Work Where You Are
And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Matthew 20:4.
There must be those who will come into the harvest field and who will be workers without expecting their wages in this world. In the next world they will be abundantly rewarded. There are men and women who have been letting their talents rust with inaction, . . . who could do a most precious work and grow in grace and capability to work by doing their best in accepting the work just where they are. They can single out individuals–their neighbors–and give them personal labor. . . .
The Lord will investigate the use we have made of the talents He has entrusted to us. He has paid the wages of His own blood and His own self-denial and sacrifice and sufferings, to secure the willing service of every soul as a laborer together with God. If only all felt their accountability to God wisely to employ the gifts in talents entrusted, what a revenue would be brought to God through Jesus Christ! The one talent may and will increase by use. The supposed lowliest gift, the humblest service, may reach minds and influence hearts that those who possess larger talents could not touch.
Now, now, now is our most favorable time to work. Individual visitation is of great value. In love for Jesus Christ and love for human souls the truth is to be carried to every family, talked of by every fireside that it is possible for you to find access to. . . . Bear in mind that the Holy Spirit is the worker. The human agent working for God is not alone. . . .
Labor in perseverance, in tenderness, compassion, prayerfulness, and love will do more than sermons. The Lord Jesus, in giving His life for the saving of the world from the curse of sin, intended greater things than our eyes have yet witnessed. The Holy Spirit is waiting for channels through whom to work. . . . Satan will not always triumph. The Spirit of God will be poured out upon the church just as soon as the vessels are prepared to receive it.
That I May Know Him p. 330
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Prayer Requests
—–Please keep my sister, Gail, in your thoughts, as yesterday she laid to rest her loving husband, Bob. . . . My thoughts and prayers are with her. He loved her so much, and has said quite often, that she was the best thing that ever happened to him. Diane
——Please pray that God will guide Jay in everything. Lee
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Dear Friends,
My grandmother was the one in the family who did all of the punishing. Whenever my mother or her sister did something wrong, she was the one who had to be the “bad guy” and correct them. Later, when I lived with them, she was the punisher. My grandfather never was.
Although we didn’t understand why at the time, there was a reason for this. When he was a boy, he suffered greatly under his father’s hand. He hated to see him come home from work. My great-grandfather routinely, as soon as he came into the house, made his boys lie across his knees for their punishment. He never asked if they had done something wrong or not. He just assumed that they deserved punishment.
Harold was always first. This was no gentle spanking: it was extreme. Harold quickly thought of a way of coping with this injustice. After about two or three swats, he would start crying loudly. Satisfied that he was “repentant,” his father would let him go.
My grandfather, however, refused to cry. Even though he knew that if he did, he could escape quicker, he would not make a sound. Soon the spanking would turn into a beating. Not a sound would escape his lips. Finally, his father would get tired and let him go. Each time this injustice was repeated, he vowed that he would never become like his father. He deliberately became a “cycle breaker.” Even though he had an explosive temper until middle age, the only thing that felt his wrath was an occasional door that he would slam so hard that sometimes it would come off its hinges. Never once did his girls feel his ire. By the time I was born, his temper had largely been conquered.
Many people picture God as severe and continually angry with us just like my great-grandfather was with his boys. They picture Him as looking down upon this earth just watching for a reason to punish us, but He is not like that at all. He assures us, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” Isa 49:15,16 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jer 29:11
How He yearns for us to love Him! Indeed, He gave His Dearest Treasure to reconcile us unto Himself. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom 5:8 Think of it! The Great King of the Universe “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:16,17 What wondrous love! “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.” Ps 103:8-14″
May we respond to His great love by loving Him with our entire being. May we reflect His loving kindness, His fairness, His light to all we meet. May we gladly serve the Giver of all true happiness and goodness throughout all our life is my prayer.
Rose