Welcome!
Date: Friday, October 15, 2010
Today: Work and worship
Passage: Col 3:17 NIV
17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
This principle of Paul has helped me and many others, a lot
In anything we do, our basic motto/principle matters
We live at a time when the word “commitment” is looked upon as “outdated”, by many
There are two areas I would like to focus upon: work and worship (church)
At work, we see different types of people
We see people very committed to their work; we also see people with no commitment at all
Some people do things just to please somebody, not because of their commitment to work
But if you are doing everything because “you are doing it for the Lord”, you will survive!
Your commitment will not be affected, whatever situations you have
You are committed to your work, because you do it as if you are doing it for the Lord
Your reward will come from the Lord, at his time and in His way
He is a God of justice. He will see to it that your commitment is properly recognized. Nobody can stop it, when God wants to bless you
The Israelites, as they left Egypt, were abundantly blessed by the Lord
When we are faithful in the least, God will put us in a better, bigger position
The second area is Church/ministry
Again, principle is the same; you are doing everything for the Lord
You are not looking for recognition from anybody
You are not looking for a name; you are not attaching your name tag to anything and everything you do. May God take care of that
I hear about many Church issues these days. I tell them the same as I am writing
David and Joseph in the Old Testament are two good examples, for both topics we were discussing
Joseph went through a lot. But he did not take nay revenge against his brothers or anybody who hurt him, even when he had the power to do so
Look at David. After being chased by King Saul for decades, David finally became the king. All this time, he was hearing in his heart, “one day, you’ll be the king”
But after becoming the king, the first thing David did was looking for someone from Saul’s family, to bless him
God blessed David and his throne so much. You see that throughout the Bible, unlike anybody else in the Old Testament. Here are two more verses for you
1“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Mat 6: 1, NIV)
11Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. (1 Thess 4:12, NIV)
God bless you
BG
Prayer: Lord Jesus. Help me to have the right attitude toward work and worship, so that I will always be encouraged to be active and pleasing you, more than anybody else. Amen