ONE OF THE TWELVE

"And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again." - 2 Corinthians 5:15 

It is believed that there were about 5,000 believers during the time of Christ. Among those believers, it was thought there were three types. The largest number of believers were those who came to Jesus for salvation. They served Him little beyond coming to Him to receive salvation. A much smaller number, say 500, actually followed Him and served Him. Then, there were the disciples. These were those who identified with Jesus. They lived the life that Jesus lived. Each of these ultimately died in difficult circumstances. They experienced the hardships, the miracles, and the fellowship with God in human form.

If you had to say which group best represented your life, which one would you fall into - the 5,000 who simply believed, the 500 who followed and sought to implement what they were learning from the Savior, or the 12 who identified completely with the life and mission of the Savior? Jesus has called each of us to identify with Him completely. "This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did" (1 Jn. 2:5b-6).

Pray that God will allow you to walk as Jesus did. Experience His power and love in your life today so that others will see the hope that lies in you.

THE GREATEST TEST

"I know, my God, that You test the heart and are pleased with integrity." - 1 Chronicles 29:17a 

God tests His children to know what is in their hearts. God's desire for each of His children is to walk in relationship with Him, to uphold His righteousness and integrity. It is a high calling that we will fail to achieve without complete dependence on Him.

The greatest tests come not in great adversities, but in great prosperity. For it is in prosperity that we begin to lose the sensitivity to sin in our lives. Adversity motivates us to righteousness out of a desire to see our adversity changed. Prosperity fails to provide this motivation for obedience. We fall into a satisfaction and confidence in life that is based on our prosperity rather than on God.

Hezekiah was a great godly king. He was a faithful, God-honoring king most of his life, but toward the end he became proud. God wanted to find out if he would still honor Him and recognize His blessings in his life. He failed the test when God sent an envoy to his palace to inquire about a miracle that God performed on behalf of Hezekiah. The test was designed to find out if Hezekiah would publicly acknowledge the miracle performed on his behalf.

But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart (2 Chronicle 32:31).

Hezekiah's failure resulted in his children failing to carry on as rulers of Israel, and the nation would eventually be taken over by Babylon.

The lesson of Hezekiah is clear. If we are to remain faithful to our Lord, we must remain steadfast in our obedience to Him. Prosperity can be our greatest test. Ask the Lord to give you the grace to be a faithful follower during times of prosperity.

A GOOD SOLDIER

"Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in 
active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, 
so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." 2 Timothy 2:3-4.

On June 12, 1944, just six days after D-Day in World War II, a young
lieutenant named Richard Winters led his men to the outskirts of
Carentan. As the officer in charge of Easy Company, of the 101st
Airborne, he was tasked to clear the large French town of its German
defenders. It would be a small battle, but it played a significant role
in the massive effort to rid the world of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
As Winters led his company up the road toward town, the company started
taking machine gun fire from a German MG42. The men instinctively dived
for cover into ditches on either side of the road, and stayed
there--they froze. Not only was the success of the mission in jeopardy,
but the men were easy targets for enemy machine gun and sniper fire.
What happened next proved to be the turning point in the battle for
Carentan - it's the stuff legends are made of. Lt. Winters went into the middle of
the road and, with bullets hissing past him, started yelling at his
troops to get up out of the ditches and engage the enemy. His words,
coupled with his heroic action, motivated the men to get up, get in the
fight, and gain a decisive victory over the Germans.
Winters' disregard for personal safety in his effort to save his men
from certain death didn't just earn him a medal; his actions earned him
the love, respect, and admiration of his men. They followed him
faithfully from Carentan, through the nightmarish Battle of the Bulge,
and on to triumph at Hitler's Eagle's Nest.
Soldiers willingly follow men like that, men who demonstrate acts of
self-sacrifice in the most harrowing of circumstances. How much more
should we, as Christians, follow the One who endured suffering and
death to rescue us from the most terrifying fate of all, an eternity in hell?
That was the idea that entered Paul's mind when, at the end of his own
ministry, having been imprisoned by the emperor Nero, he wrote to
encourage the young pastor Timothy. Timothy was facing severe conflict
in his ministry at Ephesus, and the relentless opposition from
heretics, apostates, and persecutors was weakening him. And just like any
Christian who experiences difficulty because of following Christ, he
needed to be reminded again of his task--to suffer hardship as a good
soldier of Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, "Suffer hardship with me, as a good
soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself
in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who
enlisted him as a soldier." A good soldier is one who does not simply
do minimum duty for his Lord, but rather is one who serves Him with
everything he is and has. As a Christian, that's what you are called to.
Paul's words to Timothy are your marching orders, too, as you strive to
be a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
The first mark of a good soldier is the willingness to suffer hardship
with the rest of the soldiers. "Suffer hardship" literally means to
suffer evil or pain along with someone else. By adding "with me," Paul
assures Timothy that he hasn't asked anything of him that he wasn't
willing to do. In fact, Paul was writing from a prison cell.
As a Christian in the Western world, I'd bet it is sometimes difficult
for you to understand what serious spiritual warfare and suffering for
Christ mean. Even though the secular environment in our society is
increasingly hostile to Christianity, you are not faced with loss of
job, imprisonment, or execution because of your faith. With few
exceptions, being a Christian won't keep you out of college or from
getting a good job. But the more faithful you are as a Christian, the
more Satan will put roadblocks, hardships, and rejection in the way,
the more evident the spiritual warfare will become, and the more frequent
and obvious the hardship will become.
You have been called to endure hardship, and every Christian who has
gone before you has had his share. And although you haven't yet shed
blood for your faith (Hebrews 12:4), you will experience hardship as a
Christian for your faithfulness--count on it. Jesus said, "If they
persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). But be
encouraged for He also said, "In the world you have tribulation, but
take courage; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus is the
perfect Commander who leads by example and will bring you to certain
victory in the end.
Secondly, a good soldier is marked by his separation from the "normal"
life. A "soldier in active service" does not have a 9 to 5 job, or even
a long 60- to 70-hour work week. He is a soldier 24 hours a day, every
day of the year. His body, his health, his skills, his time--all that
he is--belongs to the military. Even when on leave, he is subject to
recall at any time, without notice and for any reason. And whenever ordered
into dangerous duty, he is expected to put his very life on the line
without question or hesitation.
Consequently, he is separated from his normal environment, so that he
will not "entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life." Paul is
not speaking about things that necessarily are wrong in themselves. It is
not that you, as a Christian, should have no contact at all with your
former friends and surroundings, but that you should never be caught up
and enmeshed in them. Those things are irrelevant to your soldiering
and are always subject to being relinquished.
You should never allow earthly matters to interfere with the
fulfillment of your duty to the Lord. Temporal concerns and activities, innocent in
themselves, have neutralized the effectiveness of many pastors, special
ministries, and doctrinally sound churches. Though they once labored
faithfully in the primary purpose of serving Jesus Christ to advance
His kingdom against the forces of darkness, they have unwittingly taken
themselves out of the battle.
Just as the dutiful soldier places his life willingly on the line in
the service of his commander, so also will you, as a faithful Christian,
willingly deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Christ (Luke
9:23). And you will find yourself echoing Paul's words: "I do not
consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may
finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord
Jesus" (Acts 20:24).
The final mark of a good soldier is a genuine desire to "please the one
who enlisted him as a soldier." The men who followed Lt. Winters
through terrible conditions and battles in Europe did so willingly--he had
earned their respect and affections. In an even greater way, the Lord
deserves your honor, your affection, and your obedience for all He has
done for you. His own courage on the battlefield is unparalleled. He
stayed the course and went before you to win your freedom and eternal
life. And now He seeks your loyal service in His army.
The Christian's greatest desire is to please Christ, and his fondest
hope is to be rewarded for faithful service, to hear his Master say,
"Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few
things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of
your master" (Matthew 25:21).
With that hope in the forefront of your mind, let your life be animated
and driven forward by your love for Jesus Christ. And make it your
ambition, "whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him" (2
Corinthians 5:9)--He is your spiritual Commander-in-Chief.

BECOMING AWARE OF GOD

..."Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." - Genesis 28:16 

Jacob was forced to flee his family after receiving the blessing of God from his father, Isaac. He ran as a result of his broken relationship with his brother, Esau, who threatened to kill him. He was alone after leaving his family and was sleeping in the wilderness area at Bethel. It is here that Jacob encountered God personally for the very first time. He had a dream in which Heaven was opened up to him. The Lord spoke to him there and gave him a promise to give him the very land on which he was lying.

This encounter with God made him realize that God was in this place, even though he had not been aware of it. God had to remove Jacob from all that was of comfort to him in order to reveal Himself to Jacob. What began as a crisis that forced him to be removed from his family and friends led to an encounter with the living God and a fresh vision of God's purposes for his life.

How often we go about our daily routine and fail to recognize that God is in the place where we are. God had to bring Jacob to a place of separation from his old life and remove all his worldly possessions. He was alone with God at Bethel; nothing else could distract him from an encounter that would change his life.

God often must do radical things in the life of the servant in whom He has special plans: separation from family, removal of physical and emotional resources, an encounter with God. These are often the hallmarks of ownership by God that build a vision into a life.

A FLEETING SHADOW

"Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow." - Psalm 144:4 

Every time I fly over a large body of water, I imagine opening the window of the jet and pouring out my coffee into the immense body of water below. I imagine the time that I spend on this earth compared to eternity is no more than that cup of coffee. The incredible size of the ocean compared to one small cup of coffee is what our life is like compared to eternity. Why then do we invest so much in temporal pursuits when we know that our investment here can have so much impact on our eternity? It is the great paradox of human behavior, especially for Christians.

Does your business life have an overall ministry objective to it? This does not mean we must be constantly involved in "Christian activity." It only means that we should be about what God has called us to do with the motive of being obedient to this mission. Do not let the worries and cares of this life keep you from having an eternal impact on the lives of those you meet each day. Satan has a way of keeping our focus on the problems of today rather than the spiritual opportunities before us. He is master of the urgent, not the important.

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

OVERCOMING OUR PAST

"Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah." - Judges 11:29a 

We've all heard stories of individuals who have overcome extreme hardship during their childhood years. Children of alcoholics, orphans who never have parents, loss of parents to a fatal crash, childhood disease - these are all difficult circumstances to overcome.

Jephthah was a man who overcame his obstacles and refused to allow his circumstances to prevent him from becoming great in God's sight. He was born to Gilead, a result of his father's adulterous encounter with a prostitute. Jephthah's half-brothers decided to reject Jephthah, and drove him away from their home saying, "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family because you are the son of another woman." Imagine the rejection this young man felt as he was cast away from his own family.

This experience taught Jephthah to become a hardened warrior. Today he probably would have been part of a street gang. As he got older, his reputation as a warrior became known to those in his country, so much so that when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead went to Jephthah and asked him to be their commander. Jephthah had to fight off those feelings of rejection from previous years.

"Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house?" he responded. He overcame his hurt and pain, and responded to the call God had on his life.

It is said that if we were to help the butterfly remove itself from the cocoon, the butterfly would not be strong enough to survive. It is the struggle that prepares the butterfly to become strong enough to fly. Without the struggle in the cocoon, it could not survive as a butterfly.

The Lord prepares each of us in similar ways. Some of our childhoods seem to have been harsh and born from a seemingly unloving God. However, the Lord knows our struggle and will make our life an instrument in His hand if we will follow Him with an upright heart. He does make all things beautiful in His time if we are willing to be patient.

A TWO-WAY RELATIONSHIP

"He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught." - Isaiah 50:4b 

The prophet Isaiah describes his relationship to God as a relationship that has two-way communication. Have you ever felt that your communication with God was only one way - you to Him only? Isaiah tells us, "The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.... The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back" (Is. 50:4-5).

The key to Isaiah's relationship with God lies in four important principles:

1. He had an instructed tongue. Isaiah had given over rule of his life completely to God's purposes. 

2. He knew the word of the Lord, which allowed him to sustain and encourage others.

3. He took time to listen.  

4. He did not flee from the tough assignments. He didn't shrink back.

If we are to be able to listen to God, we must follow the same principles. Knowing and spending time studying God's Word allows the Holy Spirit to bring to mind His instructions for what He wants for us. Recently, I became very busy in my work and other activities. It wasn't long before I felt distance between God and me. I had to make a conscious decision to carve out more time alone to listen, study, and meditate on His Word. This is the lifeline for the follower of Jesus. When we begin to lose the relationship, we are susceptible to becoming rebellious, going our own way. Invest your life in this relationship so that you may continue to hear His voice and sustain the weary ones around you.

TWO GROCERS

"You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you" (Deut 25:15). 

A few hundred years ago there were two Christian grocers in London. One of them said to the other, "You know, as Christians, we're supposed to have honest scales. It says so in the Bible. So how should we do that?" "Well, I'll tell you what, I'll come and check your scales on Wednesdays to make sure they're accurate and you come on Sundays and check mine. We'll make sure they're accurate." The two grocers developed a list of twelve principles that they felt should guide the way they were to do business.

People preferred to buy from them because they knew they would get a good product, at a fair price, with honest scales. Other grocers who were Christians decided to join in and they formed an association of Christian grocers. In those days it wasn't called exactly that, but was actually called the Most Worshipful Company of Livery Merchants. The name is very odd and peculiarly British.

This group led to other industries adopting a similar idealism known as Livery Companies in the City of London. There are now 300 companies in the City of London registered as Livery Companies. The latest one was the Most Worshipful Company of Information Technologists. Everybody that joins one of the companies in the City of London, even today, receives a list of the principles they have to agree to. The list contains 36 biblical principles to guide your life. And they call the book, Some Rules for the Conduct of Life to Which Are Added A Few Cautions.

The rulers of the nation in Britain began to see the affect of these companies and said 'What we need to do is make it a law for the whole nation. So instead of just these grocers having their honest scales, every scale in Britain needs to weigh accurately." The government Weights and Measures Department, which is in existence today, can trace its history back to the day when these two grocers decided to keep themselves accountable for biblical principles."*

Are you operating based on honest weights and measures?

ENTITLEMENTS

"And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!" - Philippians 2:8 

Society today has duped many of us into believing that the world owes us. It owes us a good living, a loving spouse, good health throughout our whole life, sexual pleasure when we want it, and paid vacations the rest of our lives. The world has told us if we work hard and do right, we are entitled to these things. This is the Esau perspective on life. For a mere meal, he sold his own birthright for a simple pleasure to which he felt entitled.

Society, and even the Church, is more pleasure-focused than ever before. George Barna, the Christian researcher, cites:

We are not a society that simply enjoys its time off. Our leisure appetites drive us. It is increasingly common to hear people turning down job offers because the hours or other responsibilities would interfere with their hobbies, fitness regimens and other free time activities. Even our spending habits show that playing has become a major priority. The average household spends more money on entertainment than it does clothing, health care, furniture or gasoline. Recreational activities have jumped more than 10 percent in the amount of time given to them. [George Barna, Frog In The Kettle (Ventura, California: Regal Books, 1990), 82.]

What are the motives for our work life? Is it only to gain increased pleasure and leisure time? Jesus said He came only to do the work of the Father. I am sure that Jesus had times of refreshment in His life that allowed Him to get recharged for the mission God called Him to. However, He understood the balance of maintaining mission and play. When we view life with an attitude of entitlements, we are susceptible to becoming disappointed, resentful, and even bitter when our expectations go unmet. Ask the Lord if you need to relinquish any rights that may be hindering your freedom to experience His love and grace.

THE VALUE OF WORDS

"And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." - Matthew 5:36-37 

Imagine for a moment that you are living in Jesus' time. It is before Jesus has begun His public ministry. He is a carpenter in your local town of Nazareth. You have asked Jesus to make a table for you. You're on a deadline and you must have it in a week. You agree on the price of $100 for the table and the date of one week for completion. A week later you arrive to pick up the table. You lay your money down on the table and Jesus says, "Mr. Johnson, I am sorry but the table is not ready. I ran into complications. Also, I can no longer honor the price I gave you. It is now $150 instead of $100."

Two years later you hear about this same Jesus who is preaching to the local townspeople. How are you going to view this Jesus? You probably won't give much credence to His message because of your personal experience. Our lives have an ability to reinforce the message we stand for, or they can violate it and make it totally ineffective. This literally happens all over the world in different settings with Christian workplace believers. Our message becomes ineffective because we have not done what we said.

I know people who, when they tell me they plan to do something, I can expect them to follow through about 50 percent of the time. I am sure you have had the same experience. Words and commitments are made with little meaning behind those words. However, I know others who will follow through almost every time. The only time they don't is when something falls outside their control. I quickly learn whose words have substance behind them.

There are times when we are unable to perform or deliver what we promised due to outside influences. The key to turning these potentially negative circumstances into a witness for Christ is communication. If we are unable to pay a bill on time, we must communicate with those we owe and make a good faith effort to resolve it within our means. In these cases, God's purposes are being performed as well if we seek to do the right thing.

Do your words mean anything to those who hear them? Do you make commitments and fail to follow through on them? What would others say about how you follow through? Ask the Lord today to show you how you are doing in this area. You might even want to ask three people who are the closest to you how you fare in this area.

WHEN GOD SEEMS FAR AWAY

"Why, O Lord, do You stand far off? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?" - Psalm 10:1 

One of the great mysteries of God is His ways. Some of His ways almost appear to bring us into the most difficult places, as if He were indifferent to our circumstances. It would appear that He is turning His head from our sorrows. These events in our lives have a particular objective to perform for us. That objective is to bring us to the end of ourselves that we might discover the treasure of darkness. "Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness" (Job 30:26).

When we are taken into these dark periods, we begin to see light that we never knew existed. Our sensitivities become heightened and our ability to see through spiritual eyes is illuminated. Unless we are taken into these times, our souls never develop any depth of character. We do not gain wisdom, only knowledge. Knowledge is gained through understanding; wisdom is gained through the experience of darkness.

After we go through these periods, we discover that God was, in fact, with us throughout the entire time. It does not feel or appear that He is there when we are in the midst of the dark periods. However, He is there walking with us. He has told us countless times that He will never leave us. However, when we are in those dark periods, it does not feel like He is there because He does not rescue us from the circumstances. He does this for our benefit in order that we might become more like Jesus. Jesus learned obedience from the things He suffered (see Heb. 5:8). What does that say about how you and I will learn obedience? Embrace the dark times and gain the wisdom that God intends for you from these times.

OUR LABOUR IN THE LORD

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:58 

There is a paradigm shift going on among a remnant of workplace believers today. That paradigm shift is a focus on using our business and work life as a platform for ministry versus a platform solely for material success. There is a remnant of workplace believers throughout the world today who understand their birthright in the workplace is to reflect Christ fully in and through their work. It is reflected by a commitment to use their resources and skills to provide a product of excellence with the overall motive to affect people for Jesus Christ. The difference is that these individuals have an overriding ministry objective to their work.

When the apostle Paul tells us to fully work unto the Lord, he does not mean we must be working as missionaries in "full-time Christian effort." He understands that all of life is holy and sacred to God. If our motive is to serve God where we are, then our labour "in the Lord is not in vain."

As you begin your work today, ask God if you are working with the primary motive of reflecting His life and character through your work on this day. Let nothing move you from this motive being central to your activity. The Lord will reflect His power and leading in and through your life when this becomes your primary motive.

HEALING BEFORE MINISTRY

"And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed." - Joshua 5:8 

Before the nation of Israel could go into the Promised Land they had to be circumcised. Circumcision is painful, bloody, and personal. God requires each of us to be circumcised in heart before we are allowed to enter and receive the blessings that await each believer in the Promised Land.

This circumcision can often be very painful. Circumcision requires losing our old way of life. The process of spiritual circumcision may mean a loss in areas that have been a part of our lives in order to draw us to the Savior. God understands this. Consequently, like the people of Israel, we must wait until we are healed before we begin to be effective in our calling. If we launch out too early, we will be ineffective and may risk infection and disease and will not be at our full capacity. God wants each of us to walk in His healing grace.

The people of Israel fought only two battles when they were coming out of Egypt. In the Promised Land they fought 39 battles. Each of us must be prepared to enjoy the benefits of living in the Promised Land. However, we must also be prepared to wage war against the enemy of our souls. Make sure the Lord has provided the needed healing to your circumcision experience before you enter the Promised Land.

PRAYER AT WORK

"Epaphras, who Paul states to the Colossians 'is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus. . . . He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured'" (Colossians 4:12). 

Many of us have been entrenched in the "secular versus sacred" model for so long that it can be difficult for us to view our work as a ministry and workplace believers as missionaries in the 9 to 5 Window. However, God tells us clearly that we are to glorify God in all that we do (see Col. 3:17, 24). Having people pray for us to fulfill our purpose and calling in our workplaces is consistent with the will of God for every individual.

While the idea of a workplace intercessor may be a new concept for us, we need to remember the examples we find in the New Testament of believers praying for one another such as Epaphras in the scripture above.

Os Hillman said, "Colin Ferreira is a friend, a board member for our ministry, and an owner of an optical business in Trinidad. I first met Colin in 2001 when he invited me to speak at a Caribbean workplace conference that he was organizing. I have watched Colin develop into a Kingdom business leader.

Through a series of struggles common to most businesses, Colin began to recognize the need for more prayer coverage. One of the organizations for which he had been supplying financial and leadership support maintained a prayer ministry. Colin asked the minister who headed the organization to intercede for him and his company on an ongoing basis, and she gladly agreed.

The two met periodically to discuss prayer needs and critical issues developing within the organization, which the minister then addressed discreetly in her intercessory group meetings. Often, this woman would recognize specific problems during these prayer meetings and know how to pray for them effectively".

Is prayer a regular part of your time with God? Are you in relationship with others who are praying for you?