GOD wants to bless you…

regardless of how much money you make, if you are in a job that is wasting your life on something that is not meaningful to you, you have got a bad bargain no matter how much you are being paid.  because meaning is more important than money.  and high satisfaction is much more important than a high salary because you are giving your life in that job. 

let me ask you.  have you had the wrong idea about work?  maybe you said, my work is a curse.  i don't enjoy it. 

i think that it is ironic that the song, take this job and shove it was by a guy named johnny paycheck.  because if all you are doing is living for a paycheck, you're going to want to shove it.  you need to find a job that is meaningful to you. 

according to princeton management association they say that between 50 and 80 per cent of people in america are in the wrong job.  82% of americans say, i hate my work.  do you just live for the weekend. tgif.  thank GOD it's friday. 

GOD wants to bless you through your work and there are principles that you can learn.

how about character development?  are you willing to co-operate with GOD's school of character development called your job?  HE's building, HE's working on you, all those problems, all those irritations at work.  instead of saying, why me, say, what do you want to teach me LORD?  what do YOU want to teach me through this work? 

have you recognized that GOD has put you in the job that you are currently in, right now as HIS representative.  HE put you there. 

now regardless of what you do, your work matters to GOD and HE wants to use it in your life to bless you.  i want to encourage you to pray two things:

 #1.   i want you to pray, GOD use my job on me.  that's the first thing i want you to pray.  GOD use the job that i am in right now to help me grow, to help me to be different, to change me.  use my job on me.

and then #2.  i want you to pray, LORD, use me through my job.  HE will.  HE will.

just a thought from the front porch…

it is so worth it…

we are about to head over to chapter 4 in james but before we do 3.18 has a reminder for us to see.  it says (msg), you can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with GOD and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

now relationships are hard work.  a healthy, strong marriage takes hard work.  it doesn’t just happen.  we’ve just seen a celebrity marriage break up after a few days.  it just was too hard work for them.  of course it is but it is so worth it. 

margaret and i have been married 37 years and we have found at this time in our life that all of the struggles and all of the hard work that we have gone through in our marriage has been so worth it.  she is my best friend.  it hasn’t been easy.  we’ve jokingly said that we haven’t contemplated divorce, murder yes.  we have had some very tough times but it has been worth it and our best years are ahead.  yes there still is a lot of work left for both of us but we are going to keep at it.   

a strong healthy relationship with your brothers and sisters takes hard work.  when you were young your dad and mom demanded that you get along and for the most part you did but after you became adults you said, “it is just too hard a job to get along with my family.  it is just not worth the effort.”  that what james is saying.  it is hard work but it is worth it . 

i’ll be honest it would really hurt me deeply as a parent if brett and stefanie as adults didn’t get along.  both of them have their own families now and that means their relationship is different from when they were kids but they love each other, love to be with each other and they believe in each other.  as their father i am so thankful for that.   it hasn’t been easy because they are both so different but it has been worth the effort.

have you ever thought about how much hard work it was for JESUS to have a relationship with you and me.  HE died for us so we could have a personal relationship with HIM so we could live right with GOD and enjoy its results, so we could also have a right relationship with each other.

the last part of the verse is also good where it says, treating each other with dignity and honor.  that is how we get along and that is hard work sometimes.  now honor doesn’t mean you agree with each other but it does mean you listen to them, you treat them with respect, you value them as a person who CHRIST died for.

now we need JESUS inside of us take care of our selfishness but it doesn’t stop there.  there is some hard work for us to do.  maybe this time of celebration of HIS birth would be a good time for you to step it up and do the hard stuff in mending some of those lost relationship.  that is the reason why HE came.  that would mean so much to your FATHER if you at least tried to do that.

just a thought from the front porch… 

which one is it?...

in order to treat your time as a gift from GOD we not only need a right plan but also a right perspective, a right way of looking at things with the right plan.

now in this matter of managing your time there are conflicting messages such as, “you need to work but you also need to rest.”  which one is it?  or, “you need to have goals and plans but you need to leave it all in GOD’s hands.”  which one is it?  or, “you need to be totally focused, put all your energy on one thing but you need to be flexible at the same time.”  and these conflicts can be confusing except GOD has designed us so that it’s both.  there is a balance of how HE works things. 

ecclesiastes 3.1 (niv) says, there is time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.  GOD designed seasons in the way that HE works time.  you don’t always plant, you don’t always grow, you don’t always harvest.  there is a time for different things.  the same thing’s true in our lives.  there is a time for different things. 

so if i’m going to have the right perspective on my time then the key decision here is i will balance my life. 

realize that there are different seasons in your life.  someone has written “as a gift from GOD, time should be used playfully as well as energetically, big heartily and generously as well as carefully and thoughtfully, in people oriented as well as task oriented ways, with an eye to quality as well as quantity and a sense of wonder and adventure.”  that’s the balance of it. 

in the balance of work and rest you’re going to have to admit something about yourself.  you have to admit that there’s a love/hate relationship that most of us have with busyness.  we say on the one hand, i hate being so busy.  it’s terrible being so busy.”  we talk about it, we complain about it.  but there’s a part of us that loves busyness.  because busyness makes us feel important.  important people are busy people.  busy people are important people.  it makes us feel somehow that we are important.  and the love of that keeps us driving all the time when we don’t need to. 

the truth is, you’re important to GOD no matter if you’re busy or not.  you could have had the worst week in the world, you didn’t accomplish a thing this week but you’re just as important to GOD.  your importance doesn’t depend on your level of activity.  once you and i begin to realize that the grip of busyness can begin to be loosened in our lives.

the truth is busyness and laziness are just two ends of the spectrum.  the middle is using my time as a gift from GOD.  but on the end is using it for myself – business doing too much with my times: laziness, doing too little with my time.  but in both cases i’m selfishly using it just for me.  in the middle it’s a gift from GOD, used like HE says to use it.  i have to confess that in order to balance work and rest. 

just a thought from the front porch…

four actions for dealing with difficult people…

JESUS gives us four actions for dealing with people who antagonize us. matthew 5.44 in the king james version, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you.
pray for them.

now there are four things there. you say that you love them, you bless them, you do good to them and you

let me give you a little secret, if you will do the last one first, the other three will come automatically. it will be much easier.

if you will start praying for those people who irritate you on your job or at home or at school, if you start praying for them, it is much easier to love them and to bless them and to do good to them because you cannot pray for someone without having your attitude eventually change, because god starts working in your own heart.

you see the bible says that love is not irritable

when the world puts pressure on you at work, if you are filled with love, love comes out. if you are filled with anger when the world puts pressure on you, anger comes out. if you are filled with self when the world puts pressure on you self comes out. if you are filled with frustration.

it is whatever is inside of you, that is what will come out of you. whatever is inside the toothpaste tube, when i squeeze it, that is what is going to come out. whatever is on the inside is what will spill out at work.

you see, if you are filled with love almost nothing will irritate you. that's why i said the mark of maturity is that you don't get offended easily. your feelings aren't hurt easily. that's a mark of maturity.

when you're filled with love almost nothing irritates you. when you are filled with anger almost anything irritates you. almost anything tics you off. it's like holding up a fuse to a box of tnt or dynamite, it’s just waiting to be set.

just a thought from the front porch…

two things that GOD wants us to understand…

in dealing with difficult people at work, respond with love. that's the bottom line. in spite of their behavior, in spite of their attitude, you respond with love.

with every person you meet this next week, GOD wants you to understand two things, one, GOD loves them. i know that that may be hard to believe but GOD loves that jerk at work. in fact, GOD loves that jerk at work as much as HE loves you. now that is hard to believe, i know that but GOD loves unconditionally.

and not only that but GOD wants to teach you how to love the unlovely. you see the bible says GOD is love and if we are to become like GOD then we've got to be loving.

it is easy to love people who are lovely. it is easy to love people who get along with your personality. it is difficult to love the unlovely but if GOD is going to teach you genuine love, HE is going to put you around some unlovely people. that is why they are there. GOD wants to teach you, real genuine love.

now love is giving a person what they need not what they deserve. that doesn't mean that you automatically give into them. sometimes the last thing they need is for somebody to keep on giving in.

the last thing a steamroller needs is for you to lay down. ok. tough love is what that person needs.

sometimes the most loving thing to do is to call their bluff and say, now look, you have run over five other employees, you're not going to do it anymore.

somebody has got to care enough to confront. somebody has got to care enough to stand up to them and so that is what it means to be loving. it doesn't necessarily mean to give in.

just a thought from the front porch…

stress at work…

anger is ok, its an appropriate response. in fact, if you love, you ought to get angry sometimes.

i get angry seeing people blowing their life on something that doesn't matter. i get angry when i see people walking right in the middle of something that they know is wrong and it is going to destroy them because i care.

but you deal with it quickly. you don't let it hang on. you see, if you swallow your anger, your stomach keeps score. have you found that to be true? all tied in a knot. ulcers. you have a pain in the back or a pain in the neck or other places.

you see, a lot of stress at work is conflict that has never been dealt with and you let it irritate you and irritate you and irritate you, day after day after day and you are under stress because you have never dealt with it right at the bat.

you say, ok, bill, what is the solution? how do i deal with conflict quickly. well, i'll tell you but you are not going to like it.

the solution to conflict resolution is one word, confrontation.

now most of you don’t like confrontation? the only people who like confrontation are troublemakers. they love confrontation. they love to go to people and say, you're blowin' it here and here and here. that is their thrill.

but normal people don't like confrontation. i don't like it and you don't like it. but it is the only way to resolve conflict.

but you say, it’s risky. it is risky. it might backfire in my face. it might. i might go and ask them and they might not totally understand. they might not but the bible says that as far as it depends on you.

now if you have done that, regardless of their response, that is their burden. that's their problem now. you went and said, here are some legitimate issues, their response is their response. it's their problem.

but then, the bible says you have done your best, as far as it depended on you, you lived at peace with everyone. you tried to deal with it.

just a thought from the front porch…

the wrong kind of anger…

if you want to deal with cranky co-workers, you resolve conflict quickly. don't let it go on and on.

if you have a conflict at your business, with people you work with, or in your home or at school, you deal with it quickly. you don't let it fester. that's a big mistake.

have you ever used this line? well, we'll just ignore it and hope it goes away.

let me ask you, from experience have you found that to work? no way. it does not work. ignoring conflict does not get rid of it.

ephesians 4.26-27 (tev), if you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin; and do not stay angry all day. don't give the devil a chance.

question, should a CHRISTian ever get angry? answer, yes. JESUS did. but did JESUS ever sin? no. so evidently there is a right way to get angry and there is a wrong way to get angry.

notice it says here, if you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin. that implies that there is an anger that leads you into sin and that there is an anger that doesn't lead you into sin. there is a right way to get angry and a wrong way to get angry.

you say, what's the wrong kind of anger?

well it says right here. the wrong kind of anger is when it is not resolved quickly. if you become angry, do not let you anger lead you into sin, and don't stay angry all day. that is giving the devil a chance. resolve it quickly. don't be angry all day.

the phillips translation says, never go to bed angry. now that would keep a few of us up sometimes. if you said in your marriage that you weren't going to be angry, you would probable resolve conflicts allot quicker.

don't let anger hang on. because anger that is not dealt with quickly turns into resentment. and turns into bitterness. and bitterness is always sin. resentment is always sin, it is always wrong.

just a thought from the front porch…

dealing with intimidating people…

if you work for any length of time, you will eventually be around somebody who will try to intimidate you and try to control you. how does GOD want us to deal with intimidating people?

look at this verse. 2 timothy 1.7 (tev), for the SPIRIT that GOD has given us does not make us timid; instead, HIS SPIRIT fills us with power, love, and self-control.

now that is the way that GOD wants you to deal with people. HE wants you to deal with them in power, that's confidence, in love, that means you focus on their needs, and in self-control, that means you don't blow up. and it also says that GOD's SPIRIT doesn't make us timid, it doesn't turn us into weaklings.

the philips translation of this verse says, GOD has not given us a spirit of cowardness. the living bible in this verse says, GOD doesn't want you to be afraid of people.

and yet i know CHRISTians all of the time who think, i just have to let people have their own way, i have to let them run over me. the bible doesn't say that. not at all.

if you want to deal with cranky co-workers, you realize that you are not going to please everybody, in fact you don't even have to, and then you realize that you never retaliate, you refuse to retaliate, you refuse to argue, don't be drawn into arguments, and you refuse to automatically give in.

just a thought from the front porch…

an unrealistic demand…

now this week possibly a fellow co-worker or a boss or somebody will ask you to do something that is immoral or illegal or unreasonable. it just is an unrealistic demand on you, on your life and time.

so how do you deal with that? look at what JESUS said, matthew 5.36 in the jerusalem bible, all you need to say is “yes” if you mean yes, or “no” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

look at the word “no” in that verse. for a CHRISTian, no is not a dirty word. it's ok to say, “no”.

i meet CHRISTians all of the time who don't know how to say, “no” and they are about to burn out because they have said “yes” to 50 things that they shouldn't be doing.

you see, we can teach this wimp religion kind of concept that JESUS went around on the hills around jerusalem picking flowers and talking about peace and love and not teach that the bible teaches about conviction.

so as a result, there are kids in the church on drugs or pregnant before marriage because they don't know how to say “no”. they don't know how to stand up against pressure. they don't know how to be assertive in the right way.

the bible says, when you are dealing with people who are trying to be controlling, when they are trying to get after you, you don't argue, you don't retaliate, but you don't also automatically cave in either.

you say “yes” when you mean yes, and “no” when you mean no. and it doesn't say anything about feeling guilty or about having to make excuses, it just says, say “yes” when you mean yes, and “no” when you mean no.

so you deal with that in that way without feeling guilty or without making excuses.

just a thought from the front porch…

GOD never made you to be a wimp…

in dealing with a cranky co-worker you should refuse to argue, refuse to retaliate and refuse to cave in.

now a lot of people don't understand this. they just believe that CHRISTians are to submit and let everything happen.

romans 12 verse 2 in the philips translation, don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.

here is the point. no one can pressure you without your permission. ok? if you feel pressured by a cranky co-worker at work, you are allowing yourself to feel pressured by that person. if you feel controlled or manipulated at work, you are allowing yourself to be controlled or manipulated.

it says, don't let the world squeeze you into it's mold. what is it saying? it's saying that its ok to stand up for what's right. it's ok to be assertive when you know something is right.

listen, i meet CHRISTians all of the time who let people around them get away with murder. as if it is more SPIRITual to just be quiet and put up with it all.

the fact is, GOD never made you to be a wimp. HE doesn't expect you to be a doormat.

you say, but isn't a CHRISTian suppose to be meek? yes but meekness is not weakness. there is a big difference.

the word meekness in greek literally means, strength under control.

it is used in talking about a wild stallion broken and now tamed. that stallion still has as much power when it is tamed as when it was wild but now it is bottled up for the masters use. it is strength under control.

just a thought from the front porch…

you owe it to your employees...

now let me just give you some advice if you are an employer. if you are an employer, you owe it to your employees to get rid of the kind of person who is always causing trouble. you owe it to your employees to maintain a positive morale.

have you ever seen one person sabotage a business? some of you have been in that kind of a situation.

as a youth pastor i had to ask one gang leader to leave the group and never come back until he was ready to get with the program. for the good of the total group, i had to ask the one to leave. that was tough but it was the right thing to do.

one person starts spreading rumors and they are causing problems and they are cranky. if you are an employer, never let a gossip or a troublemaker ruin or destroy the morale in your business.

it doesn't matter even if they are the top performer, fire them. don't put up with a negative attitude.

you say give me some biblical basis. ok. proverbs 22.10 in the living bible says, throw out the mocker and you will be rid of tension, fighting and quarrels. don't put up with them.

another good verse is titus 3.10, which has to do with pastors dealing with troublemakers in the church but i think it applies to business too and it says there, somebody who is stirring up strife and wrath it says, warn them once, warn them twice and then say, bye.

if you have a troublemaker in your business, don't put up with them. you owe it to your people to maintain a positive morale in your business.

just a thought from the front porch…

refuse to argue…

in dealing with difficult people at work, realize you can’t please everybody, refuse to retaliate and refuse to argue.

the bible teaches us very clearly, to not be drawn into an argument with cranky co-workers.

now the best illustration of this is JESUS and the pharisees who were always trying to trap HIM and draw HIM into an argument.

look at matthew 22 verses 15 and 18 (tev), the pharisees went off and made a plan to trap JESUS with questions... JESUS, however, was aware of their evil plan, and so HE said, “why are you trying to trap ME?”

you see, JESUS would not play their game. HE said, what are you guys doing? come on. be serious. why are you trying to trap ME?

listen, there are some people, folks, who love to get you into arguments. why?

because that's the way they get their attention. and if you won't give them positive attention, they'll get negative attention. one way or the other and when they draw you into an argument, they feel that they are controlling you. but don't be drawn into their trap.

proverbs 26 verse 21 (tev), wood keeps a fire burning and troublemakers keep arguments alive. isn't that the truth?

you know, there are some people who thrive on office politics. they love it. they go over here and they get one group arguing and they go over there and get this other group arguing and they go back over to the first group and tell about the other group and then they go to the other group. and they go back and forth.

do you know why they like to do that? because they are the center of attention. and troublemakers, it says, wood keeps a fire burning, troublemakers keep arguments alive, they get their kicks out of spreading discontent.

just a thought from the front porch…

taking out the trash…

the third gift of the wise men was “myrrh” which comes from stunted trees. it is a brown, fragrant perfume that is used to anoint dead bodies - to embalm & preserve them. myrrh represents the work and mission of JESUS. HE came to die for us upon the cross.

simeon had already revealed to mary in the temple that this BABY was going to be a source of conflict and controversy and that her own heart would be pierced as if by a sword. the foreshadowing continues when the wise men give the gift of myrrh, a burial spice used to anoint the dead. not your typical baby gift!

from the very beginning, the shadow of calvary fell across the path of JESUS. and there's no way we can worship HIM in spirit and in truth without taking seriously the sacrificial part. worship can fill us up in many ways, but worship also takes something out of us. worship cleanses us of the ideas and actions and attitudes that separate us from GOD. when we really worship, we can't be content any more to live with hatred and resentment and guilt and prejudice and lust in our hearts. we have to take the garbage out.

there was a devotional in the upper room magazine written by a man from california named robert j. eckert. he wrote about the wonderful activities he enjoys on sundays - worship in the church, prayer, nature walks, rest, and conversations with loved ones. then, the last thing he does on sunday is to roll the garbage can out to the curb, because his trash service picks up on monday morning. he didn't choose monday mornings as trash pick-up day, but that act of taking out the garbage has become a meaningful part of his sabbath experience. it reminds him that worship includes recognition of changes that need to be made and confession of sin and reception of forgiveness and resolution to behave better. after worship, we ought to enter the new week with all our trash emptied!

then, with our trash hauled away, we're free to give of ourselves to others. this is the sacrificial part. when we follow JESUS, who from the day HE was born had a date with the cross, how can we think that our spiritual path will be easy - without risk or commitment or courage needed? true worship leads to service. encountering CHRIST commands a response from us - not just on sunday, but every day of the week. worship happens, not just inside the walls of the church, but in the offices and the schools and the stores and the restaurants and anywhere we have a chance to put our faith into action.

just a thought from the front porch…

GOD wants to bless you…

regardless of how much money you make, if you are in a job that is wasting your life on something that is not meaningful to you, you have got a bad bargain no matter how much you are being paid. because meaning is more important than money. and high satisfaction is much more important than a high salary because you are giving your life in that job.
let me ask you. have you had the wrong idea about work? maybe you said, my work is a curse. i don't enjoy it.

i think that it is ironic that the song, take this job and shove it was by a guy named johnny paycheck. because if all you are doing is living for a paycheck, you're going to want to shove it. you need to find a job that is meaningful to you.

according to princeton management association they say that between 50 and 80 per cent of people in america are in the wrong job. 82% of americans say, i hate my work. do you just live for the weekend. tgif. thank GOD it's friday.

GOD wants to bless you through your work and there are principles that you can learn.

how about character development? are you willing to co-operate with GOD's school of character development called your job? HE's building, HE's working on you, all those problems, all those irritations at work. instead of saying, why me, say, what do you want to teach me LORD? what do YOU want to teach me through this work?

have you recognized that GOD has put you in the job that you are currently in, right now as HIS representative. HE put you there.

now regardless of what you do, your work matters to GOD and HE wants to use it in your life to bless you. i want to encourage you to pray two things:

#1. i want you to pray, GOD use my job on me. that's the first thing i want you to pray. GOD use the job that i am in right now to help me grow, to help me to be different, to change me. use my job on me.

and then #2. i want you to pray, LORD, use me through my job. HE will. HE will.

just a thought from the front porch…

a reason for depression…

now i meet all the time people who are depressed and the number one reason for depression is low self-esteem. people just don't feel good about themselves and especially among teenagers, low self-esteem is rampant. they don't feel worthwhile. that's why teen suicide is so high. what's the use.

why is low self-esteem so rampant in our society? they have done studies on that and the studies show that the more free time that we have in our life then the less meaning that our life has.

and we have kids today who get out of school and they don't have anything to do and the parents just subsidize them and subsidize them and they don't have any jobs around the house or they aren't in any extra activities at school or they do all there school work at school, they don't have any homework, so they have all of this free time, they don't have any purpose, they don't have any job.

the truth is some kids need to get a job. it's a part of life. now you have to teach them responsibility. don't let their work take the place of their school work or church. you need to put first things first. they need to be taught priorities but work is a part of life and too much leisure is dangerous. work is not a curse, it is a blessing.

just a thought from the front porch…

paradise is not continuous leisure...

i think paul felt that at the end of his life when he said i finished the fight, i've run the race, i've fought the good fight, i've finished my course. paul is saying, i have that warm feeling of satisfaction, that i did the best i could.

i think that is the way JESUS felt on the cross. when HIS final words were, it is finished. now HE didn't say, I am finished, HE said, it is finished. big difference. because HE wasn't finished. HE said, it is finished. what? salvation's plan. what? all that GOD had sent him to earth to do. i think that was a shout of victory. it's finished!!! i've done it!!! i've done exactly what GOD had wanted me to do and there is that warm sense of accomplishment that comes.

you see, people are happiest when they are striving for something worthwhile and meaningful in life. that's when they are happiest.

you notice back there in the garden of eden, it said that GOD gave them something to do there in paradise.

folks, paradise is not continuous leisure. there was work even in paradise.

i want to tell you that the most pathetic and most board people in the world are people who have nothing but leisure. they are board to death.

some people say, man if i could just quit work and go sit down on laguna beach and just sit and soak and tan and you'd last about a month and a half if you had nothing more than to just sit on a beach. some of you wouldn't last two weeks.

the fact is that GOD says there are emotional benefits to working. it builds self-respect in your life.

just a thought from the front porch…

a sense of honor and dignity…

work gives me self respect. it gives me self-respect. proverbs 22 verse 29 in the living bible, do you know a hard-working man? he shall be successful and stand before kings.

he says the value of good hard work is he shall be successful and stand before kings. what is he saying? he's saying that there is a sense of honor and dignity that results from legitimate work.

all honest work is dignified. now of course you can't be a hit man obviously. or a few other things. that may be a problem but the point is that legitimate, honest work has dignity, no matter what you do.

and the fact is that GOD has built in certain emotional rewards and work is the only way you can get them. there is a certain amount of self-respect that you can't get any other way except through working. it is that sense of accomplishment, that feeling of a job well done. that satisfaction inside that you gave it your best shot.

now you understand that i'm also talking about those of you ladies who have decided to stay at home. that is your job, that is your work and that there is worth and dignity attached to your work also. don't let anybody say otherwise.

there is dignity in all work.

back when i was in college, i worked as a custodian of a middle school. it was a great job for me in college. well, i looked at that as an awesome job to build something into my life.

many of the other preacher boys in college kind of thought they didn't' really need to do a very good job because this was not there calling and so they didn't give there best effort. well, i had been taught that i was to do my best and that there was worth in every job, that one job wasn't better than another so i became the best custodian that i could be. i had pride in my bathrooms. i made them sparkle. and that built respect, self-respect in me. williams you can do a good job.

just a thought from the front porch…

the most strategic place for you to share…

now the question i want to ask you is very simple, is the place you work a happier place because you are a CHRISTian? is the place you work a better place because you are a believer?

you see matthew 5 says that we are to be salt and light. out in the world, we are to be salt and light. we are to penetrate the world and preserve the world.

let me tell you this. your work place is the most strategic place for you to share the good news. don't under estimate that. that's the place where everybody is. we spend 40% of our waking hours at work. so we need to use that platform for the LORD.

i meet CHRISTians all of the time who say, you know i just want to work with a bunch of CHRISTians. i want to quit my job and go to work in some ministry. i want to isolate myself, withdraw from the world, i want to get away from all those evil, wicked, mean, bad and nasty people. and i want to say, why do you want to do that?

but they say, but bill you don't understand. my office is a bunch of pagans. i mean the language, whew. my office..

why do you think GOD put you there? you can put up with a little bad language. you are his representative and GOD put you at that work. HE doesn't want CHRISTians to work just with a bunch of other CHRISTians. otherwise we might as well go join a monastery or convent depending on your preference.

the fact is, HE wants you out there with people who don't know the LORD so that your work can be an example. to be different to make a difference.

just a thought from the front porch…

a radical idea…

work allows me to be generous. ephesians 4.28 (nlt), begin using your hands for honest work and then give generously to others in need. now that is a radical idea.

many of you are possibly planning early retirement. have you ever considered that GOD might have you keep on working after you've made it, just so you could give that money away, to keep working simply so you could have more to give away.

you see, if you don't have any money then you don't have any way to give. no resources, no generosity.

GOD says, i want you to be generous with your resources. work allows me to be generous.

my work is also an example to others. it demonstrates what you believe. it's a testimony, it's a witness.

1 thessalonians 4.11 in the today’s english version, make it your aim to live a quiet life, to mind your own business, and earn your own living...in this way you will win the respect of those who are not believers.

it's an example to unbelievers. it's a testimony. actions speak louder than words. GOD wants audio-visual CHRISTians.

maybe the people at your work would become CHRISTians sooner if you would quit being so vocal about it and just live the life. and then they say, what's up. to be different to make a difference. what's different?

think about joseph in the bible or daniel who by their very integrity, people wanted to know their GOD.

there is this guy named gene wore who lives in oklahoma who one day had a carpenter working on his house and gene was so impressed by his conscientiousness in his carpentry and his hard work that he said, what gives, what is it with you? and he found that this carpenter was also a lay pastor, and he said if that is the way you work then i want to know what you believe. and he ended up by going to his bible study and gene wore became a CHRISTian.

it was the quality of his work that made the difference. it was the quality of the man's effort that caught his attention.

just a thought from the front porch…

you can’t learn anywhere else...

work develops my character. that is another biblical purpose for work. GOD uses your job as a proving ground to develop your character.

luke 16.10-12 (niv), whoever can be trusted with very little can be trusted with much...if you have not been trustworthy in handling wordly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? and if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you your own?

GOD is more interested in perfecting you than pampering you. and there are many, many characteristics that you can learn on your job that you can't learn anywhere else.

i've written down this list of qualities: honesty, dependability, loyalty, sensitivity, patience, self-control, enthusiasm, flexibility, persistence, cheerfulness, fairness, integrity, confidence, forgiveness, punctuality just to mention a few.

GOD wants to develop character in your life. your job is a classroom for character.

now listen. some of you can't stand your boss. that boss, you say, is heavenly sandpaper on my life.

GOD wants to teach you from that boss, even if they are wrong, GOD wants to teach you.

you can leave the job but you will never learn the lesson and guess what, GOD will give you another chance with another boss. but the next time may be worse because GOD didn't get your attention, you didn't learn the lesson with the last one.

you see GOD is trying to teach you.

here is what i am saying, the most important thing that you bring home from your work is not your pay check. it is you, it is your character.

when you are considering a job, you should not only look at what does it pay me, but also what is it going to do to me? what am i going to become as a result of this job? because GOD says, work develops my character.

just a thought from the front porch…