Impacting the 9-5 window : the marketplace

just pondering over the lessons gleaned at the seminar on "Impacting the 9-5 window" at Living Sanctuary by Ps Benny Ho. I believe that God has brought us into the Kingdom for a time like this and calling us to rise up to the call and sow deep in the respective places where he has planted us. For many of us, that would be the market place where we serve.

I thought it would be helpful to recap the salient points which emerged from the seminar.

4 Biblical perspectives on work

a. Work is a divine command
b. Work is a means to our personal growth
c. Work is a platform for my ministry
d. Work is a vehicle to transform society

Dr Billy Graham once said "I believe one of the next great moves of God is going to be through the believers in the marketplace".

What struck me is that we are all ministers in our market place. John 15:16 tells us "You have not chosen me but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit".

We need to come to grips with our calling to be ministers in our workplace. Ps Benny helpfully painted five types of christians in the marketplace :

a. struggling
b. surviving
c. stabilising
d. succeeding
e. significant

It strikes me that many have a wrong misconception of our role in the marketplace. Many fall into the category of the "stabilising" christian where we are more concerned about the corrupt influence of the market place on us than on our reaching out to the lost in the marketplace and being an instrument for transformation with the result that many well-meaning Christians actually recede and retreat from the market place, comfortably ensconced in the comfort zones of their cell groups or church fellowship but never striking a blow for Christ where it really counts.

reflections on "Shoes too big "

Just read in the ST about the passing on of Rev Henry Khoo, the prison chaplain at Changi Prison. I had read a copy of his book "Shoes too big" and was deeply touched by the wonderful testimonies and glimpses of grace in the lives of prisoners over the years who have experienced the transforming love and power of Christ. In particular, one instance about a certain inmate stood out. This inmate , who was on death row, declined to seek pardon from the President. Instead, he wrote a three quarter page letter to the President explaining how he has become a Christian and asked for a delay in his execution so that he can witness to his unsaved brothers. The salient portion of his letter read :

"Your Excellency, I deserve to die for the heinous crime I have committeed. I'm not asking for a pardon but for a stay of execution so I can witness to my brothers."The inmate got his stay of execution and went on to lead his unsaved brothers to Christ and one accomplice as well. What a powerful testimony.

As I reflected on this, it appears to me that like that inmate, we all have one thing in common. There will come a point in our life when we must all face our Creator. The only difference is that the inmate knew when that divine appointment would take place . How would we respond if we knew when we would die? Would we be living our lives differently? Whether we face up to it or not, with each passing second, we are each taking one step closer to that date .

The Bible exhorts us to live wisely and to make the most of every opportunity. We should take this to heart and spend out time and resources wisely not on the things below but on laying up treasures which are eternal. Remember the parable of Lazarus and the rich man and the rich
fool in Luke 12:13-21. The Bible calls us to be fruitful. In fact, fruitfulness is a mark of a true disciple : see John 15.

Even during this time of financial turmoil, we are called by the Lord to be fruitful amidst the season of heat and drought. In fact, I sense that the Lord will continue to open up more divine opportunities for us to sow more richly and deeply into the lives of others during this period.