Archives for Ministry at Work category
24
Mar
Posted on 2007 under Ministry at Work |
I have a perpetual calendar on my desk that has daily bible readings. March 21 had that well known verse from Psalm 23:1 ‘The Lord is my shepherd’ and prompted the reader to think about how David likened God to a loving, caring Shepherd and that this was because of what David knew firsthand in his life.
The reader was prompted to think about replacing the word ’shepherd’ with something else that would have meaning in our lives, something that would be known to us first-hand. What about if you replaced that word with something like ‘boss’?
The Lord is my boss, I lack for nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures (He makes me work in plentiful areas)
He leads me beside quiet waters (He leads me into quiet places)
He refreshes my soul
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake (He guides me in my work and shows me the right ways)
and so on. Imagine the Lord as your boss beside you in the workplace, helping you to achieve your goals, granting you inner peace on really busy days, protecting you and making you aware of His presence. God is there with you always, you just need to acknowledge and remember that - it will make those difficult days so much easier to bear and the good days even more joyful. KMT
“Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.” Isaiah 26:12 NIV
I receive a daily bible reading from a friend overseas and the message from yesterday is above. It struck a chord with me as I’ve been very conscious lately of God’s input into my life, and in particular to my business. Readers will know of my passion for ministry in business and the workplace and the above passage serves as a reminder that nothing we do, we do on our own. All that we accomplish is because of God’s input into our lives.
I feel very blessed that He entrusted to me the business I’ve been managing for the past 13 years. I know that I’ve not always managed it well and have not been the perfect steward, but I am learning on an almost daily basis now, of the input I need to seek from God and his direction in relation to my goal setting and planning.
This is why it is so important for us to continue sharing fellowship with like-minded people in business or at work. So that they can encourage us and help steer us in the right direction. So that God can use others as messengers when it is needed. But more importantly, we must daily have a dose of God’s Word added to the things we do and read. If you struggle to read the Bible every day, why not subscribe to daily readings and devotionals, there are many available online and because they arrive in your inbox regularly, it means you have easy access and it only takes a short time to read them and absorb them.
In my blogroll to the right you’ll find resources you can access. And I’ve added a subscribe feed to this blog so you can have input, as I post new messages. I invite you to subscribe. I also encourage you to place comment, or email me if there is a topic you’d like covered or discussed. Bless you and have a great day! KMT
workplace ministry, business ministry, Isaiah 26, daily readings
10
Feb
Posted on 2007 under Ministry at Work |
In the Old Testament we read of instructions given to various people, such as Moses in Numbers 1:1-15 by God.
What do you think of when you read passages like that? Do you think it’s just about a time gone by and things like that don’t happen anymore, or do you think it’s just one of the many instances when God has given someone an instruction and that it still happens today?
What about you? Has He given you instruction to do something? Have you even stopped long enough from what you’ve been doing to really think about it and take action.
If you are too busy to do what you know God wants you to do, then perhaps it’s time to consider you are busier than He intended for you. Life today seems to get faster and faster as you get older, but even young people struggle to keep up with everything. In a day of when so many things are almost instantaneous we get impatient for things to happen and take very little time out to even think about our lives, let alone what God might have in store for us.
Is it time to take stock of what’s happening in your life before something happens to make you stop? I know of people who have had unexplained illnesses or inconvenient things take place, which on reflection have served to make them stop, take stock, and make some changes in their lives.
So, why don’t you take time to stop, take stock and review where you are in your life, and consider whether you are doing the very things that God would have you do? Perhaps it really is time to ‘Be Still and know that He is God’ Psalm 46:10.
And I say it again, God is so good!
How often do you think ‘I must do that, I must do that’ and keep putting that thing off? Yes, it happens to me too. It’s been on my mind that I should be writing here regularly, reviewing daily bible readings and see how I can apply it here. I receive TGIF daily and that is great inspiration but I get inspiration from many other areas too.
Tonight I logged into my blog, wondering what I was going to write and then discovered a post I’d written a few weeks ago but hadn’t published yet. So I published it and then thought it would be a good article to submit at FaithWriters.com (as if I don’t get enough of writing!!!). Within minutes of publishing it there I get a message that it was just what someone needed to read, just at that very moment - I mean, I’d only just published it!
But that’s not all - minutes before that I’d read today’s TGIF message and discovered something there that was meant for a lady who had emailed me earlier in the day, with her feelings of weariness and almost at the point of giving up. The message was titled ‘Sowing in Tears’ and I didn’t even know how it was going to be received - I know very little about this lady on a personal basis, although she is a member of my VA team. But her reply email soon demonstrated that message was exactly right for her and if I’d read it any other time, it wouldn’t have been fresh in my mind for her.
Two times, within 5-10 minutes, messages I was sharing spoke volumes to two very special ladies who needed to read them. What message do you have that someone needs to hear? KMT
sharing messages, God is so good, listening to the Spirit
9
Feb
Posted on 2007 under Ministry at Work |
Have you spent your lifetime waiting for the right time? The right time to do this, the right time to do that?
In my perpetual calendar is the reading from Genesis 21:6-7 where Sarah declares she has given Abraham a son in his old age. He was 100 years old and the note on the calendar reminds the reader that he still had his most important and productive years ahead of him.
Don’t spend a lifetime waiting for the right time to follow through on something, or even to start on what God has told you is your life’s plan. This might be an inbuilt desire that has been growing over time, or a passion you’ve held within but haven’t shared or told anyone about. Unless God has told you to wait, then step out and get started. Even if you don’t know how or where. In doing the research, the planning, asking questions, seeking help, God will surround you with the right people and the right circumstances, but you can’t get started until you take that first step. Cover each step and planning in prayer and communion with God, but make that move and get started. If you don’t, you may miss your calling and God may place it upon someone else to get it happening. After all, whatever we do, does not affect only us, but many others too.
And, in all that doing, or waiting, don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re too young or too old. As long as you’re breathing, God can use you! KMT
lifetime, life’s plan, productive, Genesis 21:6-7