by Chris Tiegreen
Recent surveys indicate unprecedented dissatisfaction with work.
As many as 80 percent of employees at any given time are looking for a new job.
Why? Maybe they need more money, or perhaps they don't like the location, their coworkers, or their bosses.
For most, however, the discontent isn't a matter of location or benefits. It is a matter of meaning. If we don't find meaning in our jobs, we find motivation difficult.
Lack of motivation gets us behind in our work, which leads to stress, which leads to less motivation. It's a vicious cycle.
God created work.
Somehow, we got the impression that it's a result of Adam and Eve's sin, but God has the couple tending the Garden of Eden long before they were tempted and cast out. Work became more difficult, but work had already been ordained.
God means for his people to be productive and to enjoy the fruits of their labor. He wants us to be content in what we do, whether it's at home with children, in an office with coworkers, or elsewhere.
Even when we know God's plan, we often miss out on His ultimate purposes.
The surveys that indicate massive job dissatisfaction invariably have Christians among their respondents. Believers can be as dissatisfied as the secular world.
How can we be more content in our work? There are two simple steps to meaningful labor.
(1) Ephesians tells us to work "as if you were serving the Lord, not men" (6:7). If we who love Jesus have it firmly fixed in our minds that our labor somehow honors Him, we will be more interested in our labor.
(2) We can pray. It's acceptable to pray for a new job or role, but it's even better to ask God to build meaning into your current work until His timing for something new is right. He can show you how your work relationships honor Him, or how your godly service reflects His character. That sort of satisfaction is a gift God longs to give.
From me: Even when things don't go as anticipated, we must remember that God is still in control and knows what he has for His faithful servants. One day we should all hope to hear, "Well done! You are my good and faithful servant!"
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Monday, August 23, 2010
How You Can Enjoy Your Bible the Most!
We are exhorted to:
1. "Read it." Neh. 8:8. And may I suggest that it be read slowly, carefully, prayerfully, in large portions, repeatedly, reverently and with a willing spirit to follow its precepts.
2. "Believe it." Rom. 10:8. Because it is the Word of faith. It has been given to increase our faith in God and His working in the Universe.
3. "Receive it." Jas. 1:21. Here it is the engrafted word that is to be received as the soil received the seed, or the tree receives the graft. Taking the Word of God in our heart life, allowing it to grow and bear its own fruit in motives and actions.
4. "Taste it." Heb. 6:5. For it is the good Word of God. Some seem to be afraid of the Bible for fear it will require them to do something they do not wish to do. Be not afraid; it is good and right in all its requirements.
5. "Eat it." Jer. 15:16. This process suggests that we not merely taste but actually live by it, as Jesus said, "Ye shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matt. 4:4.
6. "Hold it fast." Tit. 1:9. It is a faithful word. All its promises are true; all its history is true; and its statements are truth. Therefore we are to rest our faith upon it.
7. "Hold it forth." Phil. 2:16. Because it is the Word of Life. All who come under its benificent rays feel its life giving power.
8. "Preach it." 2 Tim. 4:2. Here it is called simply the Word. It suggests that we are not to preach any one part of it or any one phase of it, but preach it in its entirety and fulness.
9. "Search it." John 5:29 R. V. This suggests work and patience. The Greek word carries the idea of "ransack" as the housewife goes through the home at housecleaning time; or "to track" as the hunter laboriously follows the game through the brush, so we are to search for truth and run down the lines of God's revelations to man.
10. "Study it." 2 Tim. 2:15. Here is a word that means close application to the Word of God, as the builder minutely studies the plans of the architect before erecting the structure.
11. "Meditate on it." Ps. 1:2. This word has much the same meaning as "eat" for it means literally "to chew the cud." Turning the Word of God over and over in the mind till the sweetness of its truths feed our souls.
12. "Compare it." 2 Cor. 2:13. This is not so much what we do with the Scriptures as what the Holy Spirit does with them in our hearts. This is a divine commentary always at hand. Or as John puts it in his first epistle 2:27 R. V. "The annointing which ye received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you, but as His annointing teacheth you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even so as it taught you, ye abide in Him."
13. "Rightly divide it." 2 Tim. 2:15. This is not an arbitrary division of subjects but the following of a line of truth from the first place mentioned to the last place mentioned; noticing it in all its relation to other truths and as the word literally means "the cutting of a straight line" of truth in the Bible.
14. "Delight in it." Ps. 119:92. Seven times in this Psalm the Psalmist speaks of delighting in God's word. This should always be the heart ambition and attitude.
"Study it carefully; think of it prayerfully;
Deep in thy heart let its precepts dwell.
Slight not its history; ponder its mystery,
None can e'er prize it too fondly or well.
Accept the glad tidings, the warning, the chidings,
Found in this volume of heavenly lore,
With faith that's unfailing, and love all prevailing,
Trust in its promise of life evermore."
1. "Read it." Neh. 8:8. And may I suggest that it be read slowly, carefully, prayerfully, in large portions, repeatedly, reverently and with a willing spirit to follow its precepts.
2. "Believe it." Rom. 10:8. Because it is the Word of faith. It has been given to increase our faith in God and His working in the Universe.
3. "Receive it." Jas. 1:21. Here it is the engrafted word that is to be received as the soil received the seed, or the tree receives the graft. Taking the Word of God in our heart life, allowing it to grow and bear its own fruit in motives and actions.
4. "Taste it." Heb. 6:5. For it is the good Word of God. Some seem to be afraid of the Bible for fear it will require them to do something they do not wish to do. Be not afraid; it is good and right in all its requirements.
5. "Eat it." Jer. 15:16. This process suggests that we not merely taste but actually live by it, as Jesus said, "Ye shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matt. 4:4.
6. "Hold it fast." Tit. 1:9. It is a faithful word. All its promises are true; all its history is true; and its statements are truth. Therefore we are to rest our faith upon it.
7. "Hold it forth." Phil. 2:16. Because it is the Word of Life. All who come under its benificent rays feel its life giving power.
8. "Preach it." 2 Tim. 4:2. Here it is called simply the Word. It suggests that we are not to preach any one part of it or any one phase of it, but preach it in its entirety and fulness.
9. "Search it." John 5:29 R. V. This suggests work and patience. The Greek word carries the idea of "ransack" as the housewife goes through the home at housecleaning time; or "to track" as the hunter laboriously follows the game through the brush, so we are to search for truth and run down the lines of God's revelations to man.
10. "Study it." 2 Tim. 2:15. Here is a word that means close application to the Word of God, as the builder minutely studies the plans of the architect before erecting the structure.
11. "Meditate on it." Ps. 1:2. This word has much the same meaning as "eat" for it means literally "to chew the cud." Turning the Word of God over and over in the mind till the sweetness of its truths feed our souls.
12. "Compare it." 2 Cor. 2:13. This is not so much what we do with the Scriptures as what the Holy Spirit does with them in our hearts. This is a divine commentary always at hand. Or as John puts it in his first epistle 2:27 R. V. "The annointing which ye received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you, but as His annointing teacheth you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even so as it taught you, ye abide in Him."
13. "Rightly divide it." 2 Tim. 2:15. This is not an arbitrary division of subjects but the following of a line of truth from the first place mentioned to the last place mentioned; noticing it in all its relation to other truths and as the word literally means "the cutting of a straight line" of truth in the Bible.
14. "Delight in it." Ps. 119:92. Seven times in this Psalm the Psalmist speaks of delighting in God's word. This should always be the heart ambition and attitude.
"Study it carefully; think of it prayerfully;
Deep in thy heart let its precepts dwell.
Slight not its history; ponder its mystery,
None can e'er prize it too fondly or well.
Accept the glad tidings, the warning, the chidings,
Found in this volume of heavenly lore,
With faith that's unfailing, and love all prevailing,
Trust in its promise of life evermore."
Friday, August 20, 2010
Logos for Mac Is Coming Soon!
The best Bible Study Software is Logos and will soon be available for Mac! If you want the best and wanted it for Mac this is worth your attention! And they are giving away prizes!
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