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Crosswalk.com's Spiritual Life Channel at: http://spiritual.crosswalk.com ----------- T O D A Y G O D I S F I R S T Marketplace Meditations by Os Hillman Weapons of Warfare Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. - (Joel 3:10) In this third chapter of Joel, we hear the prophet describe a time yet to come. It will be a time of great harvest on the earth, and this verse describes the catalyst. A plowshare is an agricultural instrument used to till the soil. At this point in history, it was a tool that spoke of one's vocation. However, the prophet was speaking of a time yet to come. The prophet described the plowshare as an instrument that will be turned into a sword. The sword is often used in the Bible to describe God's Word. The only way a plowshare can be turned into a sword is for it to go through extreme heat, and then the blacksmith must beat that plowshare into shape. Heat and punishment of the metal turns that plowshare into an instrument of battle. God must do this in each of our lives in order for us to be useable as a worthy sword. We are all in a battle-a spiritual battle. Paul describes our battle as one against the principalities of the unseen world. I believe God is going to raise up many in the marketplace to use their plowshare as a weapon of righteousness in these last days. That weapon won't be used for destruction, but as a weapon of love. That weapon of love will yield a great harvest in our lifetime. But this is only part of the story. God is also going to turn our pruning hooks into spears. A pruning hook is used in two ways. First, it is used to prune a tree for greater growth and productivity. It is also used to cut the fruit from taller trees in which one cannot reach the fruit. This fruit from our vocation is going to be cast forth like a spear, but even more as seed planted to bring the harvest of which Joel speaks. Fruit from our business life is often the financial rewards generated. God wants to use our finances and everything else for His purposes. We must use our vocations and the fruit that comes from them as seed to bring the great harvest that God is planning. How are you using your plowshare and your pruning hook for God's glory today? Ask God to show you how He wants to use your skills, resources, and relationships to prepare for the great harvest He has planned. * * * * * * * * * * * * Author's Note * * * * * * * * * * * New! TGIF Small Group Bible Study. We have just released our new email PDF version of a small group bible studies series of 9 individual studies based on the TGIF devotionals. The first series on the topic of Calling. To learn more, please go to: http://sda.goshen.net/cgi-bin/redirect.cgi?AD=marketplace01 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Published and distributed by Crosswalk.com, this daily devotional is written by Os Hillman (os@marketplaceleaders.org). Os is president of Marketplace Leaders, an Atlanta based ministry teaching Biblical principles for career and business success. He offers a FREE newsletter and other resources at: http://www.marketplaceleaders.org Order "TGIF: Today God I s First" - 365 daily meditations to motivate and inspire for $17 for TGIF subscribers. Click here to order: http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/displayroom/skudetail.nhtml?uid=10055 To support Os Hillman & Marketplace Leaders , click: https://nhf.org/applications/donate.htm?FDN=Marketplace%2BLeaders Mail: 3520 Habersham Club Drive, Cumming, Georgia 30041 USA. ____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________ * You subscribed to Marketplace Meditations as: < jeff.king@enron.com < * To unsubscribe from this newsletter immediately, click here: < http://link.crosswalk.com/UM/U.ASP?A3.12.261895 < If that link is not clickable, simply copy and paste it into your browser window. * To change your address: unsubscribe your old address and then subscribe your new address. * To subscribe, send an email to: < SUBSCRIBE-marketplace@lists.crosswalk.com < or go to < http://www.crosswalk.com/lists < for a complete list of our newsletters. * Copyright ? 2001 Crosswalk.com, Inc. and its Content Providers. All rights reserved. ____________________________________________________________
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