Drivetime Devotions September 7, 2026

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Each week you'll find biblical teaching, practical encouragement, and conversations designed to help you follow Jesus in everyday life.

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Welcome to Drivetime Devotionals, a look at Scripture to help you get your school or work week started with your focus in the right place.

I'm Katrina, the Director of Communications at Celebration Baptist.

For our very first Drivetime Devotional, I'd like to share Colossians 3.23 with you.

Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.

Each of us listening right now is probably in a different stage of life.

Some of us are working a job, or maybe we own our own business.

Many of you are probably still in school, and some of you may be lucky enough to be retired right now.

Maybe you're raising children, caring for someone you love, volunteering, or looking for your next job.

Wherever you are in life, this verse has something to say about the way we approach the ordinary things we have to do this week.

Colossians was a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a church in the city of Colossi.

The first part of this letter lays out some profound truths about who Jesus is and what he has done.

Then in the second half of the letter, Paul gets very practical.

If all of those things about Jesus are true, what should our everyday lives look like?

And that includes our work.

In fact, the immediate context of this verse makes it even more interesting.

Paul was talking to bondservants, to people who had very little control over the work they were expected to do.

In verse 22, he tells them not to work only while they're being watched, just to please people.

Instead, they should work sincerely, out of reverence for the Lord.

Then comes verse 23.

Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.

That phrase, whatever you do, it's pretty comprehensive.

It includes the big things we think are really important, but it also includes that email you don't really want to answer, the homework assignment you're tired of looking at, the dishes piled up in the sink, the meeting that could have been an email, the customer who is testing every ounce of your patience.

It even includes how you behave in traffic on the way to get to all of those tasks.

So what does it mean to do those things from the heart?

Earlier in this chapter, Paul gives us a pretty good picture of what that means.

Colossians 3.12 says, Therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

That is the heart a follower of Jesus was called to have, one filled with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Now think about your week ahead.

What would it look like to bring those qualities into your workplace or your classroom?

What does kindness look like when a coworker makes a mistake that creates more work for you?

What does humility look like when someone else gets credit for something you helped accomplish?

What does patience look like when someone asks you the same question for the third time?

And what does gentleness look like when you have to correct someone?

Or what about compassion when the person who is frustrating you just may be carrying something you know absolutely nothing about?

Those questions don't just apply at work or school either.

What about when you're driving to work, going grocery shopping, dealing with customer service, or maybe the ultimate test of Christian patience, waiting at the DMV?

Imagine how different our homes, workplaces, schools, and communities could look if followers of Jesus consistently treated the people around us with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

But there's something else important here.

Paul isn't simply telling us be a good person because people are watching.

He gives us a much bigger reason.

At the end of verse 23, Paul says to do our work for the Lord and not for people.

And then in verse 24, it ends with this simple statement: you serve the Lord Christ.

That changes things.

Most of us have somebody evaluating what we do: our bosses, our teachers, a customer, a parent, maybe even social media followers.

And it's easy to let their approval become the thing that motivates us.

We work hard when someone important to us is watching.

We want recognition.

We want to get that compliment.

We want the good grade, the promotion, the raise, or just somebody to notice how much we've done.

But Paul tells us that there is a bigger audience for our lives.

Jesus.

That means there really shouldn't be a version of our work that we do when the boss is watching and another version when no one is paying attention.

Proverbs 15:3 reminds us the eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.

Proverbs 15:3

Well, that could sound intimidating, but for a follower of Jesus, I think it can also be very encouraging.

It means that the work nobody else notices isn't going completely unnoticed.

Maybe you're doing something important this week and nobody is going to thank you for it.

It could be taking care of a child or an aging parent, or doing the behind-the-scenes work while somebody else gets the recognition.

Maybe you're studying hard for a class that you don't even like, or maybe you're faithfully doing a job that you hope you won't be doing forever.

Just know that God sees faithfulness that other people overlook.

And when our work is ultimately for Him, even ordinary work can have purpose.

First Corinthians 10, 31 puts it this way: Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

Notice those words again.

Whatever you do, following Jesus isn't something we reserve for Sunday morning.

There isn't a church part of our life where we serve God and then a work, school, family, or everyday part where he becomes less relevant.

All of it belongs to Jesus.

And that brings me to one final question for us all to think about this week.

When other people watch the way we work or study or drive or treat other people, what kind of conclusion are they making about Jesus?

Jesus said in Matthew 5, 16, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

People should be able to see something different in the way we approach ordinary life.

Not because we never get frustrated or because we never make mistakes, and definitely not because Christians should be the person in the office who acts like they're better than everybody else.

It's just the opposite.

They should see compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience.

And they should see someone who does their work with integrity, whether somebody is watching you or not.

So as you head into this week, here's your challenge.

Think of one part of your normal routine that you tend to treat as unimportant, frustrating, or something you just have to get through.

And this week change the audience.

Instead of doing it for your boss, teacher, spouse, parents, or even just for you, consciously say, Jesus, I am going to do this task for you.

See what happens when you approach even the ordinary parts of your week as an opportunity to serve Jesus.

Because whatever you do, whether it feels significant or completely ordinary, you have an opportunity to honor Jesus through it.

Whatever you do, do it from the heart as something done for the Lord and not for people.

I pray you have a great week, celebration family.

And wherever you're heading today, remember who you're really working for.

Thanks for joining us on the Celebration Baptist Church podcast.

We hope today's conversation helps you take another step in your faith journey.

For more resources, upcoming events, and to join us live, visit iCelebration.org.

Until next time, keep connecting with God, connecting with others, and living on mission.