10 Unique Ways To Serve God

As Christians we are called to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), to spread the “Good News” as missionaries throughout the world.  Whether you are helping those in your own neighborhood or have traveled across the ocean to spread the Gospel, serving God is an experience that always brings you closer to Him.  Where are you serving God in your life?  Is it in church?  Maybe in the workplace?  Wherever it is, you can know that your service for the kingdom has probably impacted more lives than you think!  Here are 10 unique ways that you can serve God!

This should be your biggest focus in life as far as service.  Your kids look up to you mom and dad.  They see what you do.  They mimic what you do.  If you are setting bad examples, your kids will probably take some of those into their own families someday.  If you want your kids to be like Jesus, you have to be Jesus to them.  “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19)  Spend time in the Word with your children.  Pray with them.  Sing praises to God with them.  You only have a very short time with them before they leave the nest, so make your life with them have eternal value!  Also, you must love your spouse.  Really, love on them like tomorrow isn’t going to happen.  Listen to their needs.  Pray for them and with them.  Talk about everything under the sun with them.  Make them feel like they are the only person that you want to grow old with.
One of the most blessed ways you can serve is to pray for God to give you opportunities to serve.  Those unexpected circumstances will shine His glory all over!  These opportunities are endless!  Some examples of things that might come your way are:  a woman has a flat tire on the side of the road, paying for the food for the people behind you at the drive-thru window, or an unexpected, deep conversation with an unbeliever.  If you pray for opportunities to serve, God will definitely give them to you, so keep your eyes open and serve whenever you can!
My brothers and sisters, our pastors do so much for the church and many are not paid nearly enough for all that they do.  We all can step up and serve them!  Ask them over for dinner and game night.  Call them on the phone and see how they are doing.  Ask them if they need prayer.  Offer to take burdens off of them so they can focus on other things.  Pastors are not supposed to be the hands and feet of the church.  The church is supposed to be the hands and feet of the church.  If you allow your pastor to make disciples out of the congregation, your church will thrive beyond your wildest imagination.  So, start groups at your church that can take some of the burdens off of your pastors.  Have an “on-call” group to visit those who unexpectedly go to the hospital.  If your head pastor leads the congregation in worship because you can’t afford a music minister, offer to fill that position for free.  Our pastors need us more than they ever say.  So, I’m saying it now,  Serve God by supporting your church pastors!
Many people have little to no income and rely on help from the community.  You can be the hands and feet of Jesus to them by serving them at a local kitchen or shelter.  When you serve them their food, give them spiritual food too!  Tell them Jesus loves them.  Tell them that He is “the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)  Let your joy overflow from you as you show them love and support.

Becoming a Man or a Woman after God's Own Heart

Becoming a Man or a Woman after God's Own Heart

by Charles R. Swindoll

When God scans the earth for potential leaders, He is not on a search for angels in the flesh. He is certainly not looking for perfect people, since there are none. He is searching for men and women like you and me, mere people made up of flesh. But He is also looking for people who share the same qualities He found in David. God is looking for men and women “after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).

What does it mean to be a person after God’s own heart? It means your life is in harmony with the Lord. What is important to Him is important to you. What burdens Him burdens you. When He says, “Go to the right,” you go to the right. When He says, “Stop that in your life,” you stop it. When He says, “This is wrong and I want you to change,” you come to terms with it because you have a heart for God. That’s bottom-line, biblical Christianity.

When you are a man or woman after God’s heart, you are deeply sensitive to spiritual things. Second Chronicles 16:9 explains it this way: “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His” (emphasis added).

What is God looking for? He is looking for men and women whose hearts are His—completely. That means there are no locked closets. Nothing’s been swept under the rugs. That means that when you do wrong, you admit it and come to terms with it. You long to please Him in your actions. You care deeply about the motivations behind your actions. God is not looking for magnificent specimens of humanity. He’s looking for deeply spiritual, genuinely humble, honest-to-the-core servants who have integrity.

Listen to some of the synonyms for this Hebrew word thamam, translated “integrity”: “complete, whole, innocent, having the simplicity of life, wholesome, sound, unimpaired.” It’s what you are when nobody’s looking. We live in a world that says, in many ways, “If you just make a good impression, that’s all that matters.” But you will never be a man or woman of God if that’s your philosophy. Never. You can’t fake it with the Almighty. He is not impressed with externals. He always focuses on the inward qualities, like the character of the heart . . . those things that take time and discipline to cultivate.

- See more at: http://www.insight.org/resources/articles/bible-characters/man-women-of-god.html#sthash.L2DLAcd6.dpuf