service occur nearly 100 times in the Bible! 

A lot of the verses point back to Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith! Known also as the One who came not to be served, but to serve. (Mt 20:28) Think of it! God incarnate, came to earth to teach us how to serve others by His own example! In God’s book, service equals love!

Jesus didn’t come to earth, show us what to do and go back to His Father in Heaven. The Holy Spirit continually pours out to each of us the gifts, tools and strength we need to accomplish the service He has set before us! Gifts that are new every morning!

The next time the Lord gives us an opportunity to serve someone, rather than be served (Lord, please open our eyes to recognize that!), let’s go forth in faith and offer that word of encouragement, make someone’s day a little less complicated or tell them some good news! Let’s show God’s love for others in our actions!

Perhaps you think like sometimes I do, ‘well, that’s just not “me” or my style. I’ll tell you what my beloved sister, I said that to the Lord once and He replied, “Of course it’s not ‘you’, daughter, it’s Me working through you, so move over!”

Make room for Him and your life and testimony will bless every ‘blade of grass’ in God’s meadow!

God bless you, my sister!

Keep loving Jesus and moving forward!

With love, your sister, Celeste