A Completed Work!

Have you got some of those tasks around the house that you just haven’t finished? What about that piece of molding that you put up on a Saturday and “next Saturday” you were going to paint it? Or the tree that you cut down in the back yard needs to be hauled off….before it rots.? How about that barn that you cleaned out and organized all this year that still sits there in all of its clutter?

Before you think I’m not in that club, the preacher here knows all too well the frustration of an unfinished task; a goal that you simply did not meet. And when the water boils down, it’s all because of your own personal negligence. Ouch!

Well, I know what you’re doing? You are looking at your life, your goals, your dreams, your family, your money, or the lack of it and you’re saying…”This year I’m going to get it in order!” Now that’s a resolution – something that you resolve to do or accomplish.

When it comes to matters like these, I am so glad that God is a keeper of His plans. Jeremiah the prophet brought encouragement to a people oppressed and in bondage when He reminded them, “I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord; “plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.” God desires to bless His people. He wants us to accomplish all that He puts upon our hearts. His biggest challenge is us! We neglect. We fail. We procrastinate.

And now that the year has come to a close, we are all facing the same challenge. We want to accomplish more. We want to finish the tasks that are before us; things that flow out of heart’s desire. God wants us to complete our tasks, whether they be practical or spiritual. Philippians 1:6 reminds us…”being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God is going to accomplish in us that which He desires. He knows us better than we know ourselves. When God starts out on the task of cleaning us up and molding us into His desire for us, He doesn’t do it like we do our barn or our closet. He starts and He finishes. It’s a process, and a steady one. And He will complete it! He is faithful.

Come on out to church on Sunday!

I love that classic admonition from Psalms 122:1 – “…..let us go to the house of the Lord!” So…what is your reason for not going to church; setting aside that holy time in your week to worship the Lord corporately with other believers? Well, before you give an answer, why not consider reading this little item of interest entitled Ten Reasons Why I Never Wash!

I never wash because….

1) I was forced to wash as a child.

2) People who wash are all hypocrites; they think they are cleaner than everyone else.

3) There are so many different kinds of soap; I just can’t decide which one is best for me.

4) I used to wash, but I got bored and stopped washing.

5) I only wash on special occasions such as Christmas and Easter.

6) None of my friends wash.

7) I’ll start washing when I get older and dirtier.

8) I don’t have time to wash.

9) The bathroom is never warm enough in the Winter or cold enough in the Summer.

10) The people who make soap are only after your money!

Sound familiar to you?

Speaking of the church, Paul writes: “There should be no division…it’s parts should have equal concern for each other…..each one of you is part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:25-27 NIV). Friends you are part of the Body of Christ, so you need to be there.

Watchman Nee said this – “Alone I cannot serve the Lord effectively, and He will spare no pains to teach me this. He will bring things to an end allowing doors to close and leaving me effectively knocking my head against the wall until I realize that I need the help of the believers, as well as of the Lord.”

You and I must realize that there are certain things that we just will not hear anywhere else; truths that flow out of Godly instruction. It’s in the church that you will find a spiritual family to belong to, a faith to live by, and a focus that gets your eyes where they need to be – on Christ! So…come on out to church on Sunday!