Labor to Believe

On February 11, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 6: 29

Jesus answered and said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

We looked yesterday at entering into the rest of God. We found that the effort we are to expend is in entering into this rest. Today we see Jesus saying that the “works” that so many of us get bound up in are misplaced effort. Jesus said that the work that we are supposed to do is to believe in Jesus whom God has sent. So, are the verses from yesterday and today saying the same thing? Yes, I think so, are at least they are nuances of the same thing.

I so very vividly remember how badly I managed my work when I was practicing law.  I worked myself half to death, literally. I tried to keep God in the frame all day but I was so out of balance that I couldn’t hear Him no matter how He tried to get my attention. Now, I am attempting not to do the same thing again. There is always enough work to do. If you have a work mentality you will find plenty to do but Dad is showing me that He is unwilling for me to go back into that crazy lifestyle. He has even told me that He will not give me more of the ministry tasks He has in mind for me if I cannot keep my life in balance. So this is an interesting season in my life. There is a lot on my plate but Dad will not have me sacrifice my workouts or even my playtime in order to work. There must be balance. So, He is teaching me to labor to enter into His rest, to use my effort to believe in Christ within me who has the power to accomplish all that needs doing. My relationship with the father is much more important to Him than the “work” I do for Him.

Many ministers have lost their way working for the Lord. All of us, regardless of our occupation, must put and keep Jesus first in our lives. Then He will empower us from the inside to do all that we must do. The Holy Spirit is the power of God. We need to learn how to release that power into the world and into our workspace so that we can keep our priorities in line and not burn ourselves out. You can live till 120 years or more but not if you are burning your candle down too low now. I do not advocate laziness, not by any means. I am just learning that God is our strength and He can be the performance engine in us. This is a high challenge but for those who are ready there is a deep well here, a big revelation.

I would love to hear your stories of how you are allowing God to work through you and I am sure that besides myself, others can benefit from your experience. Click on the link below and go to our blog site and tell us how you are allowing this to work in your life.

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Guaranteed Success

On June 4, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 16: 3          NIV

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

How would you like to know that every project you undertake is going to be a success? Wouldn’t that change your perspective? Well, it is possible. If you begin every project, every assignment by committing it to God then you are guaranteed to be successful. Now, can you believe it?  

Believing the veracity of this scripture is one of the hidden necessities to make your success manifest. If you do not believe God’s word in this context either you will not pray, submitting your work to God or you will not believe the words coming out of your own mouth. Either is shooting yourself in the foot. So, the first thing we must do if we want to see success in our endeavors is to believe this scripture. Second, we must actually commit our plans and projects to the Lord. But there is a third necessary step.

Leave it alone after you commit it to Him. Do your work but leave the success of the project in His hands. I have a visualization that I use for this and also for problems. When I have a project or problem I picture a mail tray like the type everyone used to have on their desks. I see a stack of them and the one on top is marked “In”. In my mind I recognize this as God’s inbox. I see myself walk to it and drop in whatever it is that I have on my mind. Now, here is the key. Leave it there. I cannot tell you how many times I have put something in God’s inbox only to later go pull it out. Perhaps He isn’t moving as fast as I think reasonable. Maybe I just think the problem or project needs my hands in it. Okay, I know both thoughts are ludicrous but that is the unrenewed part of my mind and exactly why I must continuously renew my mind to God and His Word.   

Once you commit your works to the Lord then it is time for you to allow Him to be the mastermind. He will instruct you and lead all of your work by His Holy Spirit. You will be surprised how much less time your work actually takes when you let Him guide your steps. And you are guaranteed success. You gotta love that. God will establish your ways and lead you into righteousness which, after all, is right-ness which only makes sense. He is not going to lead you into wrongness, now is He? So learn to stop and pray a personal prayer of committal before you commence any project. Not only will you be guaranteed success but you will find the labor much less odious. Let Jesus lead you in paths of success.

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Poverty like a Thief

On April 11, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 6: 9 – 11

How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and your poverty will come in like a vagabond, and your need like an armed man.

God has promised to bless the work of your hands. In fact, in Deuteronomy 30: 9 He promised to “prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand.” The point is, though, that you must set your hand to the plow, as it were. In Colossians 3: 23 Paul teaches that in “whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” 

We were never meant to be idle beings. God created the sloth for that purpose. Even in the Garden of Eden humanity was expected to work and produce. The Garden of Eden was nothing more than a seed garden. Adam and Eve were supposed to take those seeds and create a planet of Eden but they failed miserably. Fortunately, despite our failures God always has an alternate blessing plan. If you read the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy you see that He filled the environment with blessing. About the only blessing you will not find is the couch potato blessing.

Have you heard the expression “work hard, play hard”? Is there a reason that work comes before play in that expression? We must first work and then we play with glee.

Your work is meant to be a source of blessing not just a source of income. As a matter of fact, you may be retired. That does not mean that your work has ended. God may have called you into something new. And work doesn’t have to be a bad word. It is meant to be part of our fulfillment. Meaningful work is a delight. Truth be known, when we dedicate it all to the Lord it is He who does the heavy lifting anyway and we get to walk around in the blessing.

No matter what you are called to do it with all your energy as if your boss is Jesus because in truth he is. Do your work with joy. Your joy comes through the Holy Spirit and the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8: 10). You see work doesn’t have to be drudgery. If the Lord has given you something to do, do it with all your might and with joy blessing the Lord that you have something to which to set your hand. There are thousands and millions of people who do not have the opportunities that we have. God is blessing us.

If we do not arise and do what He has called us to do, He will take away what He has given us and give it to someone else to do. Then we will understand that our work was a gift and a blessing. Just a little folding of the hands, just a little laziness and all of a sudden you have moved yourself out of the blessing and into the curse. We have to understand that God has always, since the beginning of time, been trying to bless people. You see it all through the Old Testament. Then Jesus came to bring us abundant life (John 10: 10). You can see the parallel of God’s will in Deuteronomy 30: 9. It has always been about abundant blessing. But there is a thief among us so God began warning us early that Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). If we fold our hands and slumber the devil will take free rein with our blessing. Guard diligently what the Lord has given you. He has put all things in your hands for joy and blessing. Don’t let the devil steal your blessing. Instead work diligently with a joyful heart giving the Lord thanks for the multitude of blessings He has given you. Make your work a praise offering to the Lord. Go to work with Him, take Him with you. When you take Jesus with you, then all things are a joy.

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