3 Essential Aspects Of Work As Worship

February 22, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner , , , , Leave a comment

Work as WorshipWhen reading about Jesus in the Bible, I find He spent a great deal of His time in the marketplace ministering to all kinds of people. The reason I think Jesus was so often found in the marketplace is because the marketplace is where most people spend each day seeking to fulfill their purpose and destiny in life. Ephesians 2:10 reads, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” This verse tells me that before the creation of the world, God prepared a destiny for each of us to walk in with Christ and bring Him glory. I believe when Jesus came to earth as the Son of Man, He went into the marketplace where people were seeking to fulfill their God-ordained purposes in life with Him. Two thousand years later, I don’t believe anything has changed. Jesus still wants to minister to people in the marketplace where they can be found seeking to fulfill their God-ordained purpose in life with Him. However, for Jesus to do this today, God’s people must embrace the following three essential aspects of “work as worship” in the marketplace with Jesus.

1)      Work As Worship Redeems The Purpose Of Work In The Marketplace

Work as worship in the purest form, fundamentally entreats the redeeming purposes of God in the marketplace; however, the unfortunate reality is that many people view work as a four-letter curse word rather than work as worship. Tragically, such a misconceived view of work causes God’s redeeming purposes for work anywhere in His kingdom to be forfeited to the evil purposes of the kingdom of darkness. If God’s people, His kingdom ambassadors on earth, do not understand God’s redeeming purposes in work, then how will God’s kingdom shine forth in the marketplace arenas of our world as a city that is set on a hill? Sadly, it will not because God has given you and me the personal privilege and responsibility to shine His light through us by our good works glorifying Him in the marketplace. Matthew 5:16 states “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” This admonishment from Jesus applies to good works on Monday through Saturday as much as it applies to good works on Sunday. God can be glorified and worshiped in all of our work when we truthfully embrace our work as worship unto Him and not unto men.

2)      Work As Worship Truly Matters To God In The Marketplace

Colossians 3:23-24 states “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Please hear the spirit of God in this matter of truth. We serve Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, in all of our work including our work in the marketplace. God cares about our work in the marketplace because He cares about people and He designed our work to help Him take care of people. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God foreshadowed His provision for their spiritual needs by the shedding of blood to cover their sin AND He also foreshadowed His provision for their temporal needs by covering their bodies with clothing. Since then, God has been caring for the spiritual and temporal needs of man and woman – eternal spiritual beings created in His image, living in a temporal and fallen world. This means if you are in the clothing business, you are actually doing work that matters to God by helping Him provide for people’s clothing needs. It’s the same for anyone in the marketplace doing work that helps God care for the temporal needs of people. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” When you discover the temporal needs of people that God is supplying by your work in the marketplace, you will discover God’s ordained kingdom purpose for your work in the marketplace.

3)      Work As Worship Fulfills The Two Greatest Commandments In The Marketplace

Responding to a lawyer about the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus answers in Matthew 22:37-39, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

When we approach our work as worship, we fulfill these two great commandments of the Lord in the marketplace by doing our work in a manner that glorifies God with wholehearted love for Him and doing our work in a manner that benefits others through our genuine love for others. Loving God and loving people is the cornerstone of true work as worship in the marketplace with Jesus!

Thank you and have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

3 Essential Aspects Of Work As Worship Copyright 2012, Gary J. Borgstede. You have permission to reprint 3 Essential Aspects Of Work As Worship, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

Valley Of Blessing

February 15, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Faith And Family , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Scripture

2 Chronicles 20:26 “On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.” New Living Translation

Observation

This verse highlights a day when the people of Judah, under the reign of King Jehoshaphat, celebrated a huge victory in the Lord. Just prior to this celebration in the Valley of Blessing, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites had declared war on King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. As they were marching towards Judah, King Jehoshaphat declared a fast and prayed to the Lord for deliverance. The Lord heard his prayer and the Spirit of the Lord communicated that the battle was not King Jehoshaphat’s battle, but rather God’s battle. King Jehoshaphat sought wisdom from God, stood still in the presence of the Lord, and watched the Lord deliver a complete victory. The victory was so great that it took three full days for the people of Judah to gather the plunder from the battlefield. On the fourth day, they gathered at the Valley of Blessing to praise the Lord and thank Him there.

Application

There are times when I find myself just as King Jehoshaphat, faced with an opposing situation that is simply too big for me to handle and I don’t know what to do. It is in those times when I must follow the example of King Jehoshaphat and seek the Lord for His guidance, wisdom, and protection. In a humble posture of complete yielding and dependence upon the Lord, I can position myself to trust the Lord, stand still in His presence, and watch the Lord accomplish the victory on my behalf. As I give praise to the Lord in every circumstance as a child of God, the battle becomes God’s battle and not mine which assures me victory as well as a valley of blessing.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are Jehovah Tsebioth, the Lord of Hosts! Thank You Lord for Your name being a strong tower where I can run to it and find safety in every situation. I place my total trust in You and have no fear of any adverse circumstance prevailing against me because You are for me. Help me Lord to always remember that Your faithful love endures forever. I love You Jesus! Amen!

Valley Of Blessing Copyright 2012, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, Valley Of Blessing, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

The Borgstede Family Constitution

February 12, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Faith And Family , , Leave a comment

  • ForeverKeep God the focal point of our family and relationships
  • Remain married until death, thru sickness and health, for richer or poorer
  • Pursue long-term active involvement in church and community
  • Teach our children the fear and admonition of the Lord
  • Maintain a stable home environment that fosters full utilization of God-given talents and potential
  • Love and respect one another unconditionally with the help and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

The Borgstede Family Constitution Copyright 1991, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint The Borgstede Family Constitution, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Culture Development – Rx For Expansion

February 9, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Expansion

Expansion

The culture of an organization reflects the values of the organization and will drive everything inside the organization. In fact, I will assert that culture is the most dynamic force in an organization because it is the outward expression of the organization’s internal values that are held as firm convictions by the people inside the organization. Emphasizing the organizational strength and power of culture, Dr. Sam Chand, author of Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code, says “Culture will eat vision for lunch!” I believe this statement by Dr. Chand because everything in an organization will ultimately revolve around the written and unwritten culture code inside the organization. Understanding the unseen powerful dynamic of culture is extremely important for faith-based leaders if they desire to build an organization that glorifies God, benefits others, and endures in the marketplace. I believe faith-based leaders can only effectively do this by intentionally developing the organization’s culture code with practical faith-based values communicated in the make-it-happen language of the marketplace.

Culture Development Clarifies Core Ideology And Builds An Organization That Lasts

In their book, Built To Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras write, “Core ideology defines the enduring character of an organization – its self-identity that remains consistent through time and transcends product / market life cycles, technological breakthroughs, management fads, and individual leaders. Core ideology provides the bonding glue that holds an organization together as it grows, decentralizes, diversifies, expands globally, and attains diversity within.” Core ideology that is well defined within the organization’s core values and also well reflected in the organization’s culture will effectively empower organizational leaders to build the organization in a way that will stand the tests of time. This is true because core values provide the character definition of the organization and culture provides the life expression of the organization’s character as it exists through time.

Developing Culture Builds The Internal Foundation Required For External Growth And Expansion

Any farmer knows that a seed can only reproduce after its own kind. It would be completely foolish for a farmer to plant watermelon seeds and expect to harvest tomatoes because watermelons can only reproduce watermelons. In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus further affirms the principles of reproduction in the kingdom of God by stating, “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs never grow on thorn bushes, nor grapes on bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” These principles of reproduction affect all forms of reproduction including organizational reproduction; therefore, before an organization starts reproducing itself through growth and expansion, it is absolutely imperative that the organization’s core values are clearly defined and appropriately reflected in its culture because the organization will simply reproduce after its own kind. Noble, strong, God-honoring, people-loving organizations will reproduce noble, strong, God-honoring, people-loving teams, departments, branches, divisions, regions, and new corporate entities.  

To help organizations effectively develop the organizational culture that fully reflects the organization’s core values, I recommend the following 4 practical steps to developing culture:

  1.  Clearly define an organizational core values statement based upon a timeless enduring core ideology that can be effectively communicated to the people inside the organization over and over and over and over again.
  2. Write, tell, and archive well scripted organizational stories that effectively communicate the core values of the organization to the people inside the organization and tell those stories over and over and over and over again.
  3. Strategically design frequent celebrations and planned events that encourage people inside the organization to celebrate the core values of the organization over and over and over and over again.
  4. Conduct semi-annual culture surveys to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s life expression of the organization’s core values through the perceptions and feedback of every person inside the organization and to make appropriate life expression adjustments that continually clarify the core values over and over and over and over again.

Thank you and have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Culture Development – Rx For Expansion Copyright 2013, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint Culture Development – Rx For Expansion, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Convicted In Christ

February 1, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Faith And Family , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Scripture

Revelation 1:9 “I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus.”

Observation

As the writer of the book of Revelation to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, the apostle John reveals his identity in Christ as a fellow believer by stating 1) he is a brother in the Lord, 2) he is a partner in suffering, 3) he is a partner in God’s kingdom, 4) and he is a partner in the patient endurance of the call of Christ for all believers. Furthermore, he unashamedly declares his conviction in Christ as a person banished to the island of Patmos for preaching God’s word and sharing his testimony about Jesus.

Application

I once heard someone ask this question, “If you were accused of being a follower of Christ, would there be any evidence to convict you?” In contemplating an answer to this question, I believe there would be significant evidence in my life to convict me as a Christ follower provided that I share the same evidences that identified and convicted the apostle John as a fellow believer and follower of Christ. To accumulate such evidences in my life, I must faithfully live my life in a way that affirmatively answers the following questions: 1) Am I a true brother in the Lord to other believers in Christ? 2) Am I a true partner in the sufferings experienced from a personal faith in Christ along with other believers? 3) Am I a true partner with other believers in building God’s kingdom in my generation? 4) Am I a true partner in the patient endurance of the call of Christ for all believers during my lifetime? 5) Am I faithful to unashamedly share the good news of the gospel with others and tell them about my relationship with Jesus?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord my Righteousness! Thank You Lord for Your unfailing love towards me that never gives up on me even when I have failed You and have demonstrated a weak conviction in You. By Your overwhelming grace in my life and the power of Your Holy Spirit working in me, help me to grow in Christ day by day in ways that produce solid evidences of my life surrendered to You, my Lord and Savior. I love You Jesus! Amen!

Convicted In Christ Copyright 2012, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, Convicted In Christ, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.