iWork4Him PowerThought

How many of us think we are doing business God's way, when in reality, we are just Christians who love Jesus, go to church, and believe we live by Christian values? There's another way for us to start and run a business. To work and lead our teams. It's the Kingdom way .  ... . Start with God as your ultimate business partner, and ask Him what HIS plan is. And then keep moving based on what He's d...

Is it enough to be an ethical and hard-working owner, employee or boss, or does Jesus ask us to BE something MORE?    Over the past twenty years of being a student of faith at work , we've discovered that there are costs to being a Christ follower in the workplace. Not a Christian, a CHRIST FOLLOWER .  .... There's a difference. .... And there are COSTS to making Him known at work.  They are born...

After years of meeting with and interviewing people from all types of work and all organizational levels, there is one major truth that keeps bubbling up to the surface.  The investment IN PEOPLE, above all else , pays not only Kingdom dividends, but business dividends as well.  This is what Christ did, and it is the ultimate example of Christ's holy character: Matthew 20:28   says "For even the S...

It's Christmas Eve. Tomorrow is a day focused on the giving and receiving of gifts and recognizing the ultimate gift of Jesus. The day that you were born, your parents saw you as a gift. How will you be a gift to your family today, to the parents that gave you birth? Is it with your frequent phone calls or notes dropped in the mail? Is it helping around the house with projects that they just can't...

Christmas is coming – just 2 days away .  This week has focused on the giving and receiving of gifts and recognizing the ultimate gift of Jesus. Are you a gift to the people you live near ? Outside of work, we come in contact with a lot of people. You might be involved in a small group from church. How are you a gift to your small group? Are you a gift in the way you serve others in your community...

Hebrews 11 says, "By faith Abel brought an offering." What is an offering? Jesus said that while the bridegroom is with us, we want to feast, but when he is gone, then we look at fasting. We don't earn God's favor when we go without or by bringing him an offering. Faith grows when it is expressed in sacrifice when it's not easy. When I "bring my sacrifice of praise" God is honored and my faith in...

Hebrews 11 says, "By faith we understand. . . that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen." Stephen Covey says, "Begin with the end in mind." Entrepreneurs start with ideas of something that doesn't exist yet, to form the foundation of what is to come .  No wonder the context of Hebrews 11:3 is "by faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command." Why...

Hebrews 11 says, "Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation." The prophet Jeremiah reminds his listeners to "Stand by the road, and look, and ask for the ancient paths." Moses, in speaking to the Israelites in Deuteronomy says, "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart." Paul quotes this to the new Christians in Rome to then go on to say, "If you...

Hebrews 11 says, "Faith. . . is the evidence of things not seen…" Faith is holding on even when you can't see the answer. That's how Daniel and his friends must have felt when the King decreed that all of his senior advisors would die if no one could answer the riddle posed by the King's terrifying dream. But The King wouldn't tell anyone what he had seen in his dream. They had to tell him the dre...

Hebrews 11 says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for…" Hope is not the absence of doubt. We all have doubts. Faith has substance when we hold on to it despite our doubts. When Job said in his book that "Though He slay me I will hope in Him" Job is essentially saying what any of us have said when we declare, "Even if God doesn't come through in the way that I expect and am praying for, I st...

Let's start today with some biblical encouragement about work. Ephesians 2 10 says, "For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them." Imagine with me for a moment that your focus as a Jesus-follower is to deeply integrate your faith into the work you deliver. Continue imagining. You're not contributing…you cannot...

When I began working, I fell into a trap. I searched for meaning in the kind of work I was doing. Jeremiah 9:23 tells us "…the world defines greatness by wealth, wisdom, and power." That's where I thought my focus should be…to find significance at work. And you know what? I was continually let down and discouraged until I realized Jeremiah 9:24 said this, "…the one who boasts should boast in this,...

Do you think your work and your faith are separate considerations? There's always a divine reason God has us at work. When we understand that, we have the right focus. In John 4, the disciples challenged Jesus for talking to the woman at the well after they got back from town buying food. Jesus says: "Don't you say, 'There are still four months, then comes the harvest: I say open your eyes and loo...

What's God want from us at work? Some think WHAT we produce at work is PRIORITY ONE. No matter your job, consider this from 2 Peter 3:10, "But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief, on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be totally destroyed." So, if our work-product will one day burn up, where...

Have you ever said, "I go to work just to earn a living"? Most of us will work more than 100,000 hours in a lifetime. That's more than a third of your life! Sadly, stats show that at least 7 in 10 people don't like their job. And, three in seven HATES it .   If our Christianity is going to be relevant, it must address how our work week will be used for the glory of God. We also need to understand...

Retirement can be 30-plus years of unemployment, but what do those 30 years look like? Experts from the Retirement Reformation have determined there are three stages of retirement. The active stage is when you start pursuing life with all your energy. It is a time to be passionate about God's call on your life. Stage 2 is the mentoring stage, where people utilize the experiences and insights they'...

As we contemplate retirement, the horizon before us is full of immense opportunity. There are so many needs to fulfill and so many things to do; the adventure is exciting. But how do we find out what we're supposed to do in retirement? Well, we need to see where God is working and go and join Him there. There is a dire need for foster grandparents. There's a dire need to be an adoptive grandparent...

Does your calling retire when you do? Is our calling just for our years from 20 to 65? Does God have a call on all of our lives or just those predetermined working years? It is so important to recognize that the American government created the age 65 milestone. When we were born, we were born with a call on our lives. We were given a unique set of gifts, talents, and abilities that are ours for a...

It's important to recognize that very few of us think about what God wants us to do during our retirement years. We focus our thoughts on our adventures, the vacations we plan, and how many times we can play golf, tennis, or pickleball. But what does God want us to do? When we retire, our callings do not. How do we know what God wants us to do? We ask Him. This is no small task either, as retireme...

Let's face the reality: every one of us spends a little time dreaming about our retirement. In fact, many of us spend time saving money for retirement, but to be honest with you, almost none of us plan on how we will spend our time in retirement other than going on vacation. God has way bigger plans for you than to just be on vacation during retirement. He wants you to flourish just like you did w...

A pastor is a shepherd, and a shepherd/pastor spends time with his sheep, reassuring them with his voice and lending them a sympathetic ear while carrying them when they are weak, sick, in danger, or hurt. What's great about being a shepherd is that shepherds get to be good listeners. They may be talking to the sheep, but most sheep know they can just hang out with the shepherd without getting a l...

A pastor is a shepherd, and a shepherd/pastor helps his sheep out of difficult situations . We don't have to wait for our sheep to get into dangerous situations; we can guide them away from danger. Sometimes, it's too late, and our co-workers are already in trouble. Sometimes, the people we work with don't know they're flirting with disaster, but you sure can tell. Maybe it's flirtatious behavior...

A pastor is a shepherd, and a shepherd/pastor protects his sheep from the enemy's attacks. What does this look like in your workplace? The enemy attacks everybody a little differently. Some he attacks with anger and bitterness. Some he attacks with making stupid decisions. Some he attacks with addictions. You can walk alongside those you work with and show them they are heading into enemy territor...

A pastor is a shepherd, and as a shepherd, a pastor guides his sheep to green pastures. What does that look like in your workplace? Often, we have conversations with those we work with and they are not hanging out in Green pastures. They're hanging out in mud pits or sewer pits or drainage ditches. Many of them don't know anything different. They grew up in a drainage ditch, a mud puddle, or a sew...

This week, we're going to focus on the role of Pastor in the marketplace. I believe that many of you have been given the gift of being a pastor/Shepherd, and that role is critical in your workplace. Pastors are guides, leaders, protectors, intercessors, and teachers. So often, we're unaware of the gifting that we've been given. For those of you who naturally Shepherd people, loving people right wh...