There is a lot of talk today about doing your best and

being your best. I truly believe that everyone should strive

to be excellent,

but they need to realize that they have only enough energy for

excellence at one or two things - and it is to those truly important things that they should give their

lives and their commitment.

In other areas, we should strive for “good enough”, not to be mediocre, but to reserve our

energy for those few areas of life where we will, where we must,

achieve excellence.

As someone wisely said, “The good is often the enemy

of the best”.

In most areas of my life I accept “good enough” for the simple reason that I understand how

much is required for excellence.

I know that I can only pour my total commitment into a

few things and I better be very sure those things are

what really matter. (Tom Lambert)

We honor the Lord by our above & beyond

serving

Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best,

for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done

and won’t need to compare himself with someone else . . .

And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we

will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.

(Galatians 6:4, 9 – Living Bible)

Don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve

each other with love.

All that the Law says can be summed up in the command

to love others as much as you love yourself . . . We should help people

whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.

(Galatians 5:13-14, 6:10 – Contemporary English Version)

Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the

Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father . . .

and whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,

as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.

Remember that the Lord will give you a reward . . . For Christ is

the real Master you serve. (Colossians 3:17, 23-24 – Good News Bible)

We should serve with faithfulness &

excellence

We honor the Lord by our above & beyond

giving

Now I want to tell you what God in his grace has done for the

churches in Macedonia. Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times,

they have mixed their wonderful joy with their deep poverty, and the result has been an overflow of giving to others.

They gave not only what they could afford but far more;

and I can testify that they did it because they wanted to and not because of nagging on my part.

They begged us to take the money so they could share in the joy of

helping the Christians in Jerusalem.

Best of all, they went beyond our highest hopes, for their first action

was to dedicate themselves to the Lord and to us, for whatever

directions God might give to them through us.

They were so enthusiastic about it that we have urged Titus, who

encouraged your giving in the first place, to visit you and encourage you to complete your share in this

ministry of giving.

You people there are leaders in so many ways—you have so much faith, so many good preachers,

so much learning, so much enthusiasm,

so much love for us. Now I want you to be leaders

also in the spirit of cheerful giving. (2 Corinthians 8:1-8 – Living Bible)

We should give with joy & generosity

We honor the Lord by our above & beyond

loving

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to come to his home for lunch and Jesus accepted the invitation. As

they sat down to eat, a woman of the streets—a prostitute—heard he was there and brought an exquisite flask filled with expensive perfume.

Going in, she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping, with her tears falling down upon his feet; and she wiped them off with her hair and

kissed them and poured the perfume on them.

When Jesus’ host, a Pharisee, saw what was happening and who the woman was, he said to himself,

“This proves that Jesus is no prophet, for if God had really

sent him, he would know what kind of woman this one is!”

Then Jesus spoke up and answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say

to you.” “All right, Teacher,” Simon replied, “go ahead.”

Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two

people—$5,000 to one and $500 to the other. But neither of them could pay him back, so he kindly forgave them both, letting them

keep the money!

Which do you suppose loved him most after that?” “I suppose the

one who had owed him the most,” Simon Then he turned to the

woman and said to Simon, “Look! See this woman kneeling here!

When I entered your home, you didn’t bother to offer me water

to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her

tears and wiped them with her hair. You refused me the customary

kiss of greeting,

but she has kissed my feet again and again from the time I first came in. You neglected the usual courtesy

of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has covered my feet with rare perfume. Therefore her sins—and they are many—are forgiven,

for she loved me much; but one who is forgiven little, shows little

love.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then the men at the table said to themselves,

“Who does this man think he is, going around forgiving sins?” And Jesus said to the woman,

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

(Luke 7:36-50 – Living Bible)

We should love with gratitude & abandon

Let’s Pray