It’s nearly the end of January. Is it too early to ask how your goals are going? SMILE. OK, you can ask about mine too.
Like many other well-meaning Christians, I set out to read through the Bible this year – or in two years – whatever it takes. What a breath of fresh air it was to read an earlier blog this month on grace and goals. I’m still plugging away – slowly, but blessed.
One of IFWE’s top goals this year, among others shared by my colleague John Kyle, is to reach a broader audience with the life-changing, biblical truths about faith, work, and economics.
We want more people to experience the joy and freedom of understanding how their work fits in with God’s plan and to ultimately have a greater impact on the world for God’s glory.
If you’ve been receiving this blog for the past six months or longer, let me first say ‘thank you’ for staying with us! You’ve likely heard us talk about our relationship with the Bible app on YouVersion. This free app was one of the first apps to be released on iTunes and is now loaded on more than 208 million smartphones around the world!
By taking some of IFWE’s top content and sharing it on platforms like the Bible app, we can reach a lot more people than we can through our existing channels, like this blog you’re reading. This is especially true for IFWE as a 4.5 year old organization that is still trying to let people know we exist!
To date, more than 100,000 people have completed our existing reading plans on the Bible app: The Biblical Meaning of Success, How Do I Find My Calling?, and Finding Fulfillment in Work. Please rejoice with us in this! Perhaps you’re one of those people who first found out about IFWE through the Bible app. If so, we’re glad you’re here!
With these encouraging results, we’re pleased to announce that we’re releasing a new Bible app reading plan What Is My Mission?, a series that addresses the gut-wrenching, life-questions we’ve all struggled with: “Isn’t there more to life?” and “What am I here to do?”
In this seven-day reading plan, your mission at work – and all of life – becomes clear as you discover your role in God’s incredible story. In particular, it takes a closer look at God’s command to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1, the cultural mandate, and how to apply it to your life. Each day there is a Scripture reading, a brief devotional, and links to additional reading if you want to go deeper.
If you’re new to IFWE, we encourage you to check out this plan if you have access to YouVersion either on your smartphone or on the web. It is a quick way to get up to speed on what we consider “faith and work 101.” It’s the foundation for some of the other topics we tackle here on the blog that involve the integration of faith, work and economics (e.g. income inequality, poverty alleviation, economic freedom, or the best path to biblical flourishing).
If you’re one of our “old-timers,” I’m going to challenge you to do two things.
- Please help us share this life-changing content with a broader audience by sharing What is My Mission? with your friends and family. You can do that by simply sharing this link via email or on social media: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/2170-what-is-my-mission. You might consider even leading a group discussion with this material. Each day’s reading is fairly short, yet the content is meaty.
- Would you do a spiritual gut check with the questions below from the What is My Mission? reading plan? Even though I work with this content every day, it was still a good exercise to honestly try to answer these questions:
Day 1: Do you delight in your work?
Day 2: Why is it important to view Scripture as one grand story?
Day 3: What connection do you see between being made in God’s image and your work?
Day 4: God gave Adam work before the Fall. How does this affect your view of work?
Day 5: How can the cultural mandate bring you a sense of purpose and fulfillment?
Day 6: How can you “reweave shalom” in your work?
Day 7: Do you practice Sabbath rest? How could Sabbath rest change your work?
Perhaps just reflect on one for today. If you struggle with them, maybe you would enjoy a refresher and should subscribe to the plan!
