Colossians 3:22-25
Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
For eighteen years, Greg and I owned a publishing business. Much of that time, we were the sole employees, so we did everything… from answering the phone and taking orders to typesetting and proofreading our magazine every 2 months… to stuffing the magazines in envelopes, sealing, stamping and labeling them for mailing. We were meticulous about every detail, but even so…we sometimes found typos, put the wrong amount of postage on a piece of mail, or inadvertently upset a customer. None of us are perfect!
Over the years, we watched others try to emulate what we were doing. There is an old adage that says that “Imitation is the best form of flattery,” but we were not flattered by many of these projects. The work was often shoddy and riddled with mistakes… and in the end, these businesses didn’t last. We learned very quickly not to waste our energy on fretting about the competition, but rather to do the very best we possibly could…and let our efforts shine and (hopefully) rise to the top. And God blessed our efforts tremendously.
We could probably have worried less about the details and still had at least a mediocre business that paid the bills. But would our reputation have been as strong? Would we have served our clients to the best of our ability? Would a half-hearted effort have honored? In a nutshell, the answer to these questions is a resounding, “NO!”
There are a lot of people in this world who are skating by with minimal efforts. They don’t “cross the T’s and dot the I’s” – in everything from their appearance to the work they do (both at home and in their place of employment) to how they treat their friends, acquaintances and family members. More importantly, many of them are haphazard at best… and downright shoddy in many cases… when it comes to their Christian discipleship… if they even claim to serve God.
You may have an impeccable worth ethic – in all areas of your life. Or you may be lax in a place or two… or even a total slacker! I encourage you to search your heart…and your daily living…and see where you might need to “tighten the screws” a little. Where are you covering up bad work and disrespecting God with your less-than-faultless efforts? Are you doing the minimum… or are you always giving God your very best in all things? The difference matters… both now and for all eternity!
©2013 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label being the best you can be for God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label being the best you can be for God. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for December 28, 2012
1 Peter 4:11
Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Today, many in our state are without power, following an epic Christmas Day blizzard. These folks are staying with friends or family members… huddled around a space heater powered by a generator… or bundled up in layers of clothing and blankets trying to stay warm in a freezing cold house. Thousands of support people are working diligently throughout the area to provide safety, emergency medical services, transportation, a warm meal, and whatever assistance is needed. Men and women from our state and those around us are making every effort to clear downed trees and power lines and restore electrical connections.
Whether they realize it or not, all of these people are exercising their gifts and calling on the strength and energy that God supplies to accomplish vital tasks. You may have never considered that providing a warm meal or a place to stay for a needy neighbor or relative was your gift… but it certainly can be! You may not have thought about those who work for utility companies or soldiers in the National Guard as people who are answering God’s call on their life… but this very well may be the case. As I spent a snowy day doing laundry in my warm, cozy house, I thought about the clothes I washed, dried and folded. Believe it or not, keeping a clean, well-run household… and yes, even doing laundry, can bring glory to God when done right! These simple tasks show others that you care about them - and their comfort and appearance.
Cleaning your room and holding up your end of the household bargain, being a good student and doing your best in school, caring for family pets, doing your best as a parent and/or spouse, and working hard at your job can all be considered gifts. When done to the best of our ability, whatever we do can be strengthened and energized by God. And when we give Him our best, He magnifies and multiplies our efforts.
So the next time you start to think of the things you do in a day as routine, mundane or unimportant, ask yourself how well you are performing the task… and whether you have given an effort that God cares to bless and strengthen. Are you using your gifts to glorify Him? Are you giving Him your best at all times? Isn’t it time you did?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Today, many in our state are without power, following an epic Christmas Day blizzard. These folks are staying with friends or family members… huddled around a space heater powered by a generator… or bundled up in layers of clothing and blankets trying to stay warm in a freezing cold house. Thousands of support people are working diligently throughout the area to provide safety, emergency medical services, transportation, a warm meal, and whatever assistance is needed. Men and women from our state and those around us are making every effort to clear downed trees and power lines and restore electrical connections.
Whether they realize it or not, all of these people are exercising their gifts and calling on the strength and energy that God supplies to accomplish vital tasks. You may have never considered that providing a warm meal or a place to stay for a needy neighbor or relative was your gift… but it certainly can be! You may not have thought about those who work for utility companies or soldiers in the National Guard as people who are answering God’s call on their life… but this very well may be the case. As I spent a snowy day doing laundry in my warm, cozy house, I thought about the clothes I washed, dried and folded. Believe it or not, keeping a clean, well-run household… and yes, even doing laundry, can bring glory to God when done right! These simple tasks show others that you care about them - and their comfort and appearance.
Cleaning your room and holding up your end of the household bargain, being a good student and doing your best in school, caring for family pets, doing your best as a parent and/or spouse, and working hard at your job can all be considered gifts. When done to the best of our ability, whatever we do can be strengthened and energized by God. And when we give Him our best, He magnifies and multiplies our efforts.
So the next time you start to think of the things you do in a day as routine, mundane or unimportant, ask yourself how well you are performing the task… and whether you have given an effort that God cares to bless and strengthen. Are you using your gifts to glorify Him? Are you giving Him your best at all times? Isn’t it time you did?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for December 7, 2012
Luke 12:25-28
“Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can’t even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
For several years, a couple of my closest friends and I exchanged Christmas gifts. As circumstances changed in our lives, children came along, and we got busier, it became harder to get together… especially during the holidays. Before long, picking out gifts for each other was more of a chore than a blessing. The year I took a simple gift to one of these friends and her family… and she reciprocated with a lavish gift certificate to a local specialty store… I said, “No more!” We are not doing this out of love for each other as much as a made-up obligation to reciprocate.
This was the last year we exchanged Christmas gifts. And I can tell you, we both love each other as much as ever. The only thing that has changed is that we stopped worrying about appearances and started caring more about the heart and what makes us friends in the first place. Sure, we’ve exchanged some gifts over the years that we will both treasure. But our friendship is not defined by material objects. I am not her friend because of a Christmas Santa I gave her one Christmas… or the holiday decoration I bought for with her gift certificate. It’s far more important to me to know that I can pick up the phone and call her anytime, and she will be there for me in whatever way I need.
We worry so much about appearances… what will this person think… will we be under-dressed/over-dressed… will they like our gift… did we do enough… did we say the right thing (or the wrong thing)… whether people will think we are a good person – or a bad one! What we need to concentrate on is being the best that God created us to be… in all aspects of our life. We need to be the best disciple… the best friend… the best parent/grandparent/aunt/uncle/cousin/sibling… the best student/teacher/coach/mentor - or the best worker…the best community supporter… even the best patient when we are sick! Whatever God puts before us… whatever situation we find ourselves in at the moment… we should focus on being the most stellar example of a Godly creation that we can be.
I don’t know where you find yourself these days. I have no clue what challenges, frustrations, obstacles, joys, hopes and dreams you have. But I know that God wants you to concentrate on being YOU… to serve HIM… and to stand tall like the most beautiful wildflower in the field – because in His eyes, you are!
What sort of “flower” will you be today? Will you worry and fret about what others think and how you appear? Will you be a shabby “flower” in one of God’s fields… or will you be spectacular?
©2012 Debbie Robus
“Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can’t even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
For several years, a couple of my closest friends and I exchanged Christmas gifts. As circumstances changed in our lives, children came along, and we got busier, it became harder to get together… especially during the holidays. Before long, picking out gifts for each other was more of a chore than a blessing. The year I took a simple gift to one of these friends and her family… and she reciprocated with a lavish gift certificate to a local specialty store… I said, “No more!” We are not doing this out of love for each other as much as a made-up obligation to reciprocate.
This was the last year we exchanged Christmas gifts. And I can tell you, we both love each other as much as ever. The only thing that has changed is that we stopped worrying about appearances and started caring more about the heart and what makes us friends in the first place. Sure, we’ve exchanged some gifts over the years that we will both treasure. But our friendship is not defined by material objects. I am not her friend because of a Christmas Santa I gave her one Christmas… or the holiday decoration I bought for with her gift certificate. It’s far more important to me to know that I can pick up the phone and call her anytime, and she will be there for me in whatever way I need.
We worry so much about appearances… what will this person think… will we be under-dressed/over-dressed… will they like our gift… did we do enough… did we say the right thing (or the wrong thing)… whether people will think we are a good person – or a bad one! What we need to concentrate on is being the best that God created us to be… in all aspects of our life. We need to be the best disciple… the best friend… the best parent/grandparent/aunt/uncle/cousin/sibling… the best student/teacher/coach/mentor - or the best worker…the best community supporter… even the best patient when we are sick! Whatever God puts before us… whatever situation we find ourselves in at the moment… we should focus on being the most stellar example of a Godly creation that we can be.
I don’t know where you find yourself these days. I have no clue what challenges, frustrations, obstacles, joys, hopes and dreams you have. But I know that God wants you to concentrate on being YOU… to serve HIM… and to stand tall like the most beautiful wildflower in the field – because in His eyes, you are!
What sort of “flower” will you be today? Will you worry and fret about what others think and how you appear? Will you be a shabby “flower” in one of God’s fields… or will you be spectacular?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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