Spiritual Candy - 2

Here's another little treat for you today:

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." I Corinthians 15:58

Every get weary?

It's that time of year when lists abound - grocery lists, address lists, shopping lists, christmas decorating to-do lists...just when you check an item off of one list, four more seem to appear. When you've had a particularly productive day, the exhaustion is good - but on frenzied days, the exhaustion only adds to the wear and tear.

And then you find yourself asking yourself questions, like: why am I doing this? Why do I bother to send cards to people who I never see or talk to - do they even like me? Why am I buying her a gift? Why won't half the tree light up? Why do ornaments explode when they hit the tile floor? And soon the focus is off the celebration of our Savior and is wandering aimlessly down some half-decked halls whose boughs of holly look more like sticks of plastic greenery.

Okay - take a deep breath - move away from Christmas for a moment.

Sometimes in our daily lives we become a bit frazzled towards our call as believers. There are nursery schedules and conferences to organize, (did I fill out my membership application?), I am expected to turn every day simple discipline moments into spiritual lessons for my children, it's much easier to simply make the decision and deal with the fall out later than wait for HIM to make it, (have we given to the church this month?), I'm expected to be in a small group with people I don't even like, (why can't I find fifteen minutes a day to read my bible and what would I read anyway?), and I can't even remember the last time I didn't fall asleep while praying in bed - is any of this really worth it?

It's so easy to get caught up with lists of expectations and rules to live by, that we lose sight of our calling - we were made to bring glory to God and we are called to make disciples. Let's keep it that simple. I love this verse in I Corinthians because Paul has basically knocked the church in Corinth over the head with a baseball bat for fifteen chapters and then throws in this simple little sentence. Let's look at it a bit closer:

"Therefore (in other words, in light of what I have just written to you, now do this), my beloved brethren (loved by God and family in Christ), be steadfast (a settled conviction of an objective truth), immovable (fixed, unchangeable, not yielding to pressure), always (100% word) abounding (exist in large numbers or amounts) in the work of the Lord (committed service to the commands of Christ - remember in John 15 Jesus says that you are His friends if you keep His commandments), knowing that your toil (oh, so it's not easy work, huh?) is not in vain (producing no result) in the Lord (the three most important motivational words ever!)."

Bottom line - don't get discouraged or overwhelmed with life. Yes, there are lists, but there is something much greater behind everything - God. He loves you and wants you to stay focussed and immersed in His work. We do not labor in vain - faithfully pointing our children towards the Savior, submitting to the leadership of our husbands, service in the local church, giving, meditating on His word, prayer - all of these , when done in the Lord, have value. Eternal value.

So be steadfast, my friends - have that settled conviction of an objective truth - stand on the Word and continue the battle, knowing that God loves you, knows what is best for you and is in complete control.