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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Lifeworks   CURRENT TV SERIES All Things New

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. --Genesis 2:15 The desire to work is built into everyone. Now I know what you’re thinking: If that’s true, then why are there so many lazy people out there? I certainly can’t account for every case of laziness, but I believe our need, desire, and capacity for work are God-given. The creation account in Genesis says that God placed Adam in a perfect place called the Garden of Eden. Eden was a real, physical place, not just an imaginary garden. Other than being in the Mesopotamia region, we don’t really know where it was. But it was real, and Adam lived there and cared for it. Please notice that God’s command for Adam to tend and care for the garden was given before sin entered the picture. In other words, Adam’s job came straight from God, and it was a part of His perfect creation. Work is not, as some would like to believe, a part of the curse that came about from mankind’s sin. God means for us to find purpose and satisfaction in work, and He gives us the desire to succeed and be productive in that work. That’s why the Bible says in Colossians 3:23 that whatever our job may be, we are to work hard at it and do it for the glory of God, as if we were working for Him and not just for the boss. When we fulfill our purpose in life, then we are in a sense giving it back as a gift to God. That’s why whether you are the CEO of a large company or a part-time clerk, God wants you to give it your all and glorify Him with your effort. How might your day be different if you were to work with the awareness that you are working for the Lord? Are you honoring Him by giving everything you have to your work? It’s amazing to think that we can bring God glory every day right where He has placed us. Work today like your job matters to God—because in truth, it does!

The Protecting Power of Faith

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”
Romans 4:19–22

I read about a private named Brendan Schweighart who was fighting in the war in Iraq. One day he and his platoon were retrieving a tank when Brendan was hit by a sniper’s bullet. The blow staggered him, but when PFC Schweighart reached safety and checked, he found himself uninjured. The bullet had been stopped by the Bible which he had promised his mother he would carry with him. Our faith, built on and strengthened by the Word of God, is given as our protection. Paul refers to the “shield of faith” (Ephesians 6:16) as a vital part of our armor.
When God promised Abraham a son, he was already old. By the time Isaac was born, the promise had become a physical impossibility—yet it happened just as God said. “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Faith allowed Abraham to keep going even though the fulfillment of the promise of a son was delayed for many years. The devil is looking for ways to undermine our faith because he knows what a vital role it plays in our defense. He uses setbacks and delays to tell us that God does not care about us, that He has forgotten us, or that He will not keep His promises. The Bible by contrast tells us again and again that we can always count on God. He has never yet failed to do what He promised, and your faith in Him is never misplaced.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Without strong faith in God and His promises, you cannot hope to stand against the attacks of Satan.