Ephesians 6: 2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
At the beginning we may look at these commands and say, ok–not so hard. Actually without the grace of God, these are impossible to perform. Can I be honest here and tell you that each morning when I awaken, I remain there in prayer asking God for the Grace to set about the day and to perform the tasks before me with His Truth, His patience, and His Love to guide me for the day. Once I feel His peace fill me I get up. Mom’s TV is constantly going with foolish programs and while the coffee is making, I am asked at least three times if it is ready yet. I take the dog out for his short walk, serve mom her coffee while she is eating cereal. Then I have her turn off the TV while I listen to sermons while preparing her lunch. In the midst of the cooking, I hear "I am hungry, will you cook me some eggs." I reply, "Yes, once I have your lunch in the oven–I will." Not two minutes pass until I hear again, "I am hungry, aren’t you going to fix me breakfast." Irritation rising in my voice, I reply, "Please be patient, let me finish getting lunch in the oven so it can be done." Again, "but I am hungry." Eggs cooked, sermons half heard and I know I will listen again on the way to work or tonight because I allowed this irritation to get in the way of hearing. I sit down to write you this mornings devotion and then I wonder, "How Lord can I serve you when I still let such trivial things irritate me?" I should be kinder. I should be gentler. Of course, then the TV is back on and I know if I don’t say yes, once more I will be asked every three minutes, "Can I turn on the TV?" So, I pull out the earphones and plug them into the computer to listen to music searching for Grace to fill my heart to find God’s words to share with you. This service, God has called me to do; not because I am worthy, but because He is worthy. I know that the challenges at work will soon be before me today and once more I will need His grace to give me the heart of a servant, laying aside the selfishness and pride that are deep inside this heart of mine so that I might do the service in a manner that displays His Grace. Do you need added Grace today? Listen closely to the following song and let each word penetrate deep within your spirit. Lift it up before God as a prayer? This is titled, Before you I kneel (A Worker’s Prayer). The second verse, I particularly cling to. I really need God’s goodness to cover my hands and His patience, His peace to guide my steps. I need His refining work to remove the selfishness and pride within me so that His work might be done. Thank you Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Jeff Taylor, and Stuart Townend for this beautiful song. Thank you God for your ever flowing Grace toward me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPVtx_HCpOo&playnext=1&list=PL7C2289D9F73CFDE0&feature=results_video