Labor Day
The Bible says we cannot work our way to heaven. We can only get to heaven through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
But what else does it say about work? Is work just a necessary evil, or has God ordained and approved of work?
Read these verses from the New International Version:

God works...and rests from work
Genesis 2:2-3
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Isaiah 64:8
Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Psalms 66:5
Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf!

So God considers work good and useful
Genesis 2:15
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
Exodus 39:42-43
The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
Proverbs 31:17
She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
1 Chronicles 28:20
David also said to Solomon his son, 'Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.'
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Work can be less burdensome when it is shared
Exodus 18:18,21-22
You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
Ecclesiastes 4:9
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
Acts 20:35
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
Ephesians 4:16
From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

We must continue to work, even through opposition
Nehemiah 4:15, 6:16
When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.
When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.
2 Chronicles 15:7
But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.

Jesus worked, keeping His eyes on God's plan
John 4:34, 5:17, 6:27-29
'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.'
Jesus said to them, 'My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working.'
'Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.'
Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.'

We are not to be lazy
Proverbs 18:9
One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.
2 Thessalonians 3:10, 12
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'If a man will not work, he shall not eat.'
Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.
Proverbs 14:23
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Work brings rewards
Psalms 90:17
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us, yes, establish the work of our hands.
Proverbs 12:14
From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him.
Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain

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