Routine Work (and other devotionals)

Routine Work 

He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.  Proverbs 12:11

Routine work may not be sexy, but it is necessary. It is necessary to meet our needs and the needs of those who depend on us. The same work day in and day out can seem simple and even boring, but it is a test of our faithfulness. Will I continue to faithfully carry out uncomplicated responsibilities, even when my attention span is suffering? If so, this is God’s path to blessing.

The contrast to routine work is chasing after phantom deals that are figments of our imagination. Be careful not to be led astray by fantasies that lead nowhere. It is false faith to think a gimmick, or some conniving circumstance can replace hard work. Wisdom stops chasing after the next scheme and sticks instead to the certainty of available work. What does your spouse say is the smart thing to do? Give them all the facts and listen.

“Steady plodding brings prosperity…”(Proverbs 21:5, LB).

Furthermore, work is easily carried out when everything is going well, and there are no indicators of job loss, or an increase in responsibilities with less pay. However, it is during these uncertain times that Christ followers can step up and set the example. Your attitude of hope and hard work are a testimony of trust in the Lord.

Stay engaged in executing your tasks with excellence, and you will inspire others to their labor of love. Lastly, see routine work as your worship of the Lord. He is blessing your faithfulness to follow through with the smallest of details. Are you content to serve Christ in your current career?

The Bible says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).

Application: Is my work a compelling testimony to the excellence of God’s gracious work?

~Wisdom Hunters Devotional~

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Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave it - Joshua 12:6

We must not press a type, or analogy, unduly, though we may employ it to illustrate a doctrine well established from other parts of Scripture. Such an illustration is here. It is remarkable that the two tribes and a half which Moses settled beyond the Jordan took little part in the national life, and were soon wiped out of their inheritance. They were apparently absorbed by the nations whom they were supposed to have superseded.

This was partly due to the devotion of the people to their material prosperity. In the words of Deborah, Reuben preferred to sit among the sheepfolds, to hear the piping of the flocks, rather than to take part in the emancipation of Canaan from Midian. But, looked at typically, may we not say that whatever Moses gives will ultimately evade our grasp and slip from our possession? Like the tables of stone, it will fall from our hand and be broken in pieces. All that you try to be or do in the power of your own resolution and energy will inevitably fail and deceive you. The land looks fair and the tenure seems good, but you will not be able to retain it.

The deepest blessings of the spiritual life cannot be won or held in the strength of our own purpose, even though it be a holy and earnest one. These things can be ours only in so far as we abide in Christ, in whom our inheritance is vested, and from whom we receive it as we need, by faith. We can hold nothing apart from abiding fellowship with Jesus. And this is our privilege. Let us lift our hearts to the blessed Spirit, asking that He would reveal to us that which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, but which God hath prepared for those that love Him.

~F. B. Meyer~

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Keep the Charge

Today's reading: 1 Kings 2:1-12

One of the last things David does before he dies is give a powerful charge to his son, Solomon, as the new king of Israel. David instructs him to stand firm and be faithful to God above all else. What a wise and crucial instruction for Solomon, but also for us today, thousands of years later.

"[K]eep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies...that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn..." (1 Kings 2:3, ESV)

What does "keeping the charge of the Lord your God" look like for you in a typical week? What's the impact on your day-to-day life when you're striving to live out this command? 

~Tami~

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One Way to “Get Prayer Back in Schools”

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.”Hebrews 10:24

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

One area where Christians can shed the light of Christ is in our school system. We have a generation who has no standards of right and wrong—everything is relative. In our schools our children are being taught that they have descended from animals. Is it any wonder that many have begun to act like animals?

What can you and I do? We must “love” our way back in! We must get involved by becoming members of the PTA. We must encourage teachers and tell them we are praying for them. We must go to school board meetings and find out about policies and curricula. We must pray daily for our classroom teachers and administrators.

ACTION POINT:

We must seek to be holy people in a godless world. And if we don’t, we are contributing to the demise of the next generation.

~Adrian Rogers~