Finding God at Work

What kind of fruit am I bearing at work? Fruit pops up all over the Bible. It's there from the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem. It's one of the predominant metaphors in the Bible for describing human beings and their relationship with God. But what does it *mean* to "be fruitful" or to "bear fruit"? Jesus teaches that, "no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit. . . . The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil" (Luke 6:43,45 ESV). Fruit comes out of who we *really* are, on the inside. When we look at our words and actions in the workplace, we see the condition of our hearts. If we're honest with ourselves, we're not always bearing the fruit that we wish we would. But Jesus can help us with that. He can make the tree good. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #Heart #Treasure #GoodTree #BadTree #Luke6 #Galatians5 #Interaction #DallasWillard #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "Oh, Lord, open his eyes so he may see" (2 Kings 6:16-17 NIV). Just like the servant of the prophet Elisha in this story, we need our eyes to be opened. The reality of God's kingdom is always there, right around us. But we often miss it. We forget that it's there. We don't need stories that are inspirational, but then feel detached and disconnected from the actual stresses we face in the workplace or at home. We need something that's just as real as the difficulties we face when our alarm goes off in the morning. And that's exactly what God offers. He offers us the opportunity to see his reality. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Imagination #OpenOurEyes #Unseen #Hidden #ChariotsOfFire #Elisha #2Kings6 #CSLewis #Joy #SurprisedByJoy #GeorgeMacDonald #Baptism #Philippians48 #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

An emissary is an ambassador or messenger. Sometimes, an emissary is a trailblazer. They connect kingdoms that have never been connected before. Jesus is the emissary who bridges the kingdoms of spiritual reality. Paul writes, "For [the Father] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves" (Colossians 1:13 NIV). Jesus rescues us. Then, he sends us as emissaries of light in the dominion of darkness. But the pressure isn't on us. We're just two-watt bulbs with solar panels, soaking up the infinite light of Jesus. When we let him shine on us, we have light to share with everyone around us at work. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Emissary #Ambassador #Messenger #GanYing #SpiceRoad #Empires #Kingdoms #Colossians1 #Matthew5 #LetYourLightShine #TimKeller #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

Are your coworkers your friends? Are you a friend to your coworkers? When we act as a friend, we love the people around us. We will their good. In the workplace, that often means we bring two things to the people around us: productivity and presence. Productivity: The first way we can be a good friend to our coworkers is by doing a good job at our job. Presence: But often we have a unique opportunity to give real, relational attention to our coworkers, too. As we let Jesus be our faithful friend at work, we become capable of loving our friends at work well. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Friendship #WorkFriends #Productivity #Presence #Attention #Interruptions #GreatCommission #BrotherLawrence #BoringJobs #FrankLaubach #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

When Jesus faced a Kingship temptation, he responded with a Servant solution. The devil offered Jesus "all the kingdoms of the world" (Matthew 4:8 NIV). Jesus responded by saying, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only" (Matthew 4:10 NIV). A servant does their master's bidding. What gets Jesus out of this bind is his commitment to be a servant to his Master, his Father. Even for Jesus, the only safe place for him to exercise his authority is under the authority of his Father. The same is true for us. When we do our Master's bidding, our authority serves others well. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Servant #Serving #Service #Master #Jesus #Gethsemane #Temptation #Authority #Boss #Jeroboam #Scandal #Abuse #Grasp #OpenHanded #Patience #Waiting #DallasWillard #Matthew4 #John5 #Luke19 #Revelation1 #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

Each one of us has a kingdom. A place where we're in charge. It may be no bigger than our cubicle, but it matters. That means each of us needs to learn how to be a king. Bible history and world history give us plenty of examples of kings gone bad. The Jeroboam Problem still besets Christian leaders today: Clinging to authority more closely than we cling to Jesus. But King Jesus can teach us how to bear authority well and wisely. We can pray with confidence, "You will make them princes throughout the land" (Psalm 45:16 NIV). #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #King #KingdomOfGod #Boss #Authority #WhoopiGoldberg #RobertSutton #Tolkien #BlueberryMuffins #Jeroboam #Proverbs1912 #1Kings12 #Psalm45 #Hebrews1 #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

The Bible says that you can be a builder. Specifically, you can be part of a team of restoration workers. There's a promise, but it comes with a condition: "If you do away with the yoke of oppression. . . and satisfy the needs of the oppressed . . . you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings" (Isaiah 58:9-12 NIV). Can we do our everyday work with justice? Can we build up the broken walls of our communities in the name of Jesus? And can we let Jesus restore us in the process? Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Builder #Carpenter #Tekton #OldCopley #AuroraIL #Isaiah58 #Oppression #Justice #CommonGood #BottomLine #EconomicDevelopment #EconomicJustice #Homeownership #FoodInsecurity #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

Priests go between God and the people. They offer sacrifices. They make offerings. So, what is the offering that we can make to God? Paul guides us in Romans 12 to see what we can offer: Our whole body. Our whole work. Our whole life. It's an offering to God, but it's also an offering for the sake of the world. Any time that you love another human being in the character of Christ, God receives that as a worthy sacrifice. That means the work that we do at our jobs, or in our homes—whether it's paid or unpaid—can become priestly work. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Priest #Sacrifice #Offering #Romans12 #Hebrews7 #Vertical #Horizontal #Lausanne #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

What does it mean for us to be artists in our work? To encounter Jesus as an artist in his work? In the Exodus story, craftsmen like Bezalel and Oholiab were filled with the Spirit of God to do "skilled work." Even if we're not literal artists or craftworkers like that, we, too, can do works of beauty just by doing our work well. We exercise the "ministry of competence" in a way that brings God's beauty and goodness into the world in the most tangible ways. When Jesus breathes on us, filling us with the Holy Spirit, he makes our work into ministry. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Art #Artist #Creativity #Bezalel #Oholiab #Exodus #Ministry #Competence #Jesus #Poetry #CFBurney #LeightonFord #Fruit #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

What does it mean to do our work as gardeners? Whether or not we literally help plants grow as part of our day job, gardening is one of the Bible's central metaphors for our work. We're not primarily hunters or builders or mass producers. We're gardeners. We cultivate. We care. We discover. We wait. What would it look like to approach your work with the mindset of a gardener every day? As always, Jesus shows us the way. He is the gardener of our souls, bringing forth the fruit we need to do our work with him. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Gardening #Gardener #Cultivate #Genesis #Creation #CulturalMandate #EnumaElish #Cherokee #Nüwa #Resurrection #Fruit #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral