TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10
Our people must . . . devote themselves to doing what is good, . . . [to] provide for daily necessities. - Titus 3:14
TODAY IN THE WORD
The quotation we shared yesterday from Martin Luther is part of a longer passage he wrote on the subject of work. After saying God wants us to work, Luther said, “It is true that God could support you without work, could let food and drink grow on the table for you. But He will not do this. He wants you to work and to use your reason in this matter. In everything God acts in such a way that He will provide, but we should work.”

Luther didn’t usually mince words, a trait the apostle Paul would have liked. Paul had to address a problem in the church at Thessalonica. The problem was a lack of discipline for some members, who refused to work and expected to be fed despite their sloth.

In his earlier letter, Paul had told the Thessalonians to warn their lazy fellow believers about their sin (1 Thess. 5:14). But the warning didn’t produce the intended result, prompting Paul to give the church a command. It’s obvious the apostle took this issue of work very seriously, because he invoked “the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” to strengthen his clear command (2 Thess. 3:6).

The church was to withdraw its fellowship from members who refused to support themselves. This would show everyone exactly who was causing the problem, and perhaps prod the offenders to do their part out of shame or guilt.

Besides his authority to speak in Jesus’ name, Paul had been an excellent model. He was the hardest working person in Thessalonica while he was there, earning his own way while preaching the gospel to them so as not to be a financial burden (v. 8; see 1 Thess. 2:9). Once again Paul could say to his converts, as he said to the Corinthians, “Follow my example” (1 Cor. 11:1).

But just in case the sluggards weren’t bothered by the shame or embarrassment of being singled out as lazy, Paul had another rule for them: no work, no dinner. Evidently, Paul had to use this rule when he was there before.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The discipline and dignity of work are values we want others to learn, whether they’re our children or students or employees.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 2 Thessalonians 3:11-15
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Galatians 6:9
TODAY IN THE WORD
John Wanamaker, a very successful department store founder and merchant in Philadelphia, was a friend of D. L. Moody’s and often supported Moody’s work. Sixty years after starting his own business, the 83-year-old Wanamaker was still on the job and making plans for the future. When asked how he was doing, Wanamaker replied that he was “happily busy.” Then he explained, “Many people are busy because they have to be; I’m busy because I want to be.”

That is a great way to approach your work. God designed work not only as a way of meeting our needs, but as a means of personal satisfaction and benefit to others. Paul knew the value and the necessity of work, and he was passionate about God’s people setting a good example for each other and the outside world.

The apostle was committed to a God-honoring work ethic not only because work is productive. Paul understood that if people were not busy doing something useful, the devil would make sure they had something destructive to do.

This was happening in the church at Thessalonica, where those who didn’t want to be busy working were becoming busybodies or gossips, a lethal sin in any group of believers. Paul said that he had heard about the problem, and the form of the verb implies that he had heard about it more than once. Laziness was an ongoing problem in this church.

As he did in verse 6, Paul linked his command with the Person and authority of Christ, which tells us how serious the issue is. He and his fellow missionaries had always paid for the food they ate (v. . It was time for the “voluntarily unemployed” Christians at Thessalonica to follow his example.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Notice that Paul tucked a word of encouragement into these verses of discipline and reprimand.

To those who were doing the job well, the apostle said, in effect, “Don’t get tired of doing it right” (v. 13). Today’s verse promises a good return for us if we refuse to let other people or circumstances get us down. Do you need a fresh dose of encouragement for today? Ask the Lord to help you see your work through His eyes.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Genesis 2:4-9, 15
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. - Genesis 2:15
TODAY IN THE WORD
Seventeenth-century pastor Matthew Henry was a devoted servant of Christ and a hard-working student of Scripture. Although he died at age 51, Henry produced a commentary on the entire Bible that is still in print. At the end of his life, Henry said, “A life spent in the service of God is the most comfortable and pleasant life that one can live in the present world.”

Matthew Henry’s description of his life’s work as “comfortable and pleasant” is interesting in light of our view of work three centuries after he was born. Obviously, Henry wasn’t talking about the advanced design of his office furniture, or the lighting, ventilation, and other perks of his workplace. He was talking about the joy of a life devoted to meaningful service for God.

But if you asked people today whether their work was comfortable and pleasant, many would answer in terms of the physical arrangements of their workplace rather than the meaning of their work.

There’s nothing wrong with pleasant working conditions, of course. But far too many people believe that since working for a living is an unpleasant necessity they can’t avoid, they might as well make things as physically pleasant as possible.

Is work part of the original curse on the human race? You might think so, given prevailing attitudes. But God’s Word gives us a refreshingly different view of the purpose of our labor.

Many jokes and bad attitudes these days reveal common misconceptions about the origin of work. Meaningful work was part of God’s perfect design for creation. The Bible says God did not put the finishing touches on Eden until Adam was there to take care of the garden.

Green plants appeared on the third day of creation (Gen. 1:11-13), but today’s reading probably refers to plants that needed cultivation. Adam was placed in the garden “to work it” (Gen. 2:15), an important word that means literally “to serve.”
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The message of the Bible is clear. Work is not a product of the curse. Sin didn’t create work; sin just distorted it.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 9:7-14
The worker deserves his wages. - Luke 10:7
TODAY IN THE WORD
One day, a thirsty group of army recruits started complaining because the mess hall’s milk dispenser ran dry as the men lined up for second and third helpings. But their gripes were quickly silenced by an officer who told the troops in no uncertain terms that the Army was well aware of their daily needs. Not only was this true, the officer pointed out, but Army regulations specified how many ounces of milk a soldier should have each day for good nutrition and top performance.

That officer was reminding his troops that as long as they were members of the U.S. Army, they didn’t need to worry about going hungry or thirsty. For that matter, soldiers also don’t have to worry about what they’re going to wear or where they’re going to sleep--even if it’s sometimes on the ground.

Paul used the illustration of soldiers to make the same point that there are certain benefits that come from work. Whether you’re a soldier, a farmer, a shepherd, or an apostle, God meant for your work to provide for the needs that you and your family face every day. In His mercy, God built this principle into His law so that even a hard-working animal would not go hungry.

Paul wasn’t necessarily teaching the rewards of honest work in this passage; rather, he used these examples to demonstrate that since his work was preaching the gospel, he had a right to make his living from the gospel. But the Corinthians were so cantankerous that Paul laid aside his rights in order to show them an unselfish way to keep a brother or sister from stumbling into sin (1 Cor. 8:13).

Later this month, we’ll talk about our responsibility to take care of God’s workers (see the August 27 study). But Paul’s exception here proves the rule: one of the fundamental purposes of work is to feed and clothe the worker.

Paul invited his readers to consider God’s care for His people because He designed work to be productive for the worker (v. 10). We need to celebrate this simple truth in a culture that devalues, ridicules, or idolizes work. Both of these extremes miss the mark.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The two extreme attitudes mentioned above give us an opportunity to work on our theology of work.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 18:1-4; 1 Corinthians 9:12-15
We do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity. - 2 Corinthians 2:17
TODAY IN THE WORD
The great leader and educator Booker T. Washington told about the “entrance exam” he had to pass to enter the Hampton Institute in Virginia. The head teacher ordered the young Washington to sweep the classroom. He knew she wanted to see how hard he was willing to work, so he swept the room three times. He also dusted the furniture four times, until the teacher couldn’t find a speck of dust anywhere in the room. Washington was admitted to Hampton, and later said his years there were a turning point. He also said it was the best exam he ever passed.

The apostle Paul was also willing to work hard to gain an important entry. Paul was seeking to work for the gospel rather than an education, but the results of his hard work were the same as they were for Booker T. Washington. Paul’s work ethic helped prove his credibility in the sin-hardened city of Corinth, and the church was established there.

Today’s study follows our discussion yesterday. Although he argued that a minister of the gospel has the right to earn a living from the gospel, Paul also gave us an example of what to do when there is any question about a person’s motivation.

Paul supported himself by his trade of tentmaking when he first came to Corinth, preaching the gospel on the Sabbath. He later explained to the Corinthians why he did this rather than giving his full time to ministry right from the start--some people in Corinth questioned his motives, accusing him of using the ministry for personal profit (1 Cor. 9:3).

Therefore, Paul said he wouldn’t accept support from the believers at Corinth. His “boast” was that he preached the Word of God with sincere and pure motives, and he wasn’t going to give anyone the chance to prove otherwise.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Since we’re doing a follow-up study today, let’s add to the application we talked about yesterday.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Deuteronomy 15:7-11
I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. - Deuteronomy 15:11
TODAY IN THE WORD
Writer Clint Kelly recounts the story of Una Goble, who was a neighbor of the great author and scholar C. S. Lewis. Mrs. Goble tells of going with a group of carolers to Lewis’s home one Christmas, hoping he would make a donation to the charity they were representing. Lewis did make a generous contribution, and also invited the carolers in from the cold for hot refreshments.

C. S. Lewis is a great example of the openhanded generosity God wants from His children. God even built the principle of generosity toward people in need into the law of Moses. But there was no group of officials who went around checking on how well each Israelite was obeying the law. True generosity has to begin in the heart.

This is not a lesson on the ministry of giving, but generosity has an important relationship to our work. We’re talking about God’s purposes for work (see the August 1 outline), one of which is to give us extra resources we can share with those who are hurting.

The connection between how we treat others and how well we do in our work is made explicit by the promise of verse 10. Some people may want to take this promise and push it to the extreme, turning it into an ironclad method for getting more from God.

But this is not only a poor interpretation of Scripture, it violates the spirit of the principle God was teaching Israel (tomorrow we’ll examine the same basic principle in the New Testa-ment). The point here is giving, not getting. The person who is looking to get more isn’t likely to have the kind of giving spirit God is eager to bless.

God was so committed to His people’s generosity that He took into account the law which required debts to be forgiven every seven years. No one could use the seventh year as an excuse not to give, for fear of not getting anything back. Jesus taught the same principle when He told us to give without worrying about a return (Luke 6:30, 36).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
For most Christians, the main way we touch the lives of people in need is through our giving to God’s work around the world.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 2 Corinthians 8:13-15; 9:6-13
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. - 2 Corinthians 9:11
TODAY IN THE WORD
John Farwell was one of Dwight L. Moody’s close friends and supporters during Moody’s ministry in Chicago. Farwell became a leading Chicago businessman whose encouragement and financial backing helped Moody with ministry projects such as his Sunday school for the forgotten children of the city’s slums.

Moody himself was an excellent businessman, and many people thought he would have made a fortune if he had not left business to follow Christ’s call. Moody never regretted his decision, but he knew that effective ministry required financial resources. He was deeply grateful for godly associates like John Farwell who understood that their prosperity was a God-given means of providing for His work.

Supplying the needs of ministry is one of the purposes God built into our work. The exciting thing is that all of us can share in the blessing, regardless of the size of our paycheck.

And the giving is not all one-sided. Paul explained to the Corinthians that while their help was needed to relieve the suffering of the saints in Jerusalem, the time might also come when the Corinthians themselves may be in need and become the receivers instead of the givers.

God promised the Israelites that if they would be generous in their giving, He would bless their work and everything they did (see yesterday’s study). Paul was just as bold, giving us the promise expressed in today’s verse. The apostle used a work analogy in 2 Corinthians 9:10 to describe a believer who sows the seed of generous giving and reaps a harvest of righteousness.

We need to repeat yesterday’s warning that promises like this are always subject to misapplication, leading to a “health and wealth” approach to Chris-tianity. But God knows the motive behind each action, and He can make extravagant promises to those whose hearts are right before Him.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The experience of Moses (Ex. 17:8-16) is a good biblical example of what we’re talking about.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; Titus 2:9-10
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands. - 1 Thessalonians 4:11
TODAY IN THE WORD
Author and Christian financial advisor Larry Burkett writes, “Christian employees need two characteristics in their lives. The first is excellence. The apostle Paul said, 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men’ (Col. 3:23). The second is honoring those in authority over you. Proverbs 11:2 says, 'When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.’ If you are working for someone, regardless of what his or her personality type might be, God says you are to give that person honor. Pray for and do everything in your power to help that person daily.”

Burkett’s comments remind us of another important purpose for the work we do every day. It’s one form of our witness to those outside the faith, giving us a ready-made platform to show the difference Christ has made in our lives. There are probably many readers of this devotional who can testify to the impact that faithful and honest work, performed with excellence, can have on unbelievers who watch them day by day.

The importance and value of work was an issue Paul had to deal with in Thessalonica more than once (see the August 2-3 studies). Some of those believers were not quietly going about their own work or minding their own business (2 Thess. 3:11). Instead, they refused to work.

The problem wasn’t just that these Christians were creating havoc in the church by their laziness. They were also giving God’s people a bad name with their pagan neighbors.

Maybe you’ve heard your pastor or some other teacher say that as Christians, we should be the best employees on the job, giving our employers a full day of productive work.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Often unbelievers have higher standards for Christians than Christians do for themselves.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Colossians 3:22—4:1
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. - Colossians 3:23
TODAY IN THE WORD
One day a man stopped at a construction site and asked the three workers he saw what they were doing. The first man said he was cutting stones for the building, just as he had been told to do. The second worker said he was working so he could get a check and pay his bills. But the third worker pointed up toward the unfinished building and said, “I’m building a cathedral for the worship of God.”

Some people think it’s easy for preachers to say they’re doing their work for God’s glory. But all of us should view our employment that way. The apostle Paul told Christian slaves to serve their masters as if they were serving Jesus Himself--because that’s exactly what they were doing.

You might find it a little uncomfortable to realize that the closest New Testament analogy to the employer-employee relationship is slaves and masters. But the evils of slavery aside, it was in fact one of the main means of employment for people in the first century. The wisdom of God’s Word is evident in these timeless principles that apply to any setting.

Besides, it doesn’t matter which side of the labor-management line you’re on, because we’re all slaves of Jesus Christ. Believing slaves who served their masters as if serving Christ experienced a special liberation, the freedom to serve the Lord to the best of their ability.

We need that liberating freedom as we go to work today. If we’re just working for “the boss,” we’ve got our focus in the wrong place. If Christian employers and business owners think of themselves as rulers of their own kingdom, they need a new vision of their “Master in heaven.”

One reason the Bible commands us to serve God with all our hearts is that He is a very gracious employer. God rewards faithful service, whether it’s on the assembly line or in the manager’s office. So we don’t have to worry about fighting for every penny coming to us.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Moody’s former president George Sweeting tells of a business friend of D. L. Moody’s who owned a meat packing plant. When asked what he did for a living, the man would answer, “I serve Jesus, but I pack pork to pay expenses.”

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Genesis 3:17-19, 23-24
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. - Psalm 90:12
TODAY IN THE WORD
Today’s familiar verses from the book of Genesis may have suggested a lot of images and thoughts to you. It’s possible, however, that God’s grace was not one of the first concepts that came to mind. But God was very gracious to Adam and Eve in the middle of pronouncing severe judgments on them.

The best example of God’s grace, of course, is His promise of a coming Redeemer to crush Satan (v. 15). And by banning our first parents from the garden, God also ensured that they would not live forever in their sinful condition.

There’s no getting around the reality that because of sin, God’s gift of work became infinitely harder. Today begins the second part of our outline (see the August 1 study): the problems associated with work. This section is mercifully short, just two days, to see how the entry of sin messed up our circumstances and our relationships in the workplace.

Bible commentators use terms like “laborious” and “exhausting” to describe the kind of work Adam would have to do after his sin. The Bible uses the word “painful,” the same word for the pain of childbirth Eve would suffer (Gen. 3:16), to describe Adam’s work.

We need to point out again that work itself is not the penalty here (see the August 4 study). The penalty is the added hardship that would accompany work in a sinful environment.

Instead of tending and enjoying the fruit of plants that flourished abundantly, Adam would have to dig his living out of the ground. And the ground would stubbornly fight back by producing thorns and thistles, making Adam sweat to feed himself and his family. And when Adam had worked himself to exhaustion and his days were over, instead of being like God he would die and return to the ground he had worked so hard.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Do you think of your work as an expression of God’s grace to you? If so, you’re in a position to get the most from it.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Peter 2:18-21; Ephesians 6:5-9
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect, fear, and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. - Ephesians 6:5
TODAY IN THE WORD
Earlier this year, the city council in the small town of Argyle, Texas, outside Dallas, rescinded a controversial policy after a week of national media attention and plenty of barbs. The policy prohibited municipal workers from making negative comments about city officials and from spreading rumors.

The people in Argyle made an honest attempt to improve relationships among city workers. But no ordinance can deal effectively with the snarled relationships that human sin has introduced into the workplace.

There are powerful and effective written instructions for handling this problem, but they aren’t on any city’s books. They are in the Book. The need for guidance from God’s Word is obvious from the fact that the most common working relationship in the biblical world was that of masters and slaves. But such slavery was a product of sinfulness, not godliness.

God never condoned slavery, but Paul also recognized that there was a bigger issue at stake for believers than their social status. That issue was obeying and pleasing God in whatever role a person was serving (1 Cor. 7:17-24).

Both Paul and Peter instructed slaves to work for their masters as if they were working for Christ. That brings God glory and results in a reward (see the August 10 study), but it doesn’t mean that obeying will always be easy.

Peter suggested this when he acknowledged that some masters were “harsh” and could inflict unjust punishment on their workers. But by bearing up under this treatment for the sake of Christ, a Christian slave (or employee) would honor God and free Him to deal with a harsh boss.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
If you have worked anywhere for any length of time, you have seen people who work with one eye on the clock, and the other on the door or hallway in case the boss suddenly shows up.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Leviticus 19:35-36; Proverbs 16:11-13
The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. - Proverbs 11:1
TODAY IN THE WORD
During the 1860 presidential campaign, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune sent Abraham Lincoln a biographical sketch to review before it was published. Among other information, the article said that Lincoln had read the Greek writer Plutarch. Lincoln returned the sketch to the reporter, tell-ing him that although he had not read any of Plutarch’s writings before, he had read some since, so that the statement could be printed as accurate. “A scrupulous teller of the truth,” the reporter said of the future president.

There’s only one way to be honest, and that’s to be scrupulously honest. It’s hard to imagine what our culture would be like if this principle were applied across the board in the workplace. In the law, God gave Israel the best reason of all for practicing honesty in business: “I am the LORD your God.”

The Proverbs even say that the scales and weights used in business in that day were of God’s making, elevating honesty to a spiritual issue. The reference to kings and their love of honesty (vv. 12-13) applies to leaders who really care about the way their kingdoms are run. A leadership based on righteousness and honesty will honor God and will likely be rewarded with honor in return.

John the Baptist was another “scrupulous teller of the truth” to the people who came out to hear him, and they were convicted by his message (Luke 3:7-14). Tax collectors were infamous for padding their accounts, and Roman soldiers were known to strongarm people for money. John called both groups to be honest in their work as a sign of true spiritual repentance (Luke 3:13-14).

Some people’s honesty, or lack thereof, may make the world’s headlines. But God cares deeply how we respond in everyday situations, whether it’s telling the truth or refusing to “borrow” supplies from the office. He takes note of our actions and rewards accordingly.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Another word for honesty is integrity, a quality in short supply today.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Proverbs 10:4; 12:24, 27; 13:4
Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. - Proverbs 10:4
TODAY IN THE WORD
Someone figured out that if people in certain occupations gave only a 99.9 percent effort in their work, the following would happen: the Internal Revenue Service would lose two million documents in a year; twelve babies would be given to the wrong parents each day; 20,000 erroneous prescriptions would be written; and shoe manufacturers would ship 114,500 mismatched pairs of shoes.

That’s quite a list. The smallest carelessness or lack of attention to detail can make a big difference. We certainly don’t want the IRS or the local pharmacist to be half-hearted about their work when they’re handling our paperwork. Some people even get upset if their morning newspaper accidentally lands in the bushes instead of the driveway.

If we expect high standards from other people, imagine the standard God expects from us. We’re talking about principles of profitable work, one of which is diligence or excellence.

Diligence is giving your job the kind of consistent care, effort, and attention it deserves. Anybody is capable of a burst of diligence here and there, but sustaining it takes a higher level of commitment.

After reading the Proverbs, it’s easy to see how much God values the quality of diligence. We should also notice the opposite trait, laziness. The writer illustrated this in an interesting way in Proverbs12:27, where he says, “The lazy man does not roast his game.”

This is only time the word “roast” is used in the Old Testa-ment, and translators aren’t sure this is the right concept. The word could also mean that a lazy person doesn’t even bother to go out and scare up any game, let alone value enough what he catches to cook it.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Maybe it’s been a while since you sat down and thought about the benefits of being diligent in your work.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Deuteronomy 8:6-20
Remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth. - Deuteronomy 8:18
TODAY IN THE WORD
In his autobiography, the famous Bible translator J. B. Phillips wrote about a time when he felt he was on top of the world. “My work was intrinsically exciting. My health was excellent; my future pros-pects were rosier than my wildest dreams. . . . I was well aware of the dangers of sudden wealth . . . [but] I was not nearly so aware of the dangers of success. The subtle erosion of character, the unconscious changing of values and the secret monstrous growth of a vastly inflated idea of myself slowly seeped into me. Vaguely I was aware of this and I prayed, 'Lord, make me humble--but not yet.’ ”

All of us can identify to some extent with what Phillips was saying. You don’t have to be a corporate CEO to know the intoxicating feeling you get when you’ve closed the big deal or won a promotion, or when everybody is shaking your hand and telling you what a great job you’re doing.

These things aren’t wrong. But as Phillips warns, success at any level can attack us in crucial places--such as our ego and value system. It can also give us spiritual amnesia, causing us to forget God. Paul asked the question, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7). Answer: nothing.

Today’s verse holds the cure for the problem of forgetting. The Israelites were standing with their toes on the edge of the promised land when Moses issued his plea.

The Israelites had more than enough reasons to remember God and His goodness. Even though it had been about forty years since they had left slavery in Egypt, the memory of their bondage had to have been strong. Besides, they had just left a “vast and dreadful desert” (v. 15) where they experienced extreme hunger and thirst. It’s impossible to think you did it on your own when you see water gushing out of a rock and food falling from the sky.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Yesterday we listed three benefits of being diligent in our work. Today we need to consider three dangers of forgetting that God is the power and the source behind our ability to do what we do.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Deuteronomy 28:1-14
The LORD will open the heavens . . . to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. - Deuteronomy 28:12
TODAY IN THE WORD
During his ministry as a pastor, Dr. Joseph Stowell was approached by a successful young businessman in the church. This man was advancing in his career, having become the head of a large cable television company. But he was also growing in his Christian faith, and finally came to a crossroads. He had come to the conviction that he was helping to “market unrighteousness” through his company, and he didn’t feel that he could continue and still honor God and be a righteous man. Not long after, this young executive resigned his position, even though he had no other job lined up. The financial security his job offered could not compare to the security of a guilt-free conscience.

Yesterday we saw the dangers of forgetting God. Today we’re looking at the other side of the coin--the benefits of honoring God. The promises of blessing are abundant in these verses, but notice that this entire section is conditional, dependent on the opening clause, “If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands” (v. 1).

This is addressed to Israel and is a national promise in its immediate application. But this principle--that obeying God brings blessing--is woven throughout the Scripture. One example is 2 Corinthians 9:8-11, part of a passage we studied last week (see the August 8 devotional). The obedience in this case relates to our giving, which is another way we can honor God through our work.

If you’re in a job where putting God first is possible, or even encouraged, you have a reason to thank the Lord. But what if you face conflict like the executive in the opening story? There is not one simple, all-inclusive guideline that can be applied in every situation.

But that’s doesn’t mean we are left to figure things out on our own. God was clearly doing a work in that executive’s heart. God showed him what had to be done, even without the immediate security of another job.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
This is a good day to memorize some Scripture that God may use to help you make an important decision.