SERVICE IN PETER'S HOUSE

“So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them” (Luke 4:39 NKJV).

The healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law by the Lord Jesus Christ and her subsequent ministry gives some good lessons about Christian service. There are two lessons that we especially want to note: the enabling for the service and the extent of the service.

Enabling for the service – “He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.” Simon Peter’s mother-in-law had become very sick. She was confined to bed and unable to do anything. The Lord Jesus Christ healed her and immediately she “served them.” The healing enabled her to serve. An important lesson here is that God blesses us is so that we can serve Him. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law could not serve until she was healed. When she was healed, she used her health to serve. When God heals us, it is so we can better serve Him. When God bless us financially, it is not for us to buy more adult toys but so that we can better serve Him. When God gives us talent and skills, it is primarily so that we can serve Him. The main reason God endows us with great blessing is to enable us to better serve Him.

Extent of the service – “She arose and served them.” The service of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was to serve in the home. She did not preach or sing or go to the mission field. Rather she performed duties most people would consider lowly. However, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law simply ministered to God’s servants by helping with the meal and other household duties. Our service for God may be very humbling duties, but we are to do them anyway. All service is not in the spotlight and on the stage. Much service is in the background, but it is just as essential. The disciples and the Lord Jesus needed a meal that day. The Lord Jesus would work many miracles later in the day, and He had a busy week ahead, so He needed physical strength for the arduous task. The ministry of Peter’s mother-in-law was most needed. Do not despise lowly tasks. They are very important.

(Adapted from Butler's Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Our high and privileged calling is to do the will of God in the power of God for the glory of God!”

James Innell Packer (1926 – 2020)

English-born Canadian Evangelical Theologian and Author

Word Study

Explained

In Mark 14:34 we read, “But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples" (NKJV).

“Explained” is the Greek word epiluō (ἐπιλύω = ep-ee-loo'-o). It is made up of two words: “epi” which means upon, and “luo” which means to loose, unbind, untie. Thus, the word means to release, to set free, to loose. It also means to decide, to settle. Literally, the word means to loose upon and figuratively it was used to clarify and to explain what is obscure and hard to understand or interpret them. This was especially applicable in Biblical usage with regards to divine mysteries.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (Matt. 14:27 KJV).

Did You Know…

In describing Job to Satan, God stated the following: “there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” Job (Job 2:3).

Bible Quiz

To whom does the following verse refers: “Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory?”

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: To whom did the Lord spoke to “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend?” Moses (Ex. 33:11).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“RADIANCE OF GOD’S GLORY”

"Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3 NKJV).

1. Meaning – RRADIANCE OF GOD’S GLORY speaks of the Lord Jesus as the One who perfectly reveals the majesty of God.

2. Insights – In Greek, the word “radiance” (apaugasma - ap-ow'-gas-mah) can describe a reflection of what is external or of what is internal. With the Lord Jesus, both are true, for His radiance perfectly reveals God’s glory. The Son reflects God’s spotless purity; He is the perfect representation of God’s being. And so, here the Lord Jesus portrays God in a unique way, for He, unlike any prophet, is God. The prophets could only portray God through words, types, and figures. The Lord Jesus Christ portray God in Himself, because He was “the express image of His [God’s] Person.” No prophet could portray God like that.

Did You Know – Christian History

Noah Webster was born October 16, 1758, in West Hartford, Connecticut. He was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and author. He has been called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education.”

Webster grew up in an average colonial family – his father farmed and worked as a weaver, while his mother worked at home. At the time, few people went to college, but Webster enjoyed learning so much that his parents sent him to Yale. Webster was converted in the Second Great Awakening.

Webster graduated from Yale College in 1778 and passed the bar in 1781. Unable to find work as a lawyer, he opened a small private school in western Connecticut that was an initial success, but he later closed it and left town. Americans would soon be battling the British for independence. Webster became a staunch patriot. Not only did he join a regiment during the revolutionary war, but after independence, he wrote extensively, calling for a national constitution and urging its adoption once the committee in Philadelphia had drafted it. It is impossible to say how many people Webster swayed.

Truth to tell, it is hard to find an area of society to which Webster did not contribute something. He was a trained lawyer, served as a schoolteacher, edited newspapers and magazines, studied epidemics, amassed statistics, kept records on the climate, assisted in founding Amherst College, prepared an American version of the Bible, produced teaching materials used by millions of Americans, argued for copyright laws, fought for the abolition of slavery and compiled the first American language dictionary. (G. & C. Merriam Co. bought the rights to the dictionary in 1843, which is why many dictionaries have Merriam-Webster in their name.)

Webster was also a strong supporter of George Washington. In fact, he was such a strong supporter of the first president, that he established the first daily newspaper in New York City so that he could defend his hero. The American Minerva was first published on December 9, 1793.Webster was one of the first to make the daily newspaper a political force in America. Although he had great influence as an editor, Webster is chiefly remembered for standardizing American spelling. Noah Webster died May 28, 1843.

A Little Humor

A cheating painting contractor had been skimping by thinning his paint excessively. Nevertheless, he landed a big job painting a church. He was almost done when a major storm blew up. It washed all the paint off. Amid the thunder and lightning, there came a loud voice…“REPAINT,” it boomed. “REPAINT, AND THIN NO MORE!

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“To walk in our own way is to run away from God!”