
Hosted by Jim & Martha Brangenberg · EN

Are there ROCKS in YOUR schedule? ROCKS are IMMOVABLE commitments. Those priorities that are unchangeable. As a working Christ-follower, what are some of YOUR ROCKS? Here are some of mine: Time with the Lord. Family commitments. And anything I have given my word to, to be there. Is WORK one of YOUR ROCKS? If it is, maybe it's time to look at that rock, and decrease its size, or the amount of space it's taking on your calendar. Don't' let Luke 20:18 define how you live and manage your life: "Everyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on." So how about YOU? Is work a stone YOU'RE stumbling over? How about crushing that rock and use it to make a path to more time with family?

Some things in life are more challenging than others. Like finances. And even more challenging: How do we glorify God with our finances? If you think you've mastered your finances, there's a next step, a better way to glorify God with them. To transform the money we make from working for the Lord, and seeing that it is invested in Kingdom building. It's called Biblically Responsible Investing and it's transforming the way Christians look at the money they invest, and where they invest it. So how about you and your finances? .... Are you willing to look at every dollar and steward it even more for God's Kingdom? If you are, we invite you to pray about it, and go to our website for next steps on how to transform your finances into the ultimate Kingdom resource.

When people around you at work succeed, do you find yourself happy for them or feeling bad for yourself? It can be easy to compare our career path to someone else's and come out feeling like we missed our chance at moving up - but the truth is that everyone's journey will look different. Galatians 6:4 says, "Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else." So next time the temptation to compare yourself to a coworker comes up, take the focus off of others and put it back on the work God has given you to do today. Because when you work with excellence, you bring honor to God… and that's the measure of TRUE success!

There is a truth about work that has been lost to much of our culture since the creation of the world. It is that GOD CREATED WORK. He created work for us, to do together and for HIS glory. Genesis 2:19 - "So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one." Work is NOT a PUNISHMENT, it's a GIFT. And God wants to JOIN US in it. Every day. He DELIGHTS in it. He is our team-mate, just as He was with Adam. He brought the animals TO Adam to name. So how about YOU? Won't you invite God to work WITH YOU today? WHEREVER He has placed you?

I heard a clever quip the other day about trying to take control from God's hands. God is writing the story of your life: so STOP TRYING TO GRAB THE PEN FROM HIS HAND! This applies to our work as well. Sometimes we think we are living God's plan for us in our work when we are actually just "taking Jesus with us". And only praying to Him to ask for blessings on what we are doing at work. How can we know when we've succeeded in FOLLOWING Christ in our work? By changing our mindset to one of FOLLOWING, vs. LEADING. Why not start your work day with a prayer like this: Father, today, I commit my hands to YOUR work. As you lead me, may YOUR will be done and may YOU be glorified in all I do. Amen.

If you are like me you jump up out of bed, check for emergency text messages, check the weather, rush through your morning devotional time so you can get on to the "real work of the day." Just recently Martha and I were reading a book by Kim Avery "The Prayer Powered Entrepreneur" and she suggests a different approach. Kim suggests that when we have our morning quiet time, be quiet and ask our Lord what His priorities are for us today. Instead of letting distractions rule our day, ask the Lord to prioritize our day so His will is done. I'm going to try this from now on, and maybe you would like to do the same. Lord, what is at the top of your priority list for today? I pray that I can do this the rest of my life, what about you?

Is God leading your work? How do you get the point where you can say YES, He is. Here're a couple of ideas to get you started. First, read a book or listen to faith at work podcasts that introduce you to the concept of working for the Lord. Second, pray and ask God to show you how and where He is at work in your work today. Three, take a faith at work devotional and put it on your desk. Before you turn on your PC, read the devotional and pray that God lead you in your work. This might take some consistent practice, like changing a habit, to shift your mindset. So how about you? Colossians 3:23 is a GREAT verse to put on your desk, so it reminds you WHO you work for: 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Being intentional seems to be a consistent hallmark of followers of Christ. Because Christ is our best example of intentionality. Intentionality is defined as being deliberate or purposeful. How about you? How are you working with intentionality today? In the office, with your co-workers, intentionally representing Christ and showing His love and patience to everyone you come in contact with? Most days we may just be unconsciously going through our work day. We invite you to begin today by going before the father and asking Him: "Here's all I have, what do YOU want me to do with it today? What is YOUR priority today, Lord?" And then living that out as we step into our work, and every other place our feet may wander.

Are you a leader in your organization? If so, what are you doing to care for your team members? Your employees? Are you ignoring the big stresses in their lives? If you are, it could be costing you in a big way. For example: The divorce of a $60,000 a year employee will cost $86,000 in lost productivity. There are legal, low cost remedies to helping your employees get the help they need to calm the sometimes raging seas of their lives. So how about YOU? Are you turning a blind eye to the pain in your workplace? Wake up! Look and listen, and seek to put benefits and programs in place that make employees lives easier. And commit today, to start being the good shepherd. The one who sacrifices his life for the sheep.

I wonder how much of our life is lived from a place of "taking". Not consciously, but just getting up and living our life, as we go to work and just delve in. I've found my unconscious self is pretty selfish. If I don't pray first, submit in obedience, my day, my hands, my mouth, eyes and ears, to serve all those I come in contact with, I'll just spend all day at work taking what I need and want. .... So how about you? Are you living your life and workday taking? .... We challenge you today, to stop unconsciously working, and living as a taker. But to set up your day from a place of "How can I be a giver today? How can I contribute to everyone I come in contact with?"