Category: work

Are we following?

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment
Matthew 9:9
[ The Call of Matthew ] As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
are we fillowing
We have heard this verse many time. So much that it might just wash over us. What does Jesus mean? In this case it meant leaving everything behind and just following Jesus without another thought.
It is so easy for us to sit in our churches each Sunday and say that we are following Jesus….but are we really? Do we give up things to follow him? Do we help when others need help? (not just our friends and neighbors but the unlovely also?)
Do we offer to fix things for widows and those who are alone and can’t do it themselves?
Do we offer to clean the house of a shut-in who can’t move around much?
Are we willing to go get the meds needed for a single mom who can’t leave her children?
Will we make dinner for someone who has spent their money on medicine and has no food?
Will we even seek out these needs in our community?
If not we are not following Jesus.

Duty

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

Without duty, life is soft and boneless; it cannot hold itself together.     Joseph Joubert

So many people today want to move through life without having any duty to perform or any thought of having to work. Work fulfills us. The joy of creating something worthwhile feeds our soul. Just being idle leaves us feeling vapid and wasted. God calls us to find our work/vocation and fulfill our task on this earth.

Gods-work-our-hands-tree

Colossians 3:23  Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters,

Do it!

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

God give us work til our life shall end and life til our work is done.      New Zealand Prayer Book

Doing-Gods-Work-And-Accepting-The-Challenge-e1487617979322

We need to recognize the work that God calls us to do and then we need to do it. The thing is we frequently don’t want to do the thing that is needed. We want to do something simpler, more noticeable, more fun or more appreciated. God may be calling us to do something we don’t want to do. This is not the time to duck and run. See the task and do it.

Do something!

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

A man of words and not or deeds, is like a garden full of weeds.       English Proverb

Too often I see Christians not following through with the things Christ called us to do. If you have money it is much easier to throw money at a problem rather than do anything yourself. To get dirty actually helping is not what we want to do. Maybe those homeless will fix themselves.

do something

Don’t ever forget that we are called to actually do something!

Being Christian

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

Going to church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car. Garrison Keillor

car

 

I love this quote. It reminds me that just attending church each Sunday doesn’t make me a Christian. Neither does attending Sunday School and church events. It is so easy to fall into complacency. I have to do more than that. Being a Christian is deeper, more taxing, more uncomfortable. Becoming a car might be easier.

Prayer: God of wisdom, I need to understand that I must “Go forth in the name of Christ” and do your work. Amen

 

 

Works are not the whole story

worrylessjourney1 Comment

As the apple is not the cause of the apple tree, but a fruit of it: even so good works are not the cause of our salvation, but a sign and a fruit of the same.     Daniel Cawdray

Show-me-your-faith-apart-from-your-works-and-I-will-show-you-my-faith-by-my-works

 

We are saved by grace through faith. We can’t work our way into God’s good graces. However, we can’t truly be following Jesus if our belief in him doesn’t produce good works. The more we follow in Christ’s footsteps the more fruit we will produce.

Prayer: Father, let our faith produce the good fruit that you expect of us. Amen

 

 

Do each daily task for God

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

It is in the ordinary duties and labors of life that the Christian can and should develop his spiritual union with God.”
Thomas Merton

for God

There is a wonderful little book called Practicing the Presence of God  by Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence did ordinary, everyday tasks such as washing dishes and planting vegetables. Yet everything he did was dedicated to God. Each task was done for the glory of God. He made each task holy. How different life would be if we could all do this.

Prayer: Glorious God, help us to understand that the simplest task is done for you. Remind us that everything we do each day is holy. Amen