"When a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God... his faith is credited as righteousness." Romans 4:4-5.
These are incredible words of encouragement of God's great promises as we consider the trials we face in our careers and in our day-to-day work-place attitudes. When we work for money to support ourselves and our family, to earn a living, our work becomes an obligation, a duty, something we must do. But, when instead of working at work, we trust God with our work, it demonstrates our faith and this is righteousness. We must give our work as a gift to God, and when we do, we will be blessed with love, joy and happiness. When we trust in God, all His glory will come our way. "...Blessed is the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works" (Romans 4:6). I must not let let my work-life be an obligation. I must let my work life be a pleasing aroma of my "living sacrifice" to Christ (Romans 12: 1-2).
"...to whom God will credit as righteousness." Romans 4:24. This applies to me as well. My faith will be credited to me as righteousness when I do as Abraham did; when I am continually strengthened in my faith and give glory to God, when I am fully convinced that God has the power to do what He promises; to give me comfort at work and to bear my burdens. "How Great How Awesome is He", and together we sing "Holy is the Lord God Almighty".
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
An Encourager
"...so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5.
What an incredible promise from God. That He will never forsake Joshua. Spoken directly from God to Joshua. In Joshua 1, the words "be strong and courageous" are used 4 times. These are great words of encouragement, that should be my guidance just as it was for Joshua. The Lord said these encouraging words to Joshua three times and it reflected in Joshua as he then encouraged the people, who in turn, encouraged back to Joshua to "be strong and courageous". A full circle of encouragement.
This is to be my personal "theme" for this coming year. To be an encourager. It seems to be a recurring thought, as today's Drive Time Devotional on Mark (week 1, day 1) was how Barnabas was an encourager to Paul and to Mark. And even through their incredible trials, these men were able to move beyond the barriers, opposition, and even rejection to become great men of faith. All becasue they were encouraged by a friend. So too as I am an encourager to others, to my family, my small group, they too will step up to live lives of service to Jesus Christ.
What an incredible promise from God. That He will never forsake Joshua. Spoken directly from God to Joshua. In Joshua 1, the words "be strong and courageous" are used 4 times. These are great words of encouragement, that should be my guidance just as it was for Joshua. The Lord said these encouraging words to Joshua three times and it reflected in Joshua as he then encouraged the people, who in turn, encouraged back to Joshua to "be strong and courageous". A full circle of encouragement.
This is to be my personal "theme" for this coming year. To be an encourager. It seems to be a recurring thought, as today's Drive Time Devotional on Mark (week 1, day 1) was how Barnabas was an encourager to Paul and to Mark. And even through their incredible trials, these men were able to move beyond the barriers, opposition, and even rejection to become great men of faith. All becasue they were encouraged by a friend. So too as I am an encourager to others, to my family, my small group, they too will step up to live lives of service to Jesus Christ.
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