Work

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

    First Corinthians 15:57-58 says, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

     So, another Monday is coming and it is called “Labor Day”, a holiday where you usually spend more time doing work on your day off from your money paying job.  For me, it usually meant putting all of the summer stuff in the storage area and getting ready for fall and winter.  We had a few chairs and a table that we would get into the shed after we had cleared enough space to get them in.  As I got older, the task became harder and harder to do.  Now, of course, it is all gone and someone else has the problem of getting it ready for winter.  I don’t have to get anything ready except get some long sleeve shirts out as we may get some cooler days in the near future.  Am I free from labor?  Is there anything else left for me to do?  The answer is “yes.”

      Verse 58 uses the word “work” and refers to the “work of the Lord.”   The word used refers to “energy” which I don’t seem to have too much of these days.  Every believer has this exhortation in that wherever they are, there is a work to be done for the Lord some way and some where.  I find that there is more work for me to do here than I have energy to do, or at least it seems that way.  After I finish preaching on Sunday morning, I am just about done in for the rest of the day.  I do spend a lot of time relaxing in the afternoon, but there is still more to be done and I find it in the little notebook that I carry with the prayer requests in it.  I have the names of the nurses and management staff in the book, and just enough information that I can recall who they are.  There are a lot of special needs even with some friends on the outside of the assisted living facility.  Some are names of people who are dealing with cancer or other diseases and some are looking for jobs and with the facility, filling jobs that are open.  So, it becomes a time of prayer and not just a few words, but quite often talking to God about the situations of which I am aware.  There is always the value of your own personal testimony to those that are lost.  People can argue about many different things especially when it comes to church, God and the doctrines of Christianity.  No one, however, can argue with a personal testimony because it is what happened to each and every one of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The blind man said, “I was blind and now I see.”  They couldn't argue with that.  Praise God that there is still work to be done and it is up to each of us to do it!