11.17-Work. Productive work where you can help people is important.

 11.17-Work. Productive work where you can help people is important. Adam and Eve had beautiful work to do without thorns and thistles. Before they rebelled. Restful work. How can you rest and work at the same time?

We all have had moments when we we doing complicated, stressful work but we in a zone of being at peace because it demanded total surrender of the job to the guidance of our creator. This is work when we yoked up with gentle fellow yoke mate, our brother,Jesus.

I'm praying today for two friends who are unemployed. One is a family man with a high income job he lost. The other is at the beginning of his career. Both men were created to be fruitful workers, but for now they are in a wilderness. They will be sustained by the faith they have in God. No job. No income from job. Hard time spiritual growth.

I have been there and remember how it hurt. If you have a job it is proper Thanksgiving theme. Pray for the unemployed. Pray for them and call and support and share a gift of love when you can. Once when Sheila and I were going through hard economic times. Stretched for groceries. A friend gave us tickets to the Denver Symphony. It still meant a lot to us.

2 Thessalonians 3.

6 Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you [d]keep away from every brother or sister who [e]leads a [f]disorderly life and not one in accordance with the tradition which [g]you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to [h]follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined way among you, 8 nor did we eat [i]anyone’s bread [j]without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; 9 not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a role model for you, so that you would [k]follow our example. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now we command and exhort such persons in the Lord Jesus Christ to work [l]peacefully and eat their own bread. 13 But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary of doing good.