Elevate Your Day with Andi and Brian Hale

Speak For Yourself

If we make a daily practice of the first four daily habits, after a while, others will ask us why we are doing what we are doing. We need to be able to answer in the first person.
Why Are You Doing This?
When you go beyond your job description and serve others, they will be curious. In their mind, they will try to understand your actions through worldly motives like “he’s just trying to get ahead.” But when your service springs from love for Jesus, they won’t have a logical explanation to connect your actions to your motives. Eventually, some will ask, “Why are you doing this?”
Answer With Conviction
In 1 Peter 3:15, the first part of the phrase says to sanctify Jesus as Lord in your hearts. When we sanctify Christ as Lord, we set him apart as Lord. We know why we trust him as Lord. Once we convince ourselves, then we’re ready to make a defense to everyone who asks.
Prepare Your Answer
During day three, we talked about preparing a brief answer that points to Jesus using your own words. Some people may ask us why we’re being so nice or why we remembered to send an email. If we answer with “I just felt like it” or “God told me to,” people won’t understand our true motivation. They’ll think we’re strange and drop the subject.
Intentionally answer in a different way. Remember your one-minute answer from day three. It should sound something like, “I wanted to do something for you because Jesus changed me. I want my faith in Jesus to matter every day.” Initially, an answer like this might feel or sound awkward to you. But the more you practice, the more natural, accurate, and honest it will become. Your friend’s mind will have to stretch to process and think about your answer.Don’t let this exercise put words in your mouth. Ask God to give you a humble answer that glorifies him. Give your reason in the first person. Avoid giving instructions or making a specific ask. Simply state your reason. That’s what we mean when we suggest you speak for yourself.
Keep your answer brief, but also keep the focus on Jesus. And if they want more information, they’re free to ask for it. If they ask more, answer more, as naturally as possible.
Put Yourself in Their Shoes
As an exercise, put yourself in their shoes. Pray and then ask yourself the "why" question. Speak your answer out loud. Ask another Christ-follower to give you feedback. Write your answer down. Does it sound reasonable to you? Ask yourself, “but why?” a second time.
Repeat this practice until you’re comfortable with your answer. Imagine how to reasonably explain your actions to someone who thinks Jesus is no more real than Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. The more you practice answering the “why” question, the more natural and confident you’ll feel when you have these conversations.
They Will Ask
Did you notice something else? Peter says they will ask. Unless you feel a leading from God, you need not volunteer anything. Quietly and humbly serve. If no one ever asks, we know Jesus is still in charge, and we will receive a reward for doing what he told us to do. We don’t have to twist or manipulate any conversation. Let’s give our lives away because we know Jesus is Lord. When we give our lives away, people will ask.Take some time and practice your answer. Use “I” and “me” statements. Be certain. Resist the temptation to tell someone else how to get to heaven. Explain the hope you have in you because you know Jesus. God will give you the words, and you will bless others if you can wait until someone asks. And then, speak for yourself.

Serve Others

Serve Others
The fourth daily habit is to serve others. This may be the most difficult activity. After all, the Greek word most often translated to mean ‘servant’ is also translated to mean ‘minister.’ Therefore, we need to rewire our brains so we can remember that leading others is really the same as serving others.
Concentrate on Serving Others
As we go through our day, it is easy to focus on our own tasks and to-dos. But often, we only see what’s right in front of us. For a change of pace, concentrate on serving others today. To begin serving others, let’s ask God to show us what he wants us to do.
As we do our jobs or take our classes, we want to meet or exceed the expectations of others. Our idea of success should be based on how well we serve others.Jesus defines success in this way. He asks us to sacrifice our lives to him (Romans 12:1–2) and take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23–24). He tells us that if we want to be first, we must be a slave of all (Mark 10:44). How can we change our perspective and become a slave to all by better-serving others? How can we put ourselves in a position to be a representative of Jesus in our workplaces?In Matthew 14, the disciples ask Jesus what they should do about the 5,000 hungry people that they are unable to feed. Jesus tells them to give them something to eat (Matthew 14:16b). They must have thought he was crazy! They probably couldn’t imagine how they would feed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish.
Jesus gives them a challenge that also applies to us in our workplaces: We can serve others by serving food or laying down our rights so that others can succeed. Even when we think we have nothing, we can give others something if we get that “something” from Jesus!
Ideas for Action
Think about who you miss right now. Reach out to them and tell them, but also think of new people, too. Send a few more emails or text messages throughout the day. Tell those you haven’t seen recently that you are thinking of them, you’re praying for them, and you miss them. Ask a couple of questions about their life to show you are interested in learning more.
For these people who God brings to your mind, figure out a way to get to know them better. You never know: They could end up being your friends forever. God loves them. So, rather than judge people, ask God to guide you as you learn more and look for ways to serve and enjoy others.

Know What You Believe

Can you explain why you follow Jesus in non-churchy terms? When I ask others why they follow Jesus, I often get answers like “because he loves me.” While that answer is true, it doesn’t explain things very well to people who don’t follow Jesus.In Mark 5:1–20, Jesus has an encounter with a man filled with an army of demons. Jesus heals the man, but a herd of pigs die in the process. The people of the region don’t want Jesus to stick around, so they ask him to leave. As he is leaving, the man who was freed of the demons asks Jesus if he can go along. Jesus answers, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (v. 19)Why didn’t Jesus let the man come with him? I think Jesus told the man to stay there because only that man could reach those people. The same applies to the people you interact with each day in your work. Most of your customers and coworkers wouldn’t be very interested in what your pastor has to say. If they did, they’d probably attend your church.
Jesus saved you and sent you right back to your workplace. He sent me back, too, even though I begged him to put me ‘in ministry.’ I later realized we are all called to full-time ministry; however, only a few of us need to leave our jobs and go work for a church. Because many of us will not go into ministry full-time, that means we will encounter many unbelievers. We need to know what we believe when we do.
Prepare to Answer
As you pray for, appreciate, and serve others, they may have questions about what you’re doing. If you work late to help someone or use your own personal time or money to make a difference for someone else, they will be curious. Maybe they will ask you why you went out of your way to help them. How will you answer?In 1 Peter 3:15, Peter tells us to respond with gentleness and respect. To me, the best way to answer with gentleness and respect is to answer in the 1st person. Pretend that someone has asked you why you are a Christ-follower. Give your answer using “I” or “me” statements. That way, when you actually receive this question, others will know that what you believe is personal to you.
Make it Quick
Remember that most people are in a hurry. They don’t want to listen to you explain your "why" forever. And many won’t trust the Bible either. So, try to boil your answer down to one minute. Doing so will show the other person you’ve thought about it and can provide a meaningful but concise answer that doesn’t make demands on their time. Then allow the Holy Spirit to do the rest of the work.
Practice, Practice, Practice
The more you think about and rehearse your one-minute answer, the better prepared you will be when someone asks. Even consider asking a friend who is also a believer to join you in this exercise. The more versed you are, the more comfortable you will be when answering. God will use you as you practice. Wait for him to bring people who are curious.
 

Appreciate Others

Our ‘stuff’ won’t travel with us to heaven. Eternal treasure isn’t about possessions; it must have something to do with the people who join us there. Jesus came to seek and save us. He laid aside his glory and majesty to come as a humble baby. He went on to live in submission to his parents, to learn, grow up, teach, serve, suffer, and die for us. Everything he did was for us.
I am tempted at times to think of others as obstacles. Often, my interest in others is only in what they can do for me. In traffic or in a shopping center, I catch myself hoping people will get out of my way. I’m not proud of this attitude. It’s something I battle.
But notice how important people were to Jesus all throughout the Scriptures. If we want Jesus to join us in our workplaces and our schools, we must ask him to help reprogram our minds. One way to do that is to ask God to help you appreciate the treasure in others. Everyone we meet and everyone he brings to our mind is valuable to him and should be valuable to us.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul reminds the Corinthians that love matters more than anything else. If we do all the right things but don’t love others, nothing else counts. Appreciation is just business-speak for love. We want to help others feel appreciated, we want to act on their behalf and in their best interests.
As Christ-followers, we understand that Jesus died for others because God loves every person. So why don’t we love people more? We can start today. You can begin by asking God to bring someone to mind and rise to the occasion by sending them a text or an email. You can mention the qualities God most enjoys about them. Even if you don’t love them very much, ask God to help you get to know them better and grow in your love for them. Ask questions. See if you can find what God enjoys about them. Allow yourself to enjoy them, and ask God to give you a greater appreciation in your heart for others.
Today, do anything you can to show appreciation to them and to help them move closer to Jesus.
 

Pray Daily

5 Daily Habits to Integrate Faith and Work
Day 1 – Pray
Jesus is active right now in the life of every person you know, meet, see, and interact with. Throughout this reading plan and every day thereafter, we want to challenge one another to make ourselves available to God daily. We’re available for him to use us to do whatever he suggests in the life of every person we meet.
Our first step is to pray. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, there is an outline for how to pray. We are to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything.
In our journey as workplace ministers or missionaries, there are three prayers that seem to be particularly relevant in our daily interactions with others.
Here I Am
The first is to tell God you’re ready for him to put you to work. There is biblical precedence for divine availability. Six people in Scripture responded to God with “Here I am” or “Here am I”:
Abraham in Genesis 22:1 and 11
Jacob in Genesis 31:11 and 46:2
Moses in Exodus 3:4
Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:4–11
Isaiah in Isaiah 6:8
Ananias in Acts 9:10
Jesus wants you to make yourself available, too. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus extends the call to everyone. At the end of the letter to the church at Laodicea, Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”
“Here I am,” tells God we’re ready and on duty. It also reminds us that we’re on duty for whatever he wants us to do.
Thank You
Gratitude to God in everything influences how we respond to surprise, disappointment, or inconvenience. Gratefulness gives God the chance to insert himself into our response before we allow our flesh to have a say. How we react to difficulties will change if we begin each day thankful for whatever happens. We can choose to be grateful in our circumstances, no matter how challenging. Ask God to show you how to be grateful for everything that happens.
God's Favor
When you or I speak a blessing to someone, things may or may not happen. But when God speaks, universes appear. Ask God to bless (grant his favor to) everyone you meet. Whether a family member, customer, vendor, boss, subordinate, server, anyone who comes to mind, or anyone on your calendar, ask God to use you to bless them.