August 15, 2008
Circle of Excellence
What does your work ethic say about God? I was recently honored with Circle of Excellence award at my company. This came as a complete surprise to me. There is no one thing I can think of that really stands out making me deserving of such honor.
The Christian life can be like that. It’s not that God calls each of us to do big and great things. He might. Then again, He may simply want you to live out your faith consistently. Rising each morning with praise on our lips for God and seeking His will in all we do faithfully.
Is your work excellent? If not, ask God to help you represent Him through your work. Be willing to change where needed. For example, if God convicts you of being late to work, change your behavior to arrive on time. The rewards are priceless.
1 Corinthians 15:58 NKJV “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
© Elizabeth Marks, Author of ThinkOnIt4Business devotions, longs for Christians in the workplace to live out their faith so God gets the glory.
July 18, 2008
Truth in the Workplace
During a lunch hour I was helping a co-worker setup a free website for a non-work related organization he ran. During the installation process it asks for an email address. He entered his work email address. I stopped him to be sure he understood what he was doing. He said he has all his personal stuff coming to his work email address.
I was a little taken back by this. I asked him if he ever thought about it as stealing. He said no. I then asked him how he would feel if he found his neighbor was using his wireless internet access for free without his knowledge. To which he replied, “I’d feel violated”. Then I asked him “how is using your work email for non-work related business any different than the example about the neighbor?” After some thought, he replied, “It’s not different.”
This actually spurred a more lengthy conversation of right and wrong. We talked about sometimes it might be okay to use company system for non-work, like when the boss tells me to post any “out of office” appointments on the calendar. But what about receiving personal emails regarding a side business? To me, it’s pretty clear and if I were to do it I would be violating my conscience.
In the end, I know God’s truth will convict people’s hearts. In the meantime, I will continue to do what the Lord leads me to do – speak the truth in love. Believers this is an example of witnessing in the workplace. Stand for truth. Right is right and wrong is wrong. Exodus 20:15 says “You shall not steal.” Do not be ashamed to speak the truth. Just be sure to speak gently, not judgmentally.
© Elizabeth Marks has 20 years business experience in sales, marketing, operations, Six Sigma project management, and business planning areas. She enjoys sharing her knowledge to benefit others’ development and growth. For more articles, business resources and other advice, visit http://www.ThinkOnIt4Business.com today.
June 24, 2008
Why Witness in the Workplace?
Have you heard CBS News story on the survey of 36,000 Americans regarding religion? If not, watch this video below.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4204240n
Here are some statistics from the survey.
92% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit. What does this say about us? Are we wishy-washy in what we believe?
58% of Americans pray every day but most differ on their view of God. Only half the people pray. This seems to speak of self-sufficiency doesn’t it? Maybe they thought is God’s too busy to deal with my problems. Maybe they think I can handle this myself. The next statistic might reveal more.
60% believe in a personal God, while 25% believe God is an impersonal force. Obviously, the American people don’t know the real God, for if they did, they would know how personal He is and how far He goes to make it possible for us to be saved.
Michael Lindsay says “it shows religion in America is like a spiritual salad bar. Americans can pick and choose their faith.” Have you ever heard your pastor talk about taking God at His word. If we decide what to accept and not to accept, don’t we put our intellect in place of God. Don’t we think we know what’s best for us? Oh how wrong we are!
This is appalling to me. I hope it stirs the Holy Spirit in you. People are seeking the truth but being corrupted with lies. There is only one truth and that is God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the word of God containing the truth.
The story continued to site 89% of Evangelicals and 62% of Catholics believe the Bible to be the word of God. 86% of Muslims believe the Koran is God’s word. While only 37% of Jews and Hindus and 18% of Buddists believe their text comes straight from God. This statistic was shocking to me, only 37% of Jews believed their text came from God! The Jews were there when God with Moses, parted the red sea, delivering them from Egypt. The Jews saw the walls of Jericho fall simply by obedience to God’s will. Yet, only 37% believe the Bible is God’s Word.
One last statistic was regarding heaven and hell. 74% of Americans believed in heaven (and there are many ways to get there) but only 59% believe in hell. The sad fact is heaven and hell both exist. If we don’t decide which place we want to eventually go to, we will be very disappointed in the end.
God is merciful. He will take the worst sinner, under one condition. The sinner must agree with God he/she needs a savior and trust in Jesus’ finished work on the cross as punishment for his/her sins. That’s it. God’s gracious gift of salvation comes one way and one way only, folks. The sooner we accept it, the faster we turn things around in American.
Lord Jesus you are the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by you. Holy Spirit reign down on American. Open our eyes and hearts to receive your truth. Raise up believers to witness your truth before our fellow countrymen. In Jesus’ precious name, we pray Amen.
© Elizabeth Marks has 20 years business experience in sales, marketing, operations, Six Sigma project management, and business planning areas. She enjoys sharing her knowledge to benefit others’ development and growth. For more articles, business resources and other advice, visit http://www.ThinkOnIt4Business.com today.
June 23, 2008
What are you a witness of?
What has God done for you? Have you ever shared this with anyone at work before? If not, why?
Being a witness means we share what we saw, heard and experienced. Think about all God has done for us already. He created the world. He became human and died in our place to pay for our sins. Not only did He save us from the punishment of our sin, but He adopted us into His family. He also gave us His Spirit to guide us in all truth. He even provides the power we need to live a godly life. On top of all that God is with us always. He’s there for us whenever we call on Him. So there’s bound to be many other examples of God’s grace to share with others.
But we don’t just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Nor do we practice a preplanned set us scriptures to used in our witness. No, it happens more conversationally. For example, I happen to have Bible verses written on sticky notes in my office. One time a co-worker asked about them and that turned out to be a divine appointment which opened the door for sharing how I came to know the Lord.
What about you? Have you share His love with anyone lately?
© Elizabeth Marks has 20 years business experience in sales, marketing, operations, Six Sigma project management, and business planning areas. She enjoys sharing her knowledge to benefit others’ development and growth. For more articles, business resources and other advice, visit http://www.ThinkOnIt4Business.com today.
March 26, 2008
Where Does Advice Come From?
Proverbs 20:5 NLT “Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out.”
God made each of us to know Him. This verse helps me remind everyone has the ability to know God for He has put eternity in their hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). No one has an excuse for not knowing the Lord.
Look at what Proverbs teaches us. The person with understanding is the one who knows God and His Son, Jesus Christ. The believer is the one to help draw out of the unbeliever the truth God put in their hearts so they may be saved.
I’m not saying we convince people for each must come to their own decision. Besides it is the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment to come (John 16:8). However, it appears we, who know God, play a key role in helping others find the truth God placed in their own hearts.
We can do this many ways? One way is by our example. How we handle work related situations is important part of our witness to others. Do we handle things in a godly way? Or are we just like the rest of the world?
Another way is through befriending a co-worker, building a healthy relationship with our co-worker so we may have an opportunity to share our faith.
What are you doing today to help a co-worker find the truth?
Lord Jesus, thank you for being the way, the truth, and the life. Help us be witnesses for you in the workplace. Enable us to draw others to you. In your name we pray. Amen.
© Elizabeth Marks, Author of ThinkOnIt4Business devotions, longs for Christians in the workplace to live out their faith so God gets the glory.
February 29, 2008
Never let them see you sweat
I’m sure you’ve heard that saying before. There is some truth to it. I remember a few months ago I was overwhelmed with many projects at work. God was so good to me during that time. I buzzed from one meeting to the next with such a calm demeanor. It was as if I was floating outside my body watching this “stranger” organize, plan and execute my daily activities.
The more I thought about it, the more clarity God gave me in how our responses are a witness to others. For you see, during that time, everyone at work knew how chaotic is was for me. They knew about all the projects and how much work that meant. Since God kept me from becoming frazzled, stressed or anxious, the result was peace that was VERY evident to everyone around me. I kept my cool during some ver stressful times and it left a positive impression. Several co-workers visited me during this time to comment on how well I was handling myself. To which I replied, “God gets all the glory, for He’s the one enabling me to handle it.”
Another example of how we witness through our responses. Praise God for He is good!
February 23, 2008
Welcome to ThinkOnIt4Business blog.
We’re glad you made it to our blog. We hope you will enjoy the content. Our goal is to help you learn to live out your faith in the workplace. We do this by studying God’s Word together, sharing ways to witness in the workplace and encouraging you to be who you are in Christ Jesus.
