iWork4Him PowerThought

Jesus said that our unity would attract others to Christ because our unity would show that Jesus came from our heavenly father. In other words, when we walk as one in the marketplace, our neighborhoods, our communities, and our country, the message is loud and clear:  Jesus has transformed the lives of all these people, and they walk as one in love. It's so important that we, as workplace believer...

Almost 2000 years have passed since Jesus returned to heaven. In the last 500 years, denominational segregation has plagued the body of Christ. We all go to different churches on Sunday. We live in a town of about 2000 people with 15 different churches and 15 different denominations. Very little ministry is coordinated for the ministry to this small town by the leaders of those churches. There is...

Do you know what's great about believers? We all experience God differently. I know this because we're all different. Not one of us is the same. Jim and I got to sit down with some friends here in our small town in Missouri just the other day. We go to different churches on Sunday, yet we share a sweet fellowship in Christ. They shared some of their traditions surrounding the giving and taking of...

What has amazed me most in the last 11 years is the incredible unity in the body of Christ out in the marketplace. On Sunday, we are the most segregated, separated people on the planet. But on Monday morning, when we go to work, nobody cares about Denominations. All they care about is, "I want to hang out with and do business with people who love Jesus. I don't care that you may show your love for...

Have you ever wondered where all of the denominations in Christianity come from? I mean really, 2000 years ago, there were the Jews and the Gentiles. Today, we have 43,000 "Christian" denominations around the world. What happened? I'll tell you what happened. People. Instead of focusing on the unity Christ talked about in John 17, Christ followers throughout the centuries have focused on differenc...

I have this funny thing that I do. When I ask people how they're doing, I mean it. So if I ask someone, "How are you doing?" and they say, "Fine," I respond with, "Really? Freaked out, insecure, neurotic, and emotional. No, how are you really doing?"  And I mean it. Then I shut up and listen. When someone shares from their heart after you've had that exchange, it opens the door for the next step....

Our country needs healing, and it starts with bringing healing to your workplace .  You may be saying to yourself, but how do I bring healing to my workplace when I am so broken myself? As a Jesus-follower, you serve the ultimate healer. For the woman at the well, he didn't just give her water; he gave her healing from the inside out. She was a broken woman who had been married five times. No matt...

Jesus routinely met and ate with people who we would refer to today as very, very lost. They were the most despised people of that day. And yet, Jesus had no issue with spending time with them. Our workplace is not only a place to make a living, but also a place God has ordained for us to make relationships, build trust, and grow friendships – especially with pre-believers. Often, the workplace is...

In 2006 I started a new job commuting 90 miles each way to work. I made a commitment to not turn on the radio on my way into work. I wanted to dedicate that time to pray for my family, my bosses and their families, my co-workers, and my employees. I learned to be quiet and I learned to make notes when I heard things from the Lord in my prayer time .  I like to say that it Changed my life .  Over t...

It comes as no surprise that less than 20 percent of Americans regularly attend church .  But just about all Americans have a job. So, we COULD say that not everybody has a pastor, but just about everybody has a boss .  So how will the other 80% of Americans find out about Jesus Christ if they are not stepping into a church ?  The current population of the US is about 330 million. So that's 264 Mi...

The body of Christ is made up of many parts; none is more important than the other .  Do you ever feel unimportant in the Kingdom of God ?  Like who you are and what you do is on a lower tier while others are on a higher one ?  In 1 Corinthians 12, God lets us know that each of us plays an important role in the body of Christ .  Verse 18 says, "Our bodies have many parts, but God has put each part...

Your voice matters. No matter what you've experienced or been told, your ideas, creativity, and perspectives are important contributions to your work. Unfortunately, many women have been ignored, overlooked, and had their ideas stolen by others. Someone may have assumed you are more junior than you are. As difficult and discouraging as those experiences can be, other people don't get the final say...

We all have two voices speaking to us daily—God's still, small, loving voice and the accusing, fear-ridden, loud voice of the enemy. How can you tell the difference? If it's encouraging, uplifting, life-affirming, convicting yet loving, aligned with Truth, you can be sure it is from God. If it brings fear, insecurity, anger, condemnation, or confusion, you can be sure it's from the enemy. Whose vo...

You, dear sister, were created in God's image. Man and woman were given the same cultural mandate to fill and subdue the earth. Your talents and desire to make an impact through your work are planted in you by your Creator. Your purpose is to steward those talents for His glory by continually leaning on Him. No one else will use your talents in quite the same way you do. You will reach, impact , a...

Who you are is not the sum of your past mistakes, successes, or talents. You are a daughter of the one true King, created in Christ Jesus, to do work that brings glory to God in your own unique way. Even when no one else seems to notice you, God sees everything you do to support others, contribute to the success of your organization, and share His love. God hears every prayer you whisper, cry, or...

One day a friend of mine called me and said "Jim, I have been trying to mentor and disciple my friend for 2 years now .  He is hopeless .  Maybe He will listen to you." That was almost 10 years ago now .  My new mentee was not a believer yet, was struggling with issues from the battlefield that impacted his marriage, and was very skeptical of church culture .  For 3 years, we wrestled about faith...

For the first two decades of our marriage, Jim and I did youth ministry as volunteers .  We spent thousands of hours with kids from various backgrounds and family structures .  I worked with girls who were daughters of pastors and daughters of high-powered executives, some from broken families and some from healthy solid families .  These relationships often started when these girls were 11 or 12...

My husband Jim and I are very different .  He has done a lot of formal mentoring, and I tend to do more informal mentoring .  Over the years, I have taken the time to live life alongside so many different women .  Some older than me, some younger than me .  Since Jim and I are involved in marriage mentoring with Christian Entrepreneurial couples, I often spend time with the wives working life out...

If there is one thing I learned from my first mentor, Mike, it is that mentoring and discipleship is something to be done in the context of life and not in a hurry .  It was not a box to be checked but time to be set aside .  It was an investment of Mike's life into mine and, honestly, as it turns out, an investment of my life into Mikes .  Since I experience God differently than Mike, he learned...

As a 16-year-old and a new believer of just 3 years, I needed someone to invest their life in mine .  Was that discipleship or mentorship that I needed ?  Enter - Mike .  Many would argue that being a disciple-maker is inherently different than being a mentor .  Mentors often help someone become more like the mentor; Disciple makers help someone become more like JESUS .  Discipleship invites someo...

When you retire, does your calling retire too? Does our calling run out when Social Security kicks in? I don't think so. Your mission field assignment may or may not change later on in life. Some of you have a career that could go until very late in life. Just because you're 65 doesn't mean that you're done working. Sure, maybe you need to change things up or perhaps you need to work fewer hours....

Why are you retiring? Is it because you're too old to work? Is it because you're ready for a break? Is it because you're ready for a change? We need to recognize why we want to retire. Change is OK. But it doesn't mean that retirement is an end to our work. God gave us work as a gift. That gift continues throughout our lives until the very last breath. Our work is meant to glorify God. If you're r...

So many retirees in America have spent a lifetime preparing for retirement. Well, I should say they're preparing their financial means for retirement, but are they preparing for what God has them to do in their retirement? The answer is almost categorically no. How much time have you spent preparing for how God will use you when you retire? Does that planning include how you will use your gifts, t...

The American dream of retirement is a lie. The American dream says that we will retire and live out the remainder of our lives on vacation, enjoying sunsets on the beach where every day is filled with pleasure and deep satisfaction. One problem. It never works out this way. Most of us know what we are going to retire from. We're retiring from a job we just want to be done with. It has paid our bil...

The American Dream of Retirement is a lie. It's also not biblical. God never intended for us to retire from work and then go on a perpetual vacation. Retirement is only mentioned once in the Bible and only for levitical priests. However, when they retired, their next role was to train up the next generation of levitical priests. We can learn a lot from that model. If you are retired or almost reti...