Theology of Work

Not much to offer

Sure, I can make a difference, but can I make a SIGNIFICANT difference? If I spend a day picking up trash on the beach, have I made a significant difference on the ocean pollution problem? It's easy to depreciate the difference we can make because we believe it's not big enough, but. Jesus looks at what we offer through a different lens. Big or small doesn’t impress Him, but rather our willingness to give freely and generously.
Category:  FOL
Tags:  Generosity, Sacrifice, Theology of Work, Roberts

Thanks in hard time

With everything our nation has been through this year, it might seem counterintuitive to set aside a day for giving thanks. But then, one might have said the same thing 157 years ago when our nation was embroiled in a brutal civil war. Yet it was in the midst of that nation-dividing, death toll rising, fear and striving moment that President Lincoln issued his Thanksgiving Proclamation. His words then ring just as true today - we must never lose sight of what we've been given, of what God's done, and of who He is.
Category:  FOL
Tags:  Thanksgiving, Trial, Roberts, Theology of Work

A heathy will for the future

The longer I live, the more certain I am that people who only talk of how corrupt everything and everyone is are not the people who make a good difference. Their points may be valid and they may raise our awareness, but the people who change the world for good have a healthy will for the future because God's love is at work in their lives.
Category:  FOL
Tags:  Optimism, Theology of Work

Do you build fences or dig wells?

We unite around a cause, or an ideology, political party or a religion. We draw lines that distinguish us from others and try to get as many people on our side of the line as possible. This is a fickle unity, at best, and is most certainly a temporary one. Love, however, has enduring power, and it's God's instrument for binding the world together.
Category:  FOL
Tags:  Love, Unity, Boldness, Peterson, Theology of Work

God, answer me quickly!

When we ask a question or share a concern with someone, we expect a quick response. At what point did we decide it wasn't okay to also pray with bold, expectant urgency? No, that's not heresy, urgent, time-sensitive prayers are actually modeled for us in the Psalms.
Category:  FOL
Tags:  Boldness, Urgency, prayer, Confidence, Theology of Work, Roberts

Being mat carriers

It's one thing to try to integrate our faith in the work we do each day, but here's a probing question: what are you willing to risk to help a colleague experience the life that only Jesus offers? How bold are you willing to be?
Category:  FOL
Tags:  Boldness, Faith, Friendship, Theology of Work, Roberts

Bold faith

Do you ever ask God for big, even impossible things? If so, do you expect Him to answer? What if He's looking for exactly that - a big, impossible prayer that's prayed with confident expectation?
Category:  FOL
Tags:  Boldness, Confidence, prayer, Roberts, Theology of Work

Grounds for patience

The cardinal sin of the 21st century is to be boring and slow. We demand the brief newscast, fast report: your worst offense is to waste my time. Yet Jesus often used agricultural symbols and parables, partly to remind us that good things require time.
Category:  FOL
Tags:  Patience, Time, Hope, Theology of Work

The call to sacrificial generosity

If we're honest, most (or all?) of our giving is out of our abundance. The time or money we give takes something from us, but it doesn't leave a mark. In other words, we carry on and a day later don't have any residual impact of the gift we previously made. But what if generosity looked different? Could it be that giving in a way that really costs us something is not painful but rather joyful?
Category:  FOL
Tags:  Generosity, Theology of Work