Happy New Year!

Good morning! Happy New Year!

It's ridiculous that I am up at this time of morning (considering how late I was up last night!) but I thought I'd put my time to good use before anyone else wakes up and distracts me! Today is the first installment of "YEAR OF THE BIBLE!" I hope you're as excited as I am. Doing this will change you--you will be a different person at the end of this YOTB year because God will transform you. God is at work at you (Phil 2:13).

Allison


First of all, here is the question of the day:
Thursday, Jan. 1 How did God create human beings? (Genesis 2)


TGIM: "Thank God It's Monday" (Genesis 1-2)
It's interesting that one of the first things God does is get to work. He gets to work creating something out of nothing; creating the ground and the sky, the stars and the animals, creating us. In Genesis, we read that God put us to work too--caring for the land, tending to the animals. God has given us work to do creating and sustaining His world.

God has created us to be like Him, to be creators. Whatever our vocations may be, our jobs are a chance to be a part of God's creative work, work that is good. Work is our chance to make something good, to create order out of chaos. We may not all joyfully shout "Thank God It's Monday" on our way to work, but thinking of our jobs as somehow being a part of God's creative work will give your work life a purpose it's never had before.

The challenge for working folks is to figure out how God's mission is connected to your job. How can you serve God in the middle of creating spreadsheets, returning phone calls, and road trips? A tomstone in Yorkshire says, "God give me work till my life shall end and life till my work is done."

Friends, our work is never done because God's work is never done. That shouldn't depress us--that should energize us! God can always use us whether we're employed or retired, young or old, whatever our gifts, skills, and abilities. God's work is the kind that gives life and hope and fulfillment. During 2009, may you find where God's work intersects with your work and give your work life (even if you're retired!) purpose and meaning!