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The Value of Words
Your word is your bond, that is how I was raised and it’s how I raised my children. If you tell someone you will do something, you do it, period. Yes, there may be the odd occasion when you can not do what you said you would do, that should be the extreme exception, not the rule.
We had 2 contracts where the conditions on a few of the races changed after the agreements were signed. The changes cost us $6000. I had already given my word on the price, I eat the $6K.
Made in His Image
Yesterday I received news of the passing of a friend from Oklahoma. He was a contract instructor in the US military training system and had been my instructor many times during our annual simulator training. As I thought about him, I wondered…did he know the Lord? As I grow older, the death of those I’ve known during my life is becoming more common. It makes me realize my days left in this world are shorter than those I’ve already lived.
Each day we have an opportunity to be Jesus in the life of those around us. Not the preachy Christians many see today, but a true example of Jesus, loving God and loving people. Jesus accepts us right where we are…no predisposition, no criteria to meet, simple and straight forward acceptance. This is how we must act towards those we see each day.
When God Fights for Us
If ever there was a day when quit looked good, it was yesterday. After getting unit 2 stuck in the mud on Thursday, then having the rollback operator bend an axle on the trailer while trying to get it out of the mud, the team could not get the video mixer to fire up. A few calls to the manufacturer and a replacement, at no cost to us, was being shipped over night from California.
As the team finished setup and got ready for day 1 of production on Friday, all of the equipment started to act very strangely. Camera pictures where cycling in and out intermittently showing a black screen and then the main computer just shutdown on it’s own. All of this happened while we tried to swap out the new mixer. You can imagine the frustration level, nothing was working properly…nothing!
Avoiding Self-Based Faith
I remember when I was living apart from God. I knew I needed a relationship with Him, but kept putting it off because I wanted to ‘get my life right’ before I came back to the Fathers house. I guess I wanted something along the line of a conquering hero’s welcome. Believing that was the way it was suppose to be was a big lie.
In all actuality, I found it was much better for me to come to Him in my brokenness. He accepted me right where I was with no preconditions. Coming humbly before the Lord, in itself, taught me the lesson of grace. He accepted me with all of the ugliness of my sin and choose to forgive me completely.
First Fruits
Tithing, the one word that seems to strike fear into the hearts of men and women alike. Some people loath it, others embrace it and even others exploit it’s use. In the end, it is a subject I am not comfortable with simple because I have seen tithing used and abused by many in Christendom and is part of the reason why JAMA does not ‘pass the plate’ or seek to raise funds for the ministry. As He said when we started, “Give it all away for free and I will provide for the ministry.” He has been faithful, we have never lacked for any need and at times He delights in giving us gifts.
So instead of going on some diatribe about giving, let me touch on my own experience with tithing. I first started giving 10% in 1997. I felt this is what the Lord wanted me to do and so I gave 10% of the gross from my paycheck every 2 weeks. To my amazement, I found that some how 90% seemed to go much further and provide more than 100% of my check. I know, makes no sense in logical terms, but the simple reality is that is what we have seen happen year after year after year. It just works…
Noah’s Building Plan
When ever I feel overwhelmed by what the Lord is asking me to do, I think about what Noah accomplished with zero knowledge of his task. It hadn’t even rained ever…yep, look it up…it had never rained. Imagine being asked to do something and knowing you have no clue on how to accomplish the task. Overwhelming would be an understatement.
That’s where we find ourselves these days. At times we are overwhelmed by all the Lord is asking us to do in our business and lives. He constantly stretching us, taking us to new heights. In doing so, I have found I don’t want to go back to where I was before. He stretches us so we can reach our potential, not what we see, but what He sees.
Recognizing the Religious Spirit in the Workplace
Just when you start to think you have it together for the Lord, He asks you questions you may not want to answer or admit you are struggling with. I find myself once again grappling with ‘organized religion’. What does that mean?
Having just celebrated the greatest day of any Christ followers year, the resurrection of Jesus, I’m wrestling with the ‘marketing’ of today’s church. Jesus told us in John 6:44 that no man comes to the Father that is not draw. So I often think why do we need gimmicks to help God do anything? After all He is the God of the universe and if He is drawing someone, then it won’t matter what you or I do or say.
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