Colossians 3:15-17 New American Standard Bible 1995
15 Let the peace of Christ [a]rule in your hearts, to which [b]indeed you were called in one body; and [c]be thankful. 16 Let the word of [d]Christ richly dwell within you, [e]with all wisdom teaching and admonishing [f]one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing [g]with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
The other day the wife heard someone ask another person, “What do you do?”
The person answered by saying, “Oh, I’m just a housewife.”
Perhaps you too have heard someone say, “I’m just a farmer,” or “I’m just a secretary,” or “I’m just a factory worker,” or “I’m just a country preacher.”
In any culture we have our rankings, and our sense of worth is often measured by the work we do.
The more impressive your career, larger your resume, the more letters of the alphabet after your name, the belief is then the more “important” you are.
Celebrities especially get lots of attention when something happens in their lives.
It is indeed a good and wonderful thing to achieve high levels of success – it so means you have worked hard, studied hard, sacrificed much to make your goals in life come alive in your life – that you could make and be a difference maker.
The reality is though, that is not everybody’s story and we can easily become rather discouraged and angry at ourselves and others for their success story.
Thankfully the Word of God for His Children does not measure our worth by how high we have climbed the social ladder or how much education we have.
In Colossians 3:17 we read, “Whatever you do in word or deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
When life on earth comes to an end, what matters is not how high we climbed, but whether we were faithful to the Lord in whatever calling we pursued.
The Word of God from Colossians 3:15-17 says that counts in God’s Kingdom; whether we clothed ourselves with wisdom, gratitude, compassion, humility, patience, and peace and other simple fruitful signs of Christ’s work in our lives.
Thanks be to God our Father that these many diverse signs of fruitfulness are within everyone’s reach no matter what the station in life we find ourselves.
We all have roles to play in the Kingdom of God.
God has something for every single one of His Children to do in His Kingdom.
To the glory of God the Father, there is always going to be mission and ministry.
The Good News is this: today, each and every single one of us have work to do.
In his first letter to the Corinthians, when the apostle Paul instructed the church to welcome Timothy warmly into their community, it wasn’t because young Timothy was trying to make a name for himself, held some honorific or title, or was seeking to become noteworthy.
No, it was simply because young Timothy was called to be “doing the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 16:10).
1 Corinthians 16:7-11 New American Standard Bible 1995
7 For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; 9 for a wide door [a]for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without [b]cause to be afraid, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am. 11 So let no one despise him. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brethren.
The Lord’s work is anything on which we might lay our hands or focus our minds or devote our lives to that is pleasing to God, as we work for Him rather than in order to impress others (Colossians 3:23).
Colossians 3:22-24 New American Standard Bible 1995
22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters [a]on earth, not with [b] external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work [c]heartily, as for the Lord [d] rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward [e]of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
This can be within the body of Christ or in service to the world around us.
Paul purposefully includes the phrase “whatever you do” in verse 17 and again here in verse 23.
The “whatever” of Christian service means that in all our endeavors, to the glory of God, in our Savior Jesus’ name and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we should seek to position ourselves to be effectively involved in gospel ministry.
Whether we are helping a neighbor with meals or getting to appointments, or greeting visitors who come through the doors of our church, or volunteering in the community, every type of service is an opportunity to point others to God.
What a privilege it is to know that we were placed here on earth to be involved in seeing unbelieving people become committed followers of Jesus Christ!
Within the body of Christ, we should recognize that our spiritual growth is a result of others’ service to the Lord.
Paul rightly viewed the Corinthians as the result of his labor in Christ’s name, writing, “Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?” (1 Corinthians 9:1).
The very existence of the church in Corinth was due to the fact that the apostle was doing the Lord’s work for which Paul was neither irrelevant nor pre-eminent; rather, he was purposefully appointed to a specific responsibility.
As Christians, we are called not simply to sit and learn but to grow and go, to fish and feed.
God has a place for us, God appoints every believer to particular responsibilities within Christian ministry, mission and service, and all of those responsibilities include working for Him in whatever circumstances and opportunities come our way today; for they do not come by chance but by His divine arrangement.
Saul/Paul admirably modeled this to us through his obedience to God’s call, recognizing that he was “a chosen instrument” who would carry God’s name “before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15).
The work of the Lord was something Paul took seriously.
We should too.
We are all called to honor God wherever we are.
Consider what might change in how you think and what you do if in every moment you asked yourself, “Now, what would Jesus have me do here?
How can I glorify His name and bring Him honor in this exact moment?”
Today, and everyday, you have the privilege of having work to do for Him.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 8 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord’s Glory and Man’s Dignity.
For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have [a]displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established [b]strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3 When I [c]consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have [d]ordained;
4 What is man that You [e]take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than [f]God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the [g]beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 