Bible League: Living His Word Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.— Colossians 3:23 NIV Last year I was faced with the task of finding a new job after 32 years with the same employer. The company had decided to move further away from the city we lived, and I decided that an extra 50 miles a day was too much to add to the 90 I was already driving. After the New Year of 2022, I decided to start looking for a new job, sending out applications to various places closer to home. Over the course of the year, I had several interviews, some to the second step, but nothing ever came out of it. I was being overlooked regardless of the stellar manager record I had over the years. During that same year, I made it part of my daily prayers to the Lord that He place me in the position that would be best for me, even if it meant staying in my high-stress managerial job and driving the extra 50 miles a day. I knew that this certainly could be His will! This carried on for months until I saw an opening with Bible League and applied for it. I thought, what a wonderful opportunity to not only work for a great organization, but also be able to help with the great commission by distributing Biblical materials from a warehouse—doing my part in spreading the Word of God! The day came when the position was offered to me, and I quickly accepted and put in my two weeks' notice. After 32 years, the majority of my adult life, this was a very difficult decision to make indeed. But I trusted in the Lord that He had answered my prayers and placed me into this new chapter of my life. The two weeks passed quickly, and that Monday morning I got up and prepared to begin my new position. On my phone, I have a widget for "Verse of the Day," and as I glanced at my phone, I read the one that was chosen for that day. It was Colossians 3:23; "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." What a wonderful affirmation that I had followed the Lord's will, and that my prayer had been heard and answered! I knew that I had made the right decision, regardless of my apprehension to do so. The Lord wants us to do everything we do, with the care, love, and an attitude of servitude, as if we were working directly for him, as we all will someday in the Kingdom! By Brian Ayers, Bible League International staff, Illinois USA Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 85, 86, 87 Psalm 85 -- O Lord, you have been favorable to your land. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 86 -- Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 87 -- His foundation is in the holy mountains. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Romans 9 Romans 9 -- Paul's Sorrow for Israel's Unbelief NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”Insight People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ. No wonder he called himself the Bread of Life. Challenge But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Mark 16:9 He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.Mary of Magdala was the victim of a fearful evil. She was possessed by not one devil only, but seven. These dreadful inmates caused much pain and pollution to the poor frame in which they had found a lodging. Hers was a hopeless, horrible case. She could not help herself, neither could any human succor avail. But Jesus passed that way, and unsought, and probably even resisted by the poor demoniac, he uttered the word of power, and Mary of Magdala became a trophy of the healing power of Jesus. All the seven demons left her, left her never to return, forcibly ejected by the Lord of all. What a blessed deliverance! What a happy change! From delirium to delight, from despair to peace, from hell to heaven! Straightway she became a constant follower of Jesus, catching his every word, following his devious steps, sharing his toilsome life; and withal she became his generous helper, first among that band of healed and grateful women who ministered unto him of their substance. When Jesus was lifted up in crucifixion, Mary remained the sharer of his shame: we find her first beholding from afar, and then drawing near to the foot of the cross. She could not die on the cross with Jesus, but she stood as near it as she could, and when his blessed body was taken down, she watched to see how and where it was laid. She was the faithful and watchful believer, last at the sepulchre where Jesus slept, first at the grave whence he arose. Her holy fidelity made her a favored beholder of her beloved Rabboni, who deigned to call her by her name, and to make her his messenger of good news to the trembling disciples and Peter. Thus grace found her a maniac and made her a minister, cast out devils and gave her to behold angels, delivered her from Satan, and united her forever to the Lord Jesus. May I also be such a miracle of grace! Daily Light on the Daily Path Jeremiah 2:13 "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.Genesis 4:1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD." Genesis 11:4,8 They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." • So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Genesis 13:11,10,13 So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. • Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere-- this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-- like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. • Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD. Ecclesiastes 1:17,18 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. • Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain. Ecclesiastes 2:4,8,11 I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; • Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men-- many concubines. • Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Psalm 107:9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good. Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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