iWork4Him PowerThought

This whole idea of practicing the power of neighboring at Thanksgiving can cause some strife at home. Not everyone wants to open up their Thanksgiving table to strangers, or people that just aren't family. I know in my family growing up we never had anybody who wasn't family over for Thanksgiving. It just wasn't done. But at Martha's house, her parents were great at inviting people who would be alone at Thanksgiving and having them join us for a family Thanksgiving celebration. Gather your family around you and share this idea with them. Share the idea that you want...

What does loneliness look like? Does it have a face? Does it always look the same? You and I have the ability to solve someone's loneliness problem at Thanksgiving this year. All around us are people, our neighbors, who don't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving. They are either too far away from family or don't have family or they've been alienated. Can you imagine being alone at Thanksgiving? It's just a big fat bummer. Look around you. As you leave your neighborhood this morning or drive through your neighborhood this afternoon, think about all the people that you...

The power of neighboring at Thanksgiving looks like this. It begins with compassion, and it continues with intentionality. We all have neighbors, whether they are at work or in our neighborhood. They could even be in the pews sitting near us at church. But how many of those neighbors will be alone at Thanksgiving time? In my opinion, there is nothing worse than being alone during the holidays. My challenge to you today is to institute the power of neighboring right where you live and right where you work. Find out if anyone you know and care about will...

One day, a religious leader approached Jesus and asked him who's my neighbor? Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Now we know who the neighbor was in this parable. The Good Samaritan was a powerful neighbor in the wounded man's life. The power of neighboring lies within each of us—the power to transform somebody's life by loving them as we love ourselves. The power of neighboring requires selfless acts and living on the edge of comfortableness. The power of neighboring started with Jesus, and it continues on in you. You have the ability to impact so...

When the internet was created, the goal was the free-flowing of shared information for the good of humanity; what resulted was much more sinister than that.  How do you love the Lord your God with all your strength if you spend too much time on the internet looking and experiencing things that sap your strength?  That fills you with filth, that plagues you with guilt and shame.  Living in this world makes it impossible to Love God to the fullest.  The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy; Jesus came to bring life so we can live it to the...

When the internet was created, the goal was the free-flowing of shared information for the good of humanity; what resulted was much more sinister than that.  We are called to love the Lord our God with all our soul.  What's creeping around in your soul?  Is it scripture, or is it what you watched on TV last night?  Is it the latest sermon you read or the pornographic videos you ingested over lunch?  Is it your weekly bible study topic, or is it your deep desire to place a bet on the next race at the track?  Your soul is a p...

When the internet was created, the goal was the free-flowing of shared information for the good of humanity; what resulted was much more sinister than that.  We are called to love the Lord our God with all our mind.  Are you?  What do you fill your mind with?  It is so easy with the internet everywhere, both in public and private, to fill our minds with EVERYTHING but God and His Love.  We stream TV at levels like never before.  Because we can binge-watch anything, we fill our minds with murder, horror, and sex.  Without being careful, our minds can bec...

When the internet was created, the goal was the free-flowing of shared information for the good of humanity; what resulted was much more sinister than that.  We are called to love the Lord our God with our hearts, but when our hearts are distracted by the evils of the internet, God can't find a place.  Do you know if your heart is safe whenever you surf the web?  What about your kids, your spouse, or your grandkids when they visit?  At work, are the people you work with struggling with a heart addiction to internet sins like pornography and gamb...

When the internet was created, the goal was the free-flowing of shared information for the good of humanity; what resulted was much more sinister than that.  Every day, we use the internet to do our jobs, complete our shopping, and study our bible.  However, if we are not careful, the internet can lead us to pornography, inappropriate relationships, gambling addictions, and more.  We think we have the willpower to resist all the daily temptations on the internet, but statistics now prove we do not.  Huge percentages of men and women, teens, and children have been exposed to pornography on the...

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 with?  We, as God's creation, were BUILT for community. IF you have no community, you may be operating out of God's will or slogging or surviving, vs. thriving.  We challenge you toda...

I think it's safe to say that the media focuses on, and provides negative news these days.  Should we just take it, and keep feeding ourselves this negativity? How does this affect your work? Do you take it with you?  What are you chatting with your co-workers about? And are you feeding the beast of "all that's wrong with world"?  Or are you speaking life at work. We can, and should consciously choose what we WILL and WILL NOT listen to. Philippians 4:8  exhorts us: And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and...

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 your employees and customers?  Two of the giants in retail, Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A are closed on Sunday, and their profits are up!  The...

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. Never thought of that.  That we have an obligation to glorify God with our body, and that body is t...

What's your marriage got to do with your work? On the surface, nothing. But underneath, everything.  Your home life always directly affects your mindset, your attention, attitude and perspective. When our marriage is unhappy, we are distracted, less productive, and typically less than 100%.  Time invested in our spouse produces fruit. And that fruit sustains us and goes before us in every aspect of our family, life and work.  Are you investing as much time and effort in your marriage as you are in your work?   Rick Warren said: "The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The...

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% tithe of all our income, to MAXIMIZE impact for the Kingdom?  Isaiah 32:8 says "But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity." ...

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 from your corporate revenue stream? Have you ever considered it?  We challenge you today, to pray about your personal and corporate tithing. And ask God HOW YOU should...

One of my favorite topics on faith in the workplace is to delve into the legal rights of Christ followers at work. We have more rights than most Christians know. And these legal rights are extremely important for every Christ follower to be aware of. Whether you are an employee, in management or own a company or run a non-profit.  WHY? We're losing ground in our rights, because WE, the people of faith, have been so silent.  We are hiding our faith in the closet for fear of creating problems, of disruption or of retribution. We are putting our peace and...

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 your culture aligns with God's word and will?  Romans 12:2, "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way yo...

Every paycheck you've been putting a little away for retirement. But once that money enters your 401K, what happens to it? Well, usually it gets invested into a whole bunch of companies. But did you know that many of the companies you may be investing in are actually support activities that blatantly go against Scripture! Proverbs 16:8 warns against this by saying, "Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice." So, while you may be trying to steward your money well, you could actually be supporting businesses who work AGAINST everything you, and God, stand for! So, what c...

At some point in our lives, most of us have had at least one job that made us pretty miserable.  And even if you haven't, we all have days when we don't feel like clocking in.  When we don't want to be at our job, it shows.  Our coworkers notice.  Our vendors notice.  Our customers usually notice.  What kind of testimony are we displaying at work?  I'll remind you of one of our favorite verses here at iWork4Him: Colossians 3:23 – "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." You have a critical rol...

The wonder-woman complex. It's an unrealistic belief that we as women need to be everything to everybody. Where did that come from? And what's it doing to us? What if instead of trying to BE wonder-woman, we commit to be who God created us to be. .... To get to know our spiritual gifts, talents, strengths, and then went in search of God's heart, to find our true calling? .... What if every woman of faith lived and worked their calling? How much different would our world, our nation, our state, our city, our community, our home, our workplace be?  So how about y...

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 such a time as this. That you would work for His glory, show His characteristics of caring, courage, diligence, fairness, integrity, respect, responsibility, and trustworthiness. So h...

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 encouragement to YOUR co-workers?  How about today, before stepping into work, you prayed this prayer: Father, purify my heart, that may I BE Christ to eve...

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 a child of God, I am Jesus' friend, I am a NEW creation, I am an hei...

We haven't been taught to take advantage of the power of praying while working. I'm here to tell you today that it makes a difference. That it changes things. That it will revolutionize decision-making in your work. Whether you're the organization's overall leader or anywhere on the organizational chart, prayer can impact everything you do. Praying with others at work is also powerful. As we finish this week talking about the power of prayer at work, my challenge to you is to start incorporating prayer into all of the minute parts of your life, especially when you're working. God wants to be in...

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 Christ. So how about you?  Would you like to change the world? Would you be willing to start today, changing the corner of the world wh...

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 seeing myself as a minister in my workplace. In addition to the demands of my new job, I started to serve my co-workers over and above what I...

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 Bob sent me the Today God is First devotional from Os Hillman. For the first time, I learned that...

When's the last time your beliefs about another generation were challenged?  Mine were recently, after interviewing a couple, whose life's work is to teach and enable "generational reconciliation" in the workplace.  What on earth is generational reconciliation?  It's helping us, and each generation to understand the other generation, to know the truth about what they believe and to know the best attributes of each, so they can be appreciated and leveraged. What has it got to do with faith and work? Apparently, a great deal. In the next two years, Millennials will make up 50% of the workplace. If you own a business or...

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. I say, "Thank you for sharing that with me. I really appreciate you allowing me to see a part of your heart. Can I pray wi...

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 matter what is broken inside of you, Jesus can handle it. In Luke 4:18, Jesus says, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has...

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 where we have the greatest opportunity to influence those who don't know Jesus, and who are struggling or dying without Him. How many people would Jesus have alre...

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 the 4 years of this commute, I watched one of my Bosses come to be a Jesus follower and one rededica...

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 Million people that WE can witness to through our daily interactions in our jobs.  You are the one that has been chosen. You ARE CHRIST'S AMBASSADOR, for such a time as this. To...

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 just where He wants it." Are you letting God use you right where you are, or are you too busy comparing yo...

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 about our value or our contribution. We are God's co-workers, called to partner with Him in our work. Bring those difficult situations before God in prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what He wants you to...

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 voice should you listen to? I recommend choosing God. Every. Time. We all face battles at work that make us vulnerable to a myriad of thoughts. But God gives us the victory. Whether you're ...

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, and connect with people who others never will. God needs every single one of us to work like He is our CEO—Chief Eternal Officer. What...

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 scream. He is working even when you don't see it. There is nothing He allows that He won't redeem. Today, through the challenges and...

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 topics in person, by phone, and by text.  Finally, he surrendered his life to Jesus, which is hard for war vets to do, and then the real work began.  For th...