We Must Do The Works of God While We Can!

Auntie Anne's pretzel franchise had small beginnings in a farmer's market stand in Pennsylvania. But today there are stores in over a thousand locations in 44 states and 23 countries. As the franchise founder told students recently at Liberty University: "My greatest success [however] is overcoming myself—overcoming Anne Beiler."

According to a Charisma News report, Beiler's "storybook" world was shattered when one of her young daughters was killed when she was accidentally hit by a tractor. "It took me into a world I knew nothing about," said Beiler. "Emotional pain, physical pain, and spiritual pain."

Raised as an Amish Christian, Beiler shared her subsequent descent into destructive behavior. In the end, God used truth, confession, and unconditional love to bring her back and amazingly, "Auntie Anne's Pretzels" was birthed as a way for Beiler to support her long-suffering husband whom she had temporarily deserted.

In 2005, the franchise was sold, and today Anne Beiler devotes her time and energy on the Family Center—a community center in Lancaster County—that helps families in need.   -Charisma News, Oct 18, 2012, Teresa Neumann

When the disciples asked why a certain man had been born blind, Jesus answered, “that God’s works might be revealed in him” (John 9:3). Most people know someone with disabilities in whom God has revealed His good works. God revealed His works in the blind man because Jesus took action toward his healing.

God healed the blind man after the blind man responded to Jesus’ treatment and washed his eyes in the pool of Siloam. God has revealed His works in many disabled and diseased people, because people of faith took action, and those they tried to help responded rightly to their efforts.

Jesus insisted that our open doors of opportunity to serve God and others might suddenly shut; therefore, we must do the works of God while we can. A time came in Jesus’ ministry when darkness descended upon His disciples, because His body lay in a tomb and they could not do the works of God.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He commissioned and empowered them to do the works of God again. Later, when each of His twelve disciples (except Judas and John) died a martyr’s death, their opportunity to do the works of God in this world ended.

Jesus spoke of the works of God, not the work of God. God has given believers many different works to do. Some of God’s works through believers may seem spectacular, but God does many works through believers quietly and unnoticed.

Whatever works God calls believers to do are important, but night may come when no one can work until Jesus Christ returns as He promised. (John 9:4).

Scripture: Hebrews 13:16; Philippians 2:4; Luke 6:38; 1 John 3:17; Galatians 6:2; John 15:12; Proverbs 19:17; Matthew 5:16; Romans 15:1; 2 Corinthians 9:12; Romans 12:13; Luke 10:27;  Luke 3:10-11.  -Thanks to L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.

Prayer: Dear Lord, All through this day, O Lord, by the power of Thy quickening Spirit, let me touch the lives of others for good, whether through the word I speak, the prayer I speak, or the life I live. Amen

Have a blessed day!

Jill