iWork4Him PowerThought

I heard a clever quip the other day about trying to take control from God's hands. God is writing the story of your life: so STOP TRYING TO GRAB THE PEN FROM HIS HAND! This applies to our work as well. Sometimes we think we are living God's plan for us in our work when we are actually just "taking Jesus with us ".   And only praying to Him to ask for blessings on what we are doing at work. How can...

Being intentional seems to be a consistent hallmark of followers of Christ. Because Christ is our best example of intentionality. Intentionality is defined as being deliberate or purposeful. How about you? How are you working with intentionality today? In the office, with your co-workers, intentionally representing Christ and showing His love and patience to everyone you come in contact with ? Mos...

Are you feeling as though you're just going to work on auto-pilot ? That you can do your work now, with your eyes closed, with one arm tied behind your back ?  When's the last time you asked God to stretch YOU, in your work? Comfort is not a place Christ-followers should be camping out in. .... So how about you? Are you brave enough, to ask "Lord, will you stretch me today? Will you put me to bett...

If you are like me you jump up out of bed, check for emergency text messages, check the weather, rush through your morning devotional time so you can get on to the real work of the day. Just recently Martha and I were reading a book by Kim Avery "The Prayer Powered Entrepreneur" and she suggests a different approach. Kim suggests that when we have our morning quiet time, be quiet and ask our Lord...

Every one of us in ministry. What? No, you say, I'm a CPA, I'm an engineer, I manage people at a construction company.  Yes, and you are called to be an Ambassador for Christ there.  The Apostle Paul agrees, as he wrote to the Ephesians, in Chapter 6 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God's ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.  If Paul can...

Are you dreading Monday? Do you start to lose your joy come Sunday evening? .... What if instead of dreading Monday, you LOOKED FORWARD TO IT? What if instead of moaning about Monday, you prayed away your dread, and replaced it with thanks, and joy and intention? .... To pray that come Monday morning, you would FEEL GOD in your work, as you work. That your work would glorify God, that you would be...

There is a truth about work that has been lost to much of our culture since the creation of the world. It is that GOD CREATED WORK. He created work for us, to do together and for HIS glory. Genesis 2: 19 So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one .  Work i...

As a business leader, if you turned your business over to God, what would that look like? What would be the result? Hundreds of business owners we've interviewed over the past eight years have done it. They say the result is a DEEP sense of peace vs. stress, pressure, and tension. And a new, deepening understanding of their role as a STEWARD of God's business, vs. "being the OWNER of it ".   What...

What if our WORK WAS our WORSHIP ?  The Hebrew word avodah means work, worship, and service, altogether! Work: being productive, worship: praising and glorifying God and service: a form of service to the world and our community. We are MEANT to be of service, to be PARTNERS with God in the ongoing creation of the world. The various usages of this Hebrew word that is first found in Genesis 2:15 sho...

What if today, we committed to operate our businesses from a philosophy of "It's not about WHAT we sell or HOW MUCH we sell, it's about the LIVES we TOUCH and CHANGE."  That's "God's way of doing business ". And it's the exact OPPOSITE of everything we have been taught as professional business people . But isn't that always God's way? This counter-cultural philosophy is rooted in Matthew 6:33: But...

Money. We all need it to live. Is your view of money healthy and in alignment with biblical principles ?  Is the WAY you use it serving man, or God and His Kingdom .  1 John 3:17 says If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God's love be in that person ?   How about your income? How about your company's revenue? Are you tithing...

For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy .  So how about you ?  Are you resting from your work? Are you taking a day off every week and keeping it holy? Are you honoring God with your business and keeping the Sabbath, not only for yourself, but for y...

I learned something new talking with a Physical Fitness company owner in Nashville. The only gift God has given us that we can control 100% is our body. What we eat, how we take care of it, what we feed it, if we are exercising it. Reminds me of Luke 11:36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you...

Have you ever experienced a major upheaval in your business or work life?  Something that looked like it was taking you in the opposite direction of where you were headed ?  Or was (you thought) the next logical step? It's highly possible that God is using this to move you to exactly where HE wants you to be .  For HIS work, in HIS time, for THIS season. Let Romans 8:28 encourage you today, and we...

Humility. The term "humility" comes from the Latin word humilitas , a noun related to the adjective humilis, which can be translated as "humble", but also as "grounded", or "from the earth", since it derives from HUmus (earth) .  The greatest leaders, including our Lord have it. CS Lewis said: "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of YOURSELF LESS."  What if TODAY, you and I, t...

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...

Kathy Branzell , President of the National Day of Prayer says: there's the idea that when I work, I work, but when I pray, God works .  So how about YOU? Are you working, when you should be praying ?  Are you starting work first, before you pray? Are you taking God's place for the results by over-working ?  There's a beautiful balance we can obtain between work and prayer. We can choose to pray fi...

Are there ROCKS in YOUR schedule? ROCKS are IMMOVABLE commitments. Those priorities that are unchangeable .  As a working Christ-follower, what are some of YOUR ROCKS? Here are some of mine: Time with the Lord. Family commitments. And anything I have given my word to, to be there .  Is WORK one of YOUR ROCKS? If it is, maybe it's time to look at that rock, and decrease its size, or the amount of s...

Heard this the other day: The principles never change, but the methods always do .  What a solid management philosophy this makes for us Christ followers. Principles are defined as:  fundamental truths that serve as the foundation for a system of beliefs. Our biblical core beliefs are the basis of who we are and what we do. And that applies to how we work, lead and manage . But the methods, those...

Some things in life are more challenging than others. Like finances. And even more challenging: How do we glorify God with our finances ?  If you think you've mastered your finances, there's a next step, a better way to glorify God with them. To transform the money we make from working for the Lord, and seeing that it is invested in Kingdom building. It's called Biblically Responsible Investing an...

When people around you at work succeed, do you find yourself happy for them or feeling bad for yourself? It can be easy to compare our career path to someone else's and come out feeling like we missed our chance at moving up - but the truth is that everyone's journey will look different. Galatians 6:4 says, " Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job w...

Is God building another testimony for you, through your workplace? Often, hard times come in our work, and we're called to respond as a Christ-follower. Not react with fear, self-pity, anger, resentment or push-back. But with a keen sense and trust that God is sovereign in our work. That He may have brought something to an end, for His Glory, not our punishment .  So how about YOU? .... Are YOU go...

How do you measure your work success ?  We're referring to eternal success in your work .  One way is to ask yourself :  Is my workplace better off because of having me work there ?  Have I changed it for the better ?  Would my co-workers say that I am a blessing to work with ?  A roofing business owner in Florida told us he takes an inventory every year, looks back at the year to see what benefit...

Is God leading your work? How do you get the point where you can say YES, He is .  Here're a couple of ideas to get you started. First, read a book or listen to faith at work podcasts that introduce you to the concept of working for the Lord. Second, pray and ask God to show you how and where He is at work in your work today. Three, take a faith at work devotional and put it on your desk. Before y...

As we start our work week, let's remind ourselves of our calling to our work and God's plan for our work. Declare this now as you head to work today, walk to your office, or sit down to do your devotions. … "My workplace is my mission field, a place of full-time ministry… My workplace ministry manual is my Bible. …My calling to my workplace is not a second-class calling…. I dedicate my workplace a...