Philip. 4:21?22
Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus.  All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.

When our Lord was born, Augustus was the Caesar of Rome.  He was followed by Tiberias (about whom it was said that he liked not one single human being and that not one single human being liked him).  Tiberius was followed by the depraved Gaius Caesar, better known as Caligula – Little Boots.  He ruled for 4 years and was a monster of cruelty and vice.  He was finally assassinated in the year A.D. 41.  The Praetorian Guard, fearful of a return to a republic, forcibly made Claudius (officially Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus) the emperor.  And for the next 13 years this strange man of handicapped body and slow speech was the monarch of the Roman world.  Claudius was followed, in turn, by Nero who ruled for 14 years until his suicide in A.D. 68.  All these decades were splotched with immorality, depravity and insanity such as the world has rarely witnessed.

But think of it!  In those years between A.D. 40 and 60, there were men and women who were followers of Jesus Christ who managed to thrive while working in the very palace of Caligula, Claudius and Nero!  Paul, who was under house arrest in Rome, testified of this reality in the letter he sent to the church at Philippi, “Those precious saints of God who reside in Caesar’s household send their greetings….”

Today we sometimes find professing saints who complain about the pressures of serving God in the free world.  How do they think they would have fared in ancient Rome where their witness for Christ could have made them fodder for the lions?  But on the other hand, some of the most courageous saints ever are serving God this very day.  Are you one of them?

Prayer:  O God, let me by Thy Spirit serve Thee well this day!   May there be no pressure or circumstance that would cause me to grieve Thee.  Let my thoughts, words and actions please Thee!  Amen.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.  (NIV)
I Corinthians 13:13 

Recently a 40 year-old Pakistani man decided that his 25 year-old stepdaughter had committed an immoral act.  She hadn’t, but he thought otherwise and killed her in cold blood.  Then he killed his three young daughters.

According to the Independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, hundreds of girls and women are murdered by male relatives each year in this conservative Islamic nation.  Speaking to the Associated Press in the back of a police truck, the man showed no contrition, only dismay that he didn’t murder the stepdaughter’s alleged lover as well.  He added, “I thought my younger daughters would do what the older girl did, so they should be eliminated.”

Authorities report the murdered woman actually did nothing, except flee her brutal husband who had forced her to work in a brick-making factory.  To get even with her for running away, the husband accused her falsely of adultery.  A human rights worker said, “Women are treated here as property.”  Here we find another major difference between Islam and Christianity.  Throughout history, Christianity has elevated the status of women – and rightly so!  Human rights in general are honored by followers of Christ and the dignity of the individual is upheld.  Jesus called upon His followers to “follow peace with all men, without which no man shall see God” (2 Tim. 2:2).  That is often not the case in religions where there is blind hatred, often fomented by so-called clerics who call for their congregations to kill and destroy.  The equipment of the follower of Christ is love.  Unfortunately, equipment for some other faiths is often a sword.

Prayer:  O God, help me to ever remember that the uniform of a Christ-follower is love. May I always react to those around me, drawing from the very love of Jesus Who dwells within me.   May I never give reason for reproach upon the lovely Name of my Lord Jesus.   Amen.

Luke 12:37       Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

Jesus was a willing servant.  He expects you and me to be servants as well.  Recently my wife and I had lunch at a local restaurant.  It was certainly not a fancy eating establishment; in fact, it was a franchise place.  But the food was acceptable and the building was clean.  What I remember about this restaurant was the waitress, a middle-aged lady of quiet but efficient manner.  Her concept of service was remarkable.  She knew when to approach the table to help and she knew when to stay away.  It was if she could sense when we needed something and she anticipated us every time.  When we asked for something, she smiled and reacted as if filling our need was her greatest pleasure for the day.  She didn’t make us wait for the check either, drumming our fingers on the table.  She watched us carefully and knew exactly when to present the bill.  I said to her, “Ma’am, I must tell you that you are an incredible waitress!  Thank you!”  And I reinforced my comments with a more than ample tip.

Service is so vital in any enterprise.  I have eaten at fancy places where the food was good but the service was awful.  I won=t return to those places.  But I will return to the restaurant just described again and again – IF we can have that lady as our waitress.  I don’t remember the food so much or even the decor, but I remember the service!

How important it is for a church to give good service!  I have often visited one of the largest churches on the west coast.  I enjoy going there for many reasons, chiefest of which is that before I ever get to the door I am made to feel as if I belong there.  On the other hand I have visited churches where it was made obvious they could not possibly care if I was there or not.  How about help from the parking attendants?  Helpful ushers?  Clean restrooms?  Service!  This is not rocket science.  It’s just plain common sense, not to mention scriptural.

Prayer:  O God, help me to remember that Jesus came to serve, not to be served.  As a follower of our blessed Lord, may I be of service to all those around me.  May others see Jesus in the way I address myself to their burdens of life.   Amen.

Acts 26:19

Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.

I enjoy taking big band pop songs and re-writing the lyrics so I can sing them in church rallies.  This devotional is about one of those songs.

Recently I got to thinking about my joyous childhood which was centered around three institutions: my home, my school and my church.  Of the three, only the house still stands. I loved my church beyond words to tell you.  It was perhaps at that time the strongest evangelical church within a three-state area.  Recently I drove by it.  A chain-link, locked fence surrounds the structure.  The grounds are covered by weeds.  The site frankly broke my heart, and – thinking about it – I wrote these lyrics for a song prompted in my thinking by Joseph Rapozo’s song, “And there used to be a ballpark right here.”

“And there used to be a church house / in my childhood and my teens / where the people sang and worshiped with a joy I’ve seldom seen / and the place was filled with wonder / from the platform to the rear / yes, there used to be a church house right here.

“And there used to be a vision of those things God wanted done / now there’s no one still attending of those saints, not even one / and the sky has got so cloudy when it used to be so clear / and the glory left so quickly one year.

“Now the children try to find it / and they can’t believe their eyes / for the old folks don’t remember so no one really tries / but I’ll never stop recalling / those days still seem so near / that there used to be a church house B right here.”    It’s a sad song.   I pray it never happens to your home church.

Prayer:   O God, please help me do my part to keep the vision burning brightly in the church I attend.  In generations to come, may it continue to be a tribute to the power, mercy and glory of Your Name.   Amen.