NO WORK... NO EAT...

2 Thessalonians 3:10
Even while we were with you,
we gave you this rule:
"Whoever does not work
should not eat."



2 Thessalonians is quite consistent with what we are taught from Genesis 3:19 when God said to Adam, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” This explains why people have to work and it's important to point out that Christians are not exempt from this order. Jesus offered Himself, however, to be our partner to gain peace and survive the world's pressures. Matthew 11:28 teaches, “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’” This verse doesn’t imply that we can be lazy about our lives or that we no longer have to work hard, but rather that Jesus understands us and that He has a sincere desire to ease our load.

SAFE HAVEN

Proverbs 18:10
The name of the Lord
is a strong fortress;
the godly run to him
and are safe.



The modern world faces vast security challenges that are an ongoing threat. 9/11 is an obvious example of how a powerful nation can be attacked by coordinated terrorists members of a much smaller militant group. Now, if a global power is vulnerable to such types of strikes, where in the world can someone go to be completely safe? The Word of God is clear on this matter. The name of the Lord is our strong fortress because the name Jesus means "Jehoshua," which translates to “Savior.” In times of trouble call on His Name because He is our strong fortress and our safe haven. When you're in trouble, do you truly call upon God first?

SLEEPYHEAD

Proverbs 10:5
A wise youth works hard all summer;
a youth who sleeps away the
hour of opportunity brings shame.



Time is one of the most important assets that all people have equality with. Opportunity rides upon the ebb and flow of time, which explains why when a unique opportunity is gone, it’s likely gone forever. Two types of thoughts about opportunities are: “That’s the person I used to be”; or “That’s the person I could’ve been.” In Proverbs 10:5, King Solomon reminds us to watch out for every opportunity that God gives us, to work on those chances and to refrain from “sleeping in” or “sleeping on it”. After all, an opportunity lost because of laziness is worthy only of shame. Have you ever lost a chance at achieving or obtaining something because of laziness?

HARDWORK PAYS

Proverbs 10:4
Lazy people are soon poor;
hard workers get rich.



The Bible teaches that if you want to gain wealth, there’s no substitute for hard work. According to Forbes’ Magazine, Asia's richest man, Li Ka-Shing dropped out of school at age 15 after his father died, to be a factory worker in a true “rags-to-riches” tale. The article goes on to say that nearly two-thirds of the world's 946 billionaires made their fortunes from scratch, relying on grit and determination, ignoring that they had not been born into wealth. These people are living proof of the lessons taught by the Word of God. In fact, this particular lesson applies not only to becoming rich, but anything that a person should desire to improve upon and achieve. No pun intended, but hard work… pays.

FINISH WHAT YOU START

Ecclesiastes 7:8
Finishing is better than starting.
Patience is better than pride.



Inventors typically start and finish a creation to make people’s lives better, despite the difficulty of the challenge at hand. Some inventions are still works in progress, but they can still have a large impact on culture and society. For instance, Henry Ford of the Ford Motor Company did not have a reverse gear installed on his first cars, but that didn’t stop him from putting America on wheels. Acts 20:24 teaches us, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” Be patient and finish what you start despite the challenges and difficulties that should come upon you. Typically, the challenges offer huge and invaluable lessons for you while moving towards the goal of completion.

GODLY IS BETTER

Psalm 37:16
It is better to be godly
and have little than to
be evil and possess much.



Let's get something straight: having possessions isn’t a bad thing. Here's the catch: if you don’t do what's right with those possessions, you likely head down the path to evil. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:17, “Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.” Trusting in the Living God was clearly explained by Jesus in Matthew 19:21 when Jesus told a rich man, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The rich man didn’t trust Jesus’ teaching for fear of losing all of his accumulated possessions and he departed from Jesus with a sorrowful heart. Sadly, that rich man didn’t understand that in God's eyes, it would've been better to have obeyed Jesus' teaching and been left with just a few possessions while still having a godly outlook. Do you find that you place too much value upon your worldly possessions?

DOING WRONG

Numbers 5:6
Give these instructions
to the people of Israel:
If any of the people –
men or women –
betray the LORD
by doing wrong
to another person,
they are guilty.



Doing something wrong to another is a betrayal of God because the Lord gave us specific instructions to have a consistent walk, and to respect the rights of others while in our walk. Our God is the God of justice and in order for Him to maintain justice, the standard of His commandments must be kept. When a violation of another person’s rights occurs, there is a plain disobedience of His command. If you’re walking right, you’ll keep the golden commandment, loving your neighbors and keenly keeping His commandments for your life.

POWERFUL WEAKNESS

2 Corinthians 12:8-9
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.
Each time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need.
My power works best in your weakness."
So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ may work through me.



We might identify and categorize our own personal weaknesses as handicaps, but these weaknesses have been given to us by God for specific purposes. They weren't ever intended to make us less of a person, but rather to display His power working in our lives. Your own strength and ability displays the kind of person you are and it is primarily in your weaknesses that God displays who He is. After all, it's usually at a person's weakest point that people humble themselves to His will. At the end of the day, it’s usually apparent that God’s power is most obvious when we’re at our neediest. It's at that point where we clearly hear His still small voice and we can see His hand moving around us.

NO MORE FEARS

Psalm 34:4
I prayed to the Lord,
and he answered me,
freeing me from all my fears.



Fear can be brought about by many factors. The devil will often capitalize upon our fears to paralyze us from making difficult decisions while under duress or when in unclear situations. Professor Harold Urey, a Nobel Prize for Chemistry winner, wrote the famed “I’m a Frightened Man.” As a member of the Uranium Committee on key operations of Uranium 235, Urey wrote, “I write to frighten you. I am a frightened man myself. Even the learned are fearful.” The bondage of fear can paralyze anyone and the best solution to that bondage is prayer to Almighty God because there is nothing that God cannot conquer in your life. Because He is all powerful, go to Him in prayer and to be freed from all your fears.

DADDY

2 Corinthians 6:18
And I will be your Father,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.



A father is the root or source of a family. If you've come to Christ personally, God is your spiritual father. There are two spiritual fathers that the Bible speaks of: the devil (John 8:44) and God the Father (John 1:12). Jesus Christ came and died on the cross to cleanse us from all our sins to make a way for us to be part of the God’s family, so when you receive and believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you become rooted to God the Father. Galatians 4:6 says, “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” With God as your Father, you’re no longer a slave, but a child of God, and if you’re a child of God, you’re an heir of God through Christ.

GRUMBLERS AND COMPLAINERS

Jude 1:16
These people are grumblers and complainers,
doing whatever evil they feel like.
They are loudmouthed braggarts,
and they flatter others to get favors in return.



Grumblers and complainers are typically people that only think of themselves. The Word of God says in Philippians 2:14, “In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing”. I read this silly piece about a conversation between a person's feet and their mouth. The feet said, “Hey mouth, you’re the luckiest thing on earth. You are forever getting the best of me. Here I am, running around all day, wearing myself out and all you do is eat.” The mouth replied to the feet, “Hey, how’d you like it if I stopped eating so that you could stop running around?” Ironically, Christians sometimes behave in this silly and childish way. Face it, grumbling and complaining do little to bring people closer together. If you truly want to be a child of God, humble yourself and be obedient to the instructions of the Word of God.

LUST FOR PLEASURE

1 John 2:16
For the world offers only
the lust for physical pleasure,
the lust for everything we see,
and pride in our possessions.
These are not from the Father.
They are from this evil world.



Sometimes people mistakenly identify worldly pleasures that are received as blessings. Now, if we’re not really careful, we may even mistakenly ask God for worldly things as a blessing. Be leery to understand that Satan is a counterfeiter and he will try to imitate what God wants to give us, except Satan will do this with evil and unrighteous intentions. Satan will never seek to give someone a blessing. Always seek authentic, real and righteous blessings from God, while being careful to identify the signs of a counterfeit fake.

YOU BETTER RECOGNIZE

John 1:10
But although the world was made through him,
the world didn't recognize him when he came.



You’ve probably heard the saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Well, I'm here to tell you that’s just not true! I would propose, “Beauty is inherent,” because the beholder may ultimately fail to recognize the beauty before their eyes. Interestingly, tungsten metal which is by and large considered the best metal to create filament is produced from a nearly worthless metal ore called wolframite. However, once wolframite is reduced to bars of tungsten in an electric furnace and pulled into filament wire, wolframite increases in value from pennies to hundreds of thousands of dollars per ton. Likewise, the baby Jesus that was born in a farm manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes and of no apparent value to the world was all while the King of Kings: Christ the Savior. Knowing this, we need to give Him the recognition due to a Sovereign King.

EVIL

Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil,
but overcome evil with good.



The stark reality of the world is that evil exists. You may have heard of “necessary evils” or the very newsworthy “questionable ethics” which have been used to achieve solutions for “the greater good.” Well, according to the Word of God, these aren’t ways to solve any challenging problems. Simply put, you cannot overcome evil by using evil. The only way to overcome evil is by using that which is good. Emperor Vespasian of the Roman Empire would not let a day pass by without doing something good. If he found that a single day had passed by without his performing a good deed, he would enter into his journal Diem, "perdidi," meaning "I have lost a day." Don’t lose any days where you can personally overcome evil by simply doing something good.

PERSECUTED

Matthew 5:10
Blessed are those who are
persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.



Matthew 5:10 is steeped in irony. How is it possible for one to be happy if they’re persecuted? Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount tells us that we are blessed, or happy, if we are persecuted because we then know that we’re doing the right things. In stark contrast, the ungodly typically feel that doing things according to God's will is an encroachment upon their individual rights. If teaching the Godly, safe, and correct things deems you a bigot by the public, then according to Jesus’ preaching you’re blessed. There’s good news for those that are living a righteous lifestyle: Jesus said that the kingdom of Heaven would be yours. And that, without argument from anyone, is a very big deal.

AUTHORITY

Proverbs 29:2
When the godly are in
authority, the people rejoice.
But when the wicked are
in power, they groan.



Many Christians isolate themselves away from the mainstream of society for fear of possibly embracing or being influenced by worldly things. This approach really doesn't work. The better way is to insulate oneself from the influences of the world, not to isolate oneself. If God's people truly desire Christ-like leaders for the world, then the world must not be left to the worldly and unrighteous. Christians have an obligation to engage in the leadership of our towns, cities, states and nations because when the Godly are in authority, the people are happy. When leadership, however, is held by the unrighteous and wicked, we will all be groaning. Are the leaders in your life Godly people?

MARRIAGE

Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all,
and the marriage bed kept pure,
for God will judge the adulterer
and all the sexually immoral.



The Word of God says marriage is between a man and a woman, and that has been God's plan for marriage since the very creation of man. Our Lord Jesus Christ also speaks of this in Mark 10:6-7, "But God's plan was seen from the beginning of creation, for 'He made them male and female.' This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife" Don't change the formula of the marriage relationship if you don't want to see the judgment of God. Do not deviate or reason away from His will on the matter of marriage. Stick to the plan and keep it pure.

REPLACEMENTS

Joel 2:25
The LORD says, "I will give you back
what you lost to the stripping locusts,
the cutting locusts, the swarming locusts,
and the hopping locusts. It was I who sent
this great destroying army against you."



Have you ever worked for a paycheck only to feel like your cash has been kept in a bag full of holes? Have you ever felt that at the end of a long workday your life's still lacking and unsatisfying? It’s hard to fathom that the word, “sad,” could ever be associated with the words “rich,” “young,” and “ruler," but Jesus met such a person in Matthew 19:22-23 which tells us, “But when the young man heard this, he went sadly away because he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.’” If you make God your Lord and money your servant, you can simultaneously achieve being rich and happy. Whatever it is that you think might be lost for making a commitment, fear not because God's promise is that He'll give back whatever was destroyed.

CHOSEN

Psalm 33:12
What joy for the nation whose God is the LORD,
whose people he has chosen for his own.



When you think it through, the entire nation of believers that we see today actually began with a family that would grow generation after generation. Following this logic, the idea of starting out correctly within a family to create a joyful nation isn’t all that far-fetched. God showed us this in in Genesis 12:2-3 when He said to Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Through all of it's generations, God made Abraham’s family into a nation. Get your family off to a good start for the future by choosing to serve God in the way of Joshua 24:15, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." If you obey Him in this way, your family will truly be blessed.

DIVINE POWER

2 Corinthians 10:4
The weapons we fight with are
not the weapons of the world.
On the contrary, they have divine
power to demolish strongholds.



The things of this world are constantly affected by the activities of the spiritual realm. The existence of a Spiritual Being as taught in the Word of God is undeniable and science cannot explain it, but the proof manifested by that of a Higher Power in people’s changed lives is overwhelming. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12, “For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.” This is one of the main reasons that Jesus offered to come into your life. When Jesus departed, He gave us the Holy Spirit - the divine power that can clean our lives and protect us from the evil influences of the spiritual realm. Always remember that the Holy Spirit is with you and be careful to listen to and obey His guidance.

LEARNING

Matthew 16:16-17
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah,
the Son of the living God." Jesus replied,
"You are blessed, Simon son of John, because
my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.
You did not learn this from any human being.”



Is it possible to learn from God when you can’t physically see Him? The Word of God says in John 4:24, “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” As a Spirit, He cannot be seen and in order to communicate with Him we must obey His command to pray. It’s through prayer that we can converse with God, and it's through His Word that He communicates with us using the Holy Spirit. John 16:13 teaches that, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” Just as was done with Peter in Matthew 16:16-17, God will reveal Himself to you and you will learn things that you couldn’t learn from any human being. Are you ready for His supernatural lessons for you today?

EXCELLENCE

1 Corinthians 9:25-27
All athletes practice strict self-control.
They do it to win a prize that will fade away,
but we do it for an eternal prize.
So I run straight to the goal
with purpose in every step.
I am not like a boxer who misses his punches.
I discipline my body like an athlete,
training it to do what it should.
Otherwise, I fear that after preaching
to others I myself might be disqualified.



Vincent Van Gogh once said, “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” There are those that will discourage you from trying to successfully convert your dreams to reality, but remember that the truth is that you’re already a success if you’ve received Jesus as your Savior. The only thing that you have to do thereafter is to discipline yourself to reach the potential that God designed just for you. Remember that you cannot be a disciple of Jesus without the self-discipline. The self-discipline will help you to achieve excellence in everything. Are you pursuing Christ with discipline and excellence in mind?

DRIFTING

1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is at
the root of all kinds of evil.
And some people, craving money,
have wandered from the faith and
pierced themselves with many sorrows.



It’s so easy to violate the God’s process for having a successful life. Many people choose to earn money and pursue wealth before committing to serve God. God’s way is actually the inverse of what most would follow as is taught in Matthew 6:33, “And he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” Our primary concern should be to love God, and God’s concern is to love us and provide our needs. Don’t even bother trying to reverse the process. Just obey His instructions and you’ll not wander towards a faith that leads to sorrow.

FAVORITISM

Proverbs 24:23
Here are some further
sayings of the wise:
It is wrong to show favoritism
when passing judgment.



In the eyes of God, we’re all equal because everyone was created in His image and likeness. Even then, we are still unique among each other. This concept brings to mind a story about a political socialist that once visited the wealthy Andrew Carnegie to rail upon him about the injustice of Carnegie’s excessive wealth. From the socialist’s point of view, wealth was meant to be divided equally among all people. Wisely, Carnegie called his secretary for a quick assessment of everything he owned and divided it by the world’s population. He then ordered his secretary to, “Give this gentleman l6 cents. That's his share of my wealth.” David sang in Psalm 119:57, “You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to obey your words.” God doesn’t play favorites among his people and He certainly has enough blessings for all of us. Just be obedient to Him and those blessings are yours. Are you worthy of His blessings today?

BITTERNESS

Acts 8:23
For I can see that you are full of
bitterness and held captive by sin.



A preacher once told a story about a woman who had been emotionally broken by a great tragedy in her life. She was complaining about her life bitterly saying, “I wish to God that I had never even been made!” One of her friends very wisely asked, “Why would you wish that? You’re not even made yet, you’re still in the process of being made, but you’re arguing with God during the process.” Bitterness is a prison cell that holds you captive, much in the same way that sin does. Learn to let go of your bitterness and follow Paul’s example from 2 Timothy 1:12, “I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.” There’s just no point in being full of bitterness when you’ve already come to trust God. Are you bitter about anything today?