New Series: Daniel and the Ministry of 10X Excellence
The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table....
The Ministry of 10X Excellence
[Daniel said,] “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to...
New Series: The Courage to Create
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who...
A God Who Risks
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that...
“Be strong and courageous”
No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life....
New Series: Ephesians on Work
With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will...
The Gospel: Our Source of Rest and Ambition
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not...
Small Prayers for Our Work
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or...
Paul: Do Something “Useful”
Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful...
Time Redeemers
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most...
Your Eternal Reward
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just...
New Series: How Change Happens
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created...
“The only way to change culture is to create more of it”
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I...
The Poet & The Parliamentarian
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good....
Vote AND Create for Change
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how...
New Series: A Bigger Story for Work
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth….So God created mankind in his...
“The World’s Going to Know Your Name”
What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and...
The Biblical Story of Work
And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a...
New Series: Into the Unknown
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body...
Stop Waiting for a “Sense of Peace”
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as...
Do you need God to approve your plans?
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that...
Why There’s No “Plan B” for Christians
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who...
New Series: William Wilberforce and the Fight to End Slavery
"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and...
The “Great Change” in Wilberforce’s Time Management
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most...
God doesn’t need you, me, or William Wilberforce
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different...
Wilberforce’s List of “Launchers”
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul....
Deflected Glory and Unfinished Symphonies
Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because...
New Series: Beyond Saving Souls
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and...
Your Work = The “Glory of the Nations”?
The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring...
C.S. Lewis’s “Transient Epiphany”
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession...
Save the World, Save the Cheerleader
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a...
New Series: Essential Workers in the Kingdom
Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others...
What does obedience have to do with work in heaven?
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of...
“I have the honor to be your obedient servant…”
Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those...
New Series: Bezalel and the Creative Spirit of God
Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the...
Grace and Grit
Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the...
Bezalel, Harry Potter, and our need to create in community
So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and...
One Last Thing
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths....
New Series: Gospel Driven Work in the COVID-19 Crisis
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me...
How to “Value Others Above Ourselves” during COVID-19
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from...
Vice-Regents
For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with...
Anxiety-Inducing News
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your...
New Series: Chick-fil-A and the Call to Create
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your...
Excellence with a capital “A”
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and...
Reading the stories of those we work with
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them...
Rest as a sermon for the ambitious
You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced...
New Series: Out of Context (What 4 popular verses actually mean for our work)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who...
Can we really “do all things” through Christ?
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) We’re in a...
When God gives you more than you can handle
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful;...
Misreading the most cross-stitched verse of all time
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper...
New Series: Master of One
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved...
Jesus: “Few things are needed–indeed only one”
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where...
Divine Multiplication in Our Work
Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed,...
The 3 Keys to Mastery
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God….And whatever you...
How We “Proclaim the Excellencies” of God at Work
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for...
New Series: Jesus the Creator, Carpenter, Gardener, and King
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For...
Christmas at the Carpenter’s
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one...
Jesus the Gardener
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look...
The Final Advent
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon...
New Series: Colossians on Work
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For...
Paul’s Insane Energy
He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that...
What does it mean to “set your mind on things above”?
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where...
Mutual Submission at Work
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your...
New Series: The Myth of Work-Life Balance
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the...
Defining Excellence
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife...
Designing Whole-Life Excellence
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and...
Embracing Imbalance
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that...
New Series: The Meaning of Work
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth….So God created mankind in his...
The Idol of Calling
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward,...
Jesus and the Meaning of Work
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes...
New Series: The Good in Our Desire to be Great
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we...
The DNA of Kings and Queens
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created...
The Biblical Promise of Power
Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will...
New Series: Mister Rogers and the Call to Create
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your...
Choosing Between Two Pulpits
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that...
How to Make Goodness Attractive
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus...
Fred Rogers’s Daily Routine
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,...
New Series: When Jesus Said “No”
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where...
When Everything Looks Important
Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was...
When Jesus Said “Yes” to Something Better
Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the...
The Margin In Jesus’s Schedule
Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came...
New Series: Restless
Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will...
Debunking “Sabbath”
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry...
How I Sabbath
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they...
New Series: What to Do When You Don’t Love Your Job
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the...
Bad Bosses
Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy...
Job, Career, or Calling
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye...
Time to Change Jobs?
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different...
New Series: Paul and the Call to Create
To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under...
How Paul won “the respect of outsiders”
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business...
Where Christ is Not Known
It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known,...
Paul’s Model for Our Work
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to...
New Series: 3 Lies of Work and Calling
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members...
Lie #2: You can do everything you want to do
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most...
Lie #3: Your happiness is the primary purpose of work
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your...
New Series: James on Work
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all...
James 2: Modern Day Favoritism
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism....
James 3: The Alternative to Selfish Ambition
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast...
James 4: “Evil” Planning
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that...
James 5: Living in Luxury
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming...
New Series: The Ministry of Excellence
People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He [Jesus] has done everything well,” they said. (Mark 7:37)...
How we “proclaim the excellencies of God”
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,...
Mediocrity: A Failure of Love
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,...
New Series: Anxiety at Work: How to Confront It, Cast It, & Carry On
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. (Proverbs 12:25) Let’s...
What It Means to ‘Cast’ Our Anxieties
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let...
How to Create with Boldness, Not Fear
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you...
New Series: The Coming King
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the...
Anticipating the Promised One
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of...
God With Us
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of...
A New Journey
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God...
New Series: Does My Work Matter?
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do...
A God Who Works
"This is what the Lord says—the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things...
Work: Part of God’s Plan
"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to...
Let’s Get To Work
"This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I...
New Series: The First Entrepreneur
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless...
Bezalel, the Holy Spirit, and the Call to Create
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the...
85% of Jesus’s Career
"God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the...
New Series: Discerning Your Calling
"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created...
Unspeakable Joy in Our Work
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I...
Passion – Competence ≠ Calling
"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your...
The Final Question When Discerning Your Calling
"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants...
About TWBW
The Word Before Work is a weekly devotional helping you connect your work to God’s work, written by Jordan Raynor.
About Jordan Raynor
Jordan Raynor is a serial entrepreneur and national bestselling author who helps Christians do their most exceptional work for the glory of God and the good of others. Through his books (Called to Create and Master of One), podcast, and weekly devotionals, Jordan has helped more than 3,000,000 Christians in every country on earth connect the gospel to their work.
Series
- Daniel and the Ministry of 10X Excellence
- The Courage to Create
- Ephesians on Work
- How Change Happens
- A Bigger Story for Work
- Into the Unknown
- William Wilberforce and the Fight to End Slavery
- Beyond Saving Souls
- Essential Workers in the Kingdom
- Bezalel and the Creative Spirit of God
- Gospel Driven Work in the COVID-19 Crisis
- Chick-fil-A and the Call to Create
- Out of Context
- Master of One
- Jesus the Creator, Carpenter, Gardener, and King
- Colossians for Busy Professionals
- The Myth of Work-Life Balance
- The Meaning of Work
- The Good in Our Desire to be Great
- Mister Rogers and the Call to Create
- When Jesus Said “No”
- Restless
- What to Do When You Don’t Love Your Job
- Paul and the Call to Create
- 3 Lies of Work and Calling
- James for Busy Professionals
- The Ministry of Excellence
- Anxiety at Work
- The Coming King
- Does My Work Matter?
- The First Entrepreneur
- Discerning Your Calling