“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” – Col. 3:23-24
Good Morning, family!
We have begun today, I hope, profoundly grateful for everything God has already done for us this morning, and for His ongoing work in our hearts. (Have you stopped long enough just this morning to give thanks even if the morning [being Monday] has already gotten away from you? It will only take a couple of extra minutes that will pay off great benefits later.) We can be thankful for His grace, power, and faithfulness, which are real for us today and, on That Day will be made perfect in His love and we will be totally conformed to His glorious likeness. Remember “See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not (and does not) know Him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.”- 1 Jn. 3:1-3. I don’t know about you but That Day cannot arrive too soon.
In light of this wonderful good news, Paul’s admonition in this Scripture… “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” … feels life giving, heart strengthening, and hope fueling. Because of His finished work on the cross, our works are now deeds of doxology…of faith, works of worship, acts of adoration and labors of love. We work, not to get anything from God, but we work because we have all things in Him. So we give thanks for the gracious opportunity to work for and in Him.Gratitude 101! Have you taken the time yet to give thanks to God this morning? Stop right now… I will wait.
Therefore, we pray to Jesus asking that He free us from doing anything for the approval of people, out of the fear of people, or to gain power over people. We ask Him to free us to do all things “…as for the Lord…You (we/I am), are serving the Lord Christ.” So let’s be seen loving our spouses without manipulation; doing our jobs without self-congratulation; and walking with people, without unrealistic expectations. Pray, as well, that He will help us forgive others, because He has forgiven us fully; love others as He loves us, because He loves us perfectly; and serve others with joy, because He has and is serving us with great passion, sacrifice, and delight.
SOOO…We can be SO thankful the gospel has forever cleared up the confusion surrounding the very notion of a wage-earning, merit-accruing, advantage-producing relationship with God. We work out of thanks to Jesus, because He first worked for us. What a humbling, staggering, and astonishing truth. We serve Him because He ever lives to serve us, as our Advocate and Intercessor. Indeed, we love Him as Lord and Savior because He first loved us as the Lamb, giving Himself as a judgment-ending sacrifice for our sins.
We have ALL been guaranteed an eternal inheritance from Him as yet another gift, not because of our grit and determination but because of His steadfast love for us that never ceases. And when we do receive any rewards or crowns, they will be thrown at the feet of Jesus—giving credit where credit is due.
Sooo…maybe you were wondering what specifically you have to give thanks for this morning…I hope this helps. Get to it! God Bless y’all.
God Bless!
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
