God Shaped You for Service
By Rick Warren
“God made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing” (Ephesians 2:10 NCV).
God shaped you to serve him.
The Bible says, “God made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing” (Ephesians 2:10 NCV).
Before you were born, God decided in advance what contribution he wanted you to make with your life. God didn’t put you on this planet just to take up space, to use resources, and to die. No! He put you here to serve him by serving others.
And nobody else can be you. If you don’t serve God the way he intended for you to serve him, then the world misses that part of the jigsaw puzzle.
Another name for “good works” is “ministry.” Any time you use your talents and abilities to help somebody else, you are actually ministering to them. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings” (TLB).
You know the talents that you’ve got? They’re not for your benefit. God gave you your talents for the benefit of other people. That’s why nobody’s got it all together. God wired the universe so that we would need each other.
When you get to Heaven, you’re going to love God, so he wants you to practice now. You’re going to love other people in Heaven, so he wants you to practice now. You’re going to grow spiritually in Heaven, so he wants you to practice now. And you’re going to serve God in Heaven, so he wants you to practice now.
You serve God by serving others. On Earth it’s impossible to serve God directly. The only way you can serve God on Earth is by serving other people. So any time you help somebody else, God says it’s like you’re doing it for him. You’re practicing on Earth what you’re going to do in eternity.
Playtoday’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>
Talk It Over
- In what unique ways has God shaped you so that you can serve others well?
- How are you using your talents and abilities to serve others?
- What should be your motivation when you serve?
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Daily Inspiration for The Purpose Driven Life - Gift Edition
Would you like to help your friends and family live the Purpose Driven Life? One of the best ways to stay focused on God’s plan is to stay in God’s Word, and Pastor Rick Warren has an effective resource that will enable YOU to quickly find Bible verses that are indispensible for living a life of purpose.
We call this resource Daily Inspiration for The Purpose Driven Life. In it, Pastor Rick has taken all the key verses that explain how God created each of us for five purposes and put them into an easy-to-use reference tool that will help anyone study and memorize God’s Word.
When you give a gift to support Daily Hope this month we’ll send you a copy of this beautiful book… and if you choose to make your donation a monthly donation, we’ll send you a special signed copy of Daily Inspiration for The Purpose Driven Life to thank you for joining our Partner in Hope team by giving a scheduled gift each month to support Daily Hope.
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This devotional © 2016 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can also listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
