As God continued growing my faith, He also grew my abilities. I was volunteering in a local church, and working as a sales person for an insurance company. Eventually, I
began to feel drawn away from my sales position at the insurance
company, partially because I didn't feel comfortable with the direction of the company. I initially tried to remove myself from tempting situations
by asking my boss to relocate me, but he denied my request. His
decision required me to choose between submitting or quitting. I
decided to submit, and that turned out to be the best choice I could
have made.
The following year I made
a lot of money through a series of miraculous circumstances, and was
able to pay off a lot of my financial debt! Incredibly, this
happened even though I was less focused on making money and more
focused helping my clients succeed. I eventually learned how to use
my job as a way to support and encourage the other believers whom I
worked with.
During this time, I
realized that God didn't want me to run from my problems, instead; He
wanted me to fight against sinful desires. The fight against sin is
a spiritual battle, and that means we must fight with spiritual
weapons. This week we are going to look at the weapons we use to
fight against sin.
Read about submission in Ephesians
6:1-9 (NLT):
Children,
obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the
right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the
first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and
mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life
on the earth.”
Fathers, do
not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather,
bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the
Lord.
Slaves, obey
your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely
as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just
when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God
with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were
working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord
will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves
or free.
Masters,
treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember,
you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.
Answer the following questions:
- What does this passage reveal about relationships between parents and children?
- What does this passage reveal about relationships between bosses and employees?
- What does this passage reveal about relationships between people and God?
- Which of your relationships (family, work or God) are you currently struggling with? How are you encouraged by this passage?
Thank you for this blog today... I struggle recently with my parent relationship with my son as he is coming into his teenage years... I need to learn to lead and empower him in a much better way than I am now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your struggles and admitting your need. I imagine other parents need to know they are not alone! I pray that God gives you wisdom and strength for this awesome responsibility.
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