God created Adam and Eve and gave them the task of taking care of the land. But even before they were created, God had set up his own “sprinkler system” to water the land.

And a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground (Gen 2:6).

The natural world we live in is more supernatural than we understand. God’s activity in our present world is quite real. Similar to how God took care of the land, we can be confident that he takes good care of us.
As we go about our daily tasks, it’s easy to only think of our natural world. Or, we think of our world as only natural. We evaluate every event with a string of cause and effects. We look at difficulties and problems and look for what caused those problems. In the same way we look at good things and commend ourselves for what we did right, and the hard work and efforts we applied to get things moving along.
There is no problem with such thinking until some tragedy occurs that’s beyond our control. Then we begin to blame God. We look back to our “faithfulness” and wonder how God would allow such things in our lives.
But all along, God has been faithful to take care of us each day. Just like in Gen 2:6, he is “watering” our lives with all the basics of what we truly need.
And what about the tragedies? Since we live in a “fallen” world, we must expect these things. But God continues to sustain us in the midst of such a fallen world.
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Stepped out of church and saw the candy wrappers just outside the front door. Surely there were several or many who saw it.

“But it’s not my job.” That famous line is famous for a reason. That line keeps people from growing. That mentality promotes mediocrity.

That person also complains that things are just not right. Someone should do something about it. But not me. “It’s not my job.” Enough of such thinkers, and the entire organisation become mediocre.

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You can talk all you want, but don’t miss the timing. You may be absolutely correct, but the timing can’t be ignored. Your frustration may be validated, but you didn’t do what you should have done at the time you should have done it.
We may think that we need time to consider all the options. But it’s got to be done within the appropriate time. Otherwise all your efforts are wasted simply because you missed the timing.
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But they’re supposed to prosper. Aren’t they? We know the verse in the Bible that says:

“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:3).

So when the righteous don’t prosper, where is the problem? Are you not righteous enough? Is God incapable of taking care of the righteous? Are the powers of evil too strong for the righteous and for God?
Or, have we misunderstood the Bible? A tree will bear fruit of its own kind. So as the verse in Psalm 1 speaks of the righteous, we’d expect a fruit of righteousness. But today it’s common to equate fruit with material prosperity.
Centuries later Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mark 10:29-31).
This statement was in the context of a man asking Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. The man claimed to be perfect in everything that Jesus mentioned. Then Jesus asked him to sell all he has and give it all away to the poor. If he would do that, he would have treasure in heaven. But the man went away sad because he had great wealth and couldn’t part with it.
After the man walked away, Jesus continued this discussion with his disciples. It is clear they were to have their focus and values on the kingdom of God. In Mark 10:30, Jesus promised them they’ll get the basics “(homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields – and with them persecution), and in the age to come, eternal life.”
That’s a great bargain.
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When people reject you, it’s time to move on. It was for a good reason that Jesus said to his disciples: “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town” (Matthew 10:14 ESV).
Don’t keep on trying to turn the no to a yes. You may want to try several times just to see if they have misunderstood you or if you have not understood them correctly. Once it is clear to you that what you have to offer is unacceptable to the other person, it’s time to move on.
Move on to the next person. What is not beneficial to one will be helpful to another.  There are people who need your message. There are those who are eagerly waiting to receive the help you can give them. You are the answer to their prayers. If you don’t move on, you’ll never get to these people.
Keep refining your approach. Your core message remains the same, but your way of presentation may change according to the circumstances. Maybe as you face more rejections, that will give you an opportunity to refine your methods.
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Sometimes, no response is the best response. Know who you are and what you stand for. Stand your ground. At some points, your silence is a clear statement.
In other situations, silence can be a sort of hiding. As if those who hide are naturally the guilty ones. Giving an appropriate answer in the proper time is of utmost importance. It adds great value during a crucial time.
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    Children eagerly look forward to vacations. But after a few weeks, there are many who can’t wait till school starts again. They can’t explain why. When asked, they’re not bored with vacation or all the fun they are enjoying – they just want to get back to school again.
    Unemployment may seem like a great deal (for some) and even fun for a while, but it gets old quickly. Leisure is good and enjoyable, but too much of it, and you begin to get restless. The trend has been that when people remain in that unemployed state oo long, they get into all kinds of unhealthy habits.
    When God created Adam and Eve, this is what happened:

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Gen 2:15).

    This verse seems to signify that the work given o Adam was the purpose for which God placed him there in the garden. We also find that after six days of work, God rested on the seventh day and made that a special day of rest. That idea of resting on the seventh day was extended for all people. Thus for us as human beings, work and rest are both a necessity. One without the other becomes an abnormality. It’s a rhythm of work and leisure.
    So the next time you feel tired after working for hours, take a break. Then quickly get back to work. Better than that, set a pattern for a day of rest just like God did.
Your Turn
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Pain only seems like the problem. Since pain is a part of life, we’ve got to shift our focus from the pain to deeper issues.
But pain has the deceptive​ ability to keep our attention. We spend our time, efforts, and money trying to alleviate the pain. That attention needs to be focused on the problem at hand.
Pain can also keep us from our mission. The one who’s focused on just removing pain never gets a chance to focus on their mission. When that happens, pain wins.
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At the restaurant you tip the waiter a fair/expected amount for their services. But when a waiter with a great attitude goes beyond the normal expectations, we think twice. We may have been a bit grumpy about what is fair, but the waiter’s attitude impacts us and we go beyond what is fair.
Then the tip is not only for the services rendered. It’s for the attitude.
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