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Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men . . . It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
--Colossians 3:23, 24
Experiencing God at Work
Conventional thought
among church-going Christians seems to be that a person must be uniquely
qualified to "serve the Lord" (i.e., you need a seminary degree;
you must be a person of influence, wealth, unusually gifted, etc.; you must
have a good resumé or have the right connections). The Bible is clear
that God's call is to all His people, including ordinary people with one
significant qualification.
Jesus' call of his disciples reveals that, in general, he chose not those with impressive credentials or training, but regular folk with whom most of us could easily identify. His little band was made up of fishermen, a tax collector, and others who had not distinguished themselves. They were not even distinguished by unusual faith. In fact, they doubted, and Jesus described them as having "little faith". The Apostle Paul reveals a similar ordinariness in the early Christians of Corinth, Greece: "Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth." (1 Corinthians 1:26)
The one common trait in people God calls and uses is a cooperative and obedient heart. Given that spirit, every follower of Christ is on assignment as a kingdom ambassador wherever God has placed him in the "ordinary" world of work. Realizing and accepting this fact, if we haven't seen it before, is a major shift in how we think about ourselves, our purpose in life and the significance of our work, and the significance of those around us. Being a disciple of Christ is not just about one small corner of our lives; it is all about everything we are and do, including our work world.
During the past month, concluding this coming Sunday, our adult class has considered application of Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God principles to the work arena. Our discussions have covered the workbook, The Kingdom Agenda: Experiencing God in Your Workplace, by Mike Rogers and Claude King. As a follow-up to these discussions, we plan to dedicate Sunday morning, June 14, to a special emphasis on this matter. The adult class at 9:30 a.m. will be a time for reviewing The Kingdom Agenda study and for examination of our hearts and surrender of our work and professional lives to Jesus Christ and His kingdom purposes. We are calling the morning worship service at 11:00 a.m. a "commissioning service for marketplace missionaries." This is an invitation to you to plan and prepare your heart for participation in this day at Evangel. It could be a new beginning for seeing how God is working around you and discovering how He wants you to join Him in that work.
-- Steve Wilson, Pastor
For more information, contact
Evangel Baptist Church, Dr.
Steve Wilson, Pastor
1114 College Avenue, Houghton, MI 49931
906/482-6626, evangel@up.net
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