Servias Ministries Blog

Laws can serve or they can put you into bondage.  Often, it is your own actions that determine which life you live.

When you walk in Love, you live a simpler and more fulfilling life.  You move toward living in the “now” rather than always fretting about the past or future.  Your expectations of others change dramatically.  You allow people to be themselves without your laws being placed on them.  By doing this you remove your yoke of bondage on them:

Galatians 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”fn 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

I have heard of many instances where a woman who is a believer marry an unbelieving man, hoping to change him.  They start their marriage unequally yoked.  Unless Our Heavenly Father specifically tells you to take on this task, you will probably fail.  Men are not women’s “construction projects”.  Those women who think that way are simply manipulators who want to control others.  In the above Scripture, the term neighbor does include your spouse.

Manipulation is a yoke of bondage in any relationship and it can be very subtle.  We are called to encourage our spouse, our friends, and family to a greater level of Spiritual maturity.  However, we cannot force or manipulate them by making them feel guilty or inferior to our spiritual standard.  Love in action draws people to a higher level, not control, force, or manipulation.

The Kingdom of Our Heavenly Father is magnetic in nature, not force-based.  People are drawn to Love.  On the other hand, they resist the proud who place demands of performance on them.  If you want people to join you in some form of unity, you must attract them by your Love in action.  Otherwise you simply further alienate them and at least one of you will continue to walk in bondage to a law, probably the one in the mirror.  Setting people free from bondage brings them into a liberty which in turns brings them into unity with you.  Interesting how that works!

We found out that Dave Dixon of California recently suffered a major setback.  His boat sank.  Not just any boat, the one he lives on.  His guitars and sound equipment along with other possessions went down with the ship.  He is now in recovery mode.  Though he has not requested assistance from Servias Ministries, we would like to send him an offering of Love.  Dave has blessed the brethren over the years with his musical gifts and calling.  His anointed baritone voice is always a welcomed addition to the songs of praise and worship.

You can send your offerings by way of the Internet at:

www.unity153.net  and clicking on the Donate button to give by credit card

or you can send a check, etc. to:

Servias Ministries, Inc.

PO Box 1471

Bethany, OK 73008

Please write “Dixon” on the check so that we know it is to be included in the offering we send Dave.

My family will be participating in this expression of Love as well.   This is Love in action.

2 Corinthians 9:7  So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

In 1 Timothy Chapter 6, we are given things to flee and things to pursue.  Our ego would make success highly complicated and unattainable by most so that you feel special and unique in your quest for success.  This leads to the attitude of entitlement.  Wealthy people tend to view themselves in this light and that is why they are frequently warned of the snares associated with money.  Incidentally, those who are poor and focus solely on money have the same issue.  Greed spans all income levels.

3 If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.  NASB

As I said in Sunday’s Bible study: at a minimum, read the words Jesus spoke in the Gospels.  Paul emphasizes His Words here.  The words Jesus spoke conform us to godliness.  Anyone who tells you otherwise understands nothing.  These people who do not know the words and intent of Jesus create controversy and disputes.  They create friction among the brethren because they are deprived of the Truth.  If your words or actions are creating friction, division, or strife among the brethren, Stop!  This person is moved by control and manipulation, not by the spirit of Love.

We are told in Chapter 2 to pray for all men:

1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

If all men could not be restored to a full and complete relationship with Our Heavenly Father, we would not be urged to pray for them.  We must view others through the eyes of Jesus.  We must align our intent with the Divine Intent of Love.  If you are doing nothing for others then you have not aligned yourself with HIS Intent.  As you align yourself with HIM, you will lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.  We brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out so we must quit focusing on the temporal things in life, money being the most temporary on the list.

6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

We are being warned of the snares associated with money and greed.  It also refers to those who have strayed from the faith.  We must be vigilant to pursue the things that matter to the long term and consistent walk of godliness.  What must we pursue?

11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

Each one of these areas of pursuit will be tested in your life.  The test is designed to determine your level of maturity in each aspect.  You must actively pursue them for they will not just drop down on you one day as some entitlement bestowed on special people.  We are called to mature as sons and daughters, tried and tested in our preparation.  There are actions we are called to take. We are told to “pursue”!

These areas of pursuit deal with our interaction with others.  We are called to minister by being an example for others to see and experience.  Those who cannot hear directly from Our Heavenly Father need our ministry.  Yes, there will be some who reject the Words Jesus spoke and will pursue those things which we are fleeing from.  At some point, we must let them take their chosen path toward judgment and correction.  It may be painful but necessary to remove the root of bitterness and other deep-seated issues in their life.  Our prayers for them will help sustain them through their time of correction.  Until then, we must patiently endure their immaturity with gentleness.  As we walk in faith when adversity comes, it will be an encouragement to them that are still immature.  We must not let the immature keep us from focusing on what we are called to pursue.  We must be strengthened in our own prayer time in order to help others set the proper course of pursuit.

As people focus on the things of the flesh, they move away from the ministry toward others.  Instead, they want others to lift them up.  We are called to serve mankind yet we want mankind to make it convenient for us to serve them.  As we discussed in our online Bible Study yesterday, let patience have her perfect work.  If you are impatient, “self” is still an issue.  “My way or the highway” is a classic symptom of exalting yourself above others.  Instead we should be asking Our Heavenly Father to reveal HIS Way in a greater revelation for each of us to walk accordingly.

As we move toward an epic change in the world, the personal battle will reach a crescendo as well.  Do you think your flesh will die without a fight?  In Scripture, it is the prostitute who will sell her body for money.  The prostitute believes in the law of scarcity and understands the power of “self”.  She is in the business of pleasure and personal satisfaction.  Your flesh will demand satisfaction and will convince you to manipulate others in order to get.  The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life are the three main categories you will be subjected to.  Others may not realize your battle as many will keep it secret:

Isaiah 47:8  

“Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures,
Who dwell securely,
Who say in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one else besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow,
Nor shall I know the loss of children’;  NKJV

You must be honest with yourself and deal with those hidden desires that subtly take you off course from the righteous path.  There will be many who were called but will fail to deal with the last battle of fully dying to the flesh.  Metaphorically, “self” or the ego is like a harlot.  It will convince you to submit to it for temporary satisfaction but in the end, death results.  As you submit to the temptations of the ego, you become “one flesh” with it.  This is true in the spiritual sense as well as the physical sense.  Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 6:

12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”fn 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

We will serve Our Heavenly Father by serving mankind or we will submit to the harlot and serve “self” by manipulating and deceiving others in order to satisfy our own self-serving agenda, also known as idols of the heart.  It is time to end the rebellion and choose Love.  Let “self” die.