Monthly Archives: January 2014

Ask Not What God Can Do for You

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“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”1

Many of our readers will remember the simple yet profound words of the late President John F. Kennedy who, in 1961, stated: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” He was calling people to a noble life of service.

Other great leaders have confirmed the rewards of service. Albert Schweitzer said, “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”

As followers of Jesus Christ we are all called to serve, and we serve God by serving our fellow man. Doing this is what God calls “pure and undefiled religion before God.” It is also laying up treasure in heaven which is what Jesus encourages each of his followers to do, saying, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”2

I recall many years ago in much younger days, how I had an accident on a construction site that put me in the hospital for a few days. When in recovery, I switched on my bed-side radio and, the moment it came on, I happened by chance to tune into the only religious program for the day. The very first words I heard were these: “If you should stand before the Master [Jesus Christ] tonight, would you empty handed go?” If ever I felt that God had a message directly for me, it was that day. On that hospital bed I said “Yes” to God and committed myself to a life of service to God. Making and following through on that decision changed my life forever—and it is why you are receiving this message to read today.

If perchance you were called to stand before the Master today to give an account of your life, would you empty handed go? May I encourage you to make a commitment to God now to live a life of service to him? This can be a part of your everyday life in being “as Jesus” in some way to every life you touch; by becoming a part-time volunteer in a community service program through your local church or another organization, by being an effective parent, by teaching a Sunday School class, by leading a recovery group, or in any one of a score of different ways. And for someone reading this message, perhaps God is calling you to become a nurse, a pastor, a youth worker, or a missionary.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, today I am asking not what You can do for me, but what can I do for You. How can I best serve You by using the talents You have given me to serve others? I am available, please make me usable and use me today and every day to be an effective witness for Jesus by faithfully serving You. Please help me to see my God-given life purpose, and help me to do my utmost to fulfill this purpose in a life of service to You. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: If you prayed this prayer and would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ today, please let us know by filling in the response form at: www.actsweb.org/decision.php. Any information you give about yourself will be held in strictest confidence.

1. James 1:27 (NKJV).

2. Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV).

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Follow Me

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In the Book of Matthew in the Bible we are told of Jesus calling his first disciples. “Follow me,” he said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”1 Only once in the Gospels does it say that you must be born again (as important as this is), but it has been reported that Jesus said, “Follow me,” 21 times. Almost 2,000 years later how are we measuring up?

I recently heard a pastor say that the reason he doesn’t give an invitation in his sermons for people to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, and to follow him, is because Jesus didn’t give invitations! Yet 21 times that we know about Jesus said to people, “Follow me.” I don’t think you can get a clearer invitation than that.

Note, too, that Jesus not only said in his invitation for people to follow him, but that when they did, he would make them fishers of men. If you and I are true followers of Jesus, we, too, have been commissioned to be fishers of men; that is, to invite and seek to win people to Jesus and to follow him. However, how many who claim to be followers of Jesus today are “fishers of men for Jesus,” and share some of the gospel, but never draw in the net by inviting people to accept Jesus as Savior and to follow him? As followers of Jesus it is our responsibility to inform people that, according to the words of Jesus, to enter God’s heaven, they, like Nicodemus, must be born again—spiritually—otherwise they will never even see the Kingdom of Heaven, let alone enter it.2 It is also our responsibility to invite them to accept Jesus as their personal Savior, and in so doing receive God’s forgiveness and his gift of eternal life.

Jesus also said, “I have come to seek and to save that which was lost.”3 In all of our teaching, preaching, and witnessing for Jesus Christ, if we make people feel comfortable with God just because they go to church, but never invite them to follow Jesus and to receive his forgiveness for their sins, we are not only teaching a false, incomplete gospel, but are inadvertently damning people to a lost eternity.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be a true follower of Jesus and a good ‘fisher of men’ [people], by introducing people to Jesus and inviting them to accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

SPECIAL INVITATION: If you have never accepted Jesus’ invitation to follow Him and accept Him to be your Lord and Savior and thereby receive God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life, I would like to invite you to do that today. For help please go to this website today at: https://learning.actsweb.org/invitation.php.

NOTE TO: To help you to be a “fisher of men/people” in an attractive, non-offensive way, may I suggest that you obtain and use some of the ACTS business witness cards. These are attractively produced and encourage the receiver to go to a Good News website to receive articles that apply the Christian message to the needs everyday people feel. See: https://actscom.com/donate_wcards.php. These cards are available for a donation to cover our printing and postage costs.

1. Matthew 4:18-22.

2. John 3:3, 5.

3. Luke 19:10.

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I-A-D-O-M

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“Forgetting what is past … I press on toward the goal.”1

It’s an old saying but still appropriate as we commence another New Year: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

For better or worse, last year is gone forever—even though many of its effects will live on forever. However, we can’t go back and do what we should or could have done. And we can’t undo those things we regret having done any more than we can un-ring a bell.

But the good news is that, if we are so inclined or determined, we can put the past behind us and accept the New Year as a new opportunity to grow emotionally and spiritually, to serve God and our fellow man, and to achieve something worthwhile that will last for time and eternity.I am encouraged because I know God has a purpose for your life and mine this year—something to live for that is bigger than we are that makes life worth living.

We serve God by serving people and sometimes this task, because of the great needs people have, can seem overwhelming. However, God has a part for every one of us and if we each play our part and work together, we can get God’s work done and we can each make a difference in somebody’s life and therein help make our world a better place in which to live.

Frank McInnes wrote, “During World War II, the munitions factory at Lithgow in Australia had as its motto five letters: I-A-D-O-M! Large posters with these letters printed on them were placed throughout the factory in strategic places.

And what did I-A-D-O-M stand for? “It All Depends On Me!”

Let’s work together this year to do God’s work and share his love and good news with more of our fellow countrymen than ever before. With God’s help and a willing spirit we can each have a very fruitful and productive year. And remember, as Henry Van Dyke put it: “What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I am available. Please make me usable and use me this year to be a part of what you are doing in the world today—the privilege for which I am truly thankful. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Philippians 3:13.

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