Monday, November 19, 2012

November 20, 2012


For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Romans 14:17-19
 
“Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.” I Timothy 3:13

 
What do volleyball, tennis and ping pong have in common with FredWes?

A good serve is hard to beat! And the FredWes family served well and we had an experience that will be hard to beat!
 
I have never been more proud of a group of Wesleyans than I was last night watching you lavishly loving people and meeting needs!
 
Here are three reasons why I was so pleased by the dinner last night:
 
You served with excellence!


The event was well planned, well organized and well executed. Not only does that reflect well on you but more importantly it reflects well on God and it communicates to those we served that they are worthy of our best.

You served with empathy!
 
By the way you served them you communicated your recognition of their needs without seeming judgmental or condescending. That is HUGE when you serve under-privileged people. You did it very well!
 
When you serve the working poor you must do it with the very real understanding that you are just one or two bad breaks away from being where they are.

You served with enthusiasm!
 
Last night required a lot of hard work and long periods on your feet but you looked as fresh at the end as you did at the beginning! It was obvious you were excited about being there and energetic about serving them. Enthusiasm literally means “in God” from the root words “en theos”! You were clearly “en theos” last night!
 
Our annual church Thanksgiving dinner is an event I always enjoy and look forward to. I know many of you do, too. So to give that up to serve others was no small sacrifice. But in retrospect I think you agree it was a good decision!
 
From my perspective it seemed that the fellowship between our folks was better, there was more excitement among our people AND in the end we got to eat together anyway!


God got a big win through us last night! To Him goes all the glory!
 
 
Pray that the seeds of kindness we sowed last night will result in continuing ministry opportunities among this group and ultimately result into conversions for the Kingdom!

God was well served by FredWes last night!