Day 10/20 – Serving Christ

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Serving Christ
Day Two Hundred Ninety-three

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” Colossians 3:23

Christ wants you to serve Him, irrespective of the task you find set before you. To emphasize the point, Paul says, “and not men.” Your task may involve working in and with human institutions, laboring for people and receiving a wage from them. But you are reminded that in your labor you must seek to please God rather than man, for your Employer is the Lord God Himself. From Him you will receive a wage more important than any life can afford: “the reward of the inheritance.”

This means you must resist becoming a people-pleaser, seeking profit from them for your service. Don’t look to management for promotions; God says promotion comes from Him. Don’t look to them for your wage; God says He provides. The company does not hold the key to your well being; God does.

Neither should you seek to manipulate others when trying to do your job. Because you work for the Lord rather than man, you seek to please Him, and He is in the business of helping people, not manipulating them. View all relationships in life through this lens. You serve Christ because He, and only He, is your paymaster.

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Isaiah 59-61 2 Thessalonians 3 (New King James Version)

Isaiah 59-61
Separated from God
59
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2
But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
3
For your hands are defiled with [a]blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.
4
No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in empty words and speak lies;
They conceive [b]evil and bring forth iniquity.
5
They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
6
Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
7
Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and destruction are in their paths.
8
The way of peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
Sin Confessed
9
Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10
We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
11
We all growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12
For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13
In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14
Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
15
So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The Redeemer of Zion
Then the Lord saw it, and [c]it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16
He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17
For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18
According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
19
So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
20
“The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.
21 “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
The Gentiles Bless Zion
60
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4
“Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5
Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
6
The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba shall come;
They shall bring gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
7
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
They shall ascend with acceptance on My altar,
And I will glorify the house of My glory.
8
“Who are these who fly like a cloud,
And like doves to their roosts?
9
Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
To bring your sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them,
To the name of the Lord your God,
And to the Holy One of Israel,
Because He has glorified you.
10
“The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls,
And their kings shall minister to you;
For in My wrath I struck you,
But in My favor I have had mercy on you.
11
Therefore your gates shall be open continually;
They shall not be shut day or night,
That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles,
And their kings in procession.
12
For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
And those nations shall be utterly ruined.
13
“The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
The cypress, the pine, and the box tree together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I will make the place of My feet glorious.
14
Also the sons of those who afflicted you
Shall come bowing to you,
And all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet;
And they shall call you The City of the Lord,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15
“Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
So that no one went through you,
I will make you an eternal excellence,
A joy of many generations.
16
You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles,
And milk the breast of kings;
You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17
“Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
Instead of iron I will bring silver,
Instead of wood, bronze,
And instead of stones, iron.
I will also make your officers peace,
And your magistrates righteousness.
18
Violence shall no longer be heard in your land,
Neither [d]wasting nor destruction within your borders;
But you shall call your walls Salvation,
And your gates Praise.
God the Glory of His People
19
“The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,
And your God your glory.
20
Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
21
Also your people shall all be righteous;
They shall inherit the land forever,
The branch of My planting,
The work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.
22
A little one shall become a thousand,
And a small one a strong nation.
I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”
The Good News of Salvation
61
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to [e]heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3
To [f]console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
4
And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5
Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And the sons of the foreigner
Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6
But you shall be named the priests of the Lord,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
7
Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8
“For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery [g]for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
9
Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
And their offspring among the people.
All who see them shall acknowledge them,
That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.”
10
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11
For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Footnotes:
• Isaiah 59:3 bloodshed
• Isaiah 59:4 trouble
• Isaiah 59:15 Lit. it was evil in His eyes
• Isaiah 60:18 devastation
• Isaiah 61:1 Lit. bind up
• Isaiah 61:3 Lit. appoint
• Isaiah 61:8 Or in

2 Thessalonians 3
Pray for Us
3 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.
3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you.
5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.
Warning Against Idleness
6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which [a]he received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread [b]free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command and [c]exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.
13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 And if anyone does not obey our word in this [d]epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not count him as an enemy, but [e]admonish him as a brother.
Benediction
16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.
17 The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every [f]epistle; so I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Footnotes:
• 2 Thessalonians 3:6 NU, M they
• 2 Thessalonians 3:8 Lit. for nothing
• 2 Thessalonians 3:12 encourage
• 2 Thessalonians 3:14 letter
• 2 Thessalonians 3:15 warn
• 2 Thessalonians 3:17 letter