2023 July
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Finding Meaning in Our Labor
“But I said, ‘I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.’” Isaiah 49:4 Have you ever felt like you’re spending your life using your talent for nothing? Life is often
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Second Chances
…”I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” Jonah 4:2 Have you ever gone through a time of disobedience with God? Jonah was a prophet of God who decided he didn’t want to prophesy for the Lord. God wanted
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, when you walk through a season of pain and disappointment, I want you to enter that pain with me. Do not attempt to deaden the ache through some pleasurable thing. That is a mistake many of my sons and daughters make. It will prevent you from receiving the fruit designed to come from the
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You Were Made to Fly
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21). Can a caterpillar fly? If you said, “No,” you would be partially correct. Actually, a caterpillar can fly, but it must have a transformation
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Finish the Job
“When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely” (Judg 1:28-29). Have you ever hired a contractor to do some work and ended up having to spend time and energy to get him back to finish the job? The small unfinished projects simply irritate you and create
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, you are sad. I know why you are sad. Many of my greatest sons struggled with their circumstances. Consider Isaiah. He struggled to understand his very existence and purpose (Isa 49:4). All my sons and daughters have these doubts at times. I want to encourage you to do something that is contrary to what
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Beware of the Thief
“But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.” Luke 12:39 What are the times when you and I are most vulnerable to being caught off guard by the enemy of our souls? One of those
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Expectations
“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” Philippians 1:20 Have you ever had expectations that did not get fulfilled? Perhaps a coworker let you down. Perhaps
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Gaining Direction Through a Lack of Provision
“You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there” (1 Kings 17:4). The prophet Elijah pronounced a drought upon the land because of the sin of Ahab and the nation of Israel. There was only one problem. Elijah had to live in the same land as Ahab. “Now
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Today is your birthday, my son. I thought of you way before you were ever born. Your name was written on a white stone in heaven. My plans for you have been established from the beginning of time (Jer 29:11). My ultimate purpose for you was not that you perform for me, but for us
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, sometimes delays are self-inflicted. You must know that my heart is always to deliver, always to bless my sons and daughters. However, it cannot be at the expense of obedience. The freedom you have in your relationship with me comes withimperative boundaries. Take my sons in Israel for example. Their journey to the Promised
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God Delays
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days (John 11:17). Mary and Martha were very close to Jesus. The Bible says Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Mary was the woman who came and poured expensive perfume on Jesus and the disciples rebuked her. Lazarus, Mary and
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A Faithful Man
“A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 28:20 There is a distinct difference between the workplace believer who operates based on living in the Promised Land versus the one who operates in Egypt. In Egypt, the workplace believer sweats and toils to generate an
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Knowing Our Limits
“He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.” Proverbs 28:19 Webster’s defines entrepreneur: “one who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk in a business venture.” [Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth ed. (Springfield, Massachusetts, 1993), “entrepreneur.”] Entrepreneurs can smell an opportunity a mile away.
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Do you recall when my son Paul got caught in a storm on the sea and circumstances seemed to threaten his life and all those on board? Paul had received a word from me and it was confirmed through an angel during the night on the ship that he would reach his destination. Sometimes circumstances
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Crying Out to the Lord
“But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer. . .” (Judg 3:8-9). I often receive requests to help someone whose life is in a difficult place. After a few questions I am able to discern if the Lord has called me to get involved. More often than not,
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, I know you at the deepest level of your soul. There is nothing I do not know about you. I know your feelings of disappointment. I know the sadness you experience on a regular basis. I know your heartaches. I will not let your grief overtake you. They will not be more than you
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Unlimited Potential
“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 What might God want to accomplish through you in your lifetime? As a workplace believer, you may yet have your greatest contribution to society. Such was the case of Cyrus McCormick, born in 1809. Raised on a farm by an inventor father, Cyrus
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Obedience Tests
“They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which He had given their forefathers through Moses” (Judg. 3:4). There is a spiritual truth God revealed in the conquest of the Promised Land recorded in Judges chapter 3: “These are the nations the LORD left to test all
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Making the Lord Our Banner
“Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.” Exodus 17:15 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. God instructed Moses to stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in his hand. Moses’ staff represented something that God said He would use to bring glory to
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Defining Your Self-Worth
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14). What measurements do you use to define your self-worth? Do you define it based on your financial assets? Is it based on what you have achieved professionally? Perhaps you define your value based on
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, you have noted well that I typically choose to work through teams. Jesus, the Holy Spirit and I are a team. My Son chose 12 unlikely men to change the world. By working together in a team, you are able to leverage what I have called you to do. Remember, “Five of you shall
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God’s Selection Process
“So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, ‘Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.’” Judges 7:5 Would you ever take on an army of 100,000 with only 300 men? Sound preposterous? I agree. However, this is
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Getting Refueled
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35-36). How do you get refueled? When our cars run low on fuel, we simply drop by the local filling station to get more fuel. When our bodies
