THE
DO-LESS DISDAIN DISCIPLINE
BREAD
30 I went
past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks
judgment; 31 thorns
had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall
was in ruins. 32 I
applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: 33 A little sleep, a little
slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-- 34 and poverty will come on you
like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. Proverbs 24:30-34 (NIV)
5 The
fool folds his hands and ruins himself. Ecclesiastes 4:5 (NIV)
7 The
fear of the Lord is the beginning
of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs
1:7 (NIV)
1 Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run
with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured
the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God. 3 Consider
him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow
weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3
(NIV)
11 No
discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it
produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained
by it. 12 Therefore,
strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Hebrews 12:11-12 (NIV)
17 And
whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:16-17 (NIV)
23 Whatever
you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will
receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are
serving. 25 Anyone
who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. Colossians 3:23-25 (NIV)
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has
put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the
proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing
so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth, he will
put him in charge of all his possessions.”
Matthew 24:45-47 (NIV)
7 But as
for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. 2 Chronicles 15:7 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Let us work as if success depended upon ourselves alone, but with
heartfelt conviction that we are doing nothing, and God everything.” St. Ignatius Loyola
“It is not what a man does that determines
whether his work is sacred or secular, but why he does it.” A. W.
Tozer
“(Jesus’
return) is not a reason for star-gazing, but for working in the power of the
Holy Ghost.” Charles Spurgeon
“God’s work done in God’s way
will never lack God’s supply.” Hudson
Taylor
“Greatness is not
made through one trial or one victory.
It is hammered out over and over on the anvil of daily demands. Most often this work is done alone – in
complete obscurity. But God sees every
word, every choice, and every action. Devoted
hearts are never wasted. He frequently
uses the obscure, the broken, or the outcast for some of His greatest work.” Charles
R. Swindoll
“Hard
work is a thrill and a joy when you are in the will of God.” Robert
A. Cook
“A
primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing
God’s work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness. When God’s warrior marches forth to battle,
strong in his own might, when he boasts, ‘I know that I shall conquer, my own
right arm and my conquering sword shall get unto me the victory’, defeat is not
far distant. God will not go forth with
that man who marches in his own strength.
He who reckoneth on victory thus has reckoned wrongly, for ‘it is not by
might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts’. They who go forth to fight, boasting of their
prowess, shall return with their gay banners trailed in the dust, and their
armour stained with disgrace. Those who
serve God must serve Him in His own way, and in His strength, or He will never
accept their service. That which man
doth, unaided by divine strength, God can never own. The mere fruits of the earth He casteth away;
He will only reap that corn, the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by
grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love.
God will empty out all that thou hast before He will put His own into
thee; He will first clean out the granaries before He will fill them with the
finest of the wheat……Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being
filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting
up.” C. H. Spurgeon
HEART
SAVOR
- · God has prepared works for me to do. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
- · My works do not save me rather they manifest my salvation pointing to the One Who saves. The One Who gives the power gets the glory – always and forever.
- · Humans are always moving forward or backwards in our earthly walks. Forward is a step by step progressive pursuit, while backward a slippery, spiraling slide down. If I don’t like the direction I discover myself in - at any point in my life - I am to run to God’s grace. As I turn He will turn me. He is faithful.
