We must strive to bear spiritual fruit efficiently and productively. Material well-being is not as good a measure of fruitfulness as is the use of God's gifts.

The media portrays Israel as a war-torn, savage country. Actually Israel is a world class scene, having a better GNP than any country in the Western world.

We need jobs to make ends meet and have a little extra left over. Scripture lays out some general guidelines of what kind of work we should do.

Distractions and interruptions caused by phone, e-mail, computers, or texting are detrimental to productivity and to the operating a business at a profit.

Must I have a cell phone? Do I really need the extra expense? Do I have to relate information right now? Can I not wait until I tell the person directly?

Social media, text messages, e-mails, websites and blogs are competing for our time, eroding our attention spans and exhausting our ability to concentrate.

To counteract interruptions, we must rid ourselves of vague goal setting, replacing it with a deadline, continually reminding us that time is finite.

While working for the government may provide a feeling of security, it can also breed complacency and laziness, inspiring a wholesale lack of motivation.

People entering retirement often experience degrees of depression brought about by deteriorating health status and the feeling of no longer being needed.

After we are baptized and become members of God's church, we inherit a new primary job and responsibility: to become a steward.

The things of God require digging; it is time to walk step-by-step to the finish of the cause He has called us to complete.

God requires us to work and not deliberately seek welfare or food stamps, but He also does not want us to obsess on acquiring riches.

If church members are to grow in grace and knowledge and be zealous in producing fruit to God's glory, they need to have their priorities in the right place.

In answer to the question, 'How can a mere human being fulfill the difficult expectations of God?', Jesus instructs us to 'Ask, seek, and knock.'

God makes it abundantly clear that double-mindedness or split-allegiances place our spiritual growth and development—and ultimately our salvation—in peril.

Because we have spurned God's years of release, we have reaped a whirlwind of curses, including crop failure and devastating stock market crashes.

We must guard our time, not allowing busyness and involvement with activities of the world to prevent us from forming a deep intimacy with God.

The physician's code attributed to Hippocrates was designed to inspire trust on the part of the patients, especially on behalf of the most vulnerable.

Many of God's servants, including Elijah and Jeremiah, had their crises of faith, desiring to flee from their responsibilities and commitments.

We must fight against the world's pulls (including advertising), simplifying our lives, seeking quiet to meditate and build a relationship with God.

Because of our 'time-bound' state, unless we sync with God's timetable, we are squandering our God-given time to become members of His family.

Wealth accumulated by honest work and diligence will be blessed, but hastily acquired by any kind of theft or dishonesty will be cursed.

God is putting His children through a demanding educational program designed to teach godly values and impart spiritual maturity. Learning is hard work.

We need to be on guard against dissipating our energy, becoming over-immersed in activity and busyness to the point of losing overall effectiveness.

Both the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers started with similar fortunes, but the direction of the two founders and their immediate family led to different outcomes.

Paul provided a decaying kernel of grain as a metaphor of death and resurrection, indicating that the new spirit body will be a completely different body.

We must invest in our own self-improvement and preparation, continually striving against stagnation and deterioration, and the powerful pulls of the world.