On Day 3 of creation, God gathered together the seas, in the process forming dry land. We have talked about the significance of land and how that speaks to entering into “work”. Now as we continue our study of the seas, we continue our discovery of the four elements revealed through Scripture by its reference to the seas that you need to invest in your business. Look at this…

“When He gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass His command:” (Pr 8:29) “Or who shut up the sea with doors…And prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors?” (Job 38) What do you see? I see boundaries. God gave the sea boundaries. God gives us boundaries and those boundaries are largely determined by how He fashioned us. I was not designed to play defensive end on a pro football team, nor was I gifted to be a recording star. God built me with certain things that help define my boundaries.

Understanding how you are wired or designed by God will reveal a lot about your boundaries. I believe that within those boundaries there are great expanses of territory for us to take and most of us settle for mediocrity. Not only are our boundaries determined by how God wired us, but they are further defined by how we’ve developed the gifts He has given us. They are defined by our SKILLS. (The “S” in K.A.S.H.)

The Psalmist describes the sea in emotional terms when he writes, “You rule the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, you still them.”  (Ps 89:9) Writers have long described the sea as having an attitude. Perhaps you’ve heard it said, “The sea was angry that day my friend.” Whatever the expression, the second characteristic from our K.A.S.H. acronym is “A” for Attitude…  “A chosen belief, either positive or negative, that sets in motion corresponding behavior, generally resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

You can have great skills, tremendous knowledge and even very good habits, but if your attitude is sour, your results will be meager at best. Everyone has an off day from time to time; even an off week and when that happens, our outlook on life can be rather dim. If you notice that happening, recognize that you have a choice when it comes to attitude. Don’t put the responsibility of your attitude on someone else’s actions. No one can make you feel inferior without your permission. No one can make you feel defeated until you have chosen to accept defeat.

You own your attitude. Rule over it. Bring it into submission and obedience to the will of God. This is the great battle for the soul that rages daily. Time and again God says, “Be not afraid. Be very courageous.” He puts the responsibility of how we view our circumstances and how we view the possible outcomes upon us.  Let’s accept the challenge. The choice we make largely determines our outcomes. Choose well.

In our K.A.S.H. analysis of the sea from day three of the creation story, we see that Isaiah prophesied, “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa 11:9) Last Week, we discussed how water (the sea) is compared to knowledge and how important it is to increase your knowledge base. Today, I want you to look at your information systems or the means by which you gather and distribute information corporately.

Amos 5:8 says, “Seek him… that calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.” Solomon said, “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from where the rivers come, there they return again.” (Ecc 1:7) More than 2000 years before science discovered the hydrologic cycle, the Bible had already explained it. In fact, 85% of the rain that fell on the earth last night came from the sea.  What does that mean to your company?

All of your staff has contact with the outside world. They talk to your customers, other vendors, people who are served by a competitor of yours, etc. Do you consciously and consistently look for feedback? Do you ever invite your key customers for a special getaway to give you input on how you can serve them better, what they have heard about new innovations from other sources that you may not have, etc? Do you meet with the sales team and ask them what they see on the street and how they are responding to it? Do you gather rivers of information and then shower it upon the team so that they can use it to water their customers and return to corporate even more information and relationships? Examine your information systems.

So how do you build to last? How do you build something multi-generationally? Three things come to mind:

1. Work where God is working: Jesus only did what He saw His father doing and only worked where the Father was at work. We need to join the Father in His work, the assignment He has, the thing He is building. Apart from Him, we can do nothing of value. And don’t assume that He wouldn’t build a business through you for His purposes. That may be exactly what He is after and the very reason He gave you that dream and your unique giftings.

2. Think strategically: The defining characteristic of strategy is that it is long term and large scale in nature. That means that we have to take time to look at the legacy we will be leaving and build with that in mind. Can you imagine what the business God wants to build through you could look like when your grandchild is CEO? Of course, that requires not only passing on the business as an inheritance, but passing on the all important “inheritance of the heart” that God deposited in you.

3. Choose the path of excellence: Yes, this includes excellence of character, excellence of motivation, etc., but I am really alluding to the quality of the work we do. Does your work, your service and your product enhance God’s reputation on Earth? Does it glorify Him? If everyone knew you were a believer and that you believed you worked for God, would they be impressed with your product? Would they be impressed with your employer?

We are all a work in progress. Are you building your life, your family and your business to last? Join me tomorrow as we talk about K.A.S.H.

Are you building for the long term? A few decades ago, it was difficult to find a car that was expected to last more than 100,000 miles, especially an American made car. You used to have to buy a Rolls Royce or a Mercedes to get a car that you could own for 10 years and put hundreds of thousands of miles on and still be happy to drive it.

A friend of mine went to work for IBM in the 60’s and on his first day at work pulled into the employee parking lot whereupon he noticed a Rolls Royce parked. He immediately assumed that he was in the executive parking lot and made a quick exit. Later, he discovered the Rolls was owned by a factory worker, so he approached him at lunch one day and asked how he came to be driving a Rolls Royce.

The factory worker calmly stated that it was “basic transportation” and went on to explain that this was the only car he intended to own, that he would still be driving it upon retirement and easily put over a million miles on it. He claimed that my friend would, during those same 20 or 30 years, purchase many cheaper cars with many repair bills and at the end of the day, they would be worth almost nothing while the Rolls would increase in value. As it turned out, upon his retirement, my friend was there and the factory worker still owned the Rolls which was worth more now than it was when he bought it. The factory worker was thinking long term and so was Rolls Royce and both have benefited. Are you building your business to last?

Land was an inheritance passed down from generation to generation. It speaks of enduring contribution and generally seems to increase in value over the years. When it comes to business, I believe we need to build with a long term view in mind and increase the value of what we build. We need to think multi-generationally. After all, God often revealed himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. God builds for eternity and He builds something through the generations. What He initiated with Abraham, he continued to build through Isaac and Jacob and He continues to build down through the ages to this day.

So, are you thinking long term or short term? Maybe you expect to be raptured out of here later this week or later this year or certainly within the next few years. But what if Christ tarries? He didn’t show up for the big date predicted back in ‘88 or by 2000 and for those of us who have been Christians a few decades, we well remember those predictions. He may come before you get this email, but our job is to “occupy till He comes” (Luke 19:13) The word “occupy” literally means to “busy oneself with trade, to improve, to employ in business, for the purpose of increasing it or of making profit on it.”

So I say, let’s occupy. Let’s improve our business, our product, our service. We may just be leaving a legacy for the next generation. What kind of legacy will it be?

"He that tills his land shall be satisfied with bread:" (Pro 12:11) "So built we the wall and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a heart to work." (Neh 4:6)

Years ago when I was studying Proverbs for the first time in any real depth, I envied the wisdom of Solomon. I read in James that if anyone lacks wisdom, they could ask of God and He would give it without upbraiding the one asking. So I asked God for insights like Solomon had. I would pray and wait on Him and on occasion over the years, get my own collection of proverbs to help me along the way. The very first one I got was this: "In the valley of indecision lay the skeletal remains of many a worthy plan."

What God helped me to see was that the very best of plans is worthless unless we are willing to step out and work the plan. Wishing it doesn’t make it so. We need to get busy! In sales, there is a phenomenon called “call reluctance”. It’s when sales reps unconsciously make up excuses and create “busy” work to keep from the one activity that actually makes them money and that is being in front of a customer. They may have a great territory plan, but unless they break the inertia and start doing the part they may not prefer, they will not effectuate the plan.

What’s holding you back from working your plan? Be brutal with the excuses and lean into your destiny!

“And He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” (Ex 31:18) “Teacher, this woman was taken in adultery…. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what say you? … But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not… and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:4-7)

We are continuing with the “Enter into Work” theme based on the creation of dry land on the third day and its implications to business. I want you to notice from the Scriptures above that when God wanted to write something down, He wrote it on the land - sometimes in rock and sometimes in the dirt. Yesterday, we talked about planning; but if your objective merits a plan, it merits being written down so that it can be reviewed and shared with others. 

Writing something down implies importance and we pay attention to what we have deemed important by our previous actions. A written plan is no guarantee that we will follow it any more than a written mission statement posted in the board room means that it will be followed, but it is an important start. Then do what Eric Beck advises and put the action steps of the plan into your day timer. Create a time slot and make a written appointment with yourself to accomplish the tasks. Why? Because most people give the highest priority to appointments and very low priority to “to do” lists.

Quick note: We will be doing a mini seminar at the Christian Trade Show in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday, September 30^th entitled 7 Wealth Secrets of the Rainforest. Click here for details

“The lack of planning on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part!” Those words penetrated me when my lack of planning created a situation that required urgent attention from someone who was not willing to change their schedule because of my ineptitude. Although I didn’t appreciate the sentiment, I did appreciate (later) the lesson.

A lot of the pain we experience in life is due to poor or non-existent planning on our part. Not all who plan succeed, but everyone who succeeds long term, plans. Practical suggestion: At either the end or the beginning of each work day, take a few minutes and review your progress on goals, and how you did relative to what you intended to accomplish. Create a roadmap for the day based on the key relationships God has given you and the related priorities. You know the drill: Plan your work and work your plan.

Adjust the timing of your various responsibilities so they flow to your best advantage. Ever notice how much you get done the day before you leave on vacation? That’s usually the best planned day of our year! We get more done that day than most. Most of us know to plan, but need the reminder to get us back on track - Myself included.

Hey friends… I have been out of the country for awhile. I can see that my post on September 5th "Will You Survive When the Hard Times Come" about being "agreeable" sparked some disagreement and stirred more controversy than I would have imagined. I don’t think any of us really know what is going on behind the scenes vis-à-vis oil prices and the politics of oil. I just offered a casual, personal observation that to me things look a little suspect. I am not trying to convince anyone of my point of view which is clouded at best on this issue; rather I was sharing a personal sentiment with you all. There was no logic or value, I guess, in sharing the comment other than to speak with you as I would a friend and voice a concern I have, knowing I have no solution. I appreciate you all writing in. You offer valuable input every day and it encourages me. You guys are the best!

P.S. Check back on your blog posts from time to time. Sometimes it’s a few days before a post you have made gets responded to, but the replies I have seen are very good.