WINNING WISDOM DEVOTIONAL - FRIDAY 28TH JUNE, 2013 - THE POWER OF A PERSONAL EXAMPLE – PART TWENTY- SEVEN – SERVING ONE ANOTHER “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;” Romans 12:10 (NASB) We are commanded to be ‘devoted’ to one another. Not bully, abuse or use each other but to be devoted to one another. As a community of believers, we are to be more than acquaintances. We are family – the family of God. Unfortunately today, the Church is barely more than a political party where men/women jostle for influence and position and have no qualms about employing the basest of tactics to get an advantage over the others. We no longer see the other person as a brother but a competitor to be kicked out of our path and space. We have found ourselves in the awkward position where ‘my neighbour’ has become ‘the neighbour;’ to show off to rather to be loved; who can get hurt if ‘messes with me’ rather than to be helped. The Greek word for “devotion” is philostorgos, which means “to cherish one’s kindred, to be fond of, to be fraternal toward others, tenderly loving, and tenderly affectionate.” Devotion implies a deep level of commitment. While it is true that we cannot have the level of devotion to everyone, we should have devotion to those with whom we fellowship together. Even Jesus had different levels of devotion to all who followed him. The Lord also had those to whom he was deeply devoted: the twelve disciples. Among the twelve, there were three men in whom he confided the most – Peter, James, and John. Some would suggest that he was closest to John. He didn’t love the three men more than the others, but he did spend more time with them, allowing them to know him in ways the others didn’t. The three men were invited to be with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, perhaps the highlight of his earthly ministry, and in the Garden of Gethsemane, arguably the lowest point in his life. Jesus didn’t have favorites, but he did have intimates. There are many ways to practically express devotion, but let me leave you now with five suggestions: 1) Value - "You are important to me." 2) Commitment - "I am committed to you; I pledge to be lovingly involved in your life." 3) Priority - "You are a priority to me." 4) Faithfulness - "I bind myself to you. I will be loyal to you." 5) Tenderness - "You are and will be always dear to me." (To be continued) NB: A. If you like your friends and family to receive and be blessed by this devotional, please forward their email addresses to me. B. If you have a prayer request and will want me to pray with/for you, please email/text/ call me. Thanks. C. We are trusting God to have this devotional printed and circulated widely. If you would like to assist with finances, please contact us. Thanks Dr. Segun Oshinaga has had a rich and varied experience and career in business, ministry and government. He is the Ceo of Productivity Plus, a training programme for executives in industry and also host of Productivity Plus TV Broadcast, a personal development, life enhancement programme. He also runs Leadership Plus and Winning Wisdom Network. To invite him for training of your workforce or sponsorship on radio and TV stations, call +2348030773584, +2348189074232, +2348122827890 or email - droshinaga@gmail
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 06:23:12 +0000
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