Matthew 23:11-12 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
If you were to visit Paris, you could see the statues of two men, both named Louis.
The first is of Louis XIV, France’s absolute monarch. He represents one of the supreme achievements of greatness through power. His philosophy of life was that the whole nation and the world, should serve him.
A few blocks away is another statue. There is no uniform on this figure carved in stone, no badge of office, no sword, no crown. It is a memorial to Louis Pasteur, a man whose life was unselfishly devoted to the research of immunization and disease prevention.
The statue of the monarch, Louis XIV, is nothing more than a piece of sculpture–who even remembers what he did? But the statue of Louis Pasteur has become a place where pilgrims throughout all the world pay grateful homage for his great work; and every time we drink a glass of milk, we remember his name. That milk we’re drinking has more than likely gone through a process called pasteurization, named after Pasteur’s research.
It is the uncrowned servant of mankind who wears the real crown of men’s love and honor.
Let’s ask the Lord to help us become more humble and available to serve to both Him and others. It is then that we will wear the true crown of glory!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The expectation of the coming Kingdom of God is intimately connected with the restoration of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. The preceding passage describes Zion in labor, as once again, we find the metaphor of birth used to convey this scriptural promise. It is a national gestation which will not be aborted, but will come to fruition. But first, before this labor begins…a “male child” is born… This can be none other than Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, Israel’s King, Himself, arriving beforehand, (on a donkey, at that), quite some time before the labor which gives birth to the nation; and causing the prophet to wonder if a nation can be born in a day.
Yesterday, we began our series of devotions focused on the birthing of the Kingdom. Continuing to develop these insights, let’s look at day 2 of creation and its focus upon water.
Here’s an interesting fact about American church history that you may not know. Years ago, when the first New England churches were designed, they were built with clear windows rather than the stained glass ones we see so often today — and the graveyard was usually built in the churchyard, which would normally be seen from the pulpit. Why?
For several years now, I’ve been focusing on the Kingdom of God, a central theme of Yeshua’s preaching [Luke 4:43], and will be offering a series of devotions on this topic with particular emphasis on our present season, which I believe portends the birthing of this Kingdom. A study of the gestation process from conception to birth yields insight as a natural parallel into the historical process we’re witnessing and taking part in. This theme will be developed in the coming days.
One of the sacrifices mentioned in the Tenach (Old Testament) is mentioned as a Peace sacrifice or sometimes translated as the Thanksgiving sacrifice. It is known as the ‘shalem’ sacrifice. The root behind this word is the word ‘shalom’ whereby we get the word, peace.
From the beginning of Genesis (Genesis 4:4) to the end of the Bible (Revelation 22:3), there is a common theme — the Lamb! In Revelation 6 we read about the Lamb who sits in the midst of the throne — worshiped by all of heaven because the Lamb was worthy to take the book and open the seals therein. The most harmless of creatures — the object of sacrifice, becomes the authority of heaven. Isn’t it interesting that the focal point of heaven is a Lamb?
So often in ministry, the Lord deals with my own spirit, saying – “You need to step back and get refocused!” And we all know how hard it is at times when we get so busy with the normal every day stresses of life tugging at our limited time.