day 385: Everybody's Working For The Weekend

Do you know the tune that goes with, "Everybody's working for the weekend?" It's an old Loverboy song from the 1980's and it can be heard on the radio on Fridays and hummed under the breath of people as they head out the door on Friday afternoon. This time of the year when the blossoms are on the trees and the flowers are starting to push up and bloom, spring fever starts to set in and we look more forward to the weekends. So much to do, so little time, and those two days become precious and a bit of a weekly obsession. Conversations around the break room turn to "what are you up to this weekend?" and you can hear the priorities of soccer and baseball games, yard work, travel, friend time, etc. After a hard week's work sometimes there is nothing better than just being home with family and shutting off the email, phone calls, and text messages and just finding time to read, catch up on DVR'd TV, movies or simply just vegg out. The weekend is also the time given to us to recenter on Sunday with our time in church. However it is done, we look to the weekends to recharge and regroup for the week ahead. I continually marvel at how those who came before us, particularly in the Old Testament would with all their hardships, challenges and obstacles, consistently look to the Lord for their respite. Some will say that it was easier then to focus and be close to the Lord as they didn't have the distractions of 500 cable channels or a new ipad to play with. But, I don't think that any generation had it easier than we do today to focus on the Lord, if we choose. While we rest in the weekends, let's remember that while the Sabbath was a day of doing nothing for them, the other six days were about hunting, gathering, fighting, protecting and surviving in the elements and using every hour of sunlight for existence. There was no "weekend" other than one day when they were required to not lift a hand and focus on God. We would do well to learn from the lessons of those who came before us. Not the law of the Sabbath, but the focus on God for their rest and renewal. King David says in Psalm 27:4; "The one thing I ask of the Lord-the thing I seek most-is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life." Imagine if we could honestly say the same how our perspective on work and living would change? While we may still be working for the weekend, our overall focus and priorities would be so set that each and every day would be like a weekend of rest with our Lord. This weekend, take at least the time in church to reflect on the true meaning of our purpose at work and let God fill you with the energy and spirit to bring glory to Him in all that you do.

Reference: Psalm 27:4 (New Living Testament)

day 60: Sunday Is Really The First Workday

I am sorry to say this to you because we all look so forward to the weekend. Wasn't it the band Loverboy who sang, "Everybodys working for the weekend!". Yes, the weekends are a time of rest and we should all take advantage of our sabbath time and our down time. With today's technology and being constantly online it has gotten harder and harder to find that "away from it all" downtime. All that said, I will put forward that Sunday, and in particular our church time on Sunday is an important first step of the work week and we should consider it really the first workday of the week in our preparation to have the kind of week we truly desire. I say that from the context that we are reading this and trying to live out God's purpose in our work lives and as such we are in constant preparation for what the day, the week, the month, the year, the lifetime has in store for us. So, let's go back to why Sunday is so important to get going in the right way for our workweek. Those who are called into the ministry have been called to ready and equip all the rest of us who carry the Word and the purpose of God into our work week and to our offices. Ephesians 4:11-12 says: "He is the one who gave these gifts to the church; the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ." What a great assurance. God gave the pastors at our church the gifts needed to equip us in the work that God has asked us to do for His purpose. And with that assurance, why would we ever miss an opportunity on Sunday to not be in church to gain the wisdom, lessons and equipment we need to make it through our work week. Many leaders hold their weekly staff meeting on Monday mornings to do just that for their teams; to be sure everyone is ready, prepared and aligned to take on the week. God does that for us with His staff meetings every Sunday in His church and he gives each of us an early jump on the week. So, next time we are thinking of blowing off Sunday church, we might think whether or not we would lightly blow off God's Staff Meeting that He has prepared for us. Think of Sunday as the first positive move into the workweek and know that you are being better equipped and prepared to meet whatever it is that you will face in the coming week.

Reference: Ephesians 4:11-12 (New Living Testament)