Excellence is the quality of work that we are called to as followers of Jesus Christ. God is not impressed with a slick program or flashy audio-visuals; what matters to Him are internal things like love, compassion, and humility. God is primarily concerned with our hearts, why He does care about those outward things as an expression of our hearts. The level of commitment we have to doing things well, to honoring God in every area of our lives – reveals what is in our hearts. What does excellence look like?

1) It is offering the best of or time and talent in preparation and execution of God’s service.

2) We do God’s service with a superior quality that reflects the eternal impact of Kingdom work.

3) Our service honors God and inspires greatness in others.

4) It is a proper reflection of God at work in us.

5) It is fitting worship to God.

There are many causes to which we can devote our time and effort. But there is only one cause that is worthy of every ounce of work, devotion, labor, sacrifice, suffering, dedication – Only one cause that is worth giving our lives for every day. … READ MORE

The story is told of a young boy walking along the seashore, throwing in starfish as he encounters them. A man walks up to the boy and asked, “hat are you doing?” The boy responds, “Saving the lives of Starfish.” The man looks at the boy skeptically and says, “Son, there are hundreds of starfish on this beach, you can’t possibly make a difference.” The boy thought for a moment, reached down, picked up a starfish, looked at it for a moment, and then through it back into the ocean. Then looking up at the man, he said quietly, “I made a difference in that one’s life.” We may often wonder if our helping others makes any impact on the world. Yet, if we talk to the few that we help, we will find that our impact is more significant that we ever realized! We need to understand that God will bless our loving service to others according to His plan and purpose. We may not receive the pats on the back that we desire, but those acts do not go unnoticed, and they do bring blessing both to us and to those whom we serve. The true goal of … READ MORE

As we continue consider the parable found in Matthew 25, we are reminded that God will judge us based on our loving service (Matthew 25:32-34). Understand, our service is an indication of our relationship. Jesus used the images of sheep and goats to describe two different groups of people based on how well they served those who were in need around them. Notice the surprise of the sheep, who could not recall ever having helped the King in His moment of distress. All they saw was either the suffering who needed help and acted compassionately toward them or the “rabble” just looking for a handout and turned the other way, surmising that their plight was what they deserved. We are reminded that we have a responsibility to be personally and intimately involved in our giving. In this process we need to remember that it is our loving service, not the gift giving that we are called to do. We are reminded that we have no excuse to neglect those who have deep needs, and we cannot hand over this responsibility to the church or government. Jesus Demands our personal involvement. What we do may look different for each person, but … READ MORE