Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. Jesus said to him, “Zacchaeus…I must stay at your house today.”...All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house.” (Luke 19:1-2, 5, 7-9)

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re not a pastor or donor-supported missionary, but a “mere Christian” like me who works as an entrepreneur, barista, or programmer. Today I’m kicking off a new series here on The Word Before Work exploring the lives of some mere Christians in the Bible and what they can teach us about our own work in the present—starting with Zaccheus.

After choosing to follow Jesus, modern readers ...

After [the Magi] had heard [King Herod], they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. (Matthew 2:9-10)

Today concludes our series exploring the vocations of some of the characters in the Christmas narrative and what they can teach us about our own work today. Today, we end with the famed Star of Bethlehem.

Now, I know it’s a stretch to say that a star has a “vocation,” but hear me out. Because this star plays a huge part in the Christmas narrative, leading the Magi to find and worship Christ the King.

But Scripture makes clear that it’s not just this star that does the work of glorifying God. Psalm 19:1-3 says that all “the heavens declare the glory of God…day after day they pour forth speech,” even though “they use no words.”

Believer, if inanimate stars can glorify God and give testimony to his awesomeness, you better believe that you—God’s image...

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham…Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. (Matthew 1:1,17)

Matthew has many vocations in the gospels. But in the first chapter of his gospel, we see him playing the role of a genealogist who takes his readers all the way back to Abraham to trace Jesus’s family tree, so that we can be confident he is the Messiah. 

I’d encourage you to read Matthew’s genealogical work in full in Matthew 1:1-17. But there are two profound insights we can glean just from the excerpt I shared above. 

First, God is always faithful, but he is rarely fast—at least by human standards. The Jewish people had been waiting thousands of years for God’s promised Messiah. Some had surely given up hope. But Matthew goes through painstaking genealogical detail to show God’s faithfulness over time.

Commenting on today’s passag...

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (Luke 2:1)

We’re in a series exploring the vocations of some of the characters in the Christmas narrative and what they can teach us about our own work today. Today we come to Caesar Augustus.

This secular leader has a mixed legacy including brutal tales of how he came to rule over the Roman Empire. And yet, God chose to work through Augustus and his census to bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Micah 5:2 that God’s chosen Messiah would be born in the town of David.

This reminds us of a remarkable truth we see all throughout Scripture—namely that God works in this world through non-believers and believers alike. This is one element of “common grace” which my friend Mike Kelsey (lead pastor at McLean Bible Church) defines as “the reality that God extends his goodness to and through people apart from a saving relationship with him.”

The number of ways...

And you, my child…will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him. (Luke 1:76)

Today we’re starting a new series here on The Word Before Work—a third installment of my semi-annual Christmas Vocations series where we explore the jobs of some of the characters of the Christmas narrative and what they can teach us about our own work today.

We begin with John the Baptist whose role was to “prepare the way” for Christ as we see in today’s passage—an excerpt from Zecharaiah’s prayer after John’s birth. 

Right from the get go, John was told he would never be top dog. His purpose in life was to play the proverbial second fiddle to his cousin Jesus. 

And all throughout the gospels, we see John joyfully embracing his secondary role. Referring to Jesus, John famously said, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

John knew his place in God’s cosmic drama. The question is do we? Sure we do intellectually. But functionally, I think many of us spend an ungodly amount of e...

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32) 

If you’ve been following the biblical principles in this series, your efforts to make peace with those you’re in conflict with will likely go well. But they very well might not.

How are we to respond to those who are unrepentant and unmoving? Depending on the situation, you may be called to pursue mediation, arbitration, or public accountability (all three of which are addressed biblically and helpfully in Ken Sande’s excellent book, The Peacemaker).

But regardless of whether your situation calls for one of those more escalated responses, I can tell you one response we are all called to in every situation: “Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

Commenting on this verse, Dr. N. T. Wright says: “it is utterly inappropriate for one who knows the joy and release of being forgiven to refuse to share that blessing with another. [Furthermore] it is highly presu...

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:5-6)

Today’s passage points us to the 6th biblical principle for resolving conflict at work…

Principle #6: Address the Conflict with Grace that flows out of the grace you’ve been shown by Christ.

As we saw a few weeks ago, sometimes we’re called to overlook an offense. But when we sense God prompting us to address it, we must do so graciously. This includes grace in our motives, methods, and medium of communication.

First, motives. Our motive in addressing conflict is primarily to bless rather than blame, help rather than hurt, and serve rather than shame.

Second, methods. Sometimes Jesus addressed sin via methods that were sharp, direct, and public, like the time he overturned tables in the temple. Other times, he opted for methods that were gentle, indirect, and private, like the conversation he had with the Samaritan wo...

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

We’re in a series exploring 7 biblical principles for resolving conflict at work. And let me tell you, this is as much for me as it is for you as I am not naturally good at pursuing peace.

For example, years ago, I worked with someone (let's call him Ryan) whose poor management caused me significant financial pain. Did I address the conflict? Not really. Because I knew I wouldn't have to work with Ryan again, so I found it easier to just “write him off.”

I’m ashamed to admit how I handled that situation, because Luke 6:27-28 convicts me of how incredibly unChristlike my response was. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” 

Jesus calls us not only to avoid retaliation but to love, bless, and do good to those we have conflict with. If I had sought to bless Ryan, I would have addressed the conflict graciously to serve...

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)

Out of nowhere, my colleague blindsided me with a super offensive comment—the kind of remark that could have easily destroyed our relationship. 

I was furious and wanted nothing more than to retaliate. But by God’s grace, I took some time to see “the plank” in my own eye and realized that I had contributed greatly to the conflict.

I went to my friend and apologized for my part in the disagreement. And before I could even address how he had offended me, my friend offered up a sincere apology of his own. Today, our personal and professional relationship is stronger than ever.

This is an example of what K...

A person’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense. (Proverbs 19:11)

We’re in a series exploring seven biblical principles for resolving conflict at work. Here’s the third…

Principle #3: Resolve to Overlook or Address the offense that has caused a lack of peace between you and someone else.

You may be surprised to learn that Scripture commends overlooking certain offenses, but it’s there in black and white (see Proverbs 19:11). And I think we see evidence of this in the life of Christ. 

Take Jesus’s exchange with the “rich young ruler.” After Jesus pointed to God’s commands such as the ones to “not murder,” and “not commit adultery,” the young man said, “All these things I have kept from my youth” (see Matthew 19:16-22). To which Jesus must have thought, “Really?”

While this man may not have technically murdered or cheated on his wife, Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount made clear that no human (save Christ himself) is capable of keeping those commandments pe...