He was dependable; a man who would do his share of the work and more. In other words, the kind of man you’d want alongside you in the tough times.”
                    –D.C. Adkisson  (Troubles at Gregory Gulch)

        “Man goes out to his work And to his labor until the evening.”
                    –Psalm 104:23 (NKJV)
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There are many of our core foundations being struck out today.  Foundations that are vital to the survival of this nation.  One of them is the work ethic.  Just recently I drove up to Missouri and everywhere–I mean everywhere– there were signs:  “Hiring,”  “Positions Available,” “Applications Being Accepted.”  If I would have counted them they would have been up in the hundreds.  We ate dinner one evening at a restaurant and were told that they had to go from a full menu to a small buffet because they did not have the workers.
       Too long now, there have been too many given a free ride.  Now, don’t get me wrong, if a hand is needed then it should go out, but there are too many freeloaders in this country.  Too many who would rather get a welfare check than put in an honest day’s work.  What has happened?  This foundation of America is in danger of cracking.
       Many years ago I did a study regarding work.  (Maybe one day I’ll dig it out of the files or boxes).  The gist of the study came up with two premises:

                    1)  The purest form of natural joy is man’s enjoyment in his work.
                    2)  The purest form of joy is in Jesus Christ.

A hard day’s work brings welcome sleep.  A hard day’s work brings satisfaction–JOY.  But far too often people grumble and complain about working.  People have become lazy, wanting a handout, wanting their debt removed, wanting a free ride, wanting others to take up their slack.  In all my years of working one of those individuals that caused me much consternation was a slacker.  A person who slacks in their work is a person who is not to be trusted.
       Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is “Nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor.  This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.”  (Ecclesiastes 2:24, NKJV)  The NLT puts it, “to find satisfaction in his work.”  You want to see a nation’s foundation crack, let the people go to a welfare state (socialism).
       America has always been known for its work ethic, industriousness, and innovation.  The Puritan Work Ethic was ingrained into the soul of the people.  God ordained work, God called people to their position; therefore man was to work, not only to provide for his family, but also for the glory of God.  The further man moved from this concept the more socialism has been able to creep in.  Many businesses have had to shut down simply because the people don’t have a mind to work.

                    “When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.”
                                      –Psalm 128:2 (NKJV)

                    “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”

He remembered the pungent smell of cedar, the deep red glow of dying fires, the sound of wind in the mesquite.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Flint)

Juries like good stories. They don’t always just listen for the truth.”
                    –Mel Odom  (The Pecos Undertaker)

        “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers.”
                    –Deuteronomy 7:12(NKJV)
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How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World

Key Verse:  “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”  –1 John 5:19 (NASB)

I recall one of the cartoons from the old comic strip “Pogo”.  In that particular strip he came up with the conclusion, “We have met the enemy and they are us.”  Too much, in fact, most of the time we fight ourselves.  There is a war between the spirit and the flesh (see Romans 7).  By now from our studies you should realize that we are only pilgrims traveling through this old world.  The problem is that often we give into the pleasures that world has to offer and thus we take on the cares of the world, the anxieties of the world, and if not real careful, the character of the world.
       Most attacks are upon the written Word and the living Word–Jesus Christ.  In saying that I would ask where is your focus?  Is it upon the world and what it has to offer, or is it upon Jesus Christ?  Is your focus on things materialistic, but on the spiritual?  Is it upon what the world has to offer in this life or is it upon heaven and the kingdom of God?
       Christianity is not a mystical feeling or experience.  It is not getting in touch with the “Unseen,” or the “Force,” or the “heart of the Universe.”  It is repenting of one’s sins and accepting Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as Savior.  Christianity is not just saying that Jesus was a good teacher, or that He has wonderful ideas.  Why, the demons recognize and confess that.  This is why theology and doctrine is important–we cannot be ignorant of the Scriptures.  Remember John said that the “antichrists” came out from among them.

                    “By this you know the Spirit of God:  every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”
                                   –1 John 4:2-3 (NASB)

       Often these “antichrists” do not deny Christ, however, they misrepresent Christ.  Beware of what you hear and then check it out by the Bible.  Again, I must emphasize, know your Bible!  Read it, contemplate upon it!  Practice it!  
       Look around you.  Do you not see the spirit of the antichrist at work?  Chaos, confusion, disorder, hatred, terror, immorality, are these not the marks of someone who is antichrist?  It is for us, the light, to go through this world knowing and proclaiming Christ.  “Let us therefore declare His death, His resurrection, and His all-sufficiency until He comes again.”  (Lloyd-Jones)
       Take heart–we are not of the world.  Get that, know that, hold on to that and don’t be swayed by what the world says and has to offer.

                    “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.  They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and they world listens to them.  We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us.  By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
                                   –1 John 4:4-6 (NASB)

Paul warns us not to listen to the voices of the world no matter how good they may sound.  Be careful of opinions and again I would say know the Word of God.  I always take notes on the Pastor’s sermon and have often joked saying, “that’s to make sure you’re not preaching heresy.”  It is a joke, but again, it is not.  I will put question marks on areas I need to ponder and go back to the Scripture to confirm.  Watch out for heresy, for false doctrine, for outright lies.

                    “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!”
                                   –Galatians 1:8 (NASB)

When one has lived in the wilderness one acquires a quality of stillness, and one learns to listen.”