iWork4Him PowerThought

Martha: As you woke up today, did you find yourself celebrating the end of the work week?   Jim: We have all been trained to celebrate weekends and to dread our work.   Martha: But is that the way God feels?   Jim: I grew up thinking that work was a result of original sin. That the reason work was evil was that it came from evil.   Martha: But that was a lie. God created work long before Adam and...

Martha: Do you ever feel like quitting your job? Even though it's a good job and it pays well.   Jim: We mean quit your perfectly good job so you can go into full time ministry. Have you ever had that thought?   Martha: 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.   Jim: We are here to help...

With the new reality that my work was in fact my place of ministry, my workplace mission field, I modified my workplace commute prayer time. I still prayed for my family, but I added my bosses, my coworkers, and eventually my employees. I noticed a funny thing happening. I started to see these people differently - the way God saw them. I grew in empathy and love for them, and I really started seei...

It all started with my new job. Commuting 90 miles to work. I made a commitment to not turn on the radio for the morning commute. I wanted to learn how to pray. My new job had so much adventure built in, but I wanted this job to be different. I prayed for my family on the way to work and others who had specific prayer requests but then God rocked my world. One day, in my email in box, my friend Bo...

  Jim: When you woke up today did you find yourself celebrating the first day of the work week or did you find yourself dreading it?   Martha: It seems that most of us suffer from TGIF syndrome instead of adopting the TGIM revolution. We need to start Thanking God its Monday.    Jim: you see, God designed our work to have purpose and fulfillment. He also designed it so that He could work alongside...

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...

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 pr...

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 know...

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...

Are you stuck in a rut or comfortably nestled in there? Have you been "doing your Christianity the same way, with the same people, in the same ministry, in the same church? In the same type of work? With the same company?" When's the last time you stopped, poked your head UP OUT OF THE daily rut and asked "Lord, am I doing your will? Am I doing ministry and my work YOUR WAY ?  Where do YOU want me...

Life/work balance. How many of us have fallen for that myth and tried to make it happen ?  Only to fail over and over…a business coach we interviewed has a better concept. How about living an INTEGRATED LIFE ?  One that brings Christ into each aspect of our life and work, so that we are putting The Lord, not our futile "balance" efforts, first .  So how about you ?  Are you ready to live ONE INTEG...

In the past couple of months, I've heard one word repeatedly out of the mouths of followers of Christ who bring their faith into the workplace. INTENTIONALITY. Intentionality is a concept defined as "the power of a mind to stand for things, properties and states of affairs" .  WAS and IS Jesus intentional? You bet. Should WE be intentional ?  You bet. HOW DO we shift to this state of intentionalit...

Do you need to be removed ?  Sometimes, we start something and think we are supposed to stay in it, lead it, and serve it. And, we stay IN IT…sometimes too long. We no longer seek the Lord's counsel about IF we should still BE where He placed us. Sometimes He just wants us to START something, sometimes He wants us to "help get it off the ground ", NOT stay and lead it or serve it. Sometimes, the B...

I try to keep my heart pure and intimate with Christ, so I can be a source of light and encouragement to the people I work with. That's the faith at work philosophy of a millennial professional we interviewed. What a beautiful philosophy of how we can really prepare and BE Christ at work. So how about you ?  Is your heart pure and intimate with Christ so YOU can be a source of light and encouragem...

Heard this great reminder from a manager of a Christian Retail company "The biggest challenges in my life and work have been when I have forgotten WHO God is, or WHO I AM in Christ." So how about you? Are you in the midst of a challenge at work? If so, CLING to the words of God. Remind yourself right now who you are IN HIM, not the words of what the world tells you. Here are just a few:      I am...

What's the fastest way to get what you DON'T want ?  Tell the Lord "I will NEVER _________________" Yep, just ask any other Christ follower who's made the mistake of saying something like that .  You WILL end up being exactly where YOU said you would NEVER be or DOING something you said you would never do .  Our thoughts are not God's thoughts and His ways are NOT our ways. We don't have the big p...

Have you ever considered that God wants to use YOUR business influence, the position He's put you in, as a "platform" for Him? A stage on which to do your work while others watch and see HOW you work? If you lead just ONE person or have interact with groups of people inside OR outside your business, like vendors or, contractors, then you have a platform. A platform designed by GOD for you, for suc...

72% of people who get up and go to work every day think "nobody cares about me". That's a WHOLE LOT of hurting people that will never experience God's love. So, what if we just took God's love to them? What if there was a chaplain in the workplace that looks just like them, that meets them where they are; to just listen, pray and love them ?  Workplace chaplains DO exist and are more and more comm...

Have you ever met someone that lives one integrated life? They seem to flow seamlessly between their work and personal life without pause or care .  What is this? It's authenticity. And its attraction is unparalleled. How is it possible? It's living a life based on Godly values. I'd hazard a guess a person like this lives their values in this order: God, Family, and Service .  When we LIVE BY our...

Culture. Webster's defines it in the corporate realm as: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. How aware are YOU of YOUR COMPANY'S culture? When's the last time you really stopped and took a look at it?   How does it align with your OWN personal values as a Christ follower? And if you're a leader, what are you doing to ensure y...

Generosity. Is it an action, a state of the heart, or a mind-set? I heard recently that generosity is BEST when it includes all three and we compare it with IMPACT .  Have you ever thought about your giving in this way? That your giving could possibly be leveraged for the highest impact for eternity? What if we all stopped and looked and prayed over the resources we have, and re-committed the 10%...

Ecclesiastes 4:12 says A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken .  Are you a Christian standing alone in your work or professional life? Are YOU standing alone in OTHER areas of your life? What if you prayed and asked for a group that you could "do life and work" together...

What do you think would happen to our economy, our country, if all the working Christians decided to "go into ministry"? There would be no "marketplace ", our economy would collapse and we would be thrown into chaos. Could it be that is NOT God's plan or design for us? What if each of us were CALLED TO MINISTRY IN OUR WORK, right where we're planted? And that OUR JOB IS our pulpit, our work perfor...

What's the difference between a career and a vocation? Career is defined as an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life with opportunities for progress. A VOCATION, on the other hand, is defined as a person's main occupation, especially regarded as particularly worthy and requiring great dedication .  WOW. That's a big difference . We heard recently that as a Christ-follow...

We spend more than one-third of our life at work. Yet sadly, Barna research shows nearly two-thirds of churched adults say it has been at least three years or more since they heard church teachings on work and career, and yet, the workplace is where most Americans spend the biggest share of their waking hours .  What can YOU do, to introduce your church to the importance of faith and work? Invite...