GCV Blog

Grace Church of the Valley blog.

As we’ve been studying and seeking to apply Jesus’ instructions from Matthew 20 regarding greatness within the Kingdom, I have been persistently convinced that a lifestyle adjustment must take place for many of us to pursue greatness through serving others. This week I found and thoroughly appreciated these practical suggestions for obedience from Paul Tripp, a like-minded pastor and author. He calls service to one another “cross-shaped love,” and uses these eleven applications to help clarify what it means to follow our Lord Jesus, who served with His life. Loving one another at Grace Church of the Valley means…

  1. not keeping yourself so busy with you and yours that you haven no practical time to love others.
  2. being committed to knowing people, because you can minister only in very limited ways to those whom you do not know.
  3. being willing to have your life complicated by the needs and struggles of others.
  4. being willing to live with an open home.
  5. overlooking minor offenses and fighting the temptation to become bitter or
  6. cynical.
  7. being lovingly and humbly honest in moments of misunderstanding; more committed to reconciliation than to being right.
  8. not judging the success of your life by the size of your house or bank account or by the quality of your car, but by the quality of your love for God and others.
  9. moving beyond simply surrounding yourself with people whom you find comfortable and likeable.
  10. being willing to have your schedule and plans interrupted or altered.
  11. not allowing yourself plausible excuses that seemingly free you from love’s call.
  12. loving people in such a way that they never feel that they are in debt to you.

For the full article see http://shepherdsnotes.com/?p=2165.

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