{"id":14303,"date":"2026-03-20T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=14303"},"modified":"2026-01-29T09:25:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T14:25:02","slug":"gratitude-in-serving-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/gratitude-in-serving-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Gratitude in Serving Others"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhy do people go out drinking on Saturday night and to church on Sunday morning. That doesn\u2019t seem very Christ-like to me?\u201d My sister-in-law peppered me with the question for years, never accepting my answers. But this verse answers her question. Receiving God\u2019s grace, given to us by Jesus on the cross, does free us from our sin nature. However, the freedom we receive doesn\u2019t give us a license to sin. In other words, once we admit and acknowledge our wrongdoings, God wants us to stop doing them. Jesus says to us what He said to the naked, adulterous woman, caught in her sin, dragged through the streets to the Savior for judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen neither do I condemn you,\u201d<\/em> Jesus declared. \u201cGo now and leave your life of sin.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

John 8:11<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul instructs the Galatians, and us, to use our freedom in Christ to serve others, not to sin repeatedly. However, we may struggle to let some things go more than others. A favorite sermon illustration comes to mind. Seeking advice from his pastor, the alcoholic asked him, \u201cWhy do I still have the desire to drink?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, what do you do when you want a drink?\u201d The pastor questioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI get on my knees and pray.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWould you pray as much if God took the desire away from you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Jesus\u2019s followers, He wants us to leave our lives of sin and rely on Him for all our needs. The Lord desires us to use our newfound freedom to serve others, and by doing so, we share Jesus with them. Drawing closer to the Savior, we will align our hearts with His and desire what He desires. Living in sin leads only to death, but receiving God\u2019s grace fills us with His Spirit and leads us to an abundant life. People who get stuck in their walk with the Lord, unable to let go of their sin and move forward, never experience the abundance of blessings God wants to give them. Only when we become obedient to Christ will we enjoy His harvest of blessings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use your God-given freedom wisely to serve others. Leave your sin in the past, and live for the applause of nail-scarred hands. The Lord will help you find victory over whatever struggles you have. In Him, you will discover life to the fullest. Embrace the Savior\u2019s grace today, live in the freedom He died to give you. Honor Jesus by serving others and loving them well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journal Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How have you discovered freedom in Christ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what ways do you struggle with habitual sin?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can you go and sin no more with Jesus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Use gratitude to motivate service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two-minute read. \u201cWhy do people go out drinking on Saturday night and to church on Sunday morning. That doesn\u2019t seem very Christ-like to me?\u201d My sister-in-law peppered me with the question for years, never accepting my answers. But this verse answers her question. Receiving God\u2019s grace, given to us by Jesus on the cross, does… Continue reading Gratitude in Serving Others<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14303"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14308,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14303\/revisions\/14308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}