I am intrigued that doing right is looked on as wrong in society and how that society justifies its actions but looks onto others with contempt.

“²¹Jesus answered them, ‘I did one work, and you all marvel at it. ²²Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? ²⁴Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement.’” – John 7:21-24 (ESV)

Jesus explains to the crowd that he healed a man’s physical body on the Sabbath and was chastised and vilified when circumcisions are allowed to happen on the Sabbath without so much as a cross eye. Yes, the law of Moses indicated that no work was to be done on the Sabbath, but isn’t circumcision work? Isn’t it done in hospitals with the birth of boys even today, by a doctor? We spend too much time looking at the rule and not enough time taking in the spirit of the rule.

When we are doing the work of God, we should not concern ourselves with whether or not someone is offended by God’s work. God is Love and His work is done in Love. If someone is offended or we are kept in contempt, then so be it. Those that are and do are likely concerned more with their own shortcomings and are looking to deflect that to us.

When you are doing the work of God, are you concerned with your appearances? Are we looking on others with contempt as they do the work of God? Is God’s Work drawing ire around you?

We should be doing the work of God and are commanded to obey Him and do that work, but what is that work?

“²⁸Then they said to him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ ²⁹Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’” – John 6:28-29 (ESV)

Jesus straightens that right up in the above verses. The crowd is asking and Jesus answers. Aren’t we like the crowd and always looking for something tangible to help us understand? Remember Thomas who needed tangible proof that Jesus was indeed raised from the dead. We are always looking to get our hands on something as “proof” but our faith should be strong enough. Isn’t our faith believing in God?

“²⁶Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.’” – John 6:26-27 (ESV)

I tend to find myself in the same state as the crowd Jesus is speaking to here in that I am waiting for the reward/result of my labor. I am looking to get something out of the work I am doing as opposed to just doing God’s work with faith that my reward will come. When I am doing the work of God, I should be simply doing the work of God and that work is clarified by Jesus as “believe in him who he has sent.”

What is your reason for doing the work of God? What do you understand as the work of God? Are you doing that work?

Have you ever started some work half-heartedly? I read this morning and am brought to that question myself.

“¹⁰Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.” – Jeremiah 48:10 (ESV)

I am wondering if I am I all-in with completing the work of God. I study each morning, I attend church services, I spread www.trevors-thoughts.com when the opportunity presents, but I still wonder if I am all-in.

According to Jeremiah, if I am slacking, then I am cursed. It is important that when we have a task to complete that is commanded by God we should be diligent in completing that task. We should be working at it until it is done.

Until it is done is where I run into questions. I work and work and work at something and yet find that I don’t know when to stop as I am not seeing the results of the work. And because I do not see the results, I may give up continuing to work. This is not in God’s plan. If you remember, the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness and those that began did not get to see the land they were promised. But the work they did led to the attainment of God’s Promised Land.

We are tasked with doing the work of God and in that we are to continue until he tells us otherwise. We may not get to see the results of our work, however, that does not make the work any less important, nor are we to do the work with any less diligence and attention.

Are you doing God’s work with less attention than you should? Are you looking for the reward as opposed to the work of God? Are you fully diligent in God’s work?

We are tasked with doing the work of God. We obey the Lord’s commandments and for that work we are provided.

“⁷For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.” – Deuteronomy 2:7 (ESV)

As I was typing this out this morning, I realized that there is more than just what is there. God blesses us (not just the Israelites in the passage) for the work we do, when that work is true work. We are to be doing the good work of God for His pleasure, not our own. We are to be glorifying Him as opposed to ourselves. And for that work, God blesses us.

Our “wilderness” is the time we are here. God knows we are here and what we are struggling with. He knows the seasons we are in, and He has been and will be with us through it all. God not only allows us to pass through the adversity, He only allows the adversity that we can get through.

What we have is sufficient. We are complete with our needs, and we have to remember that it is our needs that God provides for. Not the wants and desires, it is our needs that we are not lacking. Our human nature is to want more and greater things, but God understands and provides for our needs.

Ultimately, God provides for our needs for the work we do for Him. When I write that I have to be careful not to think that the works I do provide for my needs though. The work is required of us and the more work we do does not get us anything extra. I liken this to the quote: “An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay”. Our role is to do the work of God and in return, He will provide for our needs.

What kind of work are you doing? Are you looking for more than just having your needs fulfilled? Are you allowing God to provide for your work for Him?

When we have finished a week of intense work, are we taking time to rest, really?

“¹Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ²And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” – Genesis 2:1-3 (ESV)

Even God rested after completing creation. His major project and His involvement, He finished it and then sat back and rested. I can picture God putting the last star in the sky and sitting down in the rocker on the porch with a glass of iced tea and a smile as He drifts into a nap.

You see, we are to do our work, and then rest, but it seems as though there is always something getting in the way of our rest. We finished the project at the office and yet we take our office with us everywhere. Our phones, our laptops, our memos, our media. I know that for me I get caught up finishing my training classes, coming home only to think about what I am doing the next week. I find myself logging in to check email to see if there is something I missed in the past few hours. The thing is, I am not taking the time to walk away and clear my mind from the work, and therefore do not really rest.

We look to our vacation time for rest, but how many of us take our work with us? We go to the beach, and then set up our laptop to “stay in touch”. We justify it with wanting to minimize the amount of work we will have when we get back, but do we really rest from the work?

What is rest? Now that is a question. I believe rest is getting away from our daily grind to do something we enjoy. Whether that is mowing the grass, going to a ball game, attending a museum, taking a walk, a TV binge, a day on the back porch, reading for you, unplugging from the world, meeting with friends, floating the river, hanging with the family, writing a story, or whatever you do not get the opportunity to do when in the throes of your career.

We should be taking the time to walk away from work and rest. God did and he instructs us to do the same.

How many of us do as God and rest? When you find yourself finished on Friday, what is your plan for Saturday? What actions are you taking to rest after work?

When do you engage in lifting spirits up? When are you active in magnifying God?

“¹I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. ²My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. ³Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” – Psalm 34:1-3 (ESV)

At all times we should be lifting spirits. At all times we should be magnifying God. These are areas that I certainly need work.

You can see in the verse above that we are to bless, boast, magnify, and exalt the Lord. When we do, we are lifting the spirits of those that need some lifting. My NIV Bible uses the word “afflicted” where my ESV Bible uses “humble” in verse 2. I think that may be a better descriptive word to use in what our overt praises do to impact others. When we are lifting up with overt positive outpouring, those around us will pick up on it begin to “be glad”, at least more than where they were before.

As stated in verse 1 we should “bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be”. We are to always be praising God and lifting spirits. Not just in our times of fortune, but for all so they will have more fortune than before we arrived.

Are you lifting others? Are you blessing the Lord? Are you exalting the name of the Lord? Are you doing these at all times?

“⁹The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. ¹⁰And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” – Psalm 9:9-10 (ESV)

In “times of trouble”. Our God is “a stronghold in times of trouble”. What a comfort.

Oppressed: weak and needy. Our God is a stronghold for the weak and needy. What a comfort.

Forsake: abandon. Our God has not abandoned those seeking Him. What a comfort.

As children of God, we will still experience loss and suffering, and that is pretty well documented. What else is pretty well documented is that God will not abandon us. NIV Commentary: “God himself will never leave us no matter what we face”.

I know that it may not feel like it, and I will say that I do not always feel God is on my side when I am experiencing the difficulty. But, He is there. He is watching over us. He is allowing me to go through it. I have to imagine God as myself with my boys when they were learning something brand new (walking, riding a bike, catching a ball). I allowed them to experience the tough time so that would gain something from it for next time.

When we are in “times of trouble”, God is right there with us.

When you are experiencing difficulty, are you aware of God’s presence? Are you feeling forsaken? Will you lean on God as your stronghold in times of…?

God allows us to sin and experience trials. We are tested, tempted, and adversity is a part of our human existence. It is up to us to go through all of this for Christ, and not for our own gain.

“¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. ¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.” – 1 Peter 4:14-15 (ESV)

We will have a difficult time of it, however if in the name of Christ, we will be blessed.

“¹⁶Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. ¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” – 1 Peter 4:16-17 (ESV)

NIV Commentary: “It is not shameful to suffer for being a Christian. Don’t seek our suffering and don’t try to avoid it. God often allows believer to sin and then experience the consequences. He does this for several reasons; (1) to show us our potential for sinning, (2) to encourage us to turn from sin and more constantly depend on him, (3) to prepare us to face other, even stronger temptations in the future, and (4) to help us stay faithful and keep on trusting him…keep on doing right regardless of the suffering it might bring.”

When I look at the commentary and place it with the words from 1 Peter, I am reminded that the trials I go through are there to refine me and make me better. I am a sinner and admit that openly to anyone who will ask. God is constantly working on me through the trials he allows to come to me. It is through those trials and experiences that I am able to more aptly “turn from sin and more constantly depend of him”, and am able to prepare “to face other, even stronger temptations”.

Where are you in your time? Are you being prepared for future trials? Are you able to see the time as one of refinement?

Jesus Christ died for our sins, once.

You are reading that right. Only once did Christ die for our salvation.

“¹²But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.” – Hebrews 10:12-13 (ESV)

And after He died for our salvation, He rested.

As I read this morning I was reminded that in the time of the Old Covenant, the priests would sacrifice regularly to “cleanse of sin”. They would sprinkle blood of sacrificed animals to have our sins washed away. And when done, they would start the process again and continued to do so and work because the sacrifices and blood of the animals was only temporary.

When Christ died and spilled His blood for our sins, there was no more to do. No more work, no more sacrifices, no more blood to spill.

“¹⁴For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:14 (ESV)

NIV Commentary: “We have been made perfect, yet we are ‘being made holy.’ Through his death and resurrection, Christ, once for all made his believers perfect in God’s sight. At the same time, he is making them holy (progressively cleansed and set apart for his special use) in their daily pilgrimage here.”

One sacrificial action of love did it for us.

What are your thoughts? How does it sit with you that Christ sacrificed himself, only once for all of us? One time for all time, what do you think?

Becoming a follower of Christ is a one shot deal. We only have once chance.

“²⁷And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement, ²⁸so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” – Hebrews 9:27-28 (ESV)

Christ died for our sins. Only once. And this is our chance to accept the salvation provided for by His death. Our time is now.

We cannot wait for Christ to come again and expect to be given another opportunity. Clearly, when Jesus comes again, he will be picking up His followers.

When I say that accepting Christ is a “one shot deal”, I mean that we are in that time now. Until Christ comes again we have the opportunity to repent and follow Him. We are given the chance to accept the gift of salvation.

There is an expiration date on the gift. We don’t know the date or time of expiration, only that there is one. In such we should be seeking and accepting salvation NOW, as Christ could return any moment and then our chance is over.

Were you aware of the expiration of our chance for salvation? What are your thoughts on the subject? Are you going to put it off in hopes of getting another time?