“And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were greatly afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? why have you dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell you in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” Ex 14:10-12

They had spent their entire life living under an oppressive regime, one that had ordered their midwives to kill all newborn males. For the next forty years, they complained and yearned for the good old days back in Egypt when they ate fish and leeks and other vegetables. They seemed to forget the fact that they were also slaves and were brutally treated.

It seems so strange to us that this oppressed people would prefer to go back to Egypt instead of seizing their new opportunities in the Promised Land. As a result of their unbelief, everyone over the age of twenty perished in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb. Only the young could go in to the new thing.

When I visited some former Soviet bloc countries a few years back, I marveled at the fact that just like the Israelites of old, so many of the older folks yearned for the good old days when communism was in force and everyone had a job working for the government (slavery) but they had enough food to live on. Now that they were transitioning to a free market economy they had to become productive to enjoy the benefits of freedom and they were unwilling to do so. Not true with the young people - while the older ones who yearn for communism wither and die in the land, the young people are rising up and entering their promised land.

Nowhere is this is more evident to me than in Ukraine with Pastor Sunday’s church. Young people are rising up to seize the new and are quickly prospering. 200 new millionaires in the last 18 months in that church alone! I met some of them and they have a heart for their nation and for impacting the world! Money is only a tool to that end. It is not the only tool, but it is a very helpful tool. If you haven’t heard Friday’s podcast on this topic, I urge you to check it out now and consider subscribing to it too. We will be sharing details on that program to help you do similar things.

Have a great week!

“For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17

I was greatly heartened by the overwhelming response from Tuesday’s blog. You all gave me great hope that perhaps there is a body of people who do want to impact the culture through the strategic takeover of cultural mind molders that shape the destiny of a generation. We have a growing community of brothers and sisters from Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, Africa, Central & South America, etc who are using this site as a way of connecting, supporting and even challenging each other. The posts many of you contribute not only help each other but give life back to me and I am grateful that you take the time to stay in touch and share your perspective!

I spoke Tuesday night to a group of business-minded entrepreneurs in Greensboro, NC and it was terrific! What a great bunch of people! Special thanks to those who drove up from neighboring states to join us. It was wonderful to meet you!

Like many of you, there were several who were struggling to figure out how they could get out of the difficult financial straits they are in. The main emphasis of my talk Tuesday night was on perspective — how you see and interpret the circumstances you find yourself in and how you see yourself. If you see yourself as a grasshopper or a pauper, that is what you will be. That is, at least, how you will live.

We first have to get a firm grip on who we are and what we are which helps us discern a little more on “why” we are. We are children of the King, but that doesn’t mean we are supposed to be spoiled rich kids. Rather we are to be trained to rule and reign with Him. Do you have any concept of what that means? Our King owns everything and I believe He wants us to learn how to manage (steward) some of those things. It’s not that He needs help. It’s that we do! We need to grow up and mature.

Acquiring and managing resources involves risk and training and reward. In the process we grow up. And even better, we grow in our relationship with Him as He trains us to manage the planet and rule and reign in life. Business is a context for relationship. What a shame for those God prepared and gifted for sharing in the joy and privilege of managing the planet, who shun that responsibility because they want to do something they consider to be “spiritual.” Let me tell you, it takes a great deal of spiritual maturity to acquire and manage wealth without being mastered by it. Jesus said it would be difficult (Mat 19:23) I look forward to growing together with you all.