iWork4Him PowerThought

During your commute today, whether it's walking down the hallway or driving down the highway, what will you think about?

Will you be caught up in the stress of the day or will you be preparing your heart for what God is going to do today, alongside you in your work?

God set the workplace standard before evil entered our world. He gave Adam a job to name all the animals. An almost impossible task, except that God brought all the animals to him.

You see, God doesn't expect us to get the job done without helping us.

What if today, on your "way" to work, you spend that time asking God to reveal His purpose in your work and your placement in your workplace. Neither are by accident.

How we spend our first moments of the day makes a huge impact on the rest of the day, especially our work. Spend your "commute" wisely today.

When Jim & I were 13 we committed our lives to full-time Christian Ministry. So naturally I thought I would be a pastor's wife or a missionary.

I thought I was going to be a youth pastor.

When we got married, I naturally thought that ministry was in our future.

Martha was right about that. But we were both wrong about the location of our ministry. We kept thinking we were headed for church ministry.

But Jim and I are both good at business and we ran an insurance agency. We didn't know our ministry was right there in front of us. We treated people well.

But we never saw it as a ministry. In fact, no one ever spoke into our lives that we could have a ministry in our workplace.

But we were in ministry and our workplace ministry calling perfectly matched our God given gifts, talents, and abilities.

So, are you committed to full-time Christian Ministry? You'll find it at your workplace today!

Do you ever feel like quitting your job? Even though it's a good job and it pays well.

We mean quit your perfectly good job so you can go into full time ministry. Have you ever had that thought?

If you are like us, you feel the need for significance in your work and you feel like a job in a church or a Christian non-profit is the only way to go.

We are here to help stop the madness. The job that you hold, the work that you do and the people that you work with, none of that is by chance.

The people that you work with need to meet Jesus and you may be their only chance.

Try this thought on for size. Your workplace is your mission field. Pay attention today at work and see if you meet any people who need to meet Jesus – and don't quit your job.

When you woke up today did you find yourself celebrating the first day of the work week or did you find yourself dreading it?

It seems that most of us suffer from TGIF syndrome instead of adopting the TGIM revolution. We need to start Thanking God its Monday.

You see, God designed our work to have purpose and fulfillment. He also designed it so that He could work alongside us, bringing us His wisdom along the way.

What is it going to take for you to switch from dreading Monday to celebrating it?

If you are like me, it is going to take a Romans 12:2 Paradigm Shift. We have to stop copying the Behavior and Customs of this world and allow ourselves to be transformed and allow God to change the way we think.

Every Day your work matters to God. Let's start celebrating Mondays.

In 2006 I started a new job commuting 90 miles each way to work. I made a commitment to not turn on the radio on my way into work. I wanted to dedicate that time to pray for my family, my bosses and their families, my co-workers, and my employees. I learned to be quiet and I learned to make notes when I heard things from the Lord in my prayer time. I like to say that it Changed my life. Over the 4 years of this commute, I watched one of my Bosses come to be a Jesus follower and one rededicate his life to Christ. I was able to pray many times with my employees and I was able to demonstrate through service and friendship that my life was changed by Jesus. iWork4Him was launched through this prayer time and the iWork4Him Nation Covenant was birthed out of the process God took me through.

Do you want to see your workplace as a place to live out your faith? Your work is a place where you finally get that chance to be involved in fulltime ministry. Then do these things. 1st Start praying for those you work around, by name every day. 2nd look for ways to serve those same people over and above what your job requires you to do. 3rd look for ways to build a friendship with those you work with, outside of work, where real relationships can develop. 4th Look for ways to pray with people when you see them having a rough day. And 5th, all along be a person of excellence, in your work. Do these things and you will see your workplace transformed by God right before your eyes. We call this the iWork4Him Nation Covenant.

What do you do when you're faced with a problem at work? If you're like me, you probably go about trying to find a solution, usually starting with Google! We met and interviewed a remarkable woman named Susan. She went to God first, not google. She asked HIM for the answer to the problem. And kept praying in earnest expectation until He answered. She said to us "God has the answer to every problem, if we'd just ask Him." So, how about you? Are you depending on yourself, Google or asking others first? Or are you praying to the one who has ALL the answers? We invite you, the very next time you're faced with a work challenge, to stop, pray and ask God to give you the answer.

Are you unemployable? The other Day we were talking with Tom and Julie. They own a commercial cleaning franchise. Tom said he is unemployable, so he has to work for himself. Julie said it was true. Some of us are just wired to work in our own business and some of us are built to support those who run their own business. Either way its probably how you were wired. So how about you? Do you celebrate the differences between yourself and the others around you? Some own businesses and some don't. Doesn't make it wrong just different. God has designed us all with our unique set of Gifts Talents and Abilities. All to be used by Him for His glory in our Work. Don't wish you were someone else, celebrate who God made you to be, just like Tom.

Have you ever thought about what you want to be known for? Stephen, an executive we interviewed, says it starts with your personal brand. And your personal brand starts with asking yourself "What do I want to be known for?" So how about you? If your co-workers were asked about you, and who you are, what would they say?

We challenge you today, to take this question "What do I want to be known for?" and pen and paper and sit with it until you have an answer. And then, start intentionally beginning to LIVE IT OUT, consistently where you live, work and play. Ephesians 5:15 exhorts us "So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.

Changing the world. We all have that secret desire, don't we? Changing the world in Kingdom terms is not measured in the BIG, the BIGGER and the BIGGEST actions in our life and work. It's the opposite. Changing the world happens, one person, one word and one action at a time. It can be as small as a smile, a kind word, or a self-less act of service. It's counter-intuitive, just like the work of Christ. So how about you? Would you like to change the world? Would you be willing to start today, changing the corner of the world where God has placed YOU? We invite you to start changing the world RIGHT NOW, with ONE smile, ONE kind word, and ONE kind action.