(The following is the January 9 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read Matthew 8 and pay close attention to verses 14-15.)
When Jesus entered Peter’s home in Capernaum, Peter’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. Jesus “touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began to serve him” (v. 15). She didn’t stand around and talk about how bad she had recently felt. She didn’t make excuses why she needed to take it easy for a while. Nor did she seek additional attention. Her focus immediately shifted to how she could serve Jesus, who healed her. We can learn from that.
Consider how Jesus has healed you:
- Has he saved you from your sin? It’s time to serve him.
- Has he helped you crucify the old nature that used to haunt you, and has he grown the fruit of the Spirit in you instead? It’s time to serve him.
- Has he given you a clear sense of purpose where you were previously lost and fumbling for meaning? If so, serve him.
- Has he brought you through troubled times where, in hindsight, you would’ve had no idea how to manage if not for the Spirit’s presence, the truth of his Word, and the help of Christian friends and leaders? Serve him.
- Has he blessed you with brothers and sisters in Christ with whom you worship, fellowship, serve and grow? Serve him.
- Has he replaced the fear of death with confident assurance in eternal life? Serve him earnestly all the days of your life.
We have a thousand reasons to serve our Lord. Like Peter’s mother-in-law, we must respond to his work in us. Let us get up from whatever constrained us before knowing Christ and serve him. Christ doesn’t call us to consider living for him at some indefinite future time. The time is now.
Next Step:
List ways Christ has healed and blessed you. Thank him for these. How has he equipped you to serve him? What service opportunities do you have? Determine to serve him faithfully in some way daily.
