The Fallacy of Full-Time Christian Work
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
11-11-2009

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:16,17).
Jonathon was a twenty-five year old son of a pastor who was working in his local Christian bookstore. He started seminary but was unable to finish because of a lack of finances. He was OK with working in the store, but felt it was second-best. In fact, sometimes he felt he had "missed his calling."

Then one day a young woman wondered into the store. She was distressed. She was not a believer. Her husband had just left her and she did not know where to turn. She was walking through the mall when she noticed the store. She decided to walk in, not knowing why.

"Hello, may I help you?" said Jonathon. "Well... I don't know. I saw your sign and just came in." Right then, she began to cry. She told Jonathon about her plight, not knowing why she would do such a thing with a perfect stranger. Jonathon listened and began to talk with her. Before the conversation was over, Jonathon had prayed with the woman and led her to faith in Christ.

That night Jonathon pondered what had happened that day. He realized he had personally led a woman into eternity by being available in his workplace. He felt a new sense of purpose behind what he thought was simply a job to put food on the table until he could get to his real ministry. He confessed to the Lord his wrong view of his work. For the first time, he realized it was ministry too.

We have incorrectly elevated the roll of the vocational Christian worker to be more holy and committed than the person who is serving in other arenas. Yet the call to any workplace is as important as any other calling. God has to have His people in every sphere of life. Otherwise, many would never come to know Him because they would be separated from society.

Wherever you are called, serve the Lord in that place. Let Him demonstrate His power through your life so that others might experience Him through you today.

September 27, 2010

Love Covers it All

Mary Southerland

Today's Truth

1 John 4:8-10 "But anyone who does not love does not know God--for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."
Friend to Friend

When I was a little girl, I often went grocery shopping with my mother, hoping to snag a treat or two for myself. Mama shopped at one particular grocery store for one reason alone. They handed out S&H green trading stamps with each purchase. Let me just say that my Mama was all about collecting those small, green stamps. She was one of the hardest working women I have ever known. In fact, she sometimes worked two or three jobs at a time to put food on the table. Collecting S&H green stamps was simply a way to get a little more for her money. My job was to lick the stamps and stick them in the S&H green stamp books. I can still taste that nasty glue! I then placed the books in a wooden chest where Mama kept her "stash."

For months, she hoarded the small, green stamps until she had enough to trade for something we needed. Yes, it was always something we needed until one particular Saturday in December. "Get the green stamp books," she said. "We are going to town!" I noticed an unusual excitement in her voice and assumed we were going to trade the stamps in to buy a Christmas present for someone in our family. Mama rarely redeemed the stamps for something she wanted. That seemed to be a luxury we could not afford and a splurge she would not allow for herself. Stamps in hand, off we went to find a treasure.

When we reached the redemption center, Mama parked the car and with great resolve, marched straight in, totally ignoring the appliance section, past all of the toys, skipping the aisle where small electronics, hairdryers and vacuums were displayed, and made a beeline for the linens department. I had a sinking feeling that my idea of a treasure did not match my mother's idea of a treasure.

Unlike most of our trips to the redemption center, Mama did not take her time to look around and weigh her options. It was obvious that she was on a mission and would not be deterred! Suddenly, she stopped, a smile spreading across her face as she gazed at an item on the shelf. "It's still here!" she whispered in relief.

I remember thinking that whatever she had spotted must be very special to warrant such determination, such joy and a whole lot of stamp glue. When I realized that the blue treasure she clutched in her hands was just a tablecloth, I simply did not understand. I mean, there were so many other beautiful things in the store she could have chosen. I had tasted and pasted a lot of stamps for a tablecloth? What was so special about an ordinary tablecloth? I was confused - until we got home.

Our family was poor - in material things - and we lived in what most people would refer to as a "shack" out on the edge of a small, Texas town. My mother was an amazing woman who somehow managed to raise three children after my father died of a heart attack. Honestly, I don't think we ever realized how poor we really were or considered ourselves to be deprived. Many happy times and scrumptious meals were enjoyed around our old, scratched, worn and downright ugly dining room table. That dilapidated table dominated the entire room with ugliness - until the day Mama bought the blue tablecloth.

I watched as she carefully removed the cloth from its hard, plastic package and began to unfold her treasure. Now, my mother could "snap" a bed sheet or tablecloth with the best of them. I can still hear that sound as she whipped the blue cloth in front of her to straighten out any wrinkles and let it slowly float through the air, finally settling on the dining room table. As she smoothed her treasure across that shabby table, an amazing thing happened. Not only did the table look beautiful, the whole room looked better! 

Love is like that, its mere presence transforming the ugliness of a broken life into a beautiful trophy of grace. Love covers the scars of sin. Love heals old wounds and eases the pain of the past. We all need to be loved and we all need to love.

Jesus was and is the living illustration and certain fulfillment of His Father's love. The love of God is unconditional, unfailing and will stubbornly pursue us no matter where we go, what we do or don't do. We cannot earn God's love because then, it would be wages paid for work done. We will never be good enough to deserve the love of God because God's love is holy and pure ... and we aren't. God's love is a gift. All we can do is accept it and rest in Him. God's love satisfies the deepest longings of our soul and enables us to love ourselves and others.

Friend, across your defeats spread the hope and promise of a tiny baby lying in a manger. Across your pain, spread the unconditional love poured out for you on a cruel cross. Across your doubts and fears, spread the promise of an empty tomb and a coming King. The love of God changes everything. God's love covers it all.

Let's Pray

God, I need Your love. My life is filled with scars and wounds that can be healed by Your love alone. I celebrate the love You so freely offer. I accept the gift of Your love and thank You for its transforming power in my heart and life. I love You, Father, and celebrate Your presence and power in my life. 

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Now It's Your Turn

What past experiences in your life need the covering of God's healing love? Right now, make the decision to face and deal with those experiences in God's timing and God's way. 

• Why do we bury hurt and pain?
• With what have you tried to "cover" the painful parts of your life? Did it work? Why? Why not?
• What does it really mean to allow God's love to cover the sin and pain in your life?
• What is the first step or action that you need to take in the process of allowing God to heal the broken places?

Week of September 17
Blast a Few Walls by Max Lucado
The cross of Christ creates a new people, a people unhindered by skin color or family feud. A new citizenry based, not on common ancestry or geography, but on a common Savior.
My friend Buckner Fanning experienced this firsthand. He was a marine in World War II, stationed in Nagasaki three weeks after the dropping of the atomic bomb. Can you imagine a young American soldier amid the rubble and wreckage of the demolished city? Radiation-burned victims wandering the streets. Atomic fallout showering on the city. Bodies burned to a casket black. Survivors shuffling through the streets, searching for family, food, and hope. The conquering soldier feeling not victory but grief for the suffering around him
Instead of anger and revenge, Buckner found an oasis of grace. While patrolling the narrow streets, he came upon a sign that bore an English phrase: Methodist Church. He noted the location and resolved to return the next Sunday morning.
When he did, he entered a partially collapsed structure. Windows, shattered. Walls, buckled. The young marine stepped through the rubble, unsure how he would be received. Fifteen or so Japanese were setting up chairs and removing debris. When the uniformed American entered their midst, they stopped and turned.
He knew only one word in Japanese. He heard it. Brother. "They welcomed me as a friend," Buckner relates, the power of the moment still resonating more than sixty years after the events. They offered him a seat. He opened his Bible and, not understanding the sermon, sat and observed. During communion the worshippers brought him the elements. In that quiet moment the enmity of their nations and the hurt of the war was set aside as one Christian served another the body and blood of Christ.
Another wall came a-tumblin' down.
What walls are in your world?
Brian Overcast is knocking down walls in Morelia, Mexico. As director of the NOÉ Center (New Opportunities in Education), Brian and his team address the illegal immigration problem from a unique angle. Staff members told me recently, "Mexicans don't want to cross the border. If they could stay home, they would. But they can't because they can't get jobs. So we teach them English. With English skills they can get accepted into one of Mexico's low-cost universities and find a career at home. Others see illegal immigrants; we see opportunities."
Another wall down.
We can't outlive our lives if we can't get beyond our biases. Who are your Samaritans? Ethiopian eunuchs? Whom have you been taught to distrust and avoid?
It's time to remove a few bricks.
Welcome the day God takes you to your Samaria—not so distant in miles but different in styles, tastes, tongues, and traditions.

And if you meet an Ethiopian eunuch, so different yet so sincere, don't refuse that person. Don't let class, race, gender, politics, geography, or culture hinder God's work.
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
(Romans 15:7 NLT)