"Life is Short, Give it to God"

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:13-17 NKJV

At first glance you may think that James is telling us that we do not need to make plans, just trust the Lord and let things fall into place. But I do not think so. He speaks of our life being short and we cannot depend on our own plans. We do not know if we will die, loss our job, become ill or any of the many disasters that can come on man. Instead me must seek the Lords will in all manners of our lives. From the smallest detail to the biggest decisions, we must seek Him. Matthew says in Chapter 6 and verse 33 of the book of Matthew, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Therefore we should look at how our decisions will affect the Kingdom of God. We cannot look at this in the natural, but the supernatural or in the Spirit. So I say, "Life is Short, Give it to God"

Prayers of Martin Luther's for the Workplace

10. A Prayer Before Beginning One's Work.
Eternal and merciful God, I am about to resume my work and the duties of the calling into which Thou hast placed me, Thy servant. May I apply myself according to the ability Thou dost grant, so that I may serve my neighbor and make an honest living. Relying on Thy gracious promise, I there­fore heartily pray Thee to bestow upon me, for the duties about to be resumed, prudence, wisdom, under­standing, success, and blessing, together with health, so that I may not only make a good beginning, but in Thy name and by Thine aid arrive at a profitable close, thus at all times faithfully attending to my duties with a clear conscience and in Thy fear. To Thee I commend my work. Graciously let me suc­ceed in all that I undertake and let me accomplish what I undertake in Thy name, so that Thy light may cast a bright beam on my path to Thy praise and glory and to the welfare of my neighbol:.;
11. A Prayer for Blessing in One's Calling.
o Lord, Thou dost assign to each man his duties according to his abilities and dost want us to eat our bread in the sweat of our brow until we return again
'unto dust; and Thou hast promised that, if we fear Thee and walk in Thy ways, we shall eat the labor of our hands, and it shall be well with us. Behold, upon Thy word I have cast out the net of my calling. May my toil and ~abor not be lost, but grant that, working with my hands the thing which is good, I may have to give to him that needeth. May Thy blessing - on which all depends - ever attend my efforts, so that I may bring them to a successful issue without impairing the interests of others, in order that my substance be devoted to the honor of God and the members of my.family may be provided for. Cause Thy blessing, I pray Thee, to increase as time goes on; bless our ''basket and our store"; for Thy blessing maketh rich, and Thou addest no sorrow with it. 0 Lord, make my heart glad and my face joyful; give me health, life, and success. I ask all this subject to Thy will; Lord, hear my prayer. To Thee I commit my way and trust in Thee; Thou wilt bring it to pass. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salva­tion. .dmen.
14. Thanksgiving upon Completion of Work.
Almighty, eternal, and beneficent God, I give unto Thee hearty thanks and praise for Thy most holy aid and assistance shown me this day; for
without Thee I surely could have done nothing, and
therefore all praise properly belongs to Thee. And I pray Thee, deign to be pleased with my work and have it tend to the welfare, in body and soul, of my­self and my fellow-men; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, true God, who liveth and reigneth to all eter­nity with Thee and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

From the Abridged Treasury of Prayers
Concordia Publishing
copyright 1942

The Advocate: 1 John 2:1

"My little children, these things I write unto you, that you may sin not. And if any man (or woman) sin, and if any man (or woman) sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;" 1 John 2:1 KJV
First thing, we are Children in the Lord's eyes. If we expect to receive anything from the Father we must humble ourselves as children. Trust the Father that He knows best.
Second, John would not have told us not to sin if we could not do so. It is a lye that we sin hundreds of times a day without knowing. With the Lord's help only we can lead a sinless and blameless life before Him. Not with Holier-than-thou pride (for that is a sin) But being humble with the Lord's help and strength.
Third, IF we sin, We have an advocate.
Suppose we are going to court for a great offense. We are offered the service of the greatest lawyer in the world. He knows all the laws because He wrote them all. Wouldn't that be great?
Also suppose that the Lawyer turned out to be the Judge. That would really be great wouldn't it? But wait, the Lawyer/Judge says that He finds you guilty and the law demands imprisonment, retribution and then death. You jump up and say," Wait a minute! Who is the victim and can we settle out of court".
The Lawyer/Judge states that He is the victim. He is the one sinned against.
Then the Lawyer/Judge/Victim tells you that He has taken your sentence for you. (vs. 2 says that He was the propitiation for our sin. Meaning Payment) And that He is willing also to pay the legal fees.
On the local news there is a report of a woman that wants the State of Fla. to help with her legal fees. The courts are going to make her parents liquidate there home and savings to pay the legal fees. The cost of defense may be free to us but it is not cheap (read Bonhoffer's "Cost of Discipleship")
We have all been around enough to know that if something sounds to good to be true, then it usually is. Well there is one requirement the Lawyer/Judge/Victim/Payment demands. He demands that we become his adopted child and take His name and inheritance. Forsake that father (the Devil) and the mother (the World) that beats us and abandons us and receive Jesus our Father and our all.
To turn down this greatest of deals is to reject His payment and sacrifice and receive the debt that we owe, with no advocate. Just a very rejected Judge that will give justice.