iWork4Him PowerThought

Maybe, like me, you're a DO-ER. Another self-confessed DO-ER author Alan Fadling had this to say about his previous MIS-BELIEF: I used to believe that: If I AM what I DO, then if I DO MORE, than I AM MORE. That shines a HUGE light on a widely-held MIS-belief. That is NOT who we are as a Christ follower. Our identity comes from the Lord, not from what we do. Thinking that way is known as a "works mentality". Paul writes about it in Ephesians: 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. .... How about YOU? Are you working with Jesus, and resting in Him as the source for your identity and work?

What if you could experience God in your work? We mean, WHILE you do your work. In speaking with pastor and author John Van Sloten the other day, he said when we feel delight in doing our job in the moment, that IS God. When we are creating, doing work that brings us joy with our unique giftedness, we are experiencing God. How about you? What if you prayed today, and asked God to attune you to Him in your work? To pray that you would experience Him and His delight as you ENJOY YOUR work, in doing it with excellence. Isn't this what we were created for? .... The Westminster Catechism says it best: Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever

In Christianity, disciple means a dedicated follower of Jesus. ... A disciple in the ancient biblical world actively imitated both the life and teaching of the master. So how about you? Are you ACTIVELY imitating the LIFE and the TEACHING of Christ? Have you been living this out in one area of your life and not the others? .... What about your workplace? Have you ever considered your workplace can be where you actively not only imitate but live out the teachings of our master? .... Have you ever prayed for God to use you to make disciples in YOUR Workplace? .... Matthew 28:19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Learned something new just recently from a friend who runs an organization in Clearwater, Florida. They practice "redemptive hiring." It's the practice of hiring someone, when God points them out and moves them to, for the purpose of mentoring them, and bringing them closer to God. Then God does the redeeming work. How COOL IS THAT? .... Using your business to change someone's life. To minister to people through hiring. .... That's why they call their business a BIZNISTRY (a business as ministry). A Term coined by At Work On Purpose. .... So how about you? .... Are YOU open to listening to God's voice in your work and hiring practices? For Him to use YOU, to change people's lives?

The peace that is beyond all understanding. Do you have it? Is it flowing out of you? .... Do you look different? .... Act differently? .... Think differently than the others around you? .... A Christ-follower is the one at work people wonder about. They wonder HOW can they be so calm? And they are attracted to this person because of it. Why? Because they exude an inexplicable peace. So how about you? Are you the peaceful person in YOUR workplace? .... And if not, why not? .... Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Are you an underground evangelist? Our friends at Helping Hands Charitable are. This is how they see it: It's not what we speak, it's what we do. If you work in a company that does not allow or recognize Christianity, there IS something you can do. You can bring Christ into your workplace in a winsome and engaging way. HOW? By how you ACT. Our actions speak louder than our words anyway, so why not be intentional with WHO we're being at work? .... So how about YOU? .... If your co-workers were asked, would that say they KNOW YOU are a Christian? Not because YOU told them, but because it's so apparent by your actions?

Conflict. It's a reality. It's not a question of IF, it's a question of WHEN. Conflict doesn't have to be bad. It actually has some positive things going for it: it causes us to grow, to find common ground, to open up dialogue, to find a win-win solution, and stretches us and our creativity, to think outside the box. .... So how about you? How well versed are YOU in conflict resolution? .... How about BIBLICAL conflict resolution? .... When's the last time you learned a new way to deal with conflict? .... We challenge YOU today, to go learn a new trick or two, to master conflict.

Under pressure, we either run to God, or away from God. James Barnett, President of Dayspring shared that thought with us one day. So how about you? How are you handling pressure and stress today? .... Are you taking it to the Lord in prayer? .... For His direction? .... For His response on how YOU should respond? .... Do you need the words? .... The courage? .... The perseverance? .... The wisdom? .... The direction? .... Rick Warren said: God changes caterpillars into butterflies, sand into pearls and coal into diamonds using time and pressure. He's working on you, too.

There's a burden we all share as working Christians: The Poor. We, the body of Christ, are the answer. It takes 5-7 YEARS to move a person from a poverty mentality to self-sufficiency. It takes our hands and feet. It takes a life on life commitment. Poverty will NOT be solved by throwing money at it. But you CAN fund the hands and feet who are called to work with the poor day to day. With your paycheck. Your company's revenue stream. With the funds God has entrusted to you. Proverbs 19:17 says If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and he will repay you! How will you and your workplace help the poor in your community today? So how about you?

Jon Evans, President & CEO, eCom Systems out of Sarasota, Florida said in an interview the other day: When we come to Christ, we get all of Him, but does He get all of us? That's the real question. .... What a soul-shaking question. Did Christ get ALL of YOU in your conversion? Are you holding some part of your life, like your work, away from Him? Keeping it from His influence? From His authority? From His transformation, to be conformed in His image? Jeremiah 23:24 Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?" says the Lord. So how about you? So we're asking you today: What part of your life, your self, your work are YOU holding back, or hiding from God?