2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 reminds us that our work matters. Here we see 6 motivations for our work. Every job, every occupation, every kind of work falls within the believer’s duty. It is amoral calling. It is a spiritual responsibility that we have to honor the Lord and to put His image on display. Let me share those motives with you: 1. Dis-fellowship (v6) The command here is emphatic “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The idea is to cease fellowship with those who REFUSE to work. That is a sin, and it is unacceptable behavior. 2. Example (v7) We are example to our children and those around us. Work is an example of the value of life, and the importance of being productive in our society. 3. Survival (v10) If you don’t work you don’t eat, if you don’t eat you will die. We work in order to gain the resources we need to survive in this world. 4. Harmony (v11) When we do not have things to do we just become a problem. Remember: idle hands are the devils workshop. 5. Shame (v14). Work gives purpose to life, and people, without any purpose we feel worthless and … READ MORE

Work was always God’s design for us to be able to draw out all that is this creation for the demonstration of our nobility having been created in the image of God, and for the glory of God. We forget that work can and must be redeemed. You know how that works? You redeem your yard every week. If you were go away for six months and come back, you would find out what the curse would do…. Or open all the windows and doors in your house and leave it for a year and come back and se what is inside, and what lives there. It is a battle and we all understand that battle. We extract goodness out of God creation. That was Adam’s job and now we have to fight against the curse to extract that goodness. We are called to that work because it is noble and because it is God-glorifying. That was Paul’s thinking in his letter to the Thessalonians. There is an overriding concern in the minds of the believers that the return of the Lord has already happened. So those who “thought themselves to be spiritual” quit working in order to wait for … READ MORE

Have you ever noticed how animals have an ambling lifestyle. All animals have a born, life, and die cycle. While they can move up and down the pecking order of who is the stronger animal, they do not better their lot in life. They do not work, and the do not toil for their living, they simply exist in the environment they are born, adapting to the changing surroundings, to make their best of their situation. Humans are created with a purpose, and apart of that purpose was to work. Unlike any of the other creatures that God created man was given a divine directive in Genesis 2:15 “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and keep it.” This makes mankind special in all of God’s creation, because we are designed from the original creation to have a special part of God’s creation. What we do with our lives is important not only to God but also to those around us. God put us on this earth to be busy about His call in our lives. To many people see their work as a “necessary evil” It is what … READ MORE