“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2 – 4
I am writing this blog on the flight from Charlotte to Atlanta where I change planes for Sarasota, Florida. As I was reflecting on this most unusual day, the Scripture above came to mind that we are to count the trials and temptations we face as sheer joy. To say that runs counterintuitive to everything in me today would be a big understatement!
You see, today was the day I got to reveal to the world my new book, Rainforest Strategy. It is the culmination of 3 ½ years of study, prayer and application. I allowed extra time for the book release because I wanted everything to be just right. And instead, everything that could go wrong did. For some strange reason, it went out in a red text instead of the normal black text. If you tried to actually order the physical book, you were taken to the e-book inside the store. It gets worse, but I will spare you.
That’s when I read James 1 again and decided to count all this as joy. After all, it is working patience in me and if I let if have its perfect work, it will mature me wholly and leave me lacking in no good thing. Sounds like a plan to me! A very good plan. So as I head home for the weekend, I am counting the trials of the day as sheer joy. It beats the alternative!
If you were one of the numerous host of folks who ordered the book on Friday and helped us set a new record for orders in a single day I thank you from the bottom of my heart! And I ask you for grace. (o-: Nearly every order was processed as an e-book order when we know most of you wanted the physical book. Somehow our links got messed up despite all the test orders we processed successfully before sending out the email offer.
I rarely say this, but I really believe there were other forces at work today that got in and got some wires crossed. I believe those spiritual forces would do anything to hinder this incredible revelation of practical business truth gleaned from God’s creation from getting out and helping folks gain financial freedom. Your kindness, mercy and understanding in what is no doubt a frustrating experience for you would be greatly appreciated. Maybe you too could count it all joy with me… (o-:
Please read any email from Cheryl@SellingAmongWolves as she will be updating all of you who placed an order on Friday and getting things straightened out. If you were planning on ordering but haven’t yet, please DO NOT use the link on Friday’s email. Simply go to www.RainforestStrategy.com/about-the-book or order from our follow up email when we resend the offer with all the links working correctly.
I am joyful because of Christ and I am grateful because of you! May God bless and watch over you this week. Be extra prayerful and watchful the next few days. We live in unprecedented times and your adversary, the devil is seeking whom he may devour.
This Thursday I will be conducting a one-on-one teleseminar with Dr. Myles Munroe. We will be discussing kingdom principles for succeeding in business. I wanted to introduce you to him this week and have asked him to guest host on our blog for a few days. The teleseminar will start at 1PM US Eastern time on Thursday, August 28th. You’ll have the choice of participating by telephone OR via web-based streaming simulcast. However, we have a limited number of spots, so I urge you to reserve yours now!
Dr. Munroe was born in the Bahamas to a family of eleven children, and overcame unbelievable odds to emerge as a global leader, sharing the platform with Presidents, Prime Ministers, Monarchs, Governors, Corporate Leaders, Religious Leaders, Members of Congress, Senators, Law Enforcements Agencies, Judicial Leaders, Hollywood Stars and professional Athletes. He is respected internationally as a motivational speaker, business consultant, and a best-selling author of over 40 books. Now, here’s Dr. Munroe…
The Kingdom of Heaven is not a secret society, but its keys do have to be learned. A secret is anything you don’t know, especially if somebody else does. Miracles fall into this category. A miracle is something that humans cannot explain, an event or occurrence that seems to defy the laws of nature. Many had seen Jesus walk on water, heal the sick, raise the dead, shrivel a tree by speaking to it, calm a storm, multiply bread, and many other “miraculous” things that were beyond the ken of human experience.
But to Jesus, none of these were miracles. He said, “These are no miracles; I’m just using keys. I know how to put them in the locks, and they are unlocking prosperity, unlocking healing, unlocking peace, unlocking authority. Watch Me and you will see the Kingdom at work, and also how it should work for you. My Father has given you the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom. I will teach you how to use the keys.”
Jesus left no doubt that the Kingdom was supposed to work for His followers (just as it worked for Him, for on the night before His death He told them:
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it (John 14:12-14).
“My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments within you. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of your eye. Bind them upon your fingers, write them upon the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 7:1-3) “My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” (Psalm 45:1)
Our heart records the feelings we had the first time we heard Amazing Grace played on the bagpipes. It records the lyric, the setting, the moment. It records love and loss and so much of life. It’s like the record button is always “on” and later, perhaps late at night in bed, we replay whatever was recorded.
With our heart being like a tablet, we should be deliberate about what we record. We can’t help much of what is recorded, but we can choose to record good things that will help us in life. Certainly, Scripture is one thing we can record, but also we can record many positive things about life and our future. The question is “how”?
I believe David tells us when he says our tongue is the pen of a ready writer. We actually use our words to create an impression upon our heart. What we speak, gets recorded in our heart. What we speak repeatedly gets remembered in our mind as well. What a privilege to be able to choose what is
written on our heart. Sure, we can’t choose it all, but we can certainly choose to record good things.
What does your heart desperately need to hear today? That’s what you should declare. Are you afraid? Say aloud, that God has not given you the spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. Say aloud what Jesus promised, that He would never, never, no never leave you nor forsake you. Give your heart what it needs… words of hope, words of life, words of faith. It just might save your life!
Yesterday I mentioned one of the most riveting voices in the marketplace today, Dr. Lance Wallnau. I will be sharing the platform with him in Austin Sept 4 – 6 but for those who can’t attend, I have arranged a special one-hour teleseminar this Thursday at 1:00 pm with Lance to talk about Doing
Business Supernaturally. You won’t want to miss it. Click here for details.
I have asked Rich Marshall to host a couple of blogs. He is an internationally recognized speaker, trainer and author with over 40 years experience in bringing out peak performance in others. His clients are a virtual who’s who of corporate America. He has developed a new breed of corporate leadership training you will want to know more about. It’s called the E.P.I.C. Training System, a classic leadership development program and a remarkable proprietary system built on 7 foundational areas of human performance improvement. Now, here’s Rich…
Strategic Planning with the Holy Ghost - Part 2
Over the last several years I have had the privilege of working with dozens of enterprises in the planning process. Coming from a background of pastoring (I did this for 35 years) I was very accustomed to seeking help from the Lord, especially in asking the indwelling Holy Spirit to help. However I found that most executives, even Christian executives, do not take advantage of this competitive edge. For some reason, when it comes to planning most of it falls into one of two categories:
1. A full reliance on the Holy Spirit; with lots of faith and prayer and trust involved. In most of these cases; there is little practical, commonsense and time tested and proven strategic planning ingenuity used. It is as if it would not be full of faith if good planning methods were employed.
2. A full reliance on proven strategic planning methods; with much attention given to the planning process, using all of the most up-to-date methods available. In most of these cases; there is little or no input from the Holy Spirit. It is as if it would be “poor business” to include Him here.
Therefore I am encouraging Christian business leaders to integrate all of their business life under the heading: My business is my ministry. When we do that, we will be much more likely to include the Lord in all that we do; especially the planning process.
Here are some thought provoking ideas to assist you in the integration process.
All that you do is a spiritual activity. Both business and church are ministry and both should be treated as a way of fulfilling your God given purpose in life.
It is so easy to fall into presumption and call it walking by the spirit. In other words, we assume that since we are Christian and prayed in the morning, that everything that happens during the day has been orchestrated by God. I have found that Charismatics are probably most guilty. By the way: leaders are not exempt.
Prov. 16:3 “Commit your work to the LORD, and then your plans will succeed.”
Did this plan or strategy arise out of dependence on and hearing the voice of God during the process?
Marketplace ministers need to watch out here. We are sometimes so intent on losing Christian-ese that we forget to use planning opportunities to engage the Holy Spirit.
Consciously, from a place of dependence, invite God into your planning process. Don’t leave Him out.
NOTE: Join Rich and me Tuesday at 1:00 for an in depth discussion on how to integrate your leadership style with your core values, vision, mission and life purpose. Click here to register for the free call!
Today’s message is a guest entry from David G. Johnson, founder of Nourish The Dream.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV)
In our previous message, we talked about the inner struggle that some of us face — particularly those who have been around Christianity for awhile — where business and financial success are concerned. It isn’t too difficult to guess that one of the major contributors to this struggle is an abundance of erroneous teaching about the Bible and what it really says.
For example, here’s a direct quote from a recent Newsweek article:
“For one thing, Scripture is full of exhortations against accumulating wealth. The New Testament, especially, repeatedly reminds followers of Christ that earthly wealth means nothing in heaven. ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God,’ says Jesus.”
These few sentences are so full of misunderstanding about Scripture that it’s almost infuriating. (Where does Newsweek get off interpreting Scripture anyway?!) But the tragedy is that many churches have actually taught — arguably with good intentions — fallacies like this.
Another great example is the, “root of all evil,” Scripture referred to in the title of today’s message. Not only is it frequently misquoted as, “money is the root of all evil,” but the entire passage that it comes from is (in my experience) usually preached from a fundamental place of misunderstanding.
If you’re hearing from those you look up to (spiritually speaking) that it’s wrong to accumulate wealth, doesn’t that directly work against you? Isn’t business challenging enough without wondering if God is upset with us for doing well in it? Is God so cruel as to require that we work to provide for our families and even call us into the business world only to tell us that we are only pleasing to Him when we fail?
It’s time that we take a hard look at some of these teachings and find out what the Scripture really says.
I believe the root cause of stunted fruit or bad fruit in our life goes back to what we store up in our heart. The things we meditate on, ponder, consider, day dream about. Eventually those thoughts will come out in our words (out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks) and we tend to believe what comes out of our mouth (faith comes by hearing… Rom 10:17). Let me show you a practical business application of this last truth…
Most folks who have a product or service to sell, look for the opportunity to present their story to a prospect. Their unspoken but clearly understood hope is, that the prospect will believe their claims and purchase their goods. But there is a way to increase quite significantly the conversion from listening to purchasing. You must help the prospect find faith in your claims. While you may convert them with testimonials, convincing demonstration or just the sheer force of your persuasive personality, you can significantly increase your result by leading the prospect through a questioning process, the answers to which release the words from their own mouth that convince them of the truth of your claims.
People tend to believe less than 100% of what someone else says, especially a stranger who stands to benefit financially if they can get you to agree. But those same people tend to believe 100% of whatever comes out of their own mouth, so lead those folks to the conclusion you came to by taking them on the same journey, asking them the questions they need the answers to and let their own answers convince them.
Important Note: If at all possible, mark your calendars for September 4 – 6 and plan on joining me at the Kingdom Economic Summit in Austin, Texas where I will be speaking with Myles Munroe, Lance Wallnau, Os Hillman, Kent Humphreys, Rick Joyner and many other leaders in the Christian Marketplace movement. Many of the Kingdom’s leading generals are being brought together to release and impart instruction, wisdom and anointing for today’s marketplace leaders to experience a greater measure of wealth transfer for the purpose of building and advancing God’s Kingdom in the earth. Click here for details…
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45
What we think on ultimately produces what we say. What we say generates what we believe – faith. (Faith comes by hearing… Rom 10:17) What we believe leads to works that yield a specific result. In fact, it is our works flowing from faith that bring to completion or fruitfulness that which we believe. If we don’t like the results (the fruit) we are experiencing in our life, we need to reverse engineer the trail, go back to the beginning, (our thoughts) and create a new map that leads purposefully to the destination we desire. (Caveat: It is our individual responsibility to make sure our desires are pleasing to God and not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh)
Every one of us has a treasure in our heart. Jesus said that a good man will have a good treasure in his heart while an evil man will have an evil treasure. When we speak, we draw on that treasure and reveal to the world and the powers of the air what is in us. Things are set in motion and fruit is produced. It has been my personal experience that I seem to have two treasures in my heart. Sometimes good things come out of my mouth and sometimes evil. Would that it were not true! With two treasure chests in our heart, neither is big and we end up planting a mixed harvest of competing crops that often cancel each other out.
James spoke of this reality when he said, “Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” (Ja 3:10) It makes me echo Paul who said, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?” Leaving no room for doubt, Paul quickly answers his own question… “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom 7:24-25) As Christians we have been given the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16) which means we can enter into His thought processes, enter into communion with Him in our thoughts and as we marinate our mind in His presence, as we satiate our thoughts with His, an infathomable treasure builds within our earthen vessel, which will in due time produce a bountiful harvest if we faint not.
To be continued…
Important Note: If at all possible, mark your calendars for September 4 – 6 and plan on joining me at the Kingdom Economic Summit in Austin, Texas where I will be speaking with Myles Munroe, Lance Wallnau, Os Hillman, Kent Humphreys, Rick Joyner and many other leaders in the Christian Marketplace movement. Many of the Kingdom’s leading generals are being brought together to release and impart instruction, wisdom and anointing for today’s marketplace leaders to experience a greater measure of wealth transfer for the purpose of building and advancing God’s Kingdom in the earth. Click here for details...
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised;” (Heb 10:23) “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” (Rom 8:24-25)
Many of you today are in a crisis of faith. You stand at the edge of what you can see, gazing into a hope that God has deposited in your heart. Between you and that hope is a chasm of seeming impossibility. There is no known way across that chasm. Your natural eye sees no possible path, but God always has a path prepared for those who trust in Him.
The word for “faith” in Hebrews 10:23 above is the same word translated as “hope” in Romans 8:24-25. If what you need is in plain sight, it doesn’t require faith to obtain it, but if what you see is something that is actually unseen, it requires faith/hope to bring it into the realm of the seen. For most of us, we see the prize afar off, even though it doesn’t exist yet in the natural, but what we don’t see is the path or the step by step plan to attain the prize.
Many times God doesn’t give you the step by step plan because He is going to be doing a lot of things behind the scenes that you will never comprehend and could never execute on your own. So He simply asks you to take a step of faith into the unknown, then another and another until you reach the other side. It requires the ability to trust Him when you can’t see where that step will take you, but you take it anyway. You must believe. Make no mistake. The fear is real. The risks are real. But sometimes it seems that only when we are willing to lose everything do we gain everything. To get a good visual of what this looks like, take a look at this compelling 2-minute video clip and have a faith-filled day!
P.S. On a side note, don’t forget to register for tomorrow’s webinar with Debra Thompson Roedl. We’re already close to having more registrations for this event than have ever attended one of our events. What is unique about this event is that it’s a webinar: you’ll actually be able to watch Debra’s presentation & her computer screen during the event. This is our first one. Don’t miss out! Click here to register now.
“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power….” (Eph 1:18, 19)
You have two sets of eyes. Your physical eyes allow you to see the physical world but your spiritual eyes allow you to understand it. Paul calls them “eyes of understanding” and they allow you to “see” the great hope of His calling on your life. That is to say, they allow you to understand the mountain of hope that comes with the great calling He has for you. Think of the hope you would feel if a team from the NBA or NFL came to your high school and said they wanted you to play for them when you graduate. Or perhaps the New York Philharmonic Orchestra or a major book publisher approached you to tap your talent. Imagine the great hope that comes to a young person in a situation like that! The calling God has for each one of us is like that, but even better.
Spiritual eyes allow you to see the hope that your calling brings. But with calling comes the question, “How?” When you see the fullness of what God has called you to, you will definitely wonder how getting that done will be possible. If you don’t have that question, you may still be looking at your own idea for your calling. So Paul prays secondly, that we would see not only the hope of that great calling on our lives but also the provision to bring it to pass. I am speaking of the glorious wealth of inheritance He deposited in us to get the job done. God has deposited His Spirit in you and with that everything you need for life and godliness. He has uniquely gifted you to fulfill a magnificent destiny if you would but have eyes to see not only the destiny but also the inheritance within to get the job done.
Thirdly, Paul knows I suspect, that people will struggle to accept that there is any good thing in them, but he speaks not of the flesh in which dwells no good thing, but of the spirit. So Paul prays a third thing, that your spiritual eyes would see not only the hope of your calling and the inheritance He deposited within you, but also the exceeding greatness of His power toward those who believe. Ahh… there’s the caveat… to those who believe. But when you begin to see with your spiritual eyes as Paul prayed, hope builds, faith comes, power is released and destinies are fulfilled.
I still have more to share about “seeing” with our spiritual eyes, but a good starting point is right here where Paul prayed. Ask the Lord to reveal to you more of the calling He has for you. Many of you feel you know that, but ask God for more details, more imagery, more vision. Spend time with Him on that for it will build hope. Then ask Him to help you see His inheritance within you. What has He put in you? What does that look like? He will reveal it. Then ask Him to reveal afresh to you His exceeding power and let belief spring up in you.
Yesterday I caught Joel Osteen on television telling a story about Patrick Henry Hughes. He was born with crippled limbs and without eyes. Naturally his parents were devastated and wondered what they had done to deserve that. When Patrick was old enough to sit up, they put him on a piano stool and he began to learn the notes. At age two, he was taking requests. By grade school he was playing old standards and by high school he was playing the blues. When he got to college he was an accomplished pianist and trumpet player.
Recognizing his tremendous gift, the college band director asked Patrick to play in the marching band which entertained thousands at the University of Louisville football games, etc. In order for this happen, his father gave up his day job and worked the graveyard shift at UPS so he could be at every practice and wheel his son in formation, spinning and turning with the rest of the band while his son blew the trumpet with gusto.
What happened with Patrick is truly amazing, how he developed a gift God gave him that could easily have been missed. What also happened, was that a blind boy inspired vision in his parents. His mother “saw” the potential in him as she taught him piano. His father, instead of mourning the fact they could never play ball together, got a vision to play music together. The band director received vision when he “saw” the gift inside this young man. The gift by the way, was far more than a music ability. As much as anything, it was how Patrick interpreted life. When asked to describe his disabilities, he said, “Not disabilities at all, more abilities.” I believe we tend not to see things the way they are but rather we see things the way we are. That should tell you a lot about Patrick and about yourself.
Patrick’s example is removing the scales of self-imposed limitations that are blinding countless sighted people from “seeing” and fulfilling their vision. What’s inside you? What’s holding you back? What’s your excuse? Gain some vision from this courageous young man, Patrick Henry, and from his family and begin stepping into the vision God has equipped you best to fulfill. As Helen Keller once said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” By the way, now when his parents ask God what they did to deserve Patrick Henry, they say it with tears of joy!
If this story and video helped you at all today, please share it with your friends, family and business associates. Who knows who you might help in the process?
In our previous message, we talked about the inner struggle that some of us face — particularly those who have been around Christianity for awhile — where business and financial success are concerned. It isn’t too difficult to guess that one of the major contributors to this struggle is an abundance of erroneous teaching about the Bible and what it really says.