Friday... The weekend is coming.

For many Friday is the last day of the work week and the weekend is coming. And they are so excited.

I have a standard joke that I know some get tired of me saying. But I say that I never have a day off, I never have a vacation, I am always retired and it took me a lifetime to get this job. And all of that is true and for many that is what they are looking forward to. There are so many that would love to just quit what they are doing.

The truth is, I loved what I was doing and I had some problems with retirement until I realized that God still had a purpose for me and that I wasn't quitting, I was still living the life God had given to me.

Now there is this verse written by Paul in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians church. It is in chapter 4 verse 1 (NLT) and it says, "Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up." Another way to say the word way in this verse is ministry." We are not doing what we do because some human gave us a job. God in his mercy gave what we do to us. We are doing what we do for God. What we do is a gift given to us by God and his mercy. And for many that is a different way to see what we do.

We are still doing what he has given us to do even in the weekend, even on vacation, even when we are home. And we are to never give up.

The Amplified Bible says it this way, "Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as we received mercy [from God, granting us salvation, opportunities, and blessings], we do not get discouraged nor lose our motivation." That tells it like it is, doesn't it?

And then The Message, "Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we're not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times." You may need to put that verse up somewhere so you can see it everyday.

Now the phrase that came to me this morning was, "we never give up." "we never give up." Now we may need to change some directions but we still need to never give up on the opportunities that God has given to us by his mercy.

The NIRV says, "So because of God's mercy, we have work to do. He has given it to us. And we don't give up." And remember, God is right beside you.

And Proverbs 28:19 (NLT) has an encouraging word for us, "A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chase fantasies ends up in poverty." Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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