OUR COUNSELOR

 

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26 I was driving down the interstate feeling discouraged from an appointment I had just had. A former employee's company was seeking to displace me, and my company, as their source for our services. It had been one of many difficult events during those months. As I was driving, some words popped into my mind, No weapon formed against you shall prosper. I could not tell you where those words came from other than I knew the Holy Spirit was speaking them to me; I knew they were in the Bible. I knew they were in the Old Testament. When I returned to my office that day, I searched for the key words in my concordance and found the verse. "No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you" (Is. 54:17a). Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would remind us of the things He desires us to know. There are times in our lives when the Holy Spirit speaks into our spirit words designed to encourage us or give us what we need at the moment. That is just one of the roles of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. The more you know God's Word, the more often you'll recall verses the Holy Spirit will bring to mind for a given situation. Study God's Word and allow the Holy Spirit to remind you of the things He desires you to know.

COMING OUT OF EGYPT

 "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness" (Rom. 6:17-18).

Becoming a new person in Christ is part of a life-long journey that begins at conversion. Before coming to Christ, we were living (in a metaphorical sense) in Egypt, in the land of bondage. Just as the people of Israel toiled as slaves in Egypt, we were slaves to sin and worldly ambition.
Before we came to Christ, we sweated and toiled to build our career and acquire material possessions. Work was our idol. Greed was our taskmaster. We may have had all the trappings of power in the business world - a corner office, a staff of our own, a key to the executive washroom - but we were living as a slave in the land of Egypt. We didn't run our career; our career ran us.
Jesus once said, "No servant can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money" (Luke 16:13). In the original language, the word translated "money" was an Aramaic word, Mammon. This does not refer merely to money as a medium of exchange but also to a demonic spirit designed to promote a mind-set of ambition for riches, power and worldly gain. The word is capitalized in the original text because the people of Jesus' day thought of Mammon as a false god. Jesus was saying that those who spend their lives seeking worldly gain are idolaters. No one can serve two masters. No one can worship both the true God and a false god.
We cannot experience the grace that God gives to His children because we are too busy striving for riches and enslaved to Mammon. The only way we can be free is to turn away from Mammon and allow the one true God to transform us into a different person.
Ask yourself today if your life is best represented as Egypt or the Promised Land.

THREE THINGS BELIEVERS NEED TO EXPERIENCE

 

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe" (Eph 1:18-19). Paul's letter to the Ephesians exhorts believers to experience three important things in their spiritual lives that he experienced personally. As a good mentor, he desires those he is leading to follow his example. First, God wants you to have the eyes of your heart enlightened in order to know the hope to which He has called you. God has called each of us to a future and a hope. Some do not ever realize the dreams they envision for their lives. Paul prays they will experience this. Second, God wants you to know there is an inheritance for each believer in Jesus Christ. There are riches to be had - not financial riches - but spiritual riches that are laid up for every saint. As you are faithful to His calling in your life, there will be a reward for your faithfulness. Third, God desires you to tap into the power that is available to every believer. Paul often exhorted believers not to look at his persuasive words, but the demonstration of the power of God in his life. He wants you to know this same power is available to you. After all, Jesus said we would do even greater works than He did after He sent the Holy Spirit to us. Pray that God reveals the hope that exists inside of you, be encouraged that there is an inheritance awaiting you, and know that you have power that resides in you that awaits those who exercise their faith to release it.

GOD'S AUTHORITY

 

"I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on Me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what My Father has commanded Me...." - John 14:30-31 There is a constant war going on between our flesh and the Spirit. As Christians, the Spirit seeks to move us under the authority of His domain in order for us to fulfill all that we were created for. Every person was designed to be under some form of authority. Jesus modeled this in His own life. He lived under the authority of His heavenly Father. He made no independent decisions. He, unlike us, was sinless and always remained under His Father's authority. He acknowledged that the prince of this world has a hold on many, but did not have a hold on Jesus. The prince of this world does have his hold on many in our world, even among our brothers and sisters. The one thing most of us want the greatest is the freedom to make our own decisions. It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when the decision was made to exercise a personal right: freedom to decide, freedom of choice, freedom from hindrances, freedom from pain. However, Jesus chose to live under the authority of the Father's desire for His life. He was the ultimate model of a man under authority. Each day we must determine if we'll willingly choose to be under the authority of the Father and the direction of the Holy Spirit. It is a choice each of us must make. It is a choice that actually leads to freedom, not bondage. Choosing to live under the authority of our heavenly Father frees us to gain the greatest fulfillment in life-His mission and the purposes He has for us. It is the little decisions of daily life that reveal whether we truly live under His authority.

SUCH A TIME AS THIS

 

"On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king's hall." - Esther 5:1a Esther was a woman who lived for a cause greater than herself. God used this woman to save the entire Jewish people from extermination. However, before God could use her, she had to come to a place of death in herself. It was not an easy decision. Her uncle Mordecai was the instrument God used to challenge her to measure up to the task. Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? (Esther 4:13b-14) Mordecai was telling it straight. For her to speak up meant great risks if the king did not receive her. It was automatic death if the king did not extend his scepter, which meant acceptance of her approach to the throne. It was also a time to realize that God may have brought her to this place and time for this specific purpose. However, if she did not respond in faith, God would use another instrument to deliver the people. What would she do? Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish (Esther 4:16). On the third day of the fast she came and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king's hall. She was like Jesus who stood in the inner court of Heaven on that third, resurrection day. She gave up her life, but God raised it up on that day and delivered an entire people from destruction because of one woman's willingness to give up her life for a greater cause. God has called each of us to a purpose greater than ourselves. Know that it will require death before life can be given to this purpose. It must be His life that lives, not ours.

HUMILITY IN RELATIONSHIPS

"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'" - 1 Peter 5:5b

I'll never forget the first time I discovered what a feeling was. It was in my early forties. "Surely not!" you may be thinking. Yes, it is true. Since then, I have discovered many men still live in this condition. It took an older mentor to help me understand the difference between information and a feeling. Wives are frustrated because their husbands share information, but not their feelings. They want to know what is going on inside their man. The fact is, most men have not been taught to identify feelings, much less how to share them. It is something that men must learn to do because it is not a natural trait. If they do share their feelings, society often portrays them as weak. No man willingly wants to be portrayed as weak.
In order to become an effective friend and leader, one must learn to be vulnerable with others and develop an ability to share feelings. It is a vital step to becoming a real person with whom others can connect emotionally. This is not easy to do if your parents did not teach you to share your emotional life with others. Emotional vulnerability is especially hard for men. Author Dr. Larry Crabb states,
Men who as boys felt neglected by their dads often remain distant from their own children. The sins of fathers are passed on to children, often through the dynamic of self-protection. It hurts to be neglected, and it creates questions about our value to others. So to avoid feeling the sting of further rejection, we refuse to give that part of ourselves we fear might once again be received with indifference. When our approach to life revolves around discipline, commitment, and knowledge [which the Greek influence teaches us] but runs from feeling the hurt of unmet longings that come from a lack of deeper relationships, then our efforts to love will be marked more by required action than by liberating passion. We will be known as reliable, but not involved. Honest friends will report that they enjoy being with us, but have trouble feeling close. Even our best friends (including spouses) will feel guarded around us, a little tense and vaguely distant. It's not uncommon for Christian leaders to have no real friends. [Larry Crabb, Inside Out (Colorado Springs, Colorado: Navpress, n.d.), 98-99.]
If this describes you, why not begin on a new journey of opening up your life to others in a way that others can see who you really are? It might be scary at first, but as you grow in this area, you will find new freedom in your life. Then, others will more readily connect with you.

GIDEON'S STAFF

 

With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread (Judg 6:21). Gideon was a farmer who threshed wheat for a living using a staff. This was commonly used in his day to beat out fitches and cummin (Isa 28:27), but now it was being used for wheat. He was busy doing his work when an angel of God appeared to him.  The angel told him that he was going to be used to deliver the people of Israel from the Midianites who had been ravaging their land and crops for seven years. God was calling Gideon to do a new type of threshing. Instead of threshing wheat, he was being called to thresh the Midianites. God often calls men and women when they are in the middle of their workplace activities. Like Moses, Gideon received this word from God with reluctance and feelings of insecurity, citing that his family was of no stature to accomplish such a task. Nevertheless, God addressed Gideon as a "mighty warrior" (Judges 6:12). God often sees us for what we will become, not what we think we are. Once Gideon determines through a series of fleeces that it truly is God speaking to him he does an interesting thing. He prepares an offering to the Lord of meat and bread. Once this offering is prepared, the angel uses the tip of his staff to consume the offering. Here God uses another symbol of his work to consummate a partnership to accomplish one of God’s purposes in the nation of Israel. This time the staff is used to receive the offering presented to the Lord by touching the offering with the tip of his staff. God used the symbol of his work to ignite the fire that consumed the offering.  Be watchful for times when God orchestrates events during the commonplace activity of work. He may be orchestrating something through you for His purposes.

THE POWER OF ONE

 

Then the men of Judah said to the Simeonites their brothers, "Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours" (Judg 1:3). After the death of Joshua there arose a wicked king named Adoni-bezek that was creating havoc in the land. He prided himself in defeating his enemies and cutting off the big toes and thumbs of his enemies. He had done this to seventy kings. Now, without Joshua to lead them, the people wondered how they were to defeat this wicked king. Until this time, every King had attempted to defeat Adoni-bezek themselves and had lost. The Lord told them they were to join forces with the other tribes in order to defeat this wicked king. "When Judah attacked, the LORD gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes" (Judg 1:4-6). God is calling the Body of Christ together in cities to operate in unity together in order to defeat the wickedness in our cities. However, the key to victory is a willingness for churches, workplace leaders, and intercessors to work together as a unified army. Jesus said, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:23). God calls each of us individually and corporately to represent Christ to the world, but our independence, pride and individualism often prevent us from becoming unified in the purposes of Christ. The marketplace and the Church must come together to bless the city with practical initiatives that benefit the city. When unity takes place among leadership in the Body of Christ, Jesus responds by allowing the city to respond to Jesus. You will see more fruitful evangelism, favor among city leaders and an impact on the city you never thought possible.

JACOB'S DEFINING MOMENT

 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared" (Gen 32:30).

Every believer in Jesus Christ must have a defining moment in their lives. Jacob is about to meet his brother Esau in the desert after years of separation. The last time he saw him was when he manipulated the birthright from him years ago. He assumes Esau is going to try to kill him. He sends gifts ahead as a peace offering. And he spends a restless night in prayer asking God to spare his and his family’s life.
Jacob has lived a life of control and manipulation. Yet, there is something in Jacob God finds worthy of redemption. He has a heart that genuinely wants to serve and be used of God. But God must do something in him to chisel away the bad traits in his life.
He sends an angel in the form of a man to wrestle away the striving in Jacob. The only way to remove the striving in Jacob is to injure his physical abilities. "When the angel saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man’" (Gen 32:25-26).
Jacob’s natural abilities were so great that God literally had to make Jacob a weaker man physically in order for God’s power to be manifested in his life. When this happened a turning point took place in Jacob. A new nature was birthed in him that required a total trust in God. His name was changed in recognition of this defining moment. "Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome’" (Gen 32:28).
Bob Mumford once said, "Beware of any Christian leader who does not walk with a limp." If a leader has not wrestled with God over their natural abilities and come to a place of total dependence on God, that leader will live a life of striving and manipulation.
Let go and let God do the work needed in you. When this happens even your enemies will be a peace with you.

YOUR TESTIMONY

 

"I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony." - John 3:11 Over the last several years I have seen two distinct types of Christian workplace believers. One type enthusiastically teaches their Bible knowledge to others. These people, though they may be genuine in their motive, lack one essential ingredient to being effectively used by God - a testimony. The second type of people I have encountered has a genuine testimony of what God is doing and continues to do in their lives. This was the case in the early Church. Men and women were able to give powerful testimony of events and experiences that could only be explained as a work of God. God desires to build a testimony in each of us. Each of us is one of God's chosen vessels to reflect His power in and through us. When others see this power reflected, they are impacted because they cannot explain that power. God desires to frame your life with experiences designed to reflect the character and nature of Christ. Sometimes these events can be very devastating, but they are designed to reveal His power in and through us. Every one of us has a testimony. What would others say your testimony is today? Can others see God's work in your life? Is your testimony one of Bible knowledge only? Are things happening in your life that can only be explained as God? These can be problematic questions for each of us. Ask God to build a testimony of His life in and through you today.

CONFRONTING EVIL

 The LORD sent Nathan to David (2 Sam 12:1).

There are times when evil must be confronted. When God judges a situation He often uses His servants as vessels for communicating to the guilty party. Such was the case with David who tried to conceal his sin of sleeping with Bathsheba and then orchestrating a cover-up plot that led to her husband being intentionally setup to be killed on the battlefield. It was a wicked deed that became the most significant black mark upon David’s life.
There are times in the workplace where God may want to use you to be the instrument of God to bring righteousness to a situation. Sherron Watkins was a finance president at Enron, the now famous Houston-based energy company that went bankrupt because of financial fraud by top level executives. By the summer of 2001, Sherron had become suspicious of her company’s accounting practices.
Watkins struggled with what she was to do when she discovered what was going on. She thought she might lose her job if she confronted other top level managers. Yet, if she did not do something, it could impact the entire company and its employees. Sherron was a Christian and knew God was calling her to do something.
At first, she decided to use constructive ways to bring the problem to her superiors. Eventually, she met with CEO, Kenneth Lay and outlined the elaborate accounting hoax that she believed was going on in the company. She was ignored. Months later the company collapsed when the problems came to light and Lay was convicted on 10 counts of conspiracy.
Sherron Watkins served as a modern-day Esther in the corporate world to expose a scandal that would destroy a company. She was recognized as Time Magazine’s "Person of the Year" in 2002 for her role in exposing the scandal.
Are you willing to be the instrument of God, if necessary, to expose unrighteousness?

GOD'S MOTIVES

 "He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me." - 2 Samuel 22:20

Questioning someone's motives for their activities can become an overriding response to those to whom we relate. Wrong motives can result in broken relationships, poor business decisions, and falling out of God's will. Sometimes we do not know the motive of another person. It is wrong for us to assume what their motive is until we have confidence that we know their intentions. When we respond or react prematurely, we become judge and jury over them.
God has a motive for every one of His children. His desire is to bring us into a spacious place. He wants us to go beyond our borders of safety and security so that we might experience life at a level that goes beyond ourselves. What do you think of when you think of a "spacious place"? No limitations? A large, grassy field? Open air? These are positive images. Sometimes these spacious places encourage us to step out in faith into areas where we've never ventured. Sometimes we need to be rescued by the Lord. When Peter walked on the water, God was inviting him to a spacious place. He went beyond the borders of his boat and ventured into a whole new world. He didn't have complete success in his venturing out, but it was a process that would lead him to the next victory in his faith walk with Jesus. Sometimes failure is what is needed in order to move us to the next level of faith with God. However, we must be willing to fail and let God rescue us.
The Lord delights in this process. His motive for His children is always love. It is always to bring us to a new level of trust and dependence on Him.

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.