Sign up for our free newsletter:

Q. What characterizes a servant of Jesus?

A. Five traits emerge in Paul's profile in 2 Corinthians 6:

Consistency (verse 3). Nothing in our lives should be a stumbling block that prevents someone else from believing or brings discredit to our Savior!

Endurance (4-5). If we're going to follow Jesus in a world in which He was crucified, we mustn't expect to be exempt from testing and suffering. The strong Christian isn't the one who escapes hardships, but the one who perseveres through them.

Righteousness (6-7). Paul's "weapon" of righteousness included: (1) Purity—a single-mindedness of motive and behavior; (2) Understanding—getting to know God and His truth better and better, and also understanding people; (3) Patience—literally "long-suffering," holding out long-term in a manner that rules out rudeness and harshness. (4) Kindness—moving toward others in caring love. These qualities, Paul says, can be produced only by the life of God working in us.

Realism (8-10). We should not be caught off-guard. If we're serving Jesus, it will be tough. We'll be criticized; we'll encounter difficulties. But to have Christ is to have all that we have in Jesus forever in heaven. Realism lays up that sort of treasure.

Affection (1, 11-13). Paul demonstrated that effective ministry isn't just the open Word; it's also an open heart: "My … affection for you is like a wide open door, flung open for you to enter in." Christian service isn't coldly efficient; it builds friendshipbridges into people's hearts.

David Jackman directs the Cornhill Training Course in England.

Adapted from Decision, Billy Graham Evangelistic Assoc. (11/00) by permission

Prayer for the Week

Dear Father, Your Son came to serve and give His life. Help me to follow His example.

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help