Product Description

Yes, we all know that God is first everyday, or at least He should be first. But can I be real for just a moment? Sometimes it is hard to keep Him first in my day. It is a struggle to see Him in the circumstances of my job. I need help to bring the reality if my Lord into my place of work.

Os Hillman has the uncanny ability to write to the readers circumstance, and exactly to their needs. He helps them to see from God's view. Strengthening and encouraging to both see God and invite Him into the everyday trials and struggles of work.

So take this book to work, put it on your desk or table. Every day, just before you tackle the mountains before you, pause long enough to remind yourself, Today, God Is First.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #248479 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 292 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780768430066
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
...His firsthand knowledge and openness have created a book that illustrates his understanding of living out faith in the workplace... -- Dennis Doyle Chief Executive Officer, Welsh Companies President, Nehemiah Partners

...TGIF: Today God Is First is a must for all workplace Christians. -- Angel D. Rivera, Director, AT & T Christian Employees for Christ

...These devotionals are a daily springboard into the wellspring of God's truth on how to honor Christ in the marketplace. -- Stephen Caldwell Executive Editor, The Life@Work Co.

...These meditations are a powerful catalyst, prompting us to know and do God's will in our work day by day. -- John D. Beckett President, R. W. Beckett Corporation Author, Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul

...We have personally seen tens of thousand of lives throughout the world transformed by the daily marketplace meditations... -- Dr. Jay Victor and Catherine Eagan Directors, Workplace Wisdom Ministries

...fresh spiritual reminders that come ... through daily e-mails [are] a great boost to ... starting the day faithfully by putting Jesus first... -- John Rowell, Pastor, Northside Community Church, Author, Magnifying Your Vision for the Small Church

...on the cutting edge of this exciting global awakening of Christians in the marketplace. May his zeal be highly contagious! -- Dennis Peacocke President, Strategic Christian Services

...practical applications that speak to [those] who are seeking to manifest an eternal value system in a temporal arena. -- Dr. Kenneth Boa President, Reflections Ministries and Trinity House Publishers

In the often lonely environment of the marketplace, Os Hillman's devotions are a source of comfort and guidance... -- Rich Marshall RIO Ministries and Nehemiah Partners

Os Hillman's contribution to the marketplace-ministry movement is timely... -- Pete Hammond Vice President, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship-USA

About the Author
For over twenty years Os Hillman has helped business people and organizations achieve their goals through effective strategic planning and marketing communications. Over these years Hillman attained many national and international awards in the field of marketing communications through the company he founded in 1984, The Aslan Group. Os authors a daily devotional for businesspeople reaching thousands via the Internet. He lives in Alpharetta, Georgia, with his wife and daughter.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Your Positioning Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips. Proverbs 27:2 Many years of owning and operating an ad agency taught me that positioning was defined as a place or position that a product, service, or person held in the mind of the audience. We knew that often perception was reality for people, regardless of the truth. For years, I spent time and money seeking to position our company in the minds of our prospective clients. Although it would seem that is a natural and logical marketing function, I later discovered there is a dangerous flaw when we attempt to position ourselves by promoting our own attributes. I discovered that positioning is a by-product of who we are and what we do, not an end in itself. King David was my first biblical lesson in coming to understand the difference. Here was a man who had committed adultery and murder, and failed many times in his family life. Yet, God describes David as a "man after God's own heart." Isn't that interesting? Why would God describe someone who had obviously failed in many areas as one who was after God's own heart? Throughout David's life, we find frequent descriptions made by God: "So David's fame spread throughout every land..." (1 Chron. 14:17). Although David did make many mistakes, his heart was soft toward God and sought to praise Him. David wrote the majority of the Psalms. God honored what was in David's heart, not his perfection. I believe that God's strategic placement of David was so that we may learn from and be drawn to the attribute of David that God primarily wanted him known for-a heart bent toward Him. His positioning was a by-product of who he was, not an end in itself. In our business and personal life, our positioning among those who will know us should be a by-product of our life and service, not an end itself. What is your "position" today among your peers? I once asked my Bible study group to ask others, "What do you think of when someone mentions my name?" This exercise can bring some interesting revelations. It might motivate us to make some changes, or it might confirm that God is doing a great work in you.

Failure That Leads to Godliness All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader.... 1 Samuel 22:2 God uses broken things to accomplish His greatest work. When David was anointed to be the next king, he was just a boy, the youngest among all his brothers. Little did he know that the next several years would be years of fleeing from Saul whose successes turned into obsessions as a leader who had fallen from God's anointing. Perhaps David thought, Why am I living a life as a fugitive? I am the next king of Israel. Yet, his life was filled with adversity after adversity before he ever fulfilled the ultimate calling God had for him. Others began to hear of David's successes and identify with his plight. But, it wasn't the successful and polished who came to join him. It was "those who were in distress or in debt or discontented" who would be part of his army-and an army it was! His army would become known throughout the world as the greatest ever assembled, not because of their skill, but because of the God behind the army. God turned David's men into "mighty men of valor" (see 1 Chron. 11:10). God often uses failure to make us useful. When Jesus called the disciples, He did not go out and find the most qualified and successful people. He found the most willing, and He found them in the marketplace. He found a fisherman, a tax collector, a farmer, and a doctor. The Hebrews knew that failure was a part of maturing in God. The Greeks used failure as a reason for disqualification. Sadly, in the Church, we often treat one another in this way. This is not God's way. We need to understand that failing does not make us failures. It makes us experienced. It makes us more prepared to be useful in God's Kingdom-if we have learned from it. And that is the most important ingredient for what God wants in His children.

Customer Reviews

GOD'S RX FOR WORKPLACE TRIALS
TODAY GOD IS FIRST is my first of the morning vitamin to set my frame of mind for the challenges faced in the marketplace daily.

Os Hillman's capability to present the everyday personal trials we all face in the public arena in perspective of how God might handle them is truly unique. TGIF is the WWJD answer in book format.

The examples and situations he presents are so real and memorable that you will likely find yourself relating them to others. Or, better yet, buying copies to share because EVERYONE can relate and comfortably absorb the experiences he shares in this book.

TGIF really relates so much to everyday life, you will find yourself looking repeatedly for the nourishment this book gives for helping you put on "the full armour of God" to tackle what lies ahead of each and every day. This book blesses us to keep on going, pressing ahead to do God's will.

God tells Os what I need to hear!
I have read the Marketplace Meditations electronic version from Os Hillman for several years. It is very normal that I beseech the Lord for some clarification or insight in my prayer time at 6:00am and arrive at the office at 8:00am to find Os has chosen scripture and a meditation that "fits". Os' ability to see current marketplace applicability to stories that are several thousand years old is a gift to all of us who are serving The Lord in our work.

Enduring messages of principles and testimony
In TGIF: Today God Is First, Os Hillman provides a scripture and commentary for each day of the year. The 365 meditations on the principles of Christ in the workplace wonderfully focus the readers attention on how God's way is to employ ordinary men and women leading ordinary lives to achieve extraordinary things and personally experience how even adverse situations can be doors to spiritual opportunity. Highly recommended reading, Hillman's commentaries are not just simple homilies, they are enduring messages of principles and testimony of how God has worked experientially in his own life -- and can work in yours.