I was in Arvada yesterday, speaking at the mom's kickoff coffee at Faith Bible Chapel. This is where my friend Janna goes to church so it was fun to see her two weeks in a row.
And I got to spend some more time with Paula, who I finally met face to face at the Paris Street Market on Saturday since Janna had us both over for lunch (panini sandwiches in her George Foreman grill--yum!).
Anyway, Janna asked me to share some of the quotes I used yesterday morning, so I thought I'd just give ya'll (see, there it is again!) a little taste of the whole shebang.
WHATEVER
As I told the group, when I was praying about what God might want me to share, he impressed the word WHATEVER on my heart and again and again.
So I did a little research and ended up here:
Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:17, 23-24)
God does not approach WHATEVER as our culture does. Our culture uses the word as a way to express indifference, apathy, and to block further conversation.
When God uses WHATEVER, he means EVERYTHING, NO MATTER WHAT, TO ANY EXTENT.
So HOW do we do this? We don't just want to hear the Word and not put what we learn into practice--because Jesus says that is as foolish as building a house without a foundation (Matthew 7:24) and James agrees that not doing what you hear is like forgetting what you look like after looking into a mirror--ridiculous (James 1:22-25).
God wants us to obey--and so he always gives us clear instructions on HOW to obey. He doesn't leave it up to us to just figure it out on our own. God does not set us up for failure.
So here is HOW the Word says we are to approach the WHATEVERs in our lives.
1. Do WHATEVER in the name of the Lord.
How do we determine what WHATEVER is? The question to ask is "Can we do it in the name of Jesus?"
"One of the best tests of any action is: Can we do it, calling upon the name of Jesus? Can we do it, asking for His help? One of the best tests of any word is: Can we speak it, and can we in the same breath name the name of Jesus? Can we speak it, remembering that He will hear, and asking Him to hear? If a man brings every word and deed to the test of the presence of Jesus Christ, he will not go wrong." William Barclay, The Daily Bible Study series, The Letter to the Colossians, p. 191
If the answer is "no," then we should not do or say whatever it is.
If the answer is "yes," then WHATEVER is everything that follows.
What are the WHATEVERs is your day? What tasks or activities make up your day?
Remember: “Nothing in your life
is too ordinary or boring for God." Jan Johnson, Practicing the Presence of God
You are not the only exception to this truth!
“The name of Christ hallows and ennobles all work. Nothing can be so small but this will make it great, nor so monotonous and tame but this will make it beautiful and fresh.” Alexander Maclaren, The Epistles of St. Paul to the Colossians and Philemon, p. 333
You are not the one person whose life is so dull and monotonous that God doesn't want to be involved in your WHATEVERs!
2. Do WHATEVER, giving thanks.
WHAT you think and HOW you think will affect the kind of job you do! Attitude is key!
Philippians 4:8-9 says to think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Here's a quick way to memorize that verse: TNR PLA EP.
A word of warning: Whatever is true is not always lovely or admirable. Be sure what you're thinking about is true plus one of the other things listed or it can quickly turn into "grumbling and complaining" (Philippians 2:14).
Question: Is WHATEVER a chore or an act of worship?
Worship: Homage rendered unto God
Homage: Something done or given in
acknowledgement or consideration of the worth of another
Service is a high calling and others are worth it.
Jesus' example: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45
3. Do WHATEVER with all your heart.
Literally, "out of the soul." It means being genuine, not just going through the motions, but being fully alive and fully present to the task at hand.
With all your heart means "with diligence, not idly and slothfully. Do it cheerfully, not discontented at the providence of God which put you in that relation." Matthew Henry
Philippians 4:11: Learning the secret of being content--whether it's Monday and you're cleaning house and doing laundry, or Wednesday and you're having lunch with a friend, or Saturday and you're sleeping in, or Sunday afternoon and you're spending time with your family. Be content and present to what you're doing.
There is pleasure in a job well done! "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well." My mother, and her mother before her say this all the time.
"WHATEVER you do, do well." Ecclesiastes 9:10, The Living Bible
Doing things well and doing them with all your heart means doing one thing at a time! Multitasking means at least of one things you're doing will not be done well.
4. Do WHATEVER for the Lord.
What is our motivation? Do we care more for the praise of men or the praise of God?
A word about context: These verses (Colossians 3:23-24) are talking about slaves and masters. But the Greek word for Lord (kyrios) means this: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
If we call Jesus Lord, he has the right and authority to tell us how to approach the WHATEVERs in our lives.
"We do not work for pay or for ambition or to satisfy an earthly master; we work so that we can take every task and offer it to Christ." William Barclay
Remember what Jesus said: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40
The work we do "is a service rendered not to men but to the Lord. This would transform the most menial responsibility and give dignity to all of [our] work." Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 11 on Colossians 3:23
I need to know that what I spend my days doing has dignity. Don't you?
A reminder that what we do is work. We should not be surprised when it's hard! But never forget that we have a beautiful inheritance coming (Psalm 16).
In Conclusion
Approaching our WHATEVERs this way is not to lay something heavy or ill-fitting on us. Not something to check off our list to be right with God. Not something to beat ourselves over the head with when we forget.
This is for our good! Our Father knows best.
"Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:29-30, The Message
Jesus didn't say that if we come to him he'll remove our yoke. We have work to do. But doing it his way frees us up to work well, to work comfortably.
This is what Brother Lawrence called "practicing the presence of God":
"We give ourselves a world of trouble and pursue a multitude of practices to attain to a sense of the presence of God. And yet it is so simple. How very much shorter it is and easier to do our common business purely for the love of God, to set His consecrating mark on all we lay hands to, and thereby to foster the sense of His abiding Presence by communion of our heart with His! There is no need either of art or science, just as we are, we can go to Him, simply and with single heart." Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, p. 98
Do you long for meaning and purpose in the WHATEVERs of your day?
By offering the WHATEVERs of our days to God, he takes what can seem menial, boring, monotonous, and ordinary and transforms it into a life characterized by dignity, worship, freshness, and beauty.
Guess that means I'll need to work on my attitude about all those diapers I change--whatever! :)
Posted by: Kimberly | September 09, 2008 at 07:24 AM
Thank you for this. Much to think about here!
Posted by: stephanie | September 09, 2008 at 08:28 AM
Preach on, sister! This reminded me of a verse that stepped on my toes a few days ago:
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me [unless they are the offering of the heart]? says the Lord. I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts [without obedience]; and I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of he-goats [without righteousness]. - Isaiah 1:11 (AMP)
Posted by: Melissa @ Breath of Life | September 09, 2008 at 10:34 AM
It was great to meet you, Joanne, at the coffee event. (I sat with you, Janna & Paula talking about Nancy Drew and Paris Street Market!) Thanks for coming to Faith to share with the moms. It's inspiring to see you walk in the calling God has for you individually, as well as hear what he's calling all of us to corporately: "whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus." I hope to keep up on your blog and see you again!
Posted by: Meghan Kuyper | September 09, 2008 at 11:10 AM
Well, I HAD been studying in Ephesians, but, Whatever, I guess God had this in mind for me today as it struck chord after chord beautifully. I'm so printing this out.
Posted by: Jessica | September 09, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Wow! This is wonderful! I'm going to share it and share it with the ladies in my small group this weekend. Thanks Joanne!
Posted by: Solidia | September 09, 2008 at 11:37 AM
This one is a printer-outer-and-put-with-my-devotionals-post.
Spot on, my friend.
Posted by: Gretchen | September 09, 2008 at 12:00 PM
I was just trying to say all of this in a lecture in the car on the way to school. It wasn't working(shocker!) My oldest is 14, and it seems her bday gift to us is a rotten attitude-about everything! She doesn't care if she does a lousy job, etc. She acted like she had never heard of this concept before (whatever) after going to sunday school, church, awana, and Christian school. (Yeah, Right!) I am praying this will touch her spirit and convict her of her attitude! I know a lecture from mom just ain't gonna cut it!
Thanks, Joanne!
Posted by: Beth Whitney | September 09, 2008 at 01:02 PM
Wow, thank you Joanne! This was a message that I needed to hear as I have been struggling with the WHATEVERS that have come my way lately.
Posted by: Trina | September 09, 2008 at 08:22 PM
Somewhat off topic...
I so wish I could leave you a video comment. My dad taught Addie how to say "Whatever" with some attitude (um, thanks Dad), but it's sooo cute. She says, "What-ev-oo." Had I been there with Janna, I might not have held a straight face with that in my mind!
Thanks for the insight, Joanne. I'm going to print it out and tuck it in my Bible to read again later this week.
Posted by: Angie | September 11, 2008 at 01:38 PM
I really like that, it will help me steer away from a negative use of 'whatever' and remember to do whatever as unto the Lord!
good stuff!!!
Posted by: ~Robin | September 12, 2008 at 06:57 PM
Thank you for sharing! I LOVE IT!! Am totally sharing this with my Women's group this coming Tuesday.... and may also forward it to some other friends as encouragement.
Posted by: Jennifer Cone | September 13, 2008 at 06:57 AM