Video: Christmas with a capital C, Three Stories…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8vhGYT4gyo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAckfn8yiAQ
” Hard Working, God Honoring, Fellowship Building “
Romans 16:12 : Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.Some believers treat their faith as a leisure interest.
They go to church if they have time and are not too tired; they get caught up with the enthusiasm of others, but are reluctant to give their time and money - and only give if they think they will have enough to meet all the other responsibilities as well.
They are certainly not the first to offer themselves for hard work.
The three women in today’s verse were not like that at all. They were people who had a reputation for giving everything for the sake of the Lord, His gospel and His people.
They did not work in order to gain God’s favour, but were active because the Lord had put it into their hearts.
And they were careful to put their effort into tasks which pleased the Lord and were for His glory.
In short: they accepted that the Lord was their Master and that it was their responsibility to put all their effort into serving Him, His kingdom and His church.
Their hard work was not to get God to love them more, but to express the joy and privilege of being saved and included in His kingdom.
They worked hard for the Lord because they loved Him very dearly.
‘Loving God’ means putting everything we have into our relationship with Him.
Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
There is something wrong when people who say they love Him are not willing to work hard in the Lord.
Perhaps this is a helpful challenge to lazy, self-centered, de-prioritized Christian faith; and this could be a pivotal thought which will drive us to seek the Lord in a fresh way.
Prayer for the day : -
Almighty God. Thank You for the extraordinary way in which You have loved me, provided for me and sacrificed Christ’s life for me.
I am sorry for the times I have not wanted to work hard to serve You, or to serve others for Your sake.
Please forgive me for such carelessness and laziness.
Please give me a bigger view of what You have done for me so that I will be disciplined, glad and joyful in giving back to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
