Wednesday, December 30, 2009

HIS PRESENCE

And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not (Mal 3:18).


"Good morning," I said to the woman behind the counter as she asked if she could take my order. "You're a Christian, aren't you?" "I can see Him in you!" I boldly proclaimed. "Yes, I am," she replied with a beaming smile. I could literally see the presence of God in her countenance in the way she related to me and others.

When Moses led the people out of Egypt he had several crisis moments during those forty years. His greatest crisis was when he came back from the mountain and discovered the people had made a golden calf. It was after this he came to a profound conclusion.

"Then Moses said to him, 'If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.' What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex 33:15,16).

The difference between a Christian in the workplace and a non-believer should be that the Christian brings the presence of God with him to work. However, this is not always the case. A Christian can shut out the presence of God by his behavior. Like the Israelites who experienced great miracles in their lives but began to worship idols, we can move away from God. Sin separates us from God. His presence moves away from us. Moses realized, he too had to have the presence of God with him to lead such a people.

The prophet Malachi was saying a day is coming when you'll be able to recognize a clear difference between the righteous and the unrighteous. Would your co-workers be able to recognize a difference in you from others? Ask God to fill you with His overflowing presence in all you do today.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

DECEMBER 25TH

“ And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon, And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life”. - Jeremiah 52:31-34.

To all readers and visitors to this web site I want to share with you the significance of the Christmas day, it is a special day Jesus Christ was born into this world to deliver mankind from his sinful way. I have studied the weather pattern over the years of this particular day the firmaments bear witness to this unique day across all countries and tribes. There is a glory over the surface of the earth while some are having snow, others fog, or harmattan haze.

In the text above King Jehoiachin of Judah was delivered on a Christmas day (in the twelfth month in the five and twentieth day of the month) hundred of years before Jesus was born. Seven significant events will happen in your life on this particular glorious day.

1. Your head will be lifted. You may have been experiencing downward trend in your life, marriage, business and workplace, you will no longer be the tail but the head. God is about changing your situation for the better because Jesus came into the world this same day to deliver you. Everyone that sees you as nobody will begin to see you as somebody very special your head will no longer be bowed but be lifted high.

2. You will be brought out of prison. Some people have been bounded without freedom under bondage of their task masters for quite sometime, you will be set free now just like those that set up Daniel into the lion’s pit, your prisoners will replace you in the prison while you will be set free, Jesus will liberate you and grant you permanent freedom.

3. You will be spoken kindly of. People have used their tongue to describe you negative. God will change their tongue and they will begin to speak well of you, they have said you are useless, good for nothing, cannot make it, never do well, under achiever all this negative qualities they describe you with they will no longer see you that way any more. A change for the better in you they will begin to see and speak of.

4. Your throne above the throne of the kings. You are meant to be a king because the son of a king is also a king, but you reign like a slave, God will dethrone everyone sitting on your throne and enthrone where you belong, to rule and reign in Christ Jesus.

5. Your garment will be changed. The garment you put on which has become a filthy rag casting aspersions at you. The way you dress is the way you will be addressed, you were addressed badly everywhere you turn to, today your garment or robe will change and as a king a sign of royalty is the kings garment. God is removing your present garment and replacing it with a new one.

6. You will continually eat bread. You may be lacking a daily bread but the great provider is already here to provide the bread you will eat all the days of your life. Every lack will be turned to abundance in your life because Jesus was born on this day like no other day.

7. You will be given a continual diet all the days until death. A diet is a food with all essential ingredients needed for growth and development. You might having lacking the essential nutrients needed for you to succeed and become great God is going to provide to you this day those nourishments needed by you for life.

Monday, December 21, 2009

HEARING GOD'S VOICE

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. - 1 Samuel 3:7

Samuel was born to Hannah, a woman who had a deep commitment to God. She was barren, but she cried out to God for a son. The Lord gave her Samuel, whom she completely gave to the Lord for His service. After weaning him, she took him to the house of the Lord to be reared by the priests. Eli was the priest of Israel, but he was not a godly leader. He had allowed much corruption, including the sins of his sons, in God's house. God was not pleased with Eli and later judged him and his household.
Samuel grew up in the temple serving God. He also grew up seeing the hypocrisy of Eli's household, yet this did not change the young man. God was with him. We learn that even though young Samuel had a belief in God, he had not yet experienced a personal relationship with Him. God called to Samuel three times, but Samuel thought it was Eli, the priest, calling him. Finally, Eli told him to say, "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening" (1 Sam. 3:9b). This is what Samuel did, and God began telling Samuel important things to come.
Many of us grow up in religious environments. We go to church every week. We have a head knowledge of God, but we do not recognize God's voice in our lives. There comes a time when we must recognize God's voice for ourselves. God does not want us to have a religion; He wants us to have a two-way relationship with Him. Samuel was never the same after this encounter. He would know God's voice and would respond to Him in obedience.
Do you know God's voice? Can you recognize it when He speaks? In order to hear God's voice, you must be clean before Him and listen. Listen to God's voice today and follow His plans for you.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

SPIRITUAL HARASSMENT

"Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8-9).


OS Hillman testimony: I was twenty years old when I approached the first tee of the sectional qualifying round of the Professional Golfers Association US Open, one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world. I was a college golfer and was teeing it up with the world's best golfers. I was competing against many of the tour players for only a handful of spots available to get into the tournament.

I was called to the tee and teed up my ball when something unusual happened. As I am looking down at my ball I notice the shoes of someone standing no more than two feet from where I am about to tee off. I am thinking to myself with great irritation, "Who in the world is standing this close to me!?" I look up and it is Sam Snead, still one of golf's greatest players. This man was known for intimidating tactics. But this was beyond belief. Here he was trying to intimidate a young college player. I proceeded to ignore his presence and hit the ball straight down the fairway.

In the spiritual realm we deal with spiritual harassment from Satan and his legions. The Bible says "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:12). It is important to recognize when we are coming against these forces. Satan attempts to distract us from our calling and destiny in life. We often trivialize the reality of the spirit realm of evil.

Paul tells us we must set our minds to deal with the spiritual realm of evil when it impacts our lives. "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Eph 6:13).

The next time you feel obstacles have been placed in your life designed to distract you from your God-ordained mission, remember Paul's words and stand firm in Christ.


Monday, December 14, 2009

ADORNED BY THE DOCTORINE OF GOD

"Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things" (Titus 2:9-10 NKJV).


The island of Crete was known for its corruption and many false gods. It was also the center of the jewelry trade. Thus, the use of the word "adorn" in the above passage may have been intentional by Paul due to this fact.

Titus and the believers in Crete were challenged by Paul to adorn their lives with the doctrine of God. Whenever you are challenged by an environment that is corrupt and ungodly, you have an opportunity to let your light shine before those in that culture. The greater the corruption, the greater your light can shine. It is not a time to flee, it is a time to shine brighter.

Paul addressed five unique things believers could do: 1) Be obedient to their masters. They were to submit to their authority structures, 2) Be well pleasing in all things. This meant doing their work with excellence, 3) Not answer back. They were to handle conflict with wisdom and courtesy, 4) Not pilfer. They were not to steal, but model integrity, 5) Show all good fidelity. This meant demonstrating loyalty and dependability.

Do you find your environment difficult to work in? The answer is to live to glorify the Lord in the midst of your culture. The way you live your life will be viewed by many others. An industry survey revealed the average person will come in contact with 300 people over the course of a year through their work. What better opportunity to let your life be adorned by the doctrine of God. St. Francis Assisi agrees: He encouraged believers in his day to "preach the gospel always and when necessary use words."

Friday, December 11, 2009

LEARN FROM GOD'S CREATION

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Rom 1:19-20).


Have you ever had someone say, "I don't see any evidence of God. How can a person believe in someone you can't see or see any evidence even exists?"

The Bible tells us that God is revealed in His creation everyday. Look at the human body and consider the likelihood of how thousands of body parts that must work together. Someone created it to work this well. If it were a manufactured product, it would be in the repair shop all the time because of all the moving parts required to make it work.

Consider the wonderful order and balance of nature and how the seas know their boundaries, the beauty of the mountains, and the balance of rain and oxygen needed to balance the ecosystems. Consider God's signature, the rainbow.

The 12th century Scottish Christian mystic, Richard of St. Victor said, "The whole of this sensible world is like a book written by the finger of God." Look at nature and wonder at the creative design of the hundreds of thousands of species of animals like the tiger, the elephant, the great whales, and the millions of species of birds, just to name a few.

Consider the planet we live on. "The Earth is a rough sphere about eightthousand miles in diameter, which means that it's about four thousand miles straight down to the center. We're accustomed to thinking of it as a ball of rock, but that's not so: the great majority of the Earth is liquid -molten rock called magma swirling, incredible slowly, beneath our feet. The solid part of the earth that we live on, and in whose hollows the sea sits, is called the crust, and on average it's only a few miles thick - maybe ten miles. That's like a layer a third of a millimeter thick coating a football. We live on that incredibly fragile, thin layer of plates floating on the subterranean sea of magma."*

Yes, God has revealed Himself in His creation.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

LABOUR ALONE WILL NOT SATISFY

"All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied"(Eccl. 6:7 NKJV).


How would you feel about yourself if your job was removed from you tomorrow? Let's imagine that your income wouldn't change, just what you did everyday.

One of the schemes that Satan uses in the life of the Christian worker is to get him/her to view their value solely based on the type of work they do and how well they do it. We call this performance-based acceptance. It says "As long as I have a good job and I do it well, I have self-esteem."

This is a "slippery slope" and can be used by Satan to keep our focus on our performance versus Christ. We are never to find our value in what we do. Instead, our value is solely based on who we are in Christ. Theapostle Paul wrestled with this after he came to faith in Christ. He had grown to the top of his field as a Jewish leader.

"If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of thetribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, aPharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith" (Phil 3:4-9).

You'll never really know to the degree that your self-esteem is rooted in your work until your work is removed. Unemployment, illness, or a financial crisis can lead to job loss.

Why not evaluate where you are in this area of your life. Affirm with God your desire to be known by Who you know versus what you do.


Monday, December 7, 2009

THE POWER OF SERVING OTHERS

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms" (1 Peter 4:9-11).


There is a Kingdom principle I find few others really understand. The principle is this: When you focus on serving others, your need is often met through God's supernatural law of serving.

I've seen this happen so many times. The law of sowing and reaping comes into play in this Kingdom principle. "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love" (Hos 10:12). "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (2 Cor 9:6-9).

Whenever God calls me to serve another person with my time and resources I notice how God measures resources back to me from unrelated sources. Sometimes it comes through an unexpected donation to our ministry or a speaking engagement or a new opportunity. It is uncanny how this happens consistently when I serve others. We are never to view people or organizations as competition.The Bible says that God has already assigned our portion. We need not have to manipulate outcomes.

"LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance" (Ps 16:5-6).

We don't serve others to get. However, when we do serve others, there is a Kingdom principle that works on your behalf as fruit of your service. Is there someone you need to serve today?

Friday, December 4, 2009

OBEDIENCE-BASED DECISIONS

"We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him." - Acts 5:32


So often we as a society equate numbers with success. The larger the conference, the more successful we deem it. The larger a church, the more we believe that God is blessing. And so on. I recall planning a conference one time. Registrations were not where I felt they needed to be a few weeks before the date of the event. It wasn't long before I began to get "under the pile" about the level of attendance. My friend, who was organizing this conference with me, called and asked how I was doing. I had to confess where I was. He immediately reminded me of my own teaching in this area. We are all called to be led by the Spirit, not by outcomes. "If God called us to put on this conference, then the outcome is up to Him if we have done our part." He went on to explain how he learned this lesson in a similar way a few years earlier.

He and a friend were led to host a Bible study group. His friend was to speak. It was nine o'clock and they were the only two people there. His friend was discouraged and was ready to leave.

"No," said my friend. "We have done what the Holy Spirit directed." He then stood up and began to welcome people as though there were many in the room. (No one was in the room.) He introduced his friend and they began the meeting. A few minutes later, people began to straggle in. By the time the meeting was over, ten had shown up, and one man in particular was impacted by the meeting.

Being led by the Spirit often means we must not use the world's standard for success as our measuring stick. You never know what an act of obedience will yield at the time. We must leave results to God. Our role is to obey. His role is to bring results from our obedience.

Do you make decisions based on the potential outcome or by the direction of the Holy Spirit in your life? Do you overly evaluate the pros and cons without consideration to what the Holy Spirit might be saying deep inside? We are all prone to make decisions based on reasoning alone. Ask God to give you a willingness and ability to hear the Holy Spirit and to obey His promptings.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

BUILDING A MIGHT TEAM

"These are the names of David's mighty men..." (2 Sam 23:8).


David and Jesus pulled together two teams that were the most unlikely groups to accomplish what they achieved. David's small army of men became known as "David's Mighty Men" because of their extraordinary exploits. However, they were the rejects of society.

Jesus' team was made up of common men who would never have been chosen by other rabbis'. They would here been men who would not have qualified for mentorship by most rabbis' of their day. Yet, they were chosen by the superstar of up and coming rabbis' - Jesus.

We can learn three key things about David and how he related to his Mighty Men. First, David's men came to him as a result of battle. They had fought together and learned first-hand from one another's capabilities. They had covered one another's backside on several occasions. And they trusted each other.

Second, David modeled servant leadership with his men. When three of his mighty men risked their lives to obtain drinking water for him during a battle, David refused to drink it, choosing instead to pour it out onto the ground. This no doubt made a big impression on his men and only drew greater devotion to him because of his own sacrifice.

Finally, David and his men experienced God-size victories when they were the underdogs. The fought bigger armies and more resourceful enemies themselves. They saw God's hand in their victories.

Keep these things in mind as you build your own team. Learn from the management styles of David and Jesus by modeling their servant-leadership.