Friday, November 16, 2012

DEVOTION: Enough Bad News! by Kathi Macias



“Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49).

“Do business till I come” (Luke 19:13).


A dear friend shared a great story with me this week. It was about an elderly man who remembered when he was a little boy during the Depression. The boy and his family were fairly isolated from the details of the bad news that flooded the country, but occasionally someone returning from a trip to the big city would stop by their farm for a quick visit. 

The boy and his father would then stop their work in the fields and come to stand by the fence and talk with the visitor, who proceeded to tell them how very bad everything really was. After listening for a while, the father would then turn to the boy and say, “All right, son, that’s enough bad news. It’s time to get back to work.”
Beloved, that is a powerful word to us today. Regardless of how we spend our days or what we do for a living, we’ve had enough bad news to last us for a very long while. It’s time to get back to business.
And what is that business? According to Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, it’s the “Father’s business,” the same business Jesus was here to conduct in a lost and dying world. Jesus came to save sinners, to open the way for reconciliation of relationship with the Father. And, according to 2 Corinthians 5:18, Jesus has “given us the ministry of reconciliation” to carry on to completion.
The time is short, dear ones. Whether Jesus comes for all of us one day soon or for one of us tonight, we dare not waste the precious moments God has given us. We’ve spent enough time listening to the bad news. Jesus has commanded us to do the “Father’s business” and proclaim the Good News, so let’s get back to work while there’s still a bit of daylight left.


Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored nearly 40 books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences. 

She won the 2008 Member of the Year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) and was the 2011 Author of the Year from BooksandAuthors.net. Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband.

8 comments:

  1. Enough bad news; time to get back to work. Great philosophy! Thanks, Kathi.

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  2. What comes to mind is the 9-11 attacks and also when I was living in Mississippi when hurricane Katrina hit. I watched the news coverage, but after so long, it was time to turn off the television and pray about it all. Constant bad news is hard on us. We need the positive effects of prayer and faith in God to handle things beyond our control.

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  3. Bad news is a strange thing. It can occupy our time and energy - and we can do nothing to change what is. What we can do is to keep at the task we've been given - spreading the good news.

    Great post, Kathi. Thanks for the redirection.

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  5. Wonderful, timely words to live by, Kathi!!

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  6. Good message as always, Kathi. Thank you!

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