Dirty Bible, Clean Heart

" Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them . " -Matt 24:14 "In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war , David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. "  -2 Samuel 11:1 NIV     Today  I want to expand on the subject matter of work. Last time we looked at the importance and our necessity for it. Work is not something that we are encouraged to do but rather expected to. The work that God calls us to is not only for our benefit, but has far-reaching effects in that it helps build God's Kingdom here on Earth. That is a big task! Yet one that a loving and gracious God is willing to share with us as His co-laborers in the Gospel. What an amazing privilege...to be partakers of this work and the rewards that await us by participating. Though there are numerous reasons why work is indispensa...

"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 NIV "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and  entrusted his wealth to them .   To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,   each according to his ability . Then he went on his journey.   The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.   So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.   But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money ."  -Matthew 25:14-18      God calls us to work. Not only does He call us to it, but He also expects it of us. The church (and even society itself) has recently re-discovered the virtues of rest in our busy modern world. After all, it was God Himself who instituted periods of rest  and...

  "During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears...and he was heard because of his reverent submission.  Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered ..." -Hebrews 5:7-8 Last fall, which considering present global circumstances seems like ages ago, I remember having lunch with a friend. We were catching up and began talking about what God was doing in each of our lives. The prayer requests that we had, places God was leading us into, etc. As the conversation progressed, my friend said something to me that really caught my attention. She said, "you know I have this special type of relationship with God that basically anytime I ask Him for something He just does it for me!" As I thought about her statement, my friends words really resonated with me. Although God had not yet answered every single prayer request at that time, I did think that for the most part I pretty much received wh...