There Is No Substitute For Hard Work

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2002
(Proverbs 10:4, 13:4, 14:23, Ecclesiastes 9:10)

Lazy hands make a man poor,
but diligent hands bring wealth.

The sluggard craves and gets nothing,
but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

There is no substitute for hard work. As I have shared in the past, I have been a huge sports fan since I was a little boy, especially Ohio State football. Millions of people will watch this Saturday as Ohio State beats, oops, plays their archrival Michigan. It will be a very hard fought game with many spectacular plays. In reality, this game is simply the culmination of literally thousands of hours of hard work and preparation by the players and coaching staffs of each school. Countless hours in the weight room. Hours upon hours on the practice field. More hours studying film and in meetings. All of those hours of sweat, blood, and preparation.. HARD WORK.. culminating in the game itself.

This is true for those in business also. We look at successful businessmen and businesswomen, often with envy. We see their accomplishments, but what we don't see is long hours, the incredible amount of hard work involved that make those accomplishments possible. Every successful business person that I know, spend many long hours of hard work to do all that they do. While hard work does not guarantee success in business, success is impossible without it.

Actually, this principle of hard work carries over into every aspect of our life, including our relationship with the Lord. We only get out of our relationship with Him, what we put into it. If the extent of our relationship with the Lord is an hour on Sunday morning, than that is all we can expect from it. It can only grow and be all that Christ desires it to be, if WE take the time and put in the hard work required. That is why we HAVE to take time to pray and have that quiet time to talk with the Lord each day. That is why we HAVE to take the time to read the Bible each day. That is why we HAVE to be committed to a local church where we can be fed spiritually, find fellowship, and seek out ways that we can serve God. Our relationship with the Lord can only grow, our relationship with the Lord can only be something special, IF we are willing to work at it!!!

I love you and care about you so much. We minister to literally thousands of husbands and wives each day whose marriage is in trouble. The #1 problem in bad marriages is a lack of communication. A close second is that one spouse, or both, have simply quit working at their marriage. They no longer work hard to please their spouse. They no longer take the time and effort to do the things that keep them close to the one that they committed their life to. If you want a successful marriage, YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD AT IT... EVERY DAY! ***If you want a meaningful relationship with Christ, YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD AT IT... EVERY DAY! There is simply no substitute for hard work.

Let me say thank you for all that prayed for the unspoken request I had the other day. I deeply appreciate it, and GOD will answer in His perfect way, in His perfect timing. Thank you.

Also, thank you for all that have responded so far to helping us meet the financial needs of Liveprayer this month. We still need $14,700 by the end of the month. Let God use you today to help meet the balance of this month's needs. For some, that may be a gift of $20, $50, or $100. For others, it may be a gift of $250, $500, or $1,000. Others may be able to, and led to give a gift of $3,000, $5,000, $10,000, or the entire $14,700. Again, the amount is not the important thing. That is between you and God. All I ask is that you pray, and than be obedient to give what God leads you to give. It is YOUR prayers, and YOUR gifts that allows Liveprayer to share the hope and love of Jesus with over 1.6 million people worldwide every day!

You can put your gift on a major credit card via our secure server at my website at www.liveprayer.com under the "Donation" link, or you can mail your gift to:

Liveprayer
6660 46th Avenue North
St. Petersburg, Florida 33709
All gifts are 100% deductible, and every gift made by December 31st can be deducted from your 2002 taxes.

Thank you for your prayers, and for your support of Liveprayer. Remember this today, WORK HARD at your relationship with Jesus. It will pay off for eternity!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com.

***I am excited to let you know that the Liveprayer Daily Devotional is now available via audio each day. Simply go to http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html. Click on "Search by Category", then locate DAILY DEVOTIONAL. I want to thank Ed Morando for making this service available for FREE to Liveprayer.com.

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