Your Work Matters to God (Part 2)

The Human Resources Director was taken aback when he heard what the job applicant asked to be paid. "you certainly expect to be compensated well for a beginner." The applicant replied, "Well sure, work is a lot harder when you don't know what you're doing."


I can appreciate the honesty there, but the reality is that many of us feel like we don't always know what we're doing! Have you ever felt that way? I know I have. Even right now, as we start Vantage Point and begin holding church services at the Osage Center every Sunday (starting Sept. 12th), I struggle with all of the moving parts. One day, I feel like I have it all together and everything is coming along perfectly. The next day, I feel completely overwhelmed by the grand responsibility. I'm sure most of you can relate.


How often do you let your work overwhelm you? How often do you bite off more than you can chew? What gets you through those times? For me, it's the reminder that my work matters to God. I can be committed to my work when I know I am working for my Lord and King. I want to draw closer to Jesus. I want to be more like him.

When his work weighed heavy on him he said, "My Father never stops working, and so I keep working too." (John 5:17)


Jesus was committed to his work. Are you?


Abraham Lincoln said, "Commitment is what transforms a promise into a reality... it's the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism." I don't know about you, but I think it's easy to forget that our commitment to our work is a commitment to God. Doing your work to the best of your ability is not an issue of courtesy, it's an issue of character.


When an admirer approached the world renowned pianist Van Cliburn after one of his concerts and said, "I'd give my life to be able to play like you", Cliburn simply replied, "I did!"


Jesus was committed to giving his life to his work. We should be too. After all, it matters to God.

Your Work Matters to God (Part 1)

A salesman stopped to visit a client and was amazed to find a big dog emptying wastebaskets. "All part of the job!" the dog said cheerfully. "Does your boss know how fortunate he is to have a talking dog?!?" the salesman asked. "No," replied the dog, "and don't tell him or he'll have me answering the phones next!"

Aren't we like that dog sometimes? We hide our talents so that we can just skate through our day, doing as little as possible, then go home. Heaven forbid our employers find out all of our skills... they might make us do more work! The irony is that God never intended for work to be such a drag. God desires for your work to bring you joy and Him Glory.

The bible says in Ecclesiastes 2:24, "There is nothing better than to... find satisfaction in work... these pleasures are from God." (NLT)

Have you ever thought about your work as something that glorifies God? The truth is, we need you. Every job is important. Cities need plumbers, electricians and pest control guys. Nations need soldiers, senators, and I.R.S auditors. Stop lights break, bones break, kids need teachers and care takers, our judicial system needs judges, lawyers, security guards, paralegals, assistants, janitors (to keep that courthouse looking clean!) and clerks. In every walk of life, there are countless jobs to be done. Each job is a chance to serve God in a unique way. When you think about how much we depend on one another getting our jobs done, it's not hard to see how God could use us to make big impacts on our world through our work.

If you think about it, you'll notice that your career consumes half of your life! Shouldn't it showcase God and his work in you? Don't those 40-60 hours a week belong to God too?

Jesus said, "My Father never stops working... so I keep working too." (John 5:17 NCV)

I know that your job can be tough. Sometimes, you just don't want to do it anymore. In times like this, remember that God wants to use you to make a difference in your chosen field. Be the best you can be. "Our Father never stops working..." Neither should we. Remember today how much God loves you, and how much your work matters to Him.

Carbon Copy

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

1 John 2:6 NLT

  A short while back, Lifechurch.tv put out a great little sermon series on living like Jesus. The idea behind the series is that we have to be Christ-like in public, but also in private. The series was called "Carbon Copy". It was based on 1 John 2:6. The series started by posing this question...

 WHAT IF WE ARE MAKING IT HARDER THAN IT IS?

That's a great question, isn't it... When you think about what Jesus said in Mathew 11:29-30, you'd have to say Jesus isn't the one making it hard. Check out what he says: 

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

His yoke is easy and his burden is light!?! Then why is it so hard to live like Jesus in the world today? Why do we all struggle with doing what's right all the time? Why doesn't the world see us and say, "I want what they've got! That Jesus thing looks GREAT!"?

Truth be told, I think it's because most of us are not "Christ-like" in the truest form of the word. The way we act out our Christianity, we tend to pick and choose when we are going to display the attributes of Christ. That isn't really Christ like though, is it? Jesus didn't flip some "Messiah switch" on his back every time he was supposed to "do good". He was ALWAYS the same. It didn't matter what time it was, or who was watching. 

That should remind us of one very important part of the "Christ-like Equation"...

LIVING LIKE JESUS PUBLICLY STARTS WITH LIVING LIKE HIM PRIVATELY.

 So what do we know about Jesus' private life? We know enough to have a good place to start! Check out these verses...

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed". Luke 5:16

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." Mark 1:35

  You can be like Jesus right now. Withdraw to a quiet place and pray. Spend time alone with God. It's what Jesus would do. It's the first step to being Christ-like.

"Attitude"

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and saw that she had only three hairs on her head. “Great,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today.”
So she did, and had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. “Hmm,” she said, “I guess I’ll part my hair down the middle.”
So she did, and had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only one hair left on her head.
“Wow,” she said, “today I get to wear my hair in a pony tail.” So she did, and had a wonderful, wonderful day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that there wasn’t a single hair on her head.
“Thank God!” she exclaimed. “I was running out of things to do with my hair!”

 I guess ATTITUDE really is everything! In Psalm 34 David expressed this same attitude when he said, "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalm 34:1) 


The funny thing is that even as I write this, I'm struggling with my attitude. My kids are all over the place tonight, Danielle is trying to tell me a story but she can't between trying to cook dinner and HER children (they are always her's when they are being bad) interrupting her every few seconds. And, truth be told, it's hard to concentrate on writing a blog when your 4 year old daughter is yelling she needs more toilet paper and your son is deleting apps on your iphone! But... "I will bless the Lord" even now. haha!

As you read this, I hope you can take a moment to evaluate your attitude. In Philippians 4 the apostle Paul talks about learning "to be content whatever the circumstances." Do you consider yourself "content today?

I guess it's a question of attitude.

"To Stop Doing"

I had the privilege of attending the Global Leadership Summit (put on by the Willow Creek Association) today. Let me tell you, it was pretty amazing. I was there all day, so I can't begin to tell you everything I learned, so I thought I would throw on you one little nugget of greatness.

This idea comes from Jim Collins. In case you're unfamiliar with him, here is a little introduction.

Jim Collins, nationally acclaimed business thinker, serves as a teacher to leaders throughout the corporate and social sectors. Author of the best-selling books Good to Great and Built to Last.

Now that you know a little about Jim, let me tell you what he said.

"Raise your hand if you have a "to-do" list... Now raise your hand if you have a "TO STOP DOING" list."

What a profound idea! I literally had to pull my chin back up off the floor when I heard those words. Think about the implication here. How many days in your life have you laid out plans to get things done, only for your own bad habits to get in your way? How many of us have things in our life we'd like to stop doing, but we don't really take it seriously enough to make it a written goal to stop? How often do we let our shortcomings impact the way we feel about ourselves, or the way others see us?

WE ALL NEED A STOP DOING LIST! The bible gives us plenty of "stops". One of those is found in Isaiah 1:16...

Isaiah 1:16
wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong...

I think we'd all agree with Isaiah that we should stop "doing wrong". But Jesus took things one step further. He began to get more specific for us.

John 6:43 "Stop grumbling among yourselves" Jesus answered.


John 7:24 "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."


John 20:27b "Stop doubting and believe!"

The apostle Paul even got into the act in Romans 14 when he tells us to "stop passing judgement on each other", and then again in 1 Corinthians 14 when he says to "stop thinking like children!"


The bottom line is that we all have things in our lives that we'd like to STOP DOING. So, let's stop! Take a moment right now and make a "To Stop Doing List". You'll be free from those bad habits in no time!

Disappointed...

A man was just waking up from anesthesia after surgery, and his wife was sitting by his side. His eyes fluttered open and he said, "You're beautiful." Then he fell asleep again.

His wife had never heard him say that before, so she stayed by his side. A few minutes later his eyes fluttered open and he said, "You're cute. "
The wife was disappointed because instead of "beautiful," it was now "cute."
She asked, "What happened to beautiful?"
The man replied, "The drugs are wearing off."

Life can be disappointing at times. Sometimes, it's the big things that get us. The bills pile up, work isn't going so well, we get sick, a loved one dies, or something else that is just a big deal. Other times, it's the little things. I got disappointed the other day because we were out of bread and I was "jones'n" for a peanut butter sandwich! You know what I'm talking about... you do it too. We all let the little things get us down every once in a while. 

I've come to realize that so much of life is about expectation. When we fall short of our expectations, it's easy for disappointment to creep in. We expect to be debt free in 3 years, but 3 1/2 years later we've barely made a dent in it. We expect a happy marriage, but we live a pretty long time in the "for worse" part of the deal. We expect to have a relaxing night, but one of the kids gets sick. We expect to hang out with our friends, but we get a load of extra homework. WE EXPECT A DELICIOUS PEANUT BUTTER AND STRAWBERRY JELLY SANDWICH, BUT WE'RE OUT OF BREAD!!!!!....(sorry about that, I tend to take peanut butter pretty seriously...)

Disappointment is caused by unmet expectations, but it's cured by revamped expectations.We live in a fallen world. We fall, the people around us fall. As long as we keep expecting the plans of un-perfect people to work out perfectly we will continue to be disappointed. But when we revamp our expectations, and begin to expect great things from God, he will bring us out of our disappointment. David wrote about this is Psalm 42. Check it out...

Psalm 42:5 says, "Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God— soon I'll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He's my God." (The Message)

Whatever disappointments you're dealing with today, let them go. Fix your eyes on God... soon you'll be praising again. He wants put a smile on your face. He's your God. 

If you want to shake off disappointment, let your expectations rest on the God who can take your greatest troubles, and make them your greatest triumphs! 

For Daddy...

My wife, Danielle, sent me a text earlier today. It was a picture of my son standing next to a 1 1/2 foot tall Lego tower he made "for daddy". He had worked hard to stack up blocks as high as he could, as a present for me.

On my bookshelf behind my desk, I've got some pictures that my daughter made me. She tried her best to color in the lines and "make it pretty". I even have a couple of homemade picture frames and a fake plant that the kiddos have tossed my way at one time or another. They try so hard to show love and make me proud. I don't know if I enjoy doing anything as much as they enjoy giving stuff to me!

It's funny, when they give me something, all I want to do is give something back to them! I want to out give them! I'm Dad... I know how to do it. So I give them big "Dad-Sized" hugs and I buy them a new movie or let them have special snack. I do whatever I can to bless them back as much as they bless me!

I think we could learn something from my kids. They do those things because they love me, not because they think they have to.Their motives are pure, their purpose is clear. They want to express their love the best way they know how. And in return, it invokes in me the desire to give all my love to them in return.

The Bible says that's how it works with us and our Heavenly Daddy...

Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."

When we allow ourselves to be so full of love for Jesus that we think we'll burst if we don't show it, so we give of ourselves whatever we have to give, he feels our love. Then he does what most Dad's do... he outperforms us. He out gives us. He shows his love for us like only he can. 

When was the last time you gave a special gift to your heavenly Father? Nothing big, just a little something that you gave him... just because you love him.

Peyton's gift to me today was special because he loved me enough to make it for ME... and when I get home, I plan to make his night special. I'm going to return that love in a "Dad-Sized" way!

What little gift can you give to show how much you love your heavenly Dad?

A New Day... A New Blog

Welcome to my blog. I'm kind of excited to get stuff out here. I will do my best to post often. I hope to inspire you, entertain you, and maybe, I might make you think once in a while. I'm embarking on this journey, and I'm looking forward to see who all comes with me. This should be fun...