DUTY’S PATH
Embracing Duty
Part 4

“So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say,
We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”
(Luke 17:10).

Today we look at the last of the Scriptures which specify those things that should not be optional in our lives, but our duty.

1. WE SHOULD BE TEACHERS

Hebrews 5:12 (NLT): “You have been believers so long now that you ought (opheilo—it is your duty) to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”

How long are we  meant to stay spiritual babies? We would be devastated if we were still spoon feeding our little babies and toddlers when they were four or five years old! And yet many adults are still spoon feeding when they are adults! They still don’t feed from God’s Word each day for themselves. They wait for Sunday for the pastor to spoon feed it into their mouths.

As babies in Christ we soak up the milk as people teach us (1 Peter 2:2). But we can’t stay on milk. We’ve got to get into the meat and learn how to get food daily for ourselves and learn how to chew on it and digest meaty and tough things. This Scripture doesn’t say it’s a good idea. It says it’s our duty to be doing it. It’s time to be teachers instead of babies! And we as mothers certainly need to be teachers.

2. IT’S A DAILY THING

Both 2 Chronicles 8:14 and Ezra 3:4 talk about the daily duties of the priests. Ezra 3:4 says they “offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required.”

We must take notice of this Scripture because we have now been made “kings and priests unto our God” (Revelation 1:6 and 5:10).

Some people may not like the sound of these words: “as the duty of every day required.” But they are Bible words. God ordained the morning and evening daily sacrifice. The priests also had to attend to the fire upon the altar every morning and evening, to light the lamps every morning and evening, and to light the sweet incense every morning and evening. Among other things these were their daily duties.

God ordained the morning and evening principle back in tabernacle days which is good for us to continue each day. We keep the fire burning in our homes as we attend to our family altar morning and evening (not a literal altar, but a gathering together as a family). Anything less is not enough to keep the fire burning. We trim the lamps and pour in the oil (which speaks of the Holy Spirit) morning and evening. Anything less is not enough to keep the light shining.

That’s why we must come before the Lord as a family every morning and evening to read God’s Word and to cry out to Him. It is a duty, but if God is truly No. 1 in our lives, it will be our greatest delight and the “longed for” times of each day.

3. IT’S PART OF LIFE

Do you remember the parable Jesus told of the hard-working servant? After ploughing in the field all day and tending to the sheep he comes in ready to sit down and relax. How nice! But no. Instead, without a word of thanks his master tells him to prepare his meal and put on his apron and serve him. “Then you can eat later,” he says. You can read the story in Luke 17:7-10.

With the “demanding our rights” and “entitlement” attitudes many people have today, this parable would make them very upset! Many folks would like to eliminate the word “duty” from their lives. Very few know the meaning of “going the second mile.” Employees clock out the moment time is up. They couldn’t give their employer one minute more of their time!

But Jesus is sharing a very important discipleship truth. If we truly are a disciple of Jesus, He will be our Master. Conversely, if He is our Master, we will truly be an obedient and submissive servant. That’s the relationship of a master and slave. And this is the relationship of a disciple. There are many who confess they are Christians but how many are disciples?

Half the parables Jesus told were about servants, which the people understood, because servants and slaves were part of the culture at that time. Paul and other disciples of Christ confessed that they were slaves of Christ. It’s the Greek word doulos and means “one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will altogether consumed in the will of the other.”

How does this affect us in the home? Much of what we need to do in our homes each day are duties and obligations. To keep a home running smoothly and efficiently and to keep a family fed and nourished takes time, planning, and work. Often it is the same thing every day.

Life is spiced with adventures and parties, but the foundation is duty. It’s how the world keeps going.

Can we accept our duties with joy? Let’s see them as what they really are—productive, powerful, and impacting lives and generations to come. It’s often the mundane, habitual things of life that add up to being powerful.

Can we say with Luke 17:10: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”

Matthew 24:46: “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find SO DOING.”  Do you notice this word? It’s doing! Nor vacillating. Not dreaming. Not putting aside the task in front of you, but facing it head on.

Will the Lord find you “doing your duty” when He comes?

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Dear God, please save me from being a spiritual baby. I want to get my teeth into the meat of God’s Word. Please enlighten me as I read Your Word. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I’m embracing all my duties and doing them with joy.

DUTY’S PATH
No Longer Pleasing Ourselves
Part 3

BEAR WITH THE FAILINGS OF THE WEAK

Romans 15:1: “We then that are strong ought (it is our duty) to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”

It’s easy to pass by those who are weak and struggling as we get on with our own busy lives with all our visions and projects. But God wants us to take time for the weak and fainthearted—to invite them to our homes, to bear them up, to encourage, and hold them up.

1 Thessalonians 5:14 exhorts us to “comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.” This certainly takes forgetting about our own interestes and reaching out with hospitality, forbearance, and love.

WASH ONE ANOTHER’S FEET

You know the incident of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet which is a picture of servanthood and willingly choosing the lowly place. Although Jesus was God and came from the glory of eternity, He was always willing to take the humble position.

He reminded His disciples that the one who serves is the greatest in the kingdom of God. Therefore, after He washed their feet, He said to them, and to you and me: “Ye call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am. If I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet: ye also ought (it is your duty) to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:13-15).

When living in Australia, my dear friend, Val Stares asked us all to their home for a meal. It was raining and because they were building, it was a muddy path to their front door. But as we walked in the door, there was Val with her apron on and a big basin of warm soapy water to wash our feet as we arrived. And not only to wash our feet, but to welcome us with love and blessing.

We need to constantly remind ourselves of the attitude God wants us to have to one another. Take a moment to read these Scriptures about servanthood: Matthew 20:26-28; 23:11; Mark 10:43-45; Luke 7:28; 22:24-27; and Philippians 2:5-8.

THANK GOD FOR ONE ANOTHER

Paul writes to the Thessalonians believers in 2 Thessalonians 1:3 and 2:13: “We are bound (we have a duty) to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”

I think this is something we often forget to do, isn’t it? I feel guilty as I think how often I forget. If we thanked God more often for specific brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, we’d be reminded more of special things to do for them, to encourage them, and to spur them on in the faith. May God save us from getting so taken up with our selfish lives that we forget to thank God for other believers who are part of our lives.

Years ago I remember God speaking to me very powerfully. I was walking over the doorstep into my home when I heard God speak strongly to my heart, “Nancy, how can I reveal to you the needs of others if you are always thinking about yourself?” What a powerful question. We need to give God room in our hearts and minds for others. If our minds are totally taken up with thinking about ourselves, how will we have room to think of other people, to thank God for them, and bless and encourage them?

Wouldn’t it be great to take on the challenge of thinking of one extra person each day? To thank God for them and to think of something special we could do to encourage them. Either give them a call, send them a card, write them a loving message, or listen closely to the Holy Spirit for some specific thing He wants us to do for them.

Can you stop for a moment now and thank of someone for whom you are grateful? Pray for them. Ask God for something specific you could do for them.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, please save me from always thinking about myself. Help me to make it a habit to think of others and their needs. Please show me how I can reveal Your love to those who are needy. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I’m opening up my heart and mind to think of the needs of others.

DUTY’S PATH
Beyond our Normal Selfish Lives
Part 2

We continue looking at the specific duties God has given to us.

1. LOVE ONE ANOTHER

1 John 4:11: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought (opheilo, meaning duty) to love one another.” That means beginning in the home with our husbands and family. That means those we don’t really like or who are not our type. That even means those who have spoken against us and treated us badly.

This word is used again in Romans 13:8: “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”

2. WALK AS JESUS WALKED

This is a tall order isn’t it?

1 John 2:6: “He that saith he abideth in him ought to walk, even as he walked.” The word “ought” means “duty.” Our life must match our confession. If we confess that Jesus is Lord and abides in us, we should be letting His joy-filled rest-filled, peace-filled, longsuffering, and righteous life live through us—in our homes and in our family lives.

3. LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR OUR FELLOW BELIEVERS

1 John 3:16: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought (it is our duty) to lay down our lives for the brethren.” The NLT says it very clearly: “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” Do you think we may be a long way off the true picture of Christianity?

4. SHOW HOSPITALITY AND PROVIDE FOR TRAVELING MISSIONARIES

3 John 1:5-8: “We therefore ought (it is our duty) to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.” As we show hospitality and financially support those who are preaching and teaching the gospel of truth, we are co-workers with them and with the Holy Spirit. We will be their companions, joining with them to spread the truth.

Romans 15:27 (NLT): “Indeed they are indebted to the Jerusalem saints. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are obligated also to minister to them in material things.” The KJV states that it is their “duty.”

God intends hospitality to the saints to be the lifestyle of the church. Today, many families are so busy rushing here and there that they don’t have time to show hospitality. They barely have time to sit around their own tables to enjoy meals together. Are we going to let the pull of this hectic world determine our lifestyle? Or are we prepared to get back to the lifestyle of the Bible? Nothing happens unless we make it happen.

Begin to regularly sit together for meals with your own family. Then begin to invite other folks and families to join you. God is a hospitable God and He dwells in you. He longs to show hospitality to His people through you.

5. HUSBANDS SHOULD LOVE THEIR WIVES AS THEIR OWN BODIES

Ephesians 5:28 (AMP): “Even so (read verses 25-27) husbands should and are morally obligated (it is their duty) to love their own wives as (being in a sense) their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.”

This is God’s vision for marriage. His ways are wondrous. But there are two sad things we face today. Firstly, feminists are foundationally against men, especially in marriage. They’d rather eliminate them. How sad that they don’t understand God’s wondrous plan that a husband is to be as concerned about his wife as he is about his own body.

Secondly, it is sad that so many husbands have not been taught their duty and moral obligation from God. When they know it and embrace it, they not only gloriously bless their wives, but their own lives also! Their duty turns into glorious delight!

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Dear Jesus, I realize as I read these Scriptures that I am a long way from Your ways. As You sacrificed Your life for me, so you want me to lay down my life for others. Please lead me in Your ways and teach me how to sacrifice my life with joy. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

To live a true Christian life, I must live opposite to the world and the flesh. God’s way is to deny myself in order to serve others.

DUTY’S PATH
Delight Instead of Drudgery
Part 1

“I choose the path of faithfulness; I am committed to your regulations”
(Psalm 119:30 (NET).

Daily commitment, faithfulness, and duty? They don’t sound like exciting words, do they? We’d rather do something more exciting! Read a book! Watch a movie!

However, duty is part of life. The Knox translation of the above Scripture says: “Duty’s path my choice.” We must choose the way of duty, even when we don’t feel like it. It reminds me of the quote, if I can remember it correctly: “It takes character to cope with life when duty rather than pleasure is the sustaining force.”

The dictionary meaning of duty is:

Something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation,

the binding or obligatory force of something that is morally or legally right,

an action or function required by a person's position or occupation,

the respectful and obedient conduct due a parent, superior, elder, etc.

an act or expression of respect.

a task or chore that a person is expected to perform.

If God has blessed us with children, our No. 1 occupation is motherhood and the management of the home. It takes a life of duty to keep a home running smoothly. Sometimes we may look upon it as duty and our thoughts spiral down to drudgery.

However, duty can be drudgery or delight depending to our attitude. We not only choose duty because it is the right thing to do, but we choose our attitude. When we choose and confess that every task in our homes—menial or creative—are a delight, they become a delight.

Make duty your delight and you will love every moment in your home. Sing while you work. Smile as you work. Praise the Lord as you work. Everything depends on what we choose to do.

The Greek word for duty in the New Testament is opheilo and means “to owe, to be morally obligated, pay the debt, express human and ethical responsibility, to fall in duty, it’s a must.”

It’s good to remind ourselves of duty in a general way, but the Bible mentions some specific things that are our duty. Therefore , I think we should look at them, don’t you?

1. SEXUAL INTERCOURSE FOR MARRIED COUPLES

Is this a duty? When God brought the first couple together, the first thing He told them was to be “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). That’s it! God’s ultimate plan. His first description of marriage. Therefore we owe it to one another.

1 Corinthians 7:3 calls it “due benevolence.” Now that doesn’t sound very romantic, does it? The Syriac version translates it “due love.” But let’s read it from a modern version: “The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations . . .” (NLT).

The wonderful thing about this moral obligation in marriage is that although it’s considered a duty, God has created it to be a DELIGHT. God is amazing. Proverbs 5:19 describes it as “ravishing.” The full meaning of the Hebrew word is to be “enraptured, intoxicated, transported with delight, captivated, entranced, steal away the senses.” How often should this happen? This Scripture tell us “at all times” and “always.” Look it up and read it again.

There may be times in your marriage when you may not experience it as a delight. That’s when you move into “duty” mode. As you are faithful to do your duty, delight will come rolling back to you. It’s a divine law. It’s like the ebb and flow of the tide. Sometimes the tide goes out, but it is a universal law that tide always comes flowing in again.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Dear Father. Please help me to be faithful to do what is right and what is required of me. Please save me from getting into the pit of drudgery but to see every task as a sacred duty. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I choose the way of duty, but I choose to do it with joy and exuberance.

P.S. Read the Old Testament Scriptures about sexual duty: Genesis 38:8; Exodus 21:10; and Deuteronomy 25:5, 7.