Shining the brightest in heaven
Devoted to Good Works
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And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.
Titus 3:14 (ESV)
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Here’s a case of a verse that packs a whole lot into a few words.
Devoted to good works; helping urgent needs; be fruitful.
I have to think that if I spent most of my time concentrating on those goals, not only would I be busier than I ever imagined possible, but I’d probably be quite productive in my Kingdom mission.
Urgent needs are always easy to spot.
We’re almost always being made aware of them; they stand out.
For example, sometime in the past week or so my church emailed me about an urgent need for some funding for a couple upcoming mission trips. Stuff like that is almost always construction-worker high visibility.
In contrast, good works and long term fruitfulness are quiet & subtle.
Not subtle to God -- He sees our good works and sets up heavenly rewards for them.
Subtle to our human experience.
Hard to spot, easy to miss, and often ignored. It takes a deep character and commitment to the Kingdom work to stick to these kinds of fruits when there is no visible reward.
It’s why doling out verbal encouragement is so important (something I’m working on myself).
You can see the ebbs and flows of life work in these waves.
What I mean is, there are times of acute needs that are almost self-rewarding. Like high waves we can surf. Most of the time this ocean of work is flat, the movement is slow, but still critical.
That’s when devotion is hard.
It’s also when devotion shines the brightest … in heaven.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2026 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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