In 1 Peter 3:15 we read:

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

In this one verse we find the answer to how to share our faith at work—or anywhere else, for that matter. First, it begins with revering Christ as Lord in our hearts. It means that Christ has a very special place in our heart—a unique status, above everyone and everything else. So, revering Christ implies that we should understand and obey the commands of our Lord. It means we are not the center of our world, but Christ is. And because you revere him as Lord, you live a moral and upright life, always striving to please him as the Lord of your life.

So, that’s where we begin as we think about sharing our faith at work. You have to know Jesus personally by placing your trust in him as your Savior, confessing your sins, and believing that he is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to God the Father except though Jesus. Have you done that? Are you certain that you have been born again, as Jesus said? Can you tell about a time when your life changed because you accepted Jesus and revered him as Lord? That’s the bottom-line issue.

Then you have to be prepared to give answers for the hope you have. Well, how can you give answers if you don’t get questions? So, what could cause an unbeliever to ask you a question that would give you an opening to share your faith? Here’s how.

First, you generate questions by your attitude toward your work, your company, your manager, and your coworkers. If we talked to some people who work with you, would they describe you as having a good attitude about your job? Or do you fall into complaint or critical mode too often? Do you join in with the office gossip, or have you learned to steer clear of that kind of conversation? If you want to generate questions that give you an opportunity to share your faith, you have to live in such a way that people notice the difference that Jesus makes in your life. That means you go to work each day with joy, with appreciation for your job, and with an upbeat, positive attitude toward your work.

Then, you generate questions by your work habits. You may not be the smartest person on the job or the most experienced or the most educated, but you can be the hardest-working person and the one who does her job with excellence consistently. That’s a choice you make. Would that describe you? And are you dependable—arriving at work on time, fulfilling promises or commitments you’ve made, making your deadlines? Do you avoid taking advantage of your company by making sure you give a good full day’s work each day?

Another way your life can generate questions is by living with total integrity on your job. Never fudging numbers, always telling the truth, taking nothing that doesn’t belong to you, abiding by company rules, honoring confidential information. You need to have a reputation of total trustworthiness and honesty.

And then, the way you deal with adversity can be a strong testimony to your faith. Whether it’s personal adversity, when you’re going through some personal crisis, or adversity on the job, the way you respond to it will speak volumes about you. When your coworkers watch you handle difficult situations in a peaceful way, without panic or fear, that will often generate a question. A good friend watched a coworker handle their very chaotic work environment and lots of constant pressure in a peaceful way, and she finally asked him how he could be so peaceful and calm where they worked. That opened a door for him to share his faith and after many conversations and a challenge to read the book of John, she accepted Christ as her Savior because of the way he handled an unpleasant and difficult work environment.

I’ve been encouraging you to develop a gratitude muscle. I mentioned that the scientists are just now discovering that gratitude rewires your brain. But the idea of gratitude is not new; it’s not something that these scientists have just thought of. It’s been a biblical truth since time began.

But does it seem particularly difficult be thankful in our world today? We hear all kinds of bad news every day, and we have struggles of our own to deal with as well. It’s easy to say that we should be grateful, but how can we do this in our upside-down world?

Well, this is where we have an incredible advantage as followers of Jesus Christ. Actually trying to develop a gratitude muscle won’t work unless you have something to be thankful for—something that is not affected by the circumstances of this world or of our lives. Gratitude works when it is true response of a creature to a Creator.

I have a final suggestion to help us develop this gratitude muscle. How about a gratitude journal—a place where you consistently keep a record of all you have to be thankful for. Even if you journal already, use a separate gratitude journal and on a regular, if not daily basis, write down at least one thing you are grateful for. There is great benefit in putting it in writing.

Developing this gratitude muscle will be one of the most game-changing things you can do for yourself and for the glory of God. But you will have to work at it. You will need to consistently exercise this gratitude muscle, which means you’ll need daily reminders to be a thankful, grateful person. It will re-wire your brain; it will change your attitude; it will improve your health; it will improve your relationships—everything in your life will be so much better if you will make a commitment to develop and improve your gratitude muscle. I encourage you to start developing your gratitude muscle.

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Creating a gratitude muscle is an area that all of us can grow in, and it will bless you as you develop that gratitude muscle more and more. The secular world has discovered that grateful people experience more joy in life and are more fun to be around. But here’s the thing: becoming grateful is not easy because it isn’t natural. We must cultivate this gratitude muscle.

You know, just saying the words “thank you” does not make you a grateful person. It may just be a polite phrase you’ve learned to say, and you can say it automatically without much thought. In fact, the world’s definition of thankfulness is feeling pleased or being conscious of a benefit you’ve received. In other words, it could be all about you.

In order to develop a Christ-honoring gratitude muscle, you must express your gratitude to God for who he is, and then when you’re truly focused on how blessed you are to know God, that thankfulness should overflow from you to everyone around you. Then you’ll be blessing others as you have been blessed.

So, biblical gratitude is acknowledging the giver even more than the gift. Gratitude is developed and strengthened through praise, through knowing God better and better, through many different ways. We read in Colossians 3:16:

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Let—or allow—the message of Christ dwell among you richly. That takes effort; that takes planning; that takes time. This is what strengthens our gratitude muscle; we do it through fellowship with others, we encourage each other, we sing praise—and all of it done with gratitude in our hearts. Is that how you worship God—always mindful of how blessed you are because of Jesus?

Here's my challenge to help you increase your gratitude muscle: Find a fellow believer and thank God together, or sing a song together, or in some way encourage each other to be thankful. Do it on the phone, on zoom, on Facebook – whatever is available, but give thanks to God today with at least one other person.

It has been proven scientifically that gratitude produces very positive effects, creating a culture of gratitude which can encourage others to also be thankful. So let’s develop a gratitude muscle—putting practices in place in your life that cause you to focus on all you have to be thankful for.

The Bible long ago established our need for gratitude. Do you remember that in the Old Testament the people of Israel gave thank offerings? Interestingly, the thank offering was a free will offering (Leviticus 22:19), meaning that even under the law, God did not require his people to be thankful. He always longed that thank offerings would be the spontaneous response of the hearts of his people to his goodness.

Do you remember the story in the Bible when Jesus healed ten lepers? Leprosy was a horrible disease in that day, and to be cured of it was almost unheard of. So, when Jesus healed these ten lepers, you would think they would be extremely thankful. But how many of those ten lepers returned to thank Jesus? Here’s what Luke tells us:

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:15-18)

How could the other nine never even bother thanking Jesus for their freedom from leprosy? But then I ask myself, how many times have I taken the blessings of Jesus for granted and failed to give him thanks and praise for what he has done?

Here’s my challenge: Think of one time when the Lord has done something wonderful for you, and even though you may have thanked him before, this time write your thanksgiving on paper. Put it in your journal, type it from your laptop—whatever works for you. But the important thing is to take time and put your words of gratitude in writing to God. Remember, gratitude rewires your brain, but more importantly, it develops your gratitude muscle.

Someone has said that gratitude is for mental health what vegetables are for physical health. Now, hopefully you enjoy eating vegetables because you know that they are absolutely necessary if you want to have good health. Sometimes you may eat vegetables just because you know they are good for you, even if that particular veggie is not your favorite—right?

Well, the same is true for your mental health, if you want to create a gratitude muscle. You learn to be thankful for everything and at all times because it’s good for you. You may not feel thankful, but you can still intentionally think about and talk about all you have to be thankful for.

It’s interesting that thankfulness and its variations show up in the New Testament 71 times and it is always a directive of Scripture. For example:

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1Thessalonians 5:18).

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).

It’s not a suggestion; it is a spiritual exercise. Something you do intentionally.

In the Old Testament there are about 102 times that thankfulness and its variations occur, and you are no doubt aware that the Psalms are full of thanksgiving. Just one example:

Psalm 9:1-2: I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

So, here is one suggestion you can practice today in order to develop your gratitude muscle. Avoid complaining about anything today—nothing! Instead, verbalize thankfulness today out loud. Look around you—what do you see that you are thankful for? A beautiful day? Your child? A friend? Good food? Just look around you and verbalize your thankfulness for what you see. Maybe even count the number of times you say, “Thank you for. . .” whatever you see. That should keep you busy all day, and you will be strengthening your gratitude muscle.

It always amuses me to see how science often catches up with the Bible. Recently I read an article entitled “Gratitude Rewires Your Brain.” When I saw the title, I thought, Well, yeah—that’s been a Bible truth for ages.

In 2014 a physicist wrote, “We are now entering the golden age of neuroscience. We have learned more about the thinking brain in the last ten to fifteen years than in all of previous human history.” So, in studying the brain, these scientists are discovering how God created us, and how living in harmony with his principles improves all parts of our lives, including our brains—how we think!

This article goes on to say that being grateful is far more significant to our mental health and well-being than we may realize. Studies have shown that performing simple gratitude leads to better sleep, improved interpersonal relationships, less stress and even reduced physical pain. The article concludes that “the more practice you give your brain at feeling and expressing gratitude, the more it adapts to this mind-set…a sort of gratitude ‘muscle’ that can be exercised and strengthened.”

I love this thought of creating a gratitude muscle. I’ve often talked about building your spiritual muscles, and you do that through God’s Word, prayer, fellowship with other believers, etc. So, I think it would be very helpful for all of us to be intentional about creating a gratitude muscle.

If you want to rewire your brain with gratitude and create a gratitude muscle, there are some specific and easy things you can do to make this happen. Let’s begin with the Scripture that tells us to build this gratitude muscle:

Colossians 2:6-7: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Your faith will be strengthened as you grow that gratitude muscle!

(presented by Lisa Bishop)

Have you ever felt in a slump—in a rut in life? Even in a spiritual rut? Maybe you feel rundown, depressed, or discouraged. You may even be in a long season of despair perhaps feeling hopeless or know someone close to you who does.

No matter where you are in your faith, following Jesus for five days or fifteen years, you will go through seasons and a series of highs, lows, and everything in between. For some reason we don’t talk about it. It’s almost as if it is taboo to talk about being a follower of Jesus and battling with doubt or despair at times.

I came to faith 23 years ago. A co-worker from my first job out of college and I became friends and as she shared her life with me, she expressed genuine interest in me. Through that relationship, I was introduced to Jesus.

In over two decades of following Jesus I have had highs and lows and everything in between. And I work at a church! I think sometimes we look at pastors and church staff as if they are immune to doubt, wavering faith and feeling downright spiritually depleted. We can believe the lie that lie, “If you are holy and really a follower of Jesus, if your faith were really real you would not feel spiritually dry or despondent.” Well, that is not true.

The other day I was experiencing a mild state of feeling depressed. I felt down and blue. The concerns and unknowns of life just started weighing on me. I am someone who likes control and certainty and on this day of feeling out of control and uncertain, I found myself in a slump. Sometimes in an effort to find relief from feeling out of sorts, it can be easy to binge on reruns of my favorite show, scroll through Facebook and Instagram or reach for food as comfort. But on this particular day, instead of checking out, I tuned in. I put in my earbuds and started to worship. When I worshiped, everything shifted.

Did you know that you are wired for worship?

God in his glory designed us so that worship literally impacts our brains and our minds—ultimately, our lives. Studies have shown that when we worship, God created us so that dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin are released that induce happiness and joy and boost our immune system. God designed us so that when we worship him, we experience decreases in depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. We experience more joy!

We often wait to worship until we feel like it but we are actually wired to worship. This is not positive thinking or a pep talk, this is a posture. God is worthy of our worship, and when we worship and praise him for his magnificence, our lives transform even if our circumstances don’t change. Worship changes us.

As my friend Becky, and author of “The 30-Day Praise Challenge,” says, “Praise is your intentional offering of worship, strengthening your faith and unlocking the key to joy no matter what your life circumstance.”

I want to talk about having a posture of praise and preaching the truth to yourself. Psalm 103 will be our praise guide.

Psalm 103 is a Psalm of David, the second King of Israel, God’s chosen king, and known as a man after God’s own heart. Some have attributed the Psalm to being written in David’s later years because he knew the grace and deliverance of God many times throughout his life. If you have never read through the Psalms, I highly recommend it. For the past two years I have been reading and dwelling on a Psalm a day.

One thing that stands out in Psalms is that the Psalmists bless God no matter their circumstance. A Psalm may begin with crying out to God in anger, frustration, fear, feelings of being forsaken by God, but the Psalmist remembers and declares truth. God, no matter what your circumstances try to tell you, is worthy of your praise. He never forsakes you. He is always faithful.

Several years ago I wrote a book entitled Why Do I Always Feel Guilty? The reason I wrote that book was because I knew from my own experience and from ministering to women for years that we take on guilt at the drop of a hat! It doesn’t take much at all to make us feel guilty.

God wants to change our names from Bitter to Joyful, from Anxious to Peaceful, from Discouraged to Delivered, from Addicted to Unshackled, and guilty is another name God wants to change.

Is your name Guilty?

God wants to give you a wonderful new name: Forgiven. David said that his guilt had overwhelmed him like a burden too heavy to bear. But then he acknowledged his sin and God forgave the guilt of his sin. God wants to do that for you.

Colossians 1:13-14: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Psalm 32:1: Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

And God also wants to take away that false guilt you’ve been carrying around. It could be that you are allowing yourself to feel guilty about things that either have already been forgiven and forgotten by God, or things for which you are not truly guilty.

For example, if you’ve confessed your past sins, you are forgiven and you don’t need to carry guilt with you any longer. And if you’re feeling guilty for things totally beyond your control, that’s false guilt that the enemy has dumped on you. God wants you to change your name to Forgiven, and live in the joy that he remembers your sin against you no more.

God knows that old name you’ve got. He knows you and he knows your name. But here’s the best news in all the world: The God who created the heavens and the earth, the only true God, loves you with a love that cannot be quenched or changed. He knows the worst about you and he loves you still. He wants you to know abundant life that is found only in Jesus Christ.

Would you like to claim your new name today? You can do that; whatever it is that has you in bondage, you can leave it behind and move into the life you were meant to live.

(Click here to get a copy of "Your New Name" cards.)

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Did you ever think that maybe God wants to change your name? God can change our names. He did it for Abraham and Sarah and Paul, to mention a few, and their name change indicated that God was doing a new work in their lives and giving them new purpose. Honestly, I think some of us need a name change. For example,

Is your name Addicted?

Usually we think of addictions as limited to alcohol or drugs, but addictions come in many other less-visible ways, too. For example, there are food addictions, television addictions, sexual addictions, shopping addictions, to name a few. And I think there are others that are even more subtle, like being addicted to laziness or to negativity or to self-pity. It’s possible to be addicted to a person who is not good for you, when you feel like you can’t live without them even though they’re doing you harm.

The enemy of your soul is such a thief and liar that he can get you hooked on something that seems innocent, and perhaps in moderation it is harmless, but your addiction to it keeps you in bondage and prevents you from knowing the full potential that God has for your life.

If there is some area of addiction in your life, no matter how small or hidden, God wants to change your name from Addicted to Unshackled. In Luke 4:18 Jesus said:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free….”

And Paul wrote to the Galatians:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).

Living with addictions is letting yourself be burdened again by enslavement to that thing or that person. Would you like to be set free from that addiction in your life? Ask God today to change your name to Unshackled. You may not be able to break that bondage, but Jesus came to set you free and he can break it.

(Click here to get a copy of "Your New Name" cards.)

Sometimes we need a new name. God changed the names of some significant people in the Bible: Abram and Saul and Jacob and Simon, to name a few. He changed their names because he was setting them in a new direction, changing more than their names. He was changing their attitudes, their priorities, their characters. And you know, I think God probably wants to change our names sometimes, too.

We’ve talked about changing your name from Bitter to Joyful, from Anxious to Peaceful, from Discouraged to Delivered. Here’s another name that needs to be changed:

Is your name Rejected?

Have people hurt you and disappointed you? So many have experienced significant rejection from parents, from siblings, from mates, from children, from friends, from employers. Sometimes those rejections are blatant, sometimes subtle, but in every case they are painful.

If you’ve been living with the name of Rejected lately—or maybe for many years—God really wants you to know that you are Accepted. Your new name is Accepted. When we become new creations in Christ, we are accepted in Christ Jesus, the Beloved, and nothing can ever separate us from Jesus and his love for us.

I think of a woman who experienced subtle rejection from her mother all her life, as her mother almost daily told her that she was an unplanned and unwanted child. She reminded her over and over again that her birth had greatly complicated her mother’s life and made her unhappy. It was the kind of rejection that wasn’t obvious to others, but it was there all the time. But when she came to know the love of Jesus and realized that she was truly accepted in him, it was life-changing for her. She lived her remaining years basking in the glow that Jesus loved and accepted her, and she’s with him now, no doubt still basking in that love

Psalm 66:20: Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

1 Peter 2:4-5: As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

If you’ve been living with the name Rejected, God wants to call you Accepted, starting now!

(Click here to get a copy of "Your New Name" cards.)