As I said in my last post, God got my attention over ten years ago and changed the trajectory of my life. He made it clear that I was to begin working toward a vision of using our business as a platform for Christian ministry. From the beginning of this journey, my motives have been to do just that. My goal has been to one day hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
God got my attention over ten years ago and made it clear to me that He expected more from me than I was giving Him. You can read more about that series of events HERE, but just know that I was changed virtually overnight. He gave me a clear picture of what our business should look like and I began working hard to make that vision happen.
Every time we have a group of new hires in our company, I take them through a training session to teach them about our company and what makes us tick. I cover our history and philosophy as well as our mission, vision, and core values. I also make sure to cover the six key qualities I see in those that have been successful in our company over the 40+ years we have been in business. One of these qualities is a learning attitude.
As I have planned for this year and completed my goal-setting process, I have determined that I am going to build on some of my successes from last year. In doing this, I am going to take some bigger risks and go after bigger experiences and results. In a word, I want this year to be an adventure!
What about you? Are you living a great adventure? Or are you just watching (and envying) those who are?
When we really dig into the Scripture, we are often faced with examples of how we should live. This is especially true of the gospels where we find Jesus teaching directly to us through his life and his parables. Today, I want to focus on two different men that encountered Jesus and how they changed from that encounter. As I talk about each, see which one is more like you!
If you have been in business long, you have likely found yourself in a weak position from time to time. Maybe key personnel left for other opportunities or a new competitor came onto the scene. Whatever the case, you knew your organization was vulnerable.
What if God asked you to do something right then that could potentially wreck your fragile situation? Would obedience be easy for you?
Years ago, I had a key, long-term member of our company’s executive leadership team come to me and resign. His reasons were valid and I supported his decision even though I did not want him to leave.
I recently posted about my quiet time process and how it occasionally needs an overhaul. I listed the materials I am currently using in this process. I also included a timer that helps me stay on track. I got some good feedback from that post, but I had one reader question the materials I listed in that post.
Her approach was very professional and considerate. She simply stated that she feels the Bible is the best and only proper component for use in a quiet time for building one’s relationship with God through Christ. She made some very good points about the potential for mistakes or false teaching in materials produced by man. She posed an excellent argument and never got personal or rude.
Have you come to a place where you have lost your passion for what you do? Maybe you are in a rut or just burned out. Maybe you are just not that “into” the purpose you once felt. It could even be that business going better than ever, but you just don’t “feel it” anymore. I have a couple of ideas that might just help you regain your passion for your God-given purpose!
In my last two posts, I have referred to a passage in Revelation where Jesus chastised the Christians at Ephesus for forgetting their first love. He praised them for some of their good works, but He called them out for their wrong motives. In drifting from their relationship with Jesus, they abandoned their first love.
Every once in a while, I like to stop and take a look around at the world we live in and the assumptions we make every day. I like to think about ideas that we have heard for years and those we just accept as truth. It is especially good to compare these very ideas to Scripture to test their validity. Today, I want to discuss five of these “lies” that I think too many Christians believe.
Be warned: you may believe some of these! In fact, you may be tempted to stop reading once you see one that you believe is absolutely true, one that you are very comfortable with believing. I encourage you not to stop reading, but instead to take a look at the Scripture I reference and pray about it.
I will tell you that I have done this over the years and it is life-changing. Once you stop accepting what you have been taught all of your life and begin comparing it to God’s Word, you will likely see that you have been operating on a shaky foundation in some areas. You will begin to seek more of God’s truth and how to apply it to every area of your life.
Let’s jump in!
Lie #1. God doesn’t care about my work.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Lie #2. Getting fed at church on Sunday morning is enough.
While some of this happens on Sunday, it is simply not possible to get all of it accomplished in such a short time. We need a daily quiet time when we are alone with God. We need to participate in some sort of community group. For a great model of this behavior, take a look at Acts 2:42-47.
Lie #3. My customers will be offended if I…
Lie #4. Faith and work are to be kept separate.
This does not mean we all have to be paid staff members in the church (addressed next). Instead, it means we are to surrender our entire life to God, job and/or business included. There is no half-way here.
Lie #5. Christian ministry is someone else’s responsibility.
When defining ministry as “the service or functions of a minister of religion,” we are all included! While we may not draw our compensation from a church, we are still responsible for carrying out the service and functions of our faith.
Paul called us Christ’s ambassadors in 2 Corinthians 5:20. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about how every member of the body of faith is to play a role and every role is important. Let’s start acting like we believe this!
Well, there they are! I am sure you could come up with others if you started thinking about it. I actually encourage you to do just that. Take a quiet time one morning and ask God to reveal to you some similar “lies” that you believe. Ask Him to show you assumptions you make on a daily basis.
Then take the next step and begin removing these assumptions from your life. Ask Him to show you what you should be doing differently now that you are seeing more clearly. If you will do this exercise, I think you will be shocked at what He shows you.
Do you believe any of these lies?
Which lie will be the toughest for you to overcome?
What other lies came to mind?
Original date of post – September 30, 2012
Charles Sheldon’s book, In His Steps, introduced Christians to a powerful question more than 100 years ago. Since then, Christians have been asking “WWJD?” (What Would Jesus Do?) when faced with difficult choices or deciding what action to take. I am a huge fan of that book and it is on my recommended reading list. In fact, I believe every Christian should read it, but it is my recommendation that you NOT ask this question. Let me explain.
In an effort to create a visual illustration of my thought process, I want you to think of your favorite sports figure. Picture in your mind a scene where they are exhibiting the height of their skills in a single move.
Maybe you are picturing a wide receiver in football making an unbelievably acrobatic, one-handed catch while diving for the end zone. Maybe it is a batter in baseball reaching for the outside curveball, getting just enough of it to send it over the infield and into the outfield before dropping to allow the game-winning run.
I could go on with examples, but I believe you get the picture. The idea here is that this athlete is doing something that you would love to imitate. If you could, you would put yourself into his or her position and do the same thing, right? Haven’t you dreamed about something similar at one time or another?
Here is the problem. You and I are not prepared for that situation. We have not put in the hours of practice, workouts, stretches, and training that this particular athlete has given. The move or play that you saw them make was the culmination of thousands of hours of preparation.
For you or me to be given the exact same opportunity and expect to be able to make the same play as our favorite athlete – that is somewhat crazy, don’t you think? While I am perfectly okay with a fantasy like this, I do think we need to recognize that it is just that…a fantasy.
The only way you or I could truly be ready to execute the same play would be to prepare in the same way, right? We really would need to put in the hours of hard work, practice, and training if we wanted to be able to direct our bodies to respond the same way.
This idea is no different in business, right? It would be naive for us to expect to be able to have the insight or acumen necessary to identify and exploit a huge profit opportunity in the market without having the years of experience and learning in that particular industry.
So why is it that we think we can simply ask the question, “WWJD – What would Jesus do?” and get the answer we need? Why do we think we can wait until the heat of the moment when faced with temptation, tough moral choices, or other decisions before we ask this question?
Put Jesus in the place of the athlete in the earlier illustration. Like them, He prepared for a lifetime. As a man, He spent his life seeking the will of His Father. He was constantly withdrawing to a quiet place to be alone with His Father and pray. He was totally and completely focused on living out His mission on earth, not allowing distractions.
In the same way, if we truly want to imitate Jesus, we must do more than simply ask what He would do in any given situation. Instead, we must be willing to dedicate the time, energy, and effort necessary to prepare as He prepared.
If we really want to run our businesses the way Jesus would run them if He were the boss, then we must focus our minds and hearts on learning all we can about Him and His actions. We cannot simply hope the answers will appear just because we ask the WWJD question.
We must commit the time in the mornings to read His Word. Studying the Bible and how it applies to each of us today is critical. We must memorize Scripture so that we can quote it in the face of temptation, just like He did.
We have to prioritize time alone in prayer with our Father the way Jesus did. If we are not constantly communicating with God in a way that allows us to become intimately familiar with His overall will for our lives, then we will have no clue what Jesus would do in a given situation.
We also need to spend our time around sinners and those in need. While you may not immediately see how this can be helpful, I promise that it is. First of all, this is something Jesus did so that is really all you need to know. If you will just do it for a while, you will begin to see why it is necessary.
But since you are impatient, I will tell you that spending your time around these people will increase your sensitivity to the needs of the world around you. You will be better able to see that this life is not all about you, but is about God and communicating His love to everyone. Doing this will enable you to feel the compassion Jesus had for those around Him.
When you combine all of the above over a period of time, you will find that the answer to your question (WWJD) will come more easily. The more you prepare like Jesus did, the more you may find you don’t even need to stop to ask the question – the answer will already be there.
What are your thoughts about asking WWJD?
How prepared do you feel you are to ask the question?
What should be your next step in preparation?