free pdf ebook Containing all parts of Year 3
print pdf of this lesson
This helps us understand that God is concerned not only about our “religious” activities, but also about our “daily” actions. Knowing that we must “give our best to the Master” in whatever we do God wants us to make proper efforts in our daily work.
Most of us thank God often. We know that it is God who provides us with all that we need day to day. In many ways, we are indebted to God for his grace and his willingness to bless us with his goodness. But one thing we probably don’t remember is that God’s gifts come with a responsibility to use them well, according to His will (Isa. 5:1-7). There is no gift from God that cannot be used in a way that honors Him. As a result, we need to develop a daily habit of asking whether we are doing our daily work in a way that makes proper use of God’s blessings.
Being a “steward” means taking care of things that belong to someone else. Paul writes that managers must be “faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2). In our relationship with God, this means that we must be trustworthy in the work we do, doing carefully and respectfully what He wants us to do, with God’s blessing. One day, we will answer for how we have used what God has given us. When that time comes, we’ll want to be able to look back at a lifetime of work that was faithful. We do not want to be “ashamed” of our work (2 Tim. 2:15).
What God gives us are resources. They are tools and assets used in the fulfillment of meaningful objectives. When we are lazy and lazy, one of the sins we commit is failing to use the resources God has given us. But the purpose of life is not to see how much rest we can get in the end. It has to come to the finish line all “used up.” Paul wrote to his brothers, “I will gladly spend your lives, and will be spent for you” (2 Corinthians 12:15). Of course this principle does not apply only to our efforts that are explicitly “religious.” This applies to everything God wants us to be involved in. If there is anything worth doing, the Christian should do it with all his might, making such an effort that he will not be ashamed to offer himself to the Lord.
This week let’s take our responsibilities seriously. Let us do whatever we do “for the Lord” (Col. 3:23).
Monday: Ecclesiastes 9:10
Main idea: Now is the time to do the work that God has given us in this world.
Questions for family development: What does Solomon say in Eccl. 2:24 and 5:18 about the goodness of works? Why does he say in 9:10 that whatever we do we must do it in our “power”? With our hearts set on heaven, should we sit and do nothing while we wait?
Knowledge for today: Proverbs 12:5,6.
Tuesday: Proverbs 18:9
Main idea: Laziness is destructive.
Questions for family development: In this verse, what does the word “lazy” (NKJV) mean? What does it mean that the lazy person is the “brother” of the person who destroys things? Can we cause harm by doing nothing in our daily activities?
Knowledge for today: Proverbs 12:7.
Wednesday: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
Main idea: Laziness is a sin.
Questions for family development: What command did Paul give regarding those in the Thessalonian church who would not work? What advice did Solomon give for the “lazy” in Proverbs? 6:6-11? Does God consider laziness a trivial matter? How would you define laziness?
Knowledge for today: Proverbs 12:8.
Thursday: 1 Peter 4:10,11
Main idea: Every Christian is a steward of certain blessings entrusted to him by God.
Questions for family development: What does Peter mean in verse 10 when he says that we are to live as “good stewards of God’s abundant grace” (NKJV)? What quality does stewards need to have according to Paul in 1 Cor? 4:2?
Knowledge for today: Proverbs 12:9.
Friday: Colossians 3:22-25
Main idea: Whatever a Christian does is for the Lord.
Questions for family development: How would the principle in verse 23 make a servant a better worker in the first century? How does this principle apply to us today? Today, does this teaching apply only to our “spiritual” pursuits or does it relate to everything we do?
Knowledge for today: Proverbs 12:10.
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
