Fishing for Men, Women, and Children at Work

How do you win others over for God's Kingdom at work? Most of us generally try to be a good example of grace, forgiveness, patience, humbleness, and other positive character traits in order for our co-workers to possibly notice God's Spirit within us. We may even verbally thank God or tell a co-worker that we are praying for him or her. Who is going to get upset with us when we offer to pray for them? We might talk about the sermon we heard at church and how it affected our thinking. Is that enough? Is that what God had in mind for us when he said “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matt 28:19)?

Have you allowed yourself to think deeply about the message you send in your words and actions each day? Most of us have not, because we get caught up in "doing" the daily responsibilities of the jobs, and when we do take a moment, fear can often take hold and paralyze us into inaction.

We, as believers, are called to take some risks so that God’s Kingdom may grow! Do you ever have a great idea only to talk yourself out of it? Maybe it will fail; maybe people will laugh at me; what will everyone think? Often our fear gets in the way of doing our best work. But God wants us to go forth boldly, sometimes taking a risk, so that we may accomplish great things for Him. Yes, sometimes we’ll get it wrong and there may be a hard lesson to learn. But we will learn– and eventually great things will happen as result of our courage and persistence!

In Psalm 31:24 MSG, we are called to...Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon. So, what can we do about it? Matthew 13:23 MSG says, The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. We cannot afford to wait quietly in the wings to let others do the work. God’s Kingdom won’t grow unless we start taking some risks! We are "good earth". How do we do that successfully?

Be alert and aware of your word choice and tone of voice. In Colossians 4:5-6 MSG we are called to ... Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

Be sensitive to God's leading and bold in carrying it out even when it involves risk. Psalm 119:41-48, says Let your love, God, shape my life with salvation, exactly as you promised; Then I’ll be able to stand up to mockery because I trusted your Word. Don’t ever deprive me of truth, not ever— your commandments are what I depend on. Oh, I’ll guard with my life what you’ve revealed to me, guard it now, guard it ever; And I’ll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom; Then I’ll tell the world what I find, speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed. I cherish your commandments—oh, how I love them!— relishing every fragment of your counsel.

Being bold does not mean being reckless. It means trusting in God's strength to express our effort in the manner it will be received best. Psalm 21:13 emphasizes, Show your strength, God, so no one can miss it. We are out singing the good news!

Matthew 5:10 says, You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

Be humble in your deeds giving credit to God and not yourself. In Matthew 6:1-4 MSG we are advised, Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘play actors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Dear Almighty Father,

Fill us with your strength and confidence to win others over for the Kingdom. Give us the words and direct our actions to help others be convinced of your love, grace, and life giving ways. Let us be tools you use to share the good news of salvation and grace through Jesus Christ. We love you and thank you for the sacrifice of your Son. It is in the powerful name of Jesus we pray...Amen.