Tag Archives: Service

Mother Teresa

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Mother Teresa was a Catholic girl born in Albania who asked to be sent to India  to serve the poorest of the poor after her 18th birthday in 1928. She became a nun there and established the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta years later. As of her death in 1997, there were 610 missions in 123 countries (more in 133 countries now) that provide home for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, plus hospices services. They also help families with food, schooling, and counseling (See full Mother Teresa story at Wikipedia).

A woman under five-feet tall, Mother Teresa was a giant in making a positive difference in the world. She even won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Her secret to success was having a mission in life that no one, not even a Pope, could deter. I read a story once of how she pushed the Catholic Church over years into allowing her new order in Calcutta.

Why is Mother Teresa one of my favorite people? She showed that one person can make a tremendous difference in this world by having a great vision for people to rally around and a lifelong commitment to making it happen. She displayed unconditional love to people in the worst conditions of the world. She did not judge. She just pushed on and expected God to provide – and He did! Her selflessness moved the world’s morale needle in a positive direction over the periods of the Great Depression, World War II, and all the dramatic world events from the 1950s to the 1990s.

I could only hope to be one millionth of the goodness that she was. She was beatified as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in 2003 on her way to sainthood.

Learn more about Mother Teresa at the Mother Teresa Center.

Joseph’s Dreams (Gen 40-41)

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Bible Summary:

Joseph is in the Egyptian prison for quite some time. The king’s wine steward and chief baker are sent to prison for offending the king. Joseph interprets their dreams and in three days they are released, the wine steward gains his position back, and the chief baker is executed, all as Joseph predicted.

Two years later the king of Egypt has two dreams but no one can interpret them. The wine steward mentions Joseph’s ability. Joseph interprets the king’s dreams to mean there will be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of severe famine. Joseph tells the king to store a fifth of the country’s grain during the good years for food during the famine. The king appoints Joseph as governor over all of Egypt.

For seven years they store grain in all the cities of Egypt. Then, famine strikes all the countries around Egypt as Joseph predicted, but Egypt has plenty of food. People from all over the world come to buy food from Egypt.

My Thoughts:

Serve and Be Rewarded: Joseph continues to serve others for 13 years after his brothers sold him into slavery and is ultimately rewarded with his freedom and the governorship of Egypt.

Save for Lean Times: Given the current slump in the world economy, this advice may seem a little too late, but should be remembered when good times return. Saving 20% like Joseph did for Egypt may be too much of a burden, but you should work towards at least saving 10% of your income. Consider it tithing to yourself.

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife (Gen 39)

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Bible Summary:

Joseph is a very successful slave to Potiphar, one of the Egyptian king’s guards, and is put in charge of everything in his household. Potiphar’s wife seduces Joseph but he continually declines. She entraps Joseph by snaring his robe and telling her husband he tried to rape her. Joseph is sent to prison, but soon becomes responsible for everything there.

My Thoughts:

Confidence: No matter how bad things get, Joseph keeps his head. I believe his confidence comes from knowing that God has a plan for him.

Service: Joseph serves others and is rewarded with more responsibility each time. He must be a great manager to be put in charge wherever he lands.