Midweek Encouragement - "Odd Jobs in Jesus’ Name”

"Odd Jobs in Jesus’ Name”

       "Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.”

Amos 7:14 NIV

         What was the oddest job you ever worked? Almost everyone has worked some kind of strange or peculiar job at some time in their career. Consider these oddest of odd jobs:

Iceberg Mover: This person tracks the location of icebergs and tows them out of shipping lanes, if necessary.

Safecracker: This person opens safes (legally, of course) when someone has lost or forgotten the combination.

Duck Master: This person leads ducks on a parade around the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.

         Before he became a prophet, Amos had a pretty odd job . . . a dresser or caretaker of sycamore-fig trees. Amos cultivated sycamore-fig trees. That involved cutting a small gash in each fig so it would ripen. Amos took inedible fruit and turned it into something delicious.

         Like those sycamore-figs, Jesus was pierced by nails on the cross. God allowed His spotless and holy Son to be “pierced for our transgressions . . . crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). Unlike those sycamore-figs, however, there was nothing bad in Jesus that needed to be made good. In fact, He was quite the opposite! Jesus bore the consequences of our bad fruit, making it possible for us to bear good fruit.

         Jesus’ love penetrates your sin-hardened heart and soul. By His wounds, you’ve been healed, forgiven. Now, because of Jesus, God’s love and love for others is maturing in you and blossoming in your life and in the life of every person who’s connected by faith to Jesus.



         If you’re that closely connected to Jesus, you’re filled with unwavering joy! Since you’re intimately connected in a relationship with Christ, kindness sprouts from your words and actions. And all that is possible because Jesus was pierced for you!

         Now, God has an odd job for you to do today. He asks you to bear good fruit in a world where very little good fruit is seen. People around you may be confused by the good fruit you’ll bear today in Jesus’ name. When those people see love, peace, and patience spouting out from your life, they might be fascinated or even suspicious. That’s okay! That’s what makes being a Christ-follower an odd job.

         Keep on rejoicing in the One who was pierced for you and keep on bearing the good fruit that Jesus makes possible, even if others look at you in an odd sort of way!

Being a little odd for God’s kingdom,

Pastor Dale

Pastor Dale (PD) and Pamela his wife are honored to serve the Mt. Laurel Church of God. If this Mid-Week Encouragement has helped you, perhaps it may encourage someone else. Feel free to share this email with anyone you choose. And if for some reason you'd like to stop receiving PD's Mid-Week Encouragement, just send me an email (kingdomguy@gmail.com) and I'll accommodate your request.