For centuries, we as a people have developed rapidly over time. From the Age of Agriculture, throughout Western Civilization, and even through the Industrial Revolution we have surpassed a great deal of setbacks and triumphs. Within this incessant evolution lies a common theme that serves as the foundation for all that we have become: Work. Most people today view work as the dreadful place we go to every day to exhaust our time, completing mundane tasks for our unsympathetic superiors. Consequently, many individuals fail to realize what the meaning of work really is and why it is so important to our future well-being. In the Bible, instead of viewing work as a squandering burden it depicts work as one of the most valuable parts of God’s creative …show more content…
Managers and decision makers can be harsh and over-bearing when it comes to approaching deadlines and completing tasks. This type of setting can produce a resentful mentality in that of the workers, making them resent fulfilling the commands of their leaders. Nonetheless, God wants you to act as if you are primarily serving the Him, not just your manager. God wants his people to see Him as the ultimate Boss. In the Letter of Paul to the Colossians Paul says, “Slaves, give entire obedience to your earthly masters, not merely with an outward show of service, to curry favour with men, but with single-mindedness, out of reverence for the Lord… Christ is the Master whose slaves you must be” (New English Bible, Col. 3:22-24). Here Paul calls them slaves; in other versions of the Bible he names them servants. In any case, both terms translate to mean “workers” making it more clear when relating this verse to that of today’s workplace. Paul saw that regardless of what you are being made to do, you should act in obedience to God. Your work is not to satisfy solely the men who dictate it to you, but to gratify the Lord …show more content…
One cannot change their work ethic overnight or quit eating unhealthy food the day they get that bad news from the doctor. It takes dedication, strength, and hard work to battle through the hardships and arrive at your destination. You cannot attain your goals if you do not first put in the required servitude needed. Thus, your vigor will amount to the greatest reward that any man can receive: entrance through the Gates of Heaven (Mathew 16:27). However, you should not produce work for the eyes of your peers. Rather you should work in the eye of God only. Your work is to be judged by the Lord himself and he shall judge it based upon the value that it holds in the foundation of the land. In the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, Paul saw that when it comes time for judgment day, the work that one did will be exposed. If his work is worthwhile then he will be rewarded with acceptance into Heaven. However, if his work falls apart and surrenders too little appraisal, he shall suffer through the wrath of God (1 Cor.
Dorothy L. Sayers defines a Christian’s work as a “...natural exercise and function of man- the creature who is made in the image of his Creator” (Sayers 194). Sayers summarizes her view on work by saying, “...it is the duty of the Church to see to it that the work serves God, and that the worker serves the work” (Sayers 198). Sayers finds the duty of work to rest not only with the Christian, but also with the church.
1 Corinthians 9: 25-27 states “All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 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” (NLT).
Berlin, Adele, Marc Zvi. Brettler, and Michael A. Fishbane. "Job." The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. 1501-1505. Print.
The Book of Job is one of the three books in the Hebrew bible whose genre is described as wisdom literature.1 Certainly the Book of Job satisfies the literary conventions that qualify a biblical book for such status. 2 Yet Job may be associated with wisdom in a much more literal sense. The Book of Job attempts to deal with a problematic question that confronts suffering humanity: why do bad things happen to good people? The variety and vehemence of commentators' contemporary responses to this chapter of the Bible is testament to the continued relevance of the Book of Job's wisdom thousands of years after it was written. Although the commentators examined herein arrive at differing and sometimes conflicting conclusions after reading the story of "the holy Arab"3, none are left indifferent.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for his good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)
The Catholic religion, the most common practiced religion in the world, can be seen as a common setting for the origin of the Bible that is the oldest known book to this day. The Bible tells of many great stories of old that have been somewhat forgotten; In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's ,A Chronicle of a Death Foretold, biblical allusion are used throughout the novel which compares symbolisms and imagery to the Bible and Roman Catholic religion. The main focus of interest in the novel is the murder of Santiago Nasar which can be compared to the murder and acts against Jesus Christ. Acts and imagery of other actions taking place in the novel can be referred to the Bible of the Roman Catholic religion.
An instructive and stirring string of verses, this passage from the Bible holds great relevance not only for the Ancient Israelites to whom it was spoken, but also acts as a herald to Christians today. This passage forms part of Moses great oration; his instructive teaching, advice and counsel narrated to the second generation of Israelites who required redirection before moving forward into what God had for them. Similarly, it is also relevant for all Christians as we remember what our faithful, loving and powerful God has done in the past, and what he requires of us to move forward.
Every Christians today knows the story of Jesus birth. The story of how Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem for a censes declared by the Roman Empire. While not being able to find an inn to stay in and Mary getting ready to give birth, they stow away in the cave where the animals were kept. While there Mary gave birth to a son and called him Jesus. While Jesus was in a manger a heavenly host of angles came down and also Shepard’s from the field came and rejoiced the savior was born. This is where the typical nativity scene comes from. Unless you have a Doctorate and teach a History of the New testament class and go into fine detail about the story, then story this is what people hear. Well this is for History of the New Testament so the fine details are what we are looking for. Most people do not realize that the story they tell every Christmas is actually a combination of two stories. The birth story is told in the Gospels of Luke and the Gospels of Mathew but each tell a very different version of what actually happened and that is what leads to people questioning the accuracy of the bible today.
From Genesis throughout the New Testament, God put us humans to work. The Bible condemns laziness (Proverbs 19:15) and every man or woman should be providers of their household through hard work (Proverbs 14:23). Personally, I cannot find anything in the Scripture that will guide me towards a certain career path. However, in all jobs Christians must work wholeheartedly by exceling in performance not for the employer but for Christ (Colossians 3:23)
...hat they were all speaking as if they knew exactly what God was doing might have also upset him. Therefore, to rectify having spoken of God in this manner, they each must take a certain amount of sacrifices to Job, and Job would offer their sacrifices to God and pray for them. In the end, Job was made twice as prosperous as before. His wealth doubled, he had ten more children, and lived 140 more years of his life. The basic theme of this reading is to establish an understanding of the relationship between God and His people. God's wisdom and power are visible everywhere in creation. A willingness to look and accept what is obvious results in awe for the Creator. Even if we do not accept it, it still reveals His glory. Elevating yourself over God makes no sense for the fact that he is immeasurably more powerful and fully able to accomplish what He knows is most wise.
The Bible student, laymen, or pastor will find the principles presented by Fee and Stuart helpful despite the weaknesses presented. The author’s contribution on how to interpret each of the different genres is especially beneficial. The Bible Student will have more knowledge of how to interpret God’s Word when finished with the work. Fee and Stuart achieve their goal helping the reader not only with interpretation, but with application.
...is simple truth we learn that man must acknowledge when his work is complete and then chose to focus on that which is better and cannot be taken away from us – time spent in communion with the Lord, memories shared with loved ones, and rest. But, most importantly, from this passage we learn that man must not put his faith in anyone or anything else but the Lord, for he is sufficient to provide for our needs and desires. He knows each person before their birth, he gives each of them a purpose in life, salvation from their sins, a place to dwell God’s presence after death, and selfless love. Man’s only true need is salvation from the sins that have condemned him. The only way to receive that salvation is through faith in God. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has allowed man to do that, anything more is futile for he alone is sufficient and his work is complete.
In the days of Christ’s life on this earth, believers did not have access to the Bible in its entirety as we know and are familiar with today. Believers in this ancient time period only had access to the Old Testament. However, through their access to the Old Testament, believers were provided a foundation for New Testament times. This foundation provided New Testament believers with the Lord’s established principles of right and wrong they were expected to follow. In addition, the Old Testament is overflowing with accounts of people whose lives exemplified the future life of Christ on this earth. These pictures allowed the Israelite nation to begin to have an understanding of why Christ needed to come as their Messiah and the work He needed to do on earth. Finally, there are common themes that are interwoven throughout the entire Old Testament. Three of these themes: transgression, redemption, and consummation point to the purpose of Christ’s atoning death on the cross. These themes portray God’s work both in the lives of Old Testament believers, but they also foreshadow God’s desire and plan for believers in New Testament times and beyond.
Clifford, Richard J., A Commentary by… Proverbs, The Old Testament Library. Editorial Advisory Board; James L. Mays, Carol A. Newsom, David I. Petersen. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 1999.
Focusing in on the commitments that I have made will place order and hierarchy in my life so that God may work in it as He pleases. I want to fully commit my life and vocation to God so that His glory may be seen in every aspect. Since the most important thing to God is building His kingdom by constantly bringing home His children, I plan to order my life in such a way that allows me to be a blessing to others. To live a sacrificed life means giving up things that this world labels as riches. Living for others and with others is the way lived His life and Jesus knew that He was modeling it for the generations to come. We cannot do life or ministry alone as we do not and are not able to possess all of the spiritual grace gifts. This sacrificed life indeed requires a disciplined life and a genuine commitment to fulfil God’s will in our