Monday, March 28, 2016

RESOLVING THE OWNERSHIP ISSUE



"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." - Psalm 24:1-2 

As Christian workplace believers, God calls us to view Him as the owner of everything. We are to be stewards of all that He entrusts to us. This is one of the hardest of all commandments to follow for the Christian workplace believer because, if we work hard at business, we receive all the benefits of that work. It appears as though all that we have achieved was through our hand. Yet God says that it is by His hand that we are able to make wealth (see Deut. 8). He is the source of that ability. As soon as we become owners and not managers, we fall into trouble with God.
Joseph understood that he was a steward of all the resources of Egypt. God promoted him to affect an entire region of the world. Joseph had more power, prestige, and wealth than any 30-year-old who ever lived before him. The temptation for him in this newfound role in life must have been great. Many a man has not been able to handle material success. Many of God's choicest servants began well in their calling and service to God only to fail at the end. Consider Hezekiah, the great king who achieved many great things but failed to acknowledge God's blessing at the end of his reign. His reign was cut short due to pride. Gideon's fate was similar. Success can lead to pride if we are not careful.
"Not every man can carry a full cup. Sudden elevation frequently leads to pride and a fall. The most exacting test of all to survive is prosperity" [Oswald Chambers].
Ask the Lord today if you are living as a steward or an owner. Put whatever skills and resources you possess on His altar. Then you can expect God to do great things through you.

Friday, March 25, 2016

THINKING BIG




"For nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:36-37).


It was 4:00 A.M. in Cape Town, South Africa, in July 2000 when businessman Graham Power was awakened by a vision from God that came in three distinct parts. In the first part of the vision, God instructed Graham to rent the 45,000-seat Newlands rugby stadium in Cape Town for a day of repentance and prayer for that city. In the second part of the vision, he saw the prayer movement spreading to the rest of South Africa for a national day of prayer. In the final part of the vision, he saw the prayer effort spread to cover the rest of the continent.
It was only thirty days earlier that a man named Gunnar Olson stood in front of a podium at the conclusion of a marketplace conference in Johannesburg, South Africa and proclaimed Isaiah 60 which said to "Arise and shine" over the continent of Africa and that God was going to use Africa to bless the nations.
Graham was obedient to the vision, and on March 21, 2001, a capacity crowd gathered in the Newlands rugby stadium for prayer and repentance. Soon after, a notorious gangster in the city was saved. News of the first gathering spread quickly, and in 2002, eight cities in South Africa hosted a day of prayer. Leading up to the event, young people from all over the country took part in a "walk of hope" from Bloemfontein to the eight stadiums where the prayer meetings were to be held. The events were broadcast on television.
By June 2006, what began as Transformation Africa became the Global Day of Prayer with participation from 200 nations from seven continents around the world. And this prayer movement is still growing.
It all started from the obedience of one businessman. What might God want to do through your life? It begins with being obedient to the small things and exercising your faith to believe God can do it. Our part is obedience. His part is outcome.

Monday, March 21, 2016

THE TRAINING GROUND OF GOD



"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle." - Psalm 144:1

David was a man skilled in war. From his days as a shepherd boy to the days of serving in Saul's army to leading his own army, David learned to be a skillful warrior. How does one become a skillful warrior?
The only way one can become a skillful warrior is to be trained and placed in the middle of the battle. It is only when we are placed in the furnace of battle that we truly learn to fight the real battles. Practice doesn't make you battle ready. War games won't prepare you for facing your real enemy in the battlefield. The stark reality of being in the midst of the battle makes us effective warriors.
Simply reading your Bible will not make you a warrior for the Kingdom. Knowledge without experience is mere folly. Only when you are placed in situations where there is nothing or no one who can save you but God will you learn the lessons of warrior faith. This is the training ground of God, which will make you into a soldier for Christ in the workplace. Consider it to be suicidal faith - faith that says I want to be dead to anything that keeps me from fulfilling God's purposes for my life. It is when your efforts can do nothing to change your circumstance and you are at the mercy of God. These are the real training grounds of God. Do not shrink back from the battle that God may be leading you to today. It may be a training ground that is necessary for the calling He has on your life.
If you can trust Him in these times, you'll know that you have gained a faith that will move mountains and will sustain you in the most difficult of circumstances. "Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle."

Friday, March 18, 2016

DISCERNING THE WORK OF GOD



"Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me." - Nehemiah 6:14

Nehemiah set out to rebuild the wall at Jerusalem that had been destroyed. Nehemiah held a position in the Persian Empire that would be comparable to Chief of Staff in our government. Nehemiah wept over the destruction of the city wall and repented for the sins of his generation and the generations before him that had led to the fall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah responded to the news by seeking approval from his superior to take time off to rebuild the wall. Tobiah and Sanballat met Nehemiah's action with resistance, as did Noadiah the prophetess and other prophets. These were the religious and political leaders of his day. They became distractions to his work and opposed him.
Whenever God does a new work, it is often met with resistance by those in the established religious community, and sometimes among those from whom we would expect support. Jesus met the same resistance when He began His public ministry. This same phenomenon happens today. When God begins a new work that cannot be easily explained based upon prior experiences, many make the mistake of assuming it not to be of God. The very people who should embrace and encourage the work become the source of skepticism and opposition. God tells us that His ways are not our ways. He does things in ways beyond our limited understanding.
Before you are tempted to criticize or oppose something that looks different from your past experience, ask God for wisdom and discernment. Examine why you might be tempted to oppose it. The Lord cannot be put in a box. He delights in doing things in ways that may not fit our former paradigms.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

POWER REPENTANCE




"When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'" (Luke 5:8-9). 


Are you playing Christianity or having an encounter daily with the living Christ? Peter was going about his work-day trying to earn a day's wage in his fishing business. Jesus showed up on the shoreline after they'd had a bad day. They had caught no fish.
Jesus asked to use his boat by casting off the shoreline in order to teach the people. After Jesus used Peter's business for His purposes, He turned to Peter and suggested he throw his nets out again. Peter, somewhat reluctant and argumentative, said in his hallmark attitude, "Been there, done that Master ... you don't know what you're talking about." (my paraphrase). How many times do you and I do the same thing? "Jesus doesn't care about my work life. He only cares about the orphans and the poor," we say to ourselves.
When Peter's nets are filled with fish—a strange awareness comes over him. "When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'" Peter was overwhelmed at the personal love and power that was directed specifically at his need at the moment—his ailing business. It was more than he could handle. "God even cares about the condition of my business," Peter must have thought.
Whenever we move from playing Christianity to having a genuine encounter with the living Christ, we are confronted with our own humanity and sin compared to the unmerited love and power of Jesus Christ that is personally directed to us. It should bring us to our knees. It is an awesome experience to transition from religion to relationship. Life is never the same when you have a personal encounter with our Savior.
How about you? Do you need a personal encounter with Jesus today? Ask Him to reveal His power in your work today.