September 18 – Working for Me

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Colossians 3:23 (Life Application Study Bible)

Jesus Tells Us: Every day you are faced with choice after choice. When you’re trying to make decisions, you need a good goal to guide you. So, seek to please Me in all your choices, in all that you do. You know that in order to please Me, you need to spend time with Me. Worship, prayer, praise, and Bible study, these are the things that make Me smile. But pleasing Me, isn’t just about the things you do with Me, it’s also about the things you do for Me. From the big things like, helping the sick, giving to the poor, and being a friend to the friendless, to the everyday things like emptying the dishwasher for your mom, taking out the trash for your dad, and being respectful, do everything for Me.

Jesus Concludes: It may seem like you are working for others, but you are really working for Me. So do the best you can, knowing I’ll be with you in all of it.

Colossians 3:23; Matthew 6:33; John 8:29; Colossians 3:24 Study Notes

Footnotes Colossians 3:23 Since creation, God has given people work to do. If we could regard our work as an act of worship or service to God, such an attitude would take some of the drudgery and boredom out of it. We could work without complaining or resentment if we would treat the challenges related to our jobs as part of the cost and privilege of being Jesus’s disciples.

Passage Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Footnotes Matthew 6:33 To “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” means to put God first in your life, to fill your thoughts with his desires, to use his character as your life’s pattern, and to keep on implementing his kingdom values on earth. What is really important to you? People, objects, goals, and other desires all compete for priority. Any of these can quickly become most important to you if you don’t actively choose to give God first place in every area of your life. In Jesus’s kingdom, worrying about daily needs leaves us empty. But maintaining a good relationship with him and loving others give us all these benefits as by-products.

Passage John 8:29 The one who sent me is with me, he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.

Footnotes John 8:24 People will die in their sins if they reject Jesus because they are rejecting the only way to be rescued from sin. Sadly, many are so taken up with the values of this world, that they are blind to the priceless gift Jesus offers. Where are you looking? Don’t focus on this world’s values, and miss what is most valuable, eternal life with God.

Passage Colossians 3:24 Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Footnotes Colossians 3:23 Since creation, God has given people work to do. If we could regard our work as an act of worship or service to God, such an attitude would take some of the drudgery and boredom out of it. We could work without complaining or resentment if we would treat the challenges related to our jobs as part of the cost and privilege of being Jesus’s disciples.

Jesus Tells us is from the Jesus Calling 365 Devotions for kids.

THE WORLD…we see history

250,000 soldiers acknowledge Christ

That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:15

Dwight L Moody, was an Evangelist, and served as a Union Chaplain during the Civil War.

The Civil War was the bloodiest in American history, and experts have revised upward their estimates of fatalities to as many as 750,000. The unspeakable carnage drove soldiers of both sides to Christ, and the resulting spiritual revival among both Union and Confederate forces is one of the most underreported aspects of the War.

Between 100,000 and 200,000 Union soldiers acknowledged Christ during the War, and approximately 150,000 Confederate troops did the same. Additional thousands were revived in their faith. Among the converts were generals Braxton Bragg, Joseph E. Johnston, and John Bell Hood.