"MAY IT BE"

 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her (Luke 1:38).

Have you ever had a boss come to you and give you an assignment which had rules never before used? Not only were the rules different, he was asking you to agree to them not knowing the outcome or impact it would have on your life. That must have been the way Mary, the mother of Jesus felt.
God was about to do something so extraordinary that it required a face to face meeting with the subject, Mary, and his key angel, Gabriel. What God was about to do was so foreign that it needed detailed explanation.
Mary had been handpicked to give birth to the Christ-child. Can you imagine!? However, in order to do so she was going to be pregnant while yet unmarried, something totally taboo in her culture. In fact, women were stoned to death if found to be fornicators. So, when Mary heard the assignment and responded by saying, "May it be," this tells us what a courageous woman of faith she must have been.
She did not understand the implications of what she was about to do. However, she placed her total trust in God and knew that if God chose her for such an assignment, she could trust the outcome to Him. She would even have to trust the explanation to Joseph, who was not going to understand. In fact, when he discovered Mary was pregnant, he immediately considered divorce proceedings.
However, when God saw Joseph’s response, He sent an angel to explain the situation through a dream. I am sure the time between her telling him and his dream must have been difficult to explain.  She did not know God was going to solve the problem. This is another example of her faith and courage. I would imagine most women might have responded to the angel like this, "I won’t do it unless you tell my husband!"
Do you have an assignment from God that seems impossible on the front end? Is God calling you to trust Him for the outcome? Take a lesson from Mary and release the outcome to God.

THE GOD OF TIME

 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him (Eccl 8:6).

How we use our time is a good indicator of the god we choose to serve. There is a god whose name is "the urgent" that can rule our lives if we are not diligent. The wrong use of time can lead to misery. The right use of time can result in fulfillment.
"You need to take time to turn to God. Do not pray only when you have set aside time to do. The busier you are, the more you must practice turning to God. If you wait until the time is convenient, there is little doubt that you will end up spending little time with God. Try to come before God both in the morning and the evening. Pray during and between all your other jobs as much as you can. You cannot retire too much from the mindless chatter of the world. Learn to steal this time in little snatches, and you will find these moments the most precious part of your day," said Francois de Fenelon, a sixteenth-century Christian leader.[1]
The amount of time we spend with anyone or any activity is a good indicator of the value we place on that person or activity. Time equates to money for some. For others, it can be a cruel dictator. It is the physical evidence of what is at the center of our lives.
People can generally make time for what they choose to do; it is not really the lack of available time, but the will to set a priority for the time they have. Time can be the evidence that convicts our soul that our devotion has waned.
What does the evidence of time tell you about yourself? Today, give God the time needed to develop a relationship that is meaningful for both of you.

---

[1] Francois de Fenelon 100 Days in the Secret Place, Destiny Image Publishers, Shippensburg, PA p. 117 2001

RECOGNIZING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES

 

Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him" (Matt 2:1-2). God is looking for leaders who recognize the signs of their times. Such was the case of the three wise men who were so in tune with their times they were able to pinpoint when the long-awaited Messiah was born. They recognized God had come in their midst. These three men were philosophers, priests, or astronomers and lived chiefly in Persia and Arabia. They were marketplace ministers of the Eastern nations devoted to astronomy, to religion, and to medicine. They were held in high esteem by the Persian court, were admitted as counselors, and followed the camps in war to give advice.[2] They came from the professional ranks in society and were sought out by the kings of the nation. They would be the authorities in their field of expertise. This is why they were able to meet with King Herod. (v7) They were likely aware of the prophecy of Balaam, Num 24:17, "There shall come a star out of Jacob," etc. They came and gave three distinct gifts - each represented a prophetic significance. They were gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Frankincense is a white resin or gum. It is obtained from a tree by making incisions in the bark and suffering the gum to flow out. It is highly odoriferous or fragrant when burned, and was therefore used in worship, where it was burned as a pleasant offering to God. Myrrh was also a product of Arabia and was obtained from a tree in the same manner as frankincense. The name itself denotes bitterness, on account that it is significantly bitter. It was used chiefly in embalming the dead because it had the property of preserving dead bodies from putrefaction. [3] Like the men of Issachar, who ‘understood the times and knew what Israel should do," (1 Chron 12:32) the three wise men knew what they were to do because they were aware of  God’s activities in their times. Are you recognizing God’s activity in your times? [3] (from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft) [2] (from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)

WORK REWARDS

 

For He repays man according to his work. And makes man to find a reward according to his way (Job 34:11 NKJV). There is a belief held by many in the body of Christ that say "If I’m not doing something that has an inherent spiritual value, then it has no value at all." This sacred/secular dichotomy impacts believers every day as they go into their secular workplace. They believe their secular work is simply a means of supporting the real ministry carried out by local churches, ministers, missionaries, and vocational ministries. However, this has no biblical basis. Some of the most important leaders in the early church had secular jobs. And, they did not see them as jobs only to support other ministries. They considered their own jobs as a ministry. Consider Dorcus (also known as Tabitha), who was a clothing manufacturer who was "abounding with deeds of kindness and charity, which she continually did" (Acts 9:36). When Dorcus died it was immediately brought to the attention of Peter which tells us she was very important to the early church leaders. "Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcus had made while she was still with them" (Acts 9:39). Dorcus was known equally for her business as well as her ministry among the people. However, she is about to be known for being raised from the dead! "Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord" (Acts 9:40-42). What type of ministry in the workplace do you suppose Dorcus had after this event? Dorcus is a great reminder for every worker in the secular marketplace that "He repays man according to his work, and makes a man find a reward according to his way."

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.

CONSIDERING YOUR INVESTMENT

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (Phil 2:4).

It’s rewarding to get a good return on an investment. In business we invest money, time, and people resources into promoting a product and service in hopes of a return. We make financial investments in hopes we can gain a return on our money invested. The apostle Paul understood another kind of investment. It was an investment in the spiritual lives of people.
He invested his life in a man named Epaphras, who was a man deeply impacted by Paul’s investment in him. Paul makes reference to Epaphras when writing to the Colossians:
"You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit" (Col 1:7-8). It can be rewarding to invest in other people’s lives.
One day Angie and I received this note from a friend we had made an investment into: "The two of you have had a tremendous influence on my life. For that, I will be forever grateful and love you as well." Sometimes we don’t realize the difference we can make in another life. For us, it can seem a natural way of operating. We may not even think we are doing anything unusual. Until one day, you receive a note like this one.
In the marketplace we can often get very focused on the projects we are called to promote and gain a return on. However, we each need to be making an investment in other people as well. 
Are you investing in lives that may be in your sphere of influence through your workplace call? The returns on this investment are considerable.

FORGIVING THOSE WHO JUDGE YOU

 

After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10). Have you ever been wrongly judged? Have you ever had people assume there was sin in your life because of the troubles you may have experienced? Or perhaps they judged your motives as wrong. What if the people judging you were your closest friends? This was exactly what happened in the life of Job. His friends did not understand how a godly person could ever go through his degree of adversity unless God was judging him for his sin. However, his friends were wrong and God intervened. "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has," said God to Job’s three friends. Nothing has really changed after thousands of years. I recall going through a seven year "Job" experience. Friends in the marketplace could not understand why I would experience such calamity unless I had made poor choices. Those in the Church often wrongly equated trouble with sin. Sometimes this can be true, but often trouble is simply a consequence of a call on one’s life such as Joseph and the apostle Paul experienced. Joseph was required to forgive his brothers. Jesus was required to forgive Judas and the disciples for betrayal. You and I are required to forgive those who wrongfully judge us. This forgiveness is often THE most important step in gaining restoration in our own lives. The scripture above reveals that it was not until Job prayed for his friends that he was restored in the things he had lost. Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? It may be the missing piece of your puzzle for restoration.