The Word Before Work

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Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: Work that Physically Lasts for EternityDevotional: 4 of 5For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)We’re in a 5-week series exploring this wild idea that some of the work has the chance of literally, physically lasting into eternity. The question, of course, is which work? Scripture doesn’t tell us explicitly. But it does give us some clues.As we saw last week, it appears that some acts of evil will carry on, so long as in their redeemed state they bring God greater glory. The nail scars in Jesus’s hands certainly fit that bill. Isaiah 2:4 says that some swords and spears will last, but they will be turned into “plowshares and...pruning hooks,” which will point to Christ's glory and victory over all wars and violence.But while Scripture alludes to the idea that these cultural goods we would call "evil" will be redeemed, my guess is that God will deem many things totally irredeemable. "What about intercontinental missiles or nuclear submarines? Or pornographic movies?” Dr. Richard Mouw asks. “[Isaiah 60] seems to be sensitive to these kinds of questions. The things [Isaiah] mentions....are items that seem quite capable of being employed in a ‘redeemed’ environment.”But today’s passage may be the most instructive of all in helping us discern which work will survive for eternity. Paul says that fire will ”test the quality of each person’s work” and implies that the work done with "gold, silver, [and] costly stones” will be the only work that “survives” judgment. What do these metaphorical substances represent? Pastor Skye Jethani says they represent “works of high quality” and are consistent "with the character of God." I’ve read dozens of similar answers to that, and I think Jethani is directionally right. Here’s how I’d summarize my biblically informed guess as to which work will last for eternity: Any work we do with excellence, love, and in accordance with God's commands that, if redeemed, will bring God greater glory.Based on that, here are some practical questions for you to meditate on today:Are you designing your client’s website with excellence and with all your heart?Are you building your business with genuine love of every stakeholder? Are you creating lesson plans in obedience to God’s commands?If so, Scripture gives you reason to hope that your work will literally last into eternity. That one day, you might ride the ships of Tarshish into the New Jerusalem with artifacts of your work in hand, and lay them down at the feet of Jesus as an offering of worship.I pray that motivates you to work with excellence, love, and in accordance with God’s commands today!

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: Work that Physically Lasts for EternityDevotional: 3 of 5You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. (Revelation 4:11)Last week, we saw evidence from Revelation 21 and Isaiah 60 that some of our work has a shot at physically lasting into eternity. But since that idea seems too good to be true, today I want to look at three other pieces of evidence for this idea.First, it’s simply not in God's nature to ask his children to create things only to destroy them. In Genesis 1:28, God issued the First Commission to humankind: to fill the earth. Pastor Timothy Keller points out that this is a call to “not just procreation, but also cultural creation.” And it’s simply not in God’s character to watch his children obey that command by making bicycles, software, and Nutella only to throw those creations away. Good earthly fathers don't do that. Do we really think our perfect heavenly father will?Second, by redeeming the work of our hands, God will get greater glory. Randy Alcorn nails this saying, “Some may think it silly or sentimental to suppose that nature, animals, paintings, books, or a baseball bat might be resurrected. It may appear to trivialize the coming resurrection. I would suggest that it does exactly the opposite: It elevates resurrection, emphasizing the power of Christ to radically renew mankind—and far more.”Read today’s passage again. The saints are singing, “You are worthy, our Lord…for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." Commenting on this passage, Andy Crouch asks, "Wouldnʼt it be strangely empty to sing that song in a new world where all those things…were now only a memory?" Of course it would! By redeeming our sin-ladened work and carrying some of it onto the New Earth, God will get greater glory, which is precisely the point of eternity.Finally, the scars on Jesus’s hands give us further evidence that some work will last forever. Think about it. Jesus’s resurrected body included “nail marks” from when the Romans hung him on the cross (see John 20:24-27). And what are those marks? The work of human hands. The brilliant theologian, Dr. Darrell Cosden, explains that "the crucifixion was a ‘work’ carried out by many people…And since [Jesus’s] body, still containing those scars, is now ascended back into the Godhead, the results of at least this particular ‘human work’ are guaranteed to carry over into God's as well as our own future and eternal reality."Of course, the fact that the wicked work of the Roman soldiers and what John and Isaiah called “the glory of the nations” are physically present for eternity raises an important question: Which work will last and which won’t? We’ll attempt to answer that question together next week.

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: Work that Physically Lasts for EternityDevotional: 2 of 5The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into [the New Jerusalem]. (Revelation 21:26)To quote a fictionalized Alexander Hamilton, I think we all "wanna build something that's gonna outlive [us]." Today, we’ll begin to see the biblical evidence that that longing is shockingly, miraculously true.In Revelation 21, John is sharing his glimpse of heaven on the New Earth when he says this about the New Jerusalem: “On no day will its gates ever be shut…The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it” (Revelation 21:25-26). What is John talking about? Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder, because Isaiah answers that question for us in Isaiah 60. And even though Isaiah wrote some 600 years before John, theologians such as Dr. Richard Mouw agree that “both men were working with the same material.” And so, as Dr. Randy Alcorn points out, “Isaiah 60 serves as the best biblical commentary on Revelation 21–22.”And in that commentary, Isaiah says this: “Your gates will always stand open…so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations” (Isaiah 60:11). This language is nearly identical to John’s. But Isaiah goes on to list out what some of “the wealth of the nations” are. They include "the ships of Tarshish" (v. 9), "incense" from the nation of Sheba (v. 6), and refined "silver and gold" from some unnamed nation (v. 9). Ships, incense, refined silver and gold—these are all works of human hands. And Isaiah and John are watching Jesus accept these acts of culture as gifts to adorn the New Jerusalem. The implication here is startling. These prophetic visions seem to suggest that some of the works of our hands—the product you’re building, the book you’re writing, the truck you’re repairing—have the chance of physically lasting into eternity.N.T. Wright, whom Christianity Today has called “the most prolific biblical scholar in a generation” summarizes this idea beautifully, saying, “You are not oiling the wheels of a machine that’s about to roll over a cliff. You are not restoring a great painting that’s shortly going to be thrown on the fire….You are…accomplishing something that will become in due course part of God’s new world."This all sounds too good to be true. Should these passages be taken literally as I’m suggesting? Dr. Mouw says yes: Isaiah and John “are not merely engaging in utopian speculation.” They are “given a glimpse of things that the Lord will surely bring to pass.”But as brilliant as Dr. Mouw is, we shouldn’t just take his word for it. Which is why next week, we will look at other evidence in Scripture that our work has a shot at lasting forever.

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: Work that Physically Lasts for EternityDevotional: 1 of 5For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)Before we can appreciate how some of our work might physically last into eternity, we need to first grasp what God’s Word says about our pending judgment.Because today’s passage and others make it clear that it's not just our souls that God will judge. He will also weigh every person's actions, thoughts, and words—including those of believers! And since we spend such a huge portion of our lives working, we can assume that much of our accounting to the Lord will focus on our vocations.To be clear, the judgment today’s passage is referring to has zero bearing on our admission into the Kingdom of Heaven (see Romans 8:38-39). But it does influence our eternal rewards—a fact Jesus made clear to his disciples when he said that “the Son of Man…will reward each person according to what they have done” (Matthew 16:27).What are those rewards? Perhaps most famously, they are "treasures in heaven" (see Matthew 6:19) and various "crowns" (see 1 Corinthians 9:25-27). But in this devotional series, I want to turn your attention to another, less explored reward: The reward of God carrying the physical work of your hands into eternity. We’ll explore the biblical evidence for this next week. But today, I want to encourage you to do one practical thing in response to today’s passage: Judge your work before God does.The Apostle Paul says that “the spiritual person judges all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15, ESV). Knowing that God will one day judge our work, we’d be wise to examine our work today in light of that coming judgment. One way to do that is to imagine the questions God will ask you about your work and let your answers lead you to repentance and perseverance. Questions such as:Did you develop the talents I gave you with excellence? (see Matthew 25:14-30)Did you use your wealth to quietly serve the needy? (see Matthew 6:1-4)Did you do good to your competitors and enemies? (see Luke 6:35)Regardless of our answers to questions like these, if we are leaning on Christ alone for our salvation, we will enter the Kingdom of Heaven (see Romans 10:9). But may we not be those who enter the Kingdom empty-handed. Let us be those who run through the gates and receive great rewards that we can lay back down at the feet of our King!

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: A God-Honoring Approach to PlanningDevotional: 4 of 4Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21)In this series, I’ve sketched out what I believe to be a biblical, God-honoring approach to planning. First, we saw that we are called to “Commit to the LORD whatever [we] do,” including our planning (see Proverbs 16:3). Second, we’re called to “listen to advice” from others (see Proverbs 12:15). Third, we’re commanded to recognize our ultimate lack of control over our plans (see James 4:13-16). And today’s passage shares the fourth and final principle of this series: As we plan, we’d be wise to remember that regardless of the outcome of our plans, “it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”This truth enables us to do two things. First, it allows us to plan more confidently. The nature of planning is that it is risky. Whether you’re planning a budget, a project, or goals for the next quarter, planning always requires you to make predictions about a future you can not see. That can be a frightening thing to do, which is why so many of us fall victim to analysis paralysis. But if you’ve committed your plans to the Lord, sought out counsel, and humbly recognized your lack of control, you can make plans with confidence because at the end of the day, “it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” His purposes can not be thwarted (see Job 42:2). Commenting on today’s passage, Tim Keller says, “In a sense, for a Christian, there is no ‘plan B.’” Second, today’s passage should empower us to be at peace with any result. If our plans are wildly successful, “it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” If our plans blow up in flames, “it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” So we can be at peace with any result knowing that “in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).What plans are you making at work this week? View them in light of today’s passage. Remember that the Lord’s purpose will always, always prevail. And may that truth lead you to plan confidently and peacefully today.

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: A God-Honoring Approach to PlanningDevotional: 3 of 4Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16)As we’ve seen throughout this series, planning is a good, God-honoring thing to do. But today’s passage reminds us that planning without recognizing our ultimate lack of control over our plans is arrogant and “evil.”I’ve had to repent of this sin recently. A friend of mine was asking me what I've been working on and I said, “I’m working on a new book that will come out in October of next year.” This is a textbook example of the evil planning James is talking about, and my temptation is to do it all the time.What’s the alternative? James tells us in verse 15: “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’” If it is the Lord’s will, I’ll publish that book next October.Why is it so important that we articulate our lack of control over our plans? Beyond the fact that it’s simple obedience to God’s Word, let me share three reasons.First, it keeps us open to how the Lord might alter our plans. If I view a plan as “my plan” that I’m ultimately in control of, I’m going to hold that plan very tightly. But if I recognize that God alone is in control of my plan, I will hold it much more loosely and will be much more attuned to how the Lord might be calling me to change course.Second, articulating our lack of control over our plans increases our reliance on the Lord for results. It’s a practical way to “remember the Lord your God” and that “it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,” or bring your plans to fruition (see Deuteronomy 8:17-18).Finally, it gives us an opportunity to demonstrate our faith to others. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t heard a lot of people uttering “Lord willing” at the office. Not only does this phrase signify that you’re a Christian, but at a deeper level, it communicates that you’re humbling yourself and your plans before God. I know it sounds trite, and I know it can sound awkward, but I’d challenge you to attach those two words—”Lord willing”—to the plans you articulate today.Lord willing, we’ll finish that project by the end of the quarter.Lord willing, I’ll be at that conference in December.Lord willing, we should be able to hit that revenue number by the end of the year.Verbalize your ultimate lack of control over your plans today, and watch to see what the Lord does with your obedience and humility!

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: A God-Honoring Approach to PlanningDevotional: 2 of 4The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice. (Proverbs 12:15)I’ve been the fool in this Proverb more than once. One example, in particular, comes to mind. A few years ago, I was running a rapidly growing tech startup and planning to hire our first full-time sales rep. Like any good entrepreneur, I took the time to draft a document detailing the type of person I thought we needed for the position. And with that plan in hand, I went out and hired someone we’ll call Michael who perfectly fit my description.The only problem was that I neglected to ask my existing team what they thought about my job description. Shortly after Michael started, members of my team came to me asking why I hired someone with Michael’s experience when what we needed most was someone with an entirely different background. They were right, of course, and eventually, we had to let Michael go. If I had simply asked for input on my hiring plan on the front end, I could have avoided making one of the worst mistakes of my career—one that was costly for the business and for Michael. Proverbs 24:6 is right: "victory is won through many advisers.” But which advisers? As you’re making plans for your work, who should you trust for counsel? Let me suggest two types of people: wise Christians who may or may not understand your specific work and wise people who understand your specific work but may or may not be Christians. Why this second type of person? Because God gives common grace and wisdom to all people—not just believers. Isaiah 28:24-26 makes this clear, saying that “God instructs” all workers and “teaches [them] the right way.” Ideally, we’d find wisdom for our plans in fellow believers. But when that’s not possible, we should boldly seek out wisdom from unbelievers knowing that, in the words of John Calvin, “All truth is from God.”Hear Solomon’s words one more time this morning: “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14, ESV). As you make plans in your work today, seek out an abundance of counselors for wisdom and help.

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: A God-Honoring Approach to PlanningDevotional: 1 of 4Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. (Proverbs 16:3)You and I are always planning something at work: projects, marketing campaigns, hiring strategies, budgets, goals—the list goes on and on. God’s Word frequently extols the wisdom of planning (see Proverbs 21:5; Proverbs 24:27; Luke 14:28). But it also gives us a lot of instruction for how to plan in a God-honoring way.Today’s passage is a great example: You and I are called to commit our work and our planning to God. To ask him to lead and guide us as we make decisions about the future.Why is this so important? Beyond the fact that God commands it, let me share two reasons.First, committing our planning to the Lord is wise because he knows the future and you and I don’t. As God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you.” Now, this was spoken specifically to the Jews living in exile, but it is also true for us. We believe that God is omniscient. “He knows everything” (1 John 3:20). Not committing our planning to him and asking him for wisdom would be like having the world’s most accomplished mathematician as your father and not asking for help on your homework.Second, we ought to commit our planning to the Lord because he promises to give us wisdom. James 1:5 says that “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Not “it might be given to you.” It will if you “believe and not doubt” (see James 1:6). I don’t know about you, but I need wisdom as I make plans for my work and life. I crave it. The good news is that we have a heavenly Father who longs to share his infinite wisdom with us (see Matthew 7:11).What are you planning today at work? An event? A sales strategy? Next quarter’s Objectives and Key Results? Commit your plans to the Lord in prayer right now. Ask for his wisdom and trust that he’ll provide it.

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: Wisdom for Work from NehemiahDevotional: 5 of 5So the wall was completed...in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. (Nehemiah 6:15-16)While detained in a concentration camp in 1941, Olivier Messiaen, a Christian and renowned composer, cobbled together a few dilapidated instruments in the camp and miraculously composed a masterpiece called Quartet for the End of Time. Years later, when an esteemed pianist sat down to master Messiaen’s wordless music, she was an ardent atheist. “But as she pored over the music and tried to comprehend what Messiaen was trying to say, it had a profound effect. ‘Little by little,’ she said, ‘I started believing.’” That story powerfully illustrates a truth we see in today’s passage from Nehemiah: Excellent work can preach a powerful sermon about the glory of God! While not a musical masterpiece, Nehemiah’s work rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem was no less impressive than Messiaen’s. The wall was a massive structure and Nehemiah and company faced tons of life-threatening opposition (see Nehemiah 4). Yet they were able to finish the wall in just fifty-two days! Nehemiah’s enemies must have been incredulous, trying to figure out how Nehemiah and team pulled it off. But as today’s passage reveals, the only satisfactory explanation they could come up with was that the wall had been built with the help of Nehemiah’s God.The British novelist, Dorothy Sayers, said that “The only Christian work is good work well done.” And Messiaen and Nehemiah remind us that our “good work well done” can demand the world’s attention and point them to Christ. As Andrew Scott says in his terrific book, Scatter, “If we were to live out our lives with excellence for the purposes of God in every sector of society, we would not have to shout so loudly to make our message heard.”Amen. With that in mind, go and do your work exceptionally well today, praying the Lord will use your good work to serve others well and point them to his inimitable glory!