Week Thirty-Six, 2023
Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes him rich. Proverbs 10:4
Labor Day that we will celebrate this week is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. Work gives you a sense of worth, esteem and respect. Work is honorable and dignifying. You become a burden to others when you are not engaged in any work.
Success is not a product of luck but hard work. If you hate work, you will die poor. Work is the channel through which God blesses us. There is dignity in engaging yourself in any form of work. You lose your dignity when you are idle and lazy.
Though we may see it as just another job or just something that gives us a paycheck, working as if working for the Lord is worship. It’s all about perspective. It’s all about our heart. It’s bringing Him glory in what we do and how we do it. Working as if working for the Lord is an act of worship.
Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, encouraged them to mind their own business and work with their hands, so that their daily life may win the respect of outsiders and that they would not be dependent on anybody (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).
To work is a command and not a suggestion (2 Thessalonians 3:10). It is a command that if any should not work, he should not eat. Many people today want to make money without work. A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich (Proverbs 10:4). Your destiny is at the mercy of your work.
Take pride in your work, as no particular job is indispensable, and all jobs are complementary. You should not look at any job as menial, and you must work to earn a living for others to be encouraged by your example. Stop waiting for cheap success and go to work.
Praise Him in what you do. Beginning today, worship Him in what you do. Work as if working for the Lord. Shine where you are planted.
In the New Testament:
• Of the 132 public appearances that Jesus made – 122 were in the marketplace.
• Of the 52 parables that Jesus told – 45 had a workplace context.
• Of the 40 miracles in the Book of Acts – 39 were in the marketplace.
• Work, in its different forms, is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible – more than all the words used to express worship, music, praise and singing combined.
No matter where or what it is, your work is a holy calling.
I wonder if those we work for and work with will be able to see the difference.
SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
As of this writing, nearly thirteen million babies have lost their lives to abortion so far this year. This number is equivalent to the populations of West Virginia, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming—combined.
In the US, nearly 20 percent of all pregnancies end in abortion. Those who defend such tragedies must shift their focus from the dead child to the issue of “reproductive freedom,” “democracy,” partisan politics, and so on.
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An airplane cleaner was cleaning the Pilot’s cockpit, when he saw a book titled, “HOW TO FLY AN AEROPLANE FOR BEGINNERS (Volume 1)
He opened the first (1st) page which said: “To start the engine, press the red button…”. He did so, and the airplane engine started…
He was happy and opened the next page…: “To get the airplane moving, press the blue button… “He did so, and the plane started moving at an amazing speed…
He wanted to fly, so he opened the third (3rd) page which said: To let the airplane fly, please press the green button… “He did so and the plane started to fly…
He was excited…!!
After twenty (20) minutes of flying, he was satisfied, and wanted to land, so he decided to go to the fourth (4th) page… and page four (4) says; “To be able to know how to land a plane, please purchase Volume 2 at the nearest bookshop!”
Moral Lesson: Never attempt anything without complete information. Half Education is not only dangerous, but destructive!!!* A word is enough for the wise.
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A recent study found that 75% of students did not know all three branches of government. Meanwhile, 37% could not name one right guaranteed by the 1st Amendment!
— o —
In the Cold War it was relatively easy to say that this fighter jet is a weapon and that the phone is a tool. But when we install the ability to sense, digitize, connect, process, learn, share, and act into more and more things—from your GPS-enabled phone to your car to your toaster to your favorite app—they all become dual use, either weapons or tools depending on who controls the software running them and who owns the data that they spin off.”
As a result, “Today, it’s just a few lines of code that separate autonomous cars from autonomous weapons. And, as we’ve seen in Ukraine, a smartphone can be used by Grandma to call the grandkids or to call a Ukrainian rocket-launching unit and give it the GPS coordinates of a Russian tank in her backyard.” Jim Denison
QUOTES YOU CAN USE
Invest your life in the lives of others. Edgar Aponte
Don’t put the wrong things at the top of your priority list. Dan Shock
Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. Sandra Day O’Connor
Everybody can be great . . . because anybody can serve. Martin Luther King, Jr.
How to frighten the new generation: Put them in a room with a rotary phone, an analog watch and a TV with no remote and then leave directions on how to use written in cursive.
Knowing the Bible is one thing, but knowing the author is another.
Anything you are not allowed to ask questions about, is something you should be asking more questions about. Tucker Carlson
A bottle of water can be 50 cents at a supermarket, $2 at the gym and $6 on an airplane. Same water. The only thing that changed its value was the place. So, the next time you feel worthless, maybe you are at the wrong place.
It’s kind of scary when the weatherman is the closest one to be telling the truth these days.
God doesn’t care if you use fancy words. He just wants you to talk to him.
He that knows nothing, will believe anything.
The Bible doesn’t work like Facebook, where your likes or opinions matter. God’s Word is true regardless of whether you agree with it or not.
Just because a Christian won’t support something doesn’t mean that they hate the people who are involved in it.
God created male and female. Satan made up all the rest.
The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance. Albert Einstein
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