Showing posts with label Labor Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Labor Day. Show all posts

Monday, September 1, 2014

Labor Day Prayer





Labor Day Prayer

                       Dear Lord,            

Look on America as we rest from our labors.

Look upon the laborers of this great land.

Remember those who help produce the products
and services that provide for a better life.

Remember those who work to provide
for their families and others.

Remember those who have labored
or who would like to work
but can not find a job.

Lord, remember both employee and employer.

Help us all to be fair and honest.

Help us to do our part so that no one is left
with more than their share.

Help us all to see our job is to work for the common good.

Lord, help us to learn how to work safer and smarter.

Lord, you are able to do immeasurably more
than we are able to ask or image.

You are able to empower us to increase the wealth
and the services of this nation.

So we pray you forgive us
and remove in us attitudes
that keep us from Your blessing.

We humbly recognize that it is You
that has given us the ability
to do great things
and make America great.

As we honor laborers throughout this nation,
we give you thanks and praise for giving us
the jobs and the ability to do them.
 
In Jesus Name,
Amen


Scripture Reading  

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 NIV

17 You may say to yourself,
"My power and the strength of my hands
have produced this wealth for me."

18 But remember the LORD your God,
for it is he who gives you
the ability to produce wealth,
and so confirms his covenant,
which he swore to your forefathers,
as it is today.

Dearly Beloved Children Slaves and Masters




Dearly Beloved Children
Slaves and Masters


How much has Ephesians 6:5-9
effected the American work force?

Think of how much more these verses
can do for the place you work.


The American Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865,
the Reconstruction era that followed completed the revolution,
smashing the 254 year old system of slavery in the American South.

I can hardly image being on one of the slave ships
and reading these words in Ephesians 6 verse 5:

“Slaves obey your masters”

The closest most of us can come
to understanding these verses
are thoughts of the work place.

In 1870, the “Nine-Hour Movement”,
labor disputes in Canada
resulted in a Trade Union Act,
which legalized and protected union activity in 1872.

The first parades lead to an annual celebration.

American labor leader Peter J. McGuire
witnessed one of these labor festivals in Toronto.

Inspired, he returned to New York
and organized the first American Labor Day,
on September 5, 1882.

Because slaves and masters, employees and bosses
have not treated each other with respect,
many people have suffered and died.

The working man’s holiday
has become the last holiday of the summer;
a time for the last get-a-way before school
or before the cold weather sets in.

Many of us, on the
first Monday in September,
never give a thought of the battles that took place
to make the work place a better place.

 Labor and management have not always
been in agreement.

I know what it is like to carry a picket sign;
and most of us remember, or have heard,
of violence on the picket lines.

Many would say
better wages and working conditions
were achieved by those battles.

But ask yourself the question…

“Where would we be today
if it wasn’t for the cool heads
that sat at the bargaining table?”

These are the people
you don’t always hear about.

As you and I enjoy this Labor Day,
think about those employees and bosses
who lived out Ephesians 6:5-9.

Think about where labor and management
would be without them.


Scripture Reading

Ephesians 6:5-9 NIV
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear,
and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you,
but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,
8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone
for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

9 And masters,
treat your slaves in the same way.
Do not threaten them,
since you know that he who is both
their Master and yours is in heaven,
and there is no favoritism with him.


Colossians 3:22-25 NIV
22 Slaves,
obey your earthly masters in everything;
and do it,
not only when their eye is on you
and to win their favor,
but with sincerity of heart
and reverence for the Lord.
23 Whatever you do,
work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord,
not for men,
24 since you know that you will
receive an inheritance
from the Lord as a reward.
It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
25 Anyone who does wrong
will be repaid for his wrong,
and there is no favoritism.


Colossians 4:1 NIV
4:1 Masters,
provide your slaves
with what is right and fair,
because you know that you
also have a Master in heaven.