Dee2rites Blog

Tag: employment

  • NEWS OF THE DAY

    It seems like that every time you hear the news on television or the radio, or see a newspaper or business magazine, all they talk about is how bad the economy is and how many people are losing their jobs. “We’re in a recession” says one. “We’re in a depression” says another. “We’ve got inflation and prices are going up.” “This company is laying of 100’s of people.” “This company is closing.”  It’s no wonder people are so worried and fearful – all they’re being fed is bad news.


    All this bad news is making people sick. It’s adding stress upon stress and stress contributes to heart disease, arthritis, migraines, stomach disorders and weight gain just to list a few. Stress over financial problems can contribute to marital problems that lead to divorce. Well, here is the good news for today.


    “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4, NIV)


    God is not short on supply and there is no economic crisis in heaven. He uses gold for pavement, remember? God is the source of creativity. He created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He is wisdom. If you are a child of God, His spirit is in you and will give you the creativity, the wisdom you need for any situation. Not only that, He also promises to meet our material needs if only we will trust Him and put Him first in our lives.


    “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
    Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
    Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
    “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
    Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
    So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
    For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
    But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
    Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”     (Matthew 6: 25-34, NIV)


    These are the words of Jesus. You are more important to Him than the birds. You are more important to Him than the grass or the flowers. He’s promised to take care of you. When the talking heads on TV start preaching doom and gloom and spreading their bad news, you can replace the thoughts of fear with God’s Word and His promises to provide. Jesus didn’t say He would take care of you “If the economy is good” or “as long as you have a job”. No, the only condition to His promises is that you trust Him and seek Him first.


    Psalms 112 describes the person who trusts God and delights in His Word. Verses 7-8 says: “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear…”


    Lord God, today I will serve you first and I put my trust in You. Thank you for promising to provide all my needs. Amen


    Peace and blessings
    Dee

  • The Gift of Grace

    Dee opening her gifts
    Dee opening her gifts

    Last Sunday was my birthday. On the preceding Friday night, the family gathered to have my birthday party. We had pizza and cake, the usual birthday fare. Then they let me open my gifts. My 9 – almost 10-year old grandson Christopher proudly handed me a gift bag which contained his gift to me. I reached in a pulled out a book. I thanked him with a hug and started to put the bag aside to open the next gift. “Wait, there’s more, Mom,” my son told me. Surely enough, there were two more parts in the gift bag – two Christmas ornaments that Christopher had picked out for me by himself. I’d almost set aside the most cherished part of my gift.

    Growing up in a Baptist church, I thought I had learned all there was about grace. After all it was preached regularly.

    “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8

    “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” Romans 3:24

    We receive our salvation through God’s grace. A favorite line used in teaching grace is “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”. This is true but it doesn’t end there. Too often evangelicals tend to overlook the rest of the gifts God has for us in our “gift bag” called grace. But there is more. So very much more.

    “That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:7

    “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

    “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.”1 Peter 5:10

    These are just a few of the promises that are ours as part of our gift of grace. There is one in particular that I’m clinging to these days. One has become my prayer almost hourly.

    “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9

    Paul was talking about the thorn in the flesh he dealt with in his life. I too am learning to how to deal with a thorn in the flesh. It’s not a physical thorn (and Paul’s may not have been either) but it is a difficult situation. I’m having a hard time adjusting to my new job. It’s been a rough adjustment the past few months. I left a job that I’d enjoyed most of the time, and where I had considerable responsibilities and some authority. Then I was home, job hunting, and spending the better part of my days working on my writing pursuits. Now I have a job that I’m very thankful for, but it is very different from anything I’ve ever done before. I struggle every day. Not to mention the fact that I have almost no time for my writing.

    Last week I was asking the Lord if I’d gotten it wrong and had taken a job too quickly or taken the wrong job. But the answer was clear. “My grace is sufficient”. God gives us grace to handle the hard things we face every day. He gives us grace to do what we don’t feel equipped to handle.

    I’m also having to learn humility and am beginning to understand the connection between humility and grace. The greater part of my struggle with my new job is not the level of difficulty in learning a new job, but with the level of authority I have. Or I should say don’t have. I am learning how to be humble and take direction instead of giving direction. It’s a tough lesson but one God makes clear I am to learn.

    “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” James 4:6

    When I try to do it all in my own ability, I struggle and become frustrated. But when I submit to God, and allow his grace to flow through me, I can do all things.

    “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 and “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me,” Philippians 4:13

    Amen.

    Peace and Blessings to you all.