workplace

NCFI Cares: Be the Blessing at Your Workplace

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Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand… (Genesis 39:3)

After having lofty dreams of leadership and sold by his older brothers into slavery, Joseph becomes an overseer in Egypt. The Lord blesses Joseph and makes him successful.

 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge. It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field (Genesis 39:4-5)

Notice how the Lord’s blessing was not only to Joseph but to the entire household.  All did not go well for Joseph. He was falsely accused of sexual assault and attempted rape by the overseer’s wife and subsequently sent to prison. Once again, the hand of the Lord is upon Joseph and he is placed in a leadership position as overseer of the jail.

But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. (Genesis 39:21)

In prison Joseph used his spiritual gift of dream interpretation to assist the cupbearer and baker with their dreams. Two years later, with the help of God, Joseph is the only one who can interpret the dream by the Pharoah of Egypt. Joseph becomes 2nd in command of Egypt and follows God’s plan to save Egypt and surrounding countries from a severe famine.

Joseph understood, through God’s blessing and mighty hand, he had been an instrument in God’s plan.

God sent me ahead of you to preserve you on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 45:7-8)

Like Joseph, we can be a blessing to our own workplace, whether it is a clinical facility, academic institution, or organization. Joseph demonstrates for us key reminders in living out our blessing to others:

  • be humble with how God will use your specific knowledge and talents;
  • be the voice of hope and peace instead of adding to the negativity;
  • persevere amidst the trials to stay faithful no matter your circumstances; and
  • wait for God to transform our workplace as part of His eternal plan.

NCFI Cares: The Cross-Cultural Mission Field at our Workplace

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Throughout scripture we see the Apostles bringing the love of God and grace of Christ to various cultures and religions. The most dramatic is Philip, who was led by the Holy Spirit to travel to a specific road in Gaza to meet with the Ethiopian court official (Acts 8:27-39). He explains the passage of Isaiah and then proceeds to lead the official to salvation and baptism. Earlier in Samaria Philip had provided physical and spiritual healing to Simon, a magician who practiced in the dark arts (Acts 8:9-13).

Reaching out cross-culturally to bring the love and grace of Christ to others, doesn’t have to be a call to the mission field. We can bring the love of God and grace of Christ cross culturally to those within our sphere of influence. We can connect one-on-one with people around us and explore their religion, country of origin or ethnicity. Here are some ideas to get started:

–Take extra time to talk with a patient or their family exploring their home life.

–Have lunch with a coworker and learn about their religious practices

–Connect with a student and discover their cultural traditions.

As Christians we have the tendency to spend time with only Christians and like-minded individuals. Instead, with the influx of immigrants in most nations and the diversity of global travelers, we have an opportunity to learn about various cultures and religions right within our work environment. As we take time to pray for our coworkers, our patients and/or our students, we can spread the love God has for all his children through our conversations and professional relationships.  

Also, don’t be afraid to talk with those who practice in the evil arts. Get to know these religion/practices, seek prayer support from your pastor, and then hold on to God’s promises, “He that is in me and you is greater than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4). How else can those from various religions ever learn about the love of God and the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

NCFI Cares: How We Grieve the Holy Spirit, by Guest Contributor

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Recently, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the passage in Ephesians 4:26-32.  Yes, the Holy Spirit’s work is to bring to our remembrance all things that Jesus taught [John 14:26].  I was counselling two staff who had a conflict over some work matters.  One was angry, a believer and the other staff, a non-believer, told me that she would no longer ask for help from the other.  I sat down with two of them and talked openly about the conflict.  As I was talking, the passage of Ephesians came to my mind and I affirmed that to be angry was a normal human response but not to do anything to resolve that anger was wrong.  Later I further talked to the Christian staff whom I said that not to forgive and to hold on to the anger would grieve the Holy Spirit [Ephesians 4:30].  I left her to think further on what God’s Word had said.  The incident made me reflect further on my own responses in anger towards others rightly or wrongly and how I too would have grieved the Holy Spirit if I continued to hold on to that anger. 

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, grief is deep and poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement.  In medical terms, there is no consensus on the defining features that would distinguish normal and pathological grief, it is generally accepted that grief becomes pathological when the reactions are excessive, prolonged, or unresolved.  In counselling the grieving, one understands that the loss of a close person, or loss of job or loss of a dream can be devastating.  The Lord allows us to go through grief and in this, we can identify with Jesus who is acquainted with grief, and even borne our griefs, a man of sorrows [Isaiah 53:3, 4]. Christ’ humanity brings us closer to Him and we can accept our human frailty of experiencing grief because He also experienced it. God has emotions but He is transcendent, beyond our comprehension.

The Bible uses the word “grieve or grieved” 37 times in the New King James translation.  The Old and New Testament mentioned six times that God or Holy Spirit was grieved[Genesis 6:6; Psalm 78:40; 95:10; Isaiah 63:10; Mark 3:5; Ephesians 4:30].  Genesis 6:6 “And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” tells us that God is grieved when man rebuffed his covenantal love in sin and disobedience. God was also grieved when the Israelites rebelled in the desert under Moses’ leadership. God’s anguished response to sin is evidenced in two main ways: divine judgment and compassion for the sinner. Because God is holy, He has to judge sin but He offers compassion and salvation for sinners in the process.

May we be very conscious that the Holy Spirit can be grieved through our actions, speech and our attitudes in our day-to-day life responses.  Lord, teach us how to live and walk by the Spirit.

Sharing by Goh Swee Eng

Christian Nursing 101: Forgiveness in the Workplace?

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Like many workers in health care or all workers experience conflict and even incivility in the workplace. And even if it isn’t as extreme as incivility or lateral violence, we experience angry colleagues, disgruntled employees, and/or emotional outburst; and probably like myself, have demonstrated non-Christlike behavior. It is tough to maintain any resemblance to Jesus’ love and grace amidst the high-stress and continuing demands of health care and academics. As I reflected on these challenges, I knew the beginning point was forgiveness. Not just, the churchy version of forgiveness, but the forgiveness described and lived out by our Savior.

I encourage you to read the article in the Journal of Christian Nursing, reflecting on your own workplace and situations. Included in the article is a link Dr. Luskin, the Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project found at Learning to Forgive

JCN cover

Our workplace, like our home, is a training field for the testing of our faith and learning to live Christ-like.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4; NASB).

 

 

 

Christian Nursing 101: Stand Firm with Prayer

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In the previous article “Chaos at Work” I touched on the importance of Christians including the role of Satan and evil spirit when our workplace is filled with incivility, bullying, and other disruptive or disrespectful behaviors.  Once we begin to see the whirling havoc through our Christian eyes, we can plan our prayerful response. My discussion is two-fold:

–Check out the  article Stand Firm with Prayer where we look at the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) with a new focus–prayer. “Prayer is the stitching that connects each piece of the armor. Prayer solidifies our righteousness found in truth, secures our salvation that rests in faith and equips us with peace and strength through the Holy Spirit.”

–A supplement to the article is a simple, fun acrostic entitled PRAYER WORKS! Each letter guides us in living out an “unceasing” plan of prayer for nursing.

I would love to hear from you…How have you responded to chaotic work environments? Also, how do implement prayer with nursing?

 

p.s. This rolled through my social media…and felt like it needed to be added to our topic! A link is provided to preserve the copyright!

God vs Satan