SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/5/2014
10:14 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Introduction
to 2 Thess. 3:6-15 PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Thess.
3:6-15
Message
of the verses: As we continue to
look at the introduction to these verses from 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 we must
understand the importance of work in our lives, and the best way to keep things
into perspective is to look at what the Word of God has to say about work,
realizing that this is a very important subject, for when we turn to the first
page of the Bible we see that God was working as He created the heavens and the
earth. We must also realize that as soon
as God created Adam that He put him to work for we read about Adam naming all
of the animals, and also he was told to tend the garden that God put him
into. This is important because some believe
mistakenly that man did not have to work until after man sinned, but his work
became harder after sin entered the world.
“17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice
of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying,
’You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you
will eat of it All the days of your life. 18
"Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat
the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat
of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it
you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return’ (Genesis
3:17-19).” We read that Jesus worked
when He came to earth “John 5:17 But He answered them, "My Father is
working until now, and I Myself am working.’”
We look at our passage from 2 Thessalonians and we see that Paul worked,
as his work was being a tent maker, which is how he supported himself for the
most part as he was spreading the Gospel from place to place.
How are believers suppose to view
their work? It is a ministry that God
has given to every person who is a believer, and this goes from the woman
staying home to care for the household to the man or woman who works at a big
cooperation having what the world sees is a very high position of work. In his commentary John MacArthur gives five
reasons for the work of believers. The
first one is “God exalted work by commanding it.” Second:
“God Himself sets the example of work for all to follow.” Third:
“Work is a feature of the creation mandate and is therefore a normal
part of man’s existence.” Forth: “Work is a gift from God.” And fifth:
“The biblical work ethic affirms that all work can be elevated above the
mundane by being done for the Lord Himself.”
Ephesians 6:5-7 reads as follows “5
Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the
flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6
not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the
will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord,
and not to men.”
I have mentioned before that I was a
foreman at a very large foundry for most of my career and I had believers who
worked for me, and I am ashamed to say that many of them did not hold true to
the words that Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:5-7, and these verses did apply to
them even though they were not “slaves.”
John MacArthur finishes his
introductory commentary with this paragraph:
“Since this was the third time that Paul had had to deal with this issue
(3:10; 1 Thess. 4:11-12), he bluntly and directly confronts those who
stubbornly refused to work. This passage
contains six incentives to motivate those sinning to repent and get to work: disfellowship, example, survival, harmony,
shame, and love.” We will be looking at
these six incentives, hopefully in the next six days and then we will look at
the following verses of 2 Thessalonians after that.
In the following paragraph Warren
Wiersbe writes about the problem of work in the Thessalonian church: “Paul expected the whole church to work
together in solving this problem. The
church in love must deal with its own members and seek to help each one obey God. To assist them in this task, Paul gave four
motives to encourage the careless believers to turn from their sins and start earning
their own bread.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I desire
to continue to have the same attitude about work as I did when I was working at
my job. My work is surely different now
and even though it is different I need to cultivate the right attitude in doing
it.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Not to
grumble when asked to do something around the house.
Memory
verses for the week: 2 Peter 3:1-3.
1
Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have
received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and
Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace
be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing
that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and
godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and
excellence.
Answer
to yesterday’s Bible question: “Melita”
(Acts 28:1, 7).
Today’s
Bible question: “Who was the captain of
Saul’s army?”
Answer
in our next SD.
12/5/2014
10:53 AM
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