A Worker
It is for very good
reason that God ordained and spoke by the Holy Spirit that, when it
comes to the study of His Word, we are called workers. Why is that?
Here are six things that are true of workers at a job that are also
true of workers in the Kingdom of God.
A good worker shows up to work every day. He rarely misses work, and gets right back to the job as soon as possible.
A good worker comes ready to work. He is prepared mentally and physically to work. If he has tools or skills, he brings them with him to work and applies them diligently.
A good worker is focused on his work. He knows that distraction or lack of discipline is not only unproductive, but can even be dangerous!
A good worker does his best for his employer at all times, even if the work seems boring, is hard or no one else is working.
A good worker can usually expect to receive payment for his work. In the world it is money – in God’s Kingdom it is the eternal reward of spiritual fruit, and the present reward of God’s blessings.
A good worker usually receives advancement as he applies himself. In the world it may be a new position or title. But in God’s Kingdom it is personal spiritual growth, equipping for service and great power and authority in the things of God.
Can you see how these
six things apply to reading and studying God’s Word? God has called
each of us to be a worker in His Word, and in the harvest field of
lost souls.
Love Your Enemies (Luke 6:27-36)
The world says -- rightly -- "Love your friends. Be loyal to your friends. Look out for your friends." Why? Friends will look out for you. Loving your friends is just smart. This also goes to loving your wife or your husband. As the Apostle Paul observes, "Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself" (Ephesians 5:28). Loving your wife is a no-brainer unless you're self-destructive. Loving your friends and your spouse is just enlightened self-interest.
But it's altogether another thing to love an enemy, someone who has your disgrace or destruction as a goal. Notice as Jesus teaches his disciples in this passage he uses the familiar rhythm of Hebrew parallelism.
"Love your enemies,
Do good to them who hate you."
Jesus uses four very strong action words in these verses:
Greek agapao -- love your enemies
Greek poimeo kalos -- do good to those who hate you.
Greek eulogoeo -- to speak well of
Greek proseuchomai -- to pray for, to intercede for.
None are in the passive voice. They don't just take care of themselves. They are active verbs describing deliberate action to do good to one's enemies.
What on Earth Am I Here For?
by Rick Warren
For
everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and
invisible,... everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.
Colossians 1:16 (Msg)
Unless you assume a God, the
question of life's purpose is meaningless. Bertrand Russell, atheist
The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment,
your peace of mind, or even your happiness. Its far greater than your
family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want
to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You
were born by his purpose and for his purpose.
The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of
years. That's because we typically begin at the wrong starting point
ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like What do I want to be? What
should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my
future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life's purpose. The
Bible says, It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone's
life is in his power.
You must begin with God, your Creator.
You exist only because God wills that you exist. You were made by God and
for God and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is
only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our
purpose, our significance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead
end.
Many people try to use God for their own self-actualization, but that is a
reversal of nature and is doomed to failure. You were made for God, not vice
versa, and life is about letting God use you for his purposes, not your
using him for your own purpose. The Bible says, Obsession with self in these
matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a
spacious, free life.
Read More
"Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.. Eph.
4:3
What is it ?
being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of the peace; (YLT)
"The unity of the Spirit" signifies that secret bond of divine union which
knits together all the living members of Christ’s mystical body, not only to
Him as their risen Head, but to each other also by virtue of the same
indwelling Spirit.
It is, therefore, not a mere unity of opinion, of church membership, of
outward profession, or any mere external bond; for all these may subsist in
the highest degree, and yet there be no spiritual union. The word translated
"unity" means literally "oneness," and therefore implies that oneness of the
faith, hope, and love which pervades every member of the mystical body. It
is, therefore, called "the oneness of the Spirit," that is, that oneness of
heart and soul, love and affection, of which the Holy Ghost is the sole and
immediate author. This oneness of Spirit is, so to speak, kept together and
maintained in its place by "the bond of peace," which is oneness of spirit;
but when "the bond of peace" is twined round it, it is not only preserved
from outward assaults, but, like the blood within the artery, or like the
marrow within the spine, is free to move and act. As, therefore, this,
"oneness of spirit" can only be maintained in living exercise as surrounded
by "the bond of peace," the Apostle bids us to endeavour "to keep" it within
this bond. It is in itself a thing so tender, and yet so essential to the
comfort of the church, that we should never, so to speak, take that bond off
which preserves it uninjured.
Read More
What is The Bible?
The Holy Spirit inspired human authors to write the books of the Bible. Every
word of scripture is chosen by God himself. The Bible is God’s love letter to
all of humanity and is the final authority in every issue it communicates. It is
complete truth, and we can trust it for all matters in this life and eternity.
Who is God?
Many people have differing ideas about the nature of God. Most of those ideas
have one thing in common – they are the product of human intellect! When it
comes to our Creator, it matters very little who we think God is. The Bible is
the only trustworthy source for understanding Him. Scripture teaches that God
created everything we can see -- and even everything we can’t see -- out of
nothing. Although it might be difficult for the human mind to comprehend, the
Bible teaches that He is one yet has existed since the beginning of time as
three distinct and equal persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Who is Jesus?
Jesus Christ is God’s Son and an equal of the Father. He has existed from the
beginning of time, yet lived on earth during the first century A.D. Throughout
His earthly life, he was completely God and completely human at the same time.
The Marvel of Man's Body
The stunning marvel of our Lord's workmanship -- "without Him was not anything made that was made" (Jn. 1:3) -- perhaps reaches its apex in the human body. "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psa. 135:14); and when are added the depthless mystery of the soul and of the spirit, we are struck speechless.
The heart beats seventy times a minute, 4,200 times an hour, 100,800 times a day, 36,792,000 times a year, 2,565,440,000 times in three-score and ten years, and at each beat two and a half ounces of blood are thrown out of it, one hundred and seventy-five ounces a minute, six hundred and fifty-six pounds an hour, seven and three-fourths tons a day. All the blood in the body passes through the heart in 3 minutes.
The lungs will contain about one gallon of air at their usual degree of inflation. We breathe on an average 1,200 times an hour, inhale six hundred gallons of air, or 24,000 a day. The aggregate surface of the air cells of the lungs exceeds 20,000 square inches, an area very nearly equal to the floor of a room twelve feet square.
Quotes
We have heard of many people who have trusted God too little, but have you
ever heard of anyone who trusted Him too much?
J. Hudson Taylor
“As for myself, I married Miss Right. I just didn’t know her first name was
‘Always.’” Red Skelton
"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can
do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
Helen Keller
The truly happy people are those who have a source of happiness too deep to
be seriously disturbed by ordinary troubles.
Marion K. Rich
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Today's Bible Verse
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
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