Love Where You Are
November 14, 2022
Ep. 79 : Finding Eternal Purpose in Your Daily Work with Jordan Raynor
Welcome to the Love Where You Are podcast!
In today’s episode, Somer is joined with Jordan Raynor.
Bestselling author Jordan Raynor helps Christians respond to the radical, biblical truth that their work matters for eternity. He does this through his books including the forthcoming The Word Before Work: A Monday-Through-Friday Devotional to Help You Find Eternal Purpose in Your Daily Work (WaterBrook; on sale 11/15/22), The Creator in You, and Redeeming Your Time), podcast (Mere Christians), and weekly devotional (“The Word Before Work”)—content that has served millions of Christ-followers in every country on earth. In addition to his writing, Jordan serves as the executive chairman of Threshold 360, a venture-backed tech startup which he previously ran as CEO following a string of successful ventures of his own. Jordan served in the White House under George W. Bush and has twice been selected as a Google Fellow.
Jordan and Somer talk about the connection between our work and ministry and how to balance our careers while loving God. Thank you for being here today. Now, let’s dive into the conversation!
Connect with Jordan Raynor:
FAVORITE TAKE-AWAYS:
God Himself works as a Creator, gardener and builder before He showed up as a pastor.
God calls people into secular work as much as He calls them out of it.
Work was the very first gift God gave humankind.
God could have chosen to reveal any aspect of His character but the very first thing He reveals is that He is a God who creates.
The God of the Bible doesn’t define work as the thing one gets paid to do.
Some of the most mundane work in the Bible is some of the most celebrated.
Even when we work in obscurity, the God of the universe will not forget your work.
Work is a means to be a faithful servant of the King.
Your work is not the only work that is the work of the Lord.
An occupational hazard for anyone in ministry is that we have a tendency to be so preoccupied to do our work FOR God that we forget to do it WITH Him…we place God’s mission over God Himself.
When you look at the word ministry, it just means service.
We’re called to work hard, we’re called to hustle, but we’re also called to trust God that God alone is producing the results.
Lord, I know that I can’t produce an ounce of results without you. Everything I have is from you and through you and for you. Now in response to that, I’m gonna work hard as a means of making you famous throughout the earth.
Jesus is calling us to the pursuit of excellence but He never calls us to the attainment of excellence.
God is calling us to do our best with what He has called us to steward.
I encourage all Christian parents to speak truth into their kids at an early age that the God of the universe loves them equally on their most successful and least successful day.
SCRIPTURE REFERNCES:
1 Corinthians 15:58
Psalm 37:23
Connect with Somer!
Stay connected to Somer and the Love Where You Are podcast through her Facebook & Instagram! Now, go love where you are and live on mission for Jesus today.
Subscribe to receive Christian Parenting in your inbox
About Love Where You Are
Equipping Christian Moms to embrace their season, live life on mission and share Jesus right where they are!
Like a weekly coffee date with the girls, Somer and her guests come together to ask the hard questions, have honest conversations and dive deep into God’s Word. Her heart is to equip and encourage Moms who are seeking to model an authentic Christian walk for their families while also making an impact for the kingdom through love in action wherever God has them in their current season of life. Following the Deuteronomy 6 model, Somer encourages listeners to identify their gifts, talents and current season of life as opportunities to impact the lives of others and bring their children along in the journey reminding us there are opportunities everywhere and every day to love right where you are!
About Somer Colbert
Somer Colbert is a writer, speaker and host of the Love Where You Are podcast. She is the Director of Adoption and Foster Care Ministry at Crosschurch and Connected Champion with the Arkansas Baptist Children and Family Ministries where she creates support, awareness and advocacy for families seeking to serve in the areas of adoption and foster care. She creates weekly podcast episodes and resources to equip and empower Christian families to identify their influence for the gospel in every season, live life on mission and share Jesus right where they are. Somer is passionate about equipping spiritually healthy families and seeing a movement of God's people step into confidence in their ability to change the world around them through the way they love!
She resides in Arkansas with her husband, three kids and three dogs. She's obsessed with British docudramas and cooking shows and can always be found with a cup of hot tea in hand. Her life has been forever changed by the love of Jesus, marriage to her favorite person, parenting her crazy crew and walking multiple adoption journeys.
Connect with Somer on Facebook and Instagram
Sign up to receive weekly emails and resources from Somer HERE!
OTHER PODCASTS YOU MAY LIKE...
