iWork4Him PowerThought

Our country is more divided today than  in  almost any other time in history. All you have to do is turn on the television or log in to social media, to be bombarded by anger, hatred, accusations, and arguments.  Everyone has an opinion and they are all shouting to be heard!  But as Followers of Christ, we are called to live differently. We are called to be  counter-cultural . In Ephesians 4:1-3 t...

I recently had my concept of "neighbor" challenged. Does  neighbor  mean only the people in my neighborhood? The ones we live  near ?  Actually, in  a broader sense, it is anyone "living or located near another ".  That means the folks all around us at work, in the next cubicle. The teacher  in  the next classroom. The person  exercising  next to us at the gym. Our neighbors are  everywhere  and t...

Have you ever had a coworker who  seems to get  all the breaks and suddenly, the green-eyed monster of envy rears its ugly head? Envy is  birthed  out of comparing our lives to someone  else's  and being dissatisfied with the difference. But  here's  the thing: comparison is a dangerous game. When you become preoccupied with watching someone else's life, you miss the things that God wants to do in...

We live in a busy world. If we  aren't  in a meeting, or working on a project, or going to an appointment – we are looking at our phones, or answering emails, or hopping on a video conference. Technology has made work accessible ALL. THE. TIME. Not just from nine to five. But as Mahatma Gandhi once said, " there is more to life than increasing its speed."  So, how about you? Are you running so fas...

Have you ever heard the  old adage , " you have two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you speak? " Well,  it's  true! Nobody likes to  be run  over with somebody else's words! James 1:19 says it this way, " Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak."  What is your speaking to listening ratio? Do you tend to overrun the conversation, or do you wait to hear what ot...

Have you ever been afraid to share the gospel because you might not know all the answers? Well,  here's  the good news: we  don't  need to argue people into Christ, we just need to invite them to  encounter  Him! What a relief - God is the one who does the heavy lifting… not us! When you set out to simply do good, work with excellence, and love people… others will be drawn to the light of Christ i...

If you have a job, chances are you have a job description - you know, that piece of paper that lists out what duties you  are responsible for  performing at work.  Take a moment to consider your performance at work over the last 6 months.  Are you meeting the requirements of your job  description  or are you exceeding them? Do you do the bare  minimum  or do you look for ways to improve your workp...

When was the last time you pushed yourself to do something that made you uncomfortable at work - whether volunteering to learn a task outside of your usual job duties, offering to take on a new project, or making friends with another employee? Moving outside of your comfort zone may feel awkward or stressful at first, but it is also the best way to grow! And  in order to  become a mature person –...

Have you had a performance review in the last year or two? If you  have , how did you do?  Did  you need improvement? Did you meet  expectations ? OR did you EXCEED expectations? Because  here's  the thing: when you  do  good at work, people notice. Your quality of work is,  in itself a  witness to who God is… a God of goodness, of care, and of EXCELLENCE. Colossians 3:23 says, "Work willingly at...

God formed Adam and Eve on the sixth day of creation… making their first full day in the Garden of Eden the Sabbath – a day of REST. God is gracious so He  didn't  start them out on a Monday … instead, God emphasized the importance and holiness of spending time in his presence FIRST,  before  the work week begins. He asks us to look  to  him FIRST. Rest in Him FIRST. And only then, after worshipin...

Your work matters to God, and God has strategically placed you in your workplace to be his representative. But what exactly does it mean to be a representative of God? 1 John:4  says,that   God IS love.  So, when we genuinely love people, we are giving them a taste of who God is –  it's  as easy as that!  Being a representative of God in the workplace  doesn't  mean that you need to be a pastor, a...

God loves our work! Why?  I'll  give you a hint –  it's  not because  He's  a workaholic.  It's  because work is an opportunity for God to partner with us for the salvation of souls! When we head to our jobs each day, we have an opportunity to not only make a paycheck but to engage in  Kingdom  purposes! 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, " So we are Christ's Ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us...

Matthew 5:14-16 says, " You are the light of the world… No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your  good deeds  shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. " When you go to work, do you switch off your faith? Do you put your  belief  under a bow...

There is a trick that some realtors use when they are showing a property or doing an open house: they put a batch of cookies in the oven right before the potential buyer comes through the door. The buyer is then met with the comforting aroma of warm, gooey cookies which give them a sensation of home. Good smells draw people in and invite them to stay awhile. 2 Corinthians 2:16 in the Passion Trans...

A company we love, and one you may have heard of, called Dayspring, helps direct their branding by asking the question, "what do we want people to walk away feeling after they've encountered a Dayspring product?" Do we want them to feel seen, loved, or encouraged? And what can we do to make customers want to return after an encounter with our products? These kinds of branding questions  aren't  ju...

How do you define success? Being promoted? Achieving a certain number of social media followers? Reaching a particular income level? Well, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines it simply as, " a favorable or desired outcome."  Take a moment today and consider how God's desired outcome looks different than the  world's . In Matthew 22, Jesus tells a lawyer there are two main things we should  desire...

Most people consider a vocation to be a career that they feel a strong draw towards or that they are particularly suited to. But as Christ-followers, we look at vocation a little bit differently. Dr. Chip Roper from the  Voca  Center in New York talked with us recently about the biblical view of vocation, which is simply a divine call to God's service or to the Christian life. From this perspectiv...

If I had one hundred dollars for every time someone said, "I want my life to have purpose, so I am thinking about quitting my job to go work in a church or Christian nonprofit" I would be  a very, very rich  man. There is a myth that has been circulating through theological communities for decades: that  in order to  have a Kingdom impact, you  have to  work in a four-walls church, a ministry, or...

I almost finished a 500 piece puzzle the other day, but one piece was missing. I searched high and  low  but I  couldn't  find it anywhere. In the end, I  couldn't  complete the picture with just 499 pieces… I needed the last one. 1 Corinthians 12:27 says, " You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it. " YOU are a part of the body of Christ and YOU bring something unique to this wo...

What is the first question someone asks you after an introduction?  I'd  be willing to bet that 9 times out of 10 its "So… What do you do for work?" That question may feel fine and dandy when you are in a high-powered position or working your dream job – but for most people  it's  uncomfortable to be instantly framed by their employment OR lack of employment. We live in a society that equates our...

I heard recently from a retired army guy that he was taught to run  TOWARDS  the problem, not away from it. .... I wonder how many of us run towards OUR work problems vs. away from them .     Perhaps we  think "confrontation" is un-Christ-like…but how did  Jesus  deal with problems?    With the woman at the well, He confronted her, asked and answered questions. In the temple, He confronted with ov...

Sacrifice.  It's  defined  as  surrender of  something for the sake of something else.  We are called to do it in our life as a Christ follower, just as He did. 1 Corinthians 13:3  If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I  didn't  love others, I would have gained nothing .    What does love-based sacrifice look like in our workplace? ......

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? .......

Have you ever tried to ignore God and His direction in your work or career? Tried to go your own way, and kept running into roadblocks,  un-ending  NO's and shut doors? Sometimes in our career, we try to LOGIC our way towards our calling, to where WE want to be, but God has His plans .   Remember the Israelites? It took them 40 YEARS to make a  14 day  journey.  That's  14,  600 days  of blindness...

Have you ever met a salesperson or a marketer who offered you something that seemed too good to be true… and then it turns out it WAS too good to be true? Although overpromising may increase sales and conversions on the front end,  underdelivering on  those promises alienates customers and creates a bad reputation. Similarly, overpromising and underdelivering in your relationships at work and at h...