In life, we all face challenges that often appear beyond our control. Jesus said it this way, “in the world you will have trouble” (John16:33). On every hand, there can appear out of control situations that make the average person settle for less than God’s plan for their life.
Below is a list of things that I believe are out of our control. Therefore, it is crazy to worry about them.
• What Happened Yesterday.
Yesterday is gone forever, it will never return. It is a tremendous waste of your time and energy to worry about what happened or didn’t happen in the past. While many people are hindered by their past misfortunes, let me challenge you to never let your past dictate your future. The brightness of your future is largely determined by how well you forget what happened in your past. Let it go!
• What other people think, say, or do.
While I am an advocate for living in harmony with others and having someone to do life with, I understand that there will always be people who disagree with you. It does not matter how close you get to Jesus; in fact, the closer you get to Him the more they will hate on you. There are going to be haters, period!!! Some people cannot handle your success. Their own insecurities will not let them rejoice with you over your successes. It is wise to limit these kinds of people, especially as it relates to their influence in your life. Let me say it this way, you do not have to invite someone to your stage if they are not dancing to your music.
• The future
As much as we would like to say what we would be doing tomorrow, tomorrow is not promised. James 4:15 say, “instead you ought to say, ‘if it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” Understand this clearly, I believe strongly in having a life plan. No one should attempt to live in this world without having some idea of what you want out of life. However, what happens in life (the future) is really in God’s hand. I have learned that when we rest in this fact, we can see how to put our faith to action and give ourselves totally to his will. Besides, we still have Jesus’ promise that he will never leave us or forsake us. WOW! It is so awesome to know that your future is bright because of the one who holds the future. Therefore, my challenge to you is just let it go. Whatever you are worrying about today give it to Jesus; he can do more with it in a split second than you can do in your whole lifetime.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
My Cup is Running Over
"My Cup is Running Over"
God’s blessings are always a superabundance.
When the “LORD is my shepherd,” “my cup runs over” in superabundance.
We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to experience God’s banquet house. His overflowing grace is something we experience as Christians in this life. Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10b). That is a cup running over with God’s grace. He does not just give us the gift of eternal life when we first believed, but He keeps on giving eternal life. The life He gives us is perisson, meaning, “to have a surplus,” “superabundance,” “till it overflows.”
Jesus gives us Himself (John 14:6). He is this abundant life. It is God’s kind of life. “My cup overflows,” means it is not just full; it is “running over,’ filled to the brim and overflowing.
God’s saving and sustaining grace is always like that. His grace is always in fullness, abundance and all-sufficiency.
The woman of Samaria met Jesus at Jacob’s well on a hot day. Jesus did not have a rope and a bucket to draw the water from the well so He asked the woman for a drink of water to quench His thirst. In the course of the conversation with the woman Jesus said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water’” (John 4:10).
Jesus was ready to give this woman, who was a slave to sin, running water. “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (v. 14).
Jesus is the source of a spring of living water that is always bubbling up, unfailing source, ever fresh. The idea is of water leaping, springing up. It is full of action, not a stagnant pool of water, but water gushing up with energy.
Jesus puts the well within us. The well springs up, and it goes on springing up from within into everlasting life.
God’s blessings are always a superabundance.
When the “LORD is my shepherd,” “my cup runs over” in superabundance.
We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to experience God’s banquet house. His overflowing grace is something we experience as Christians in this life. Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10b). That is a cup running over with God’s grace. He does not just give us the gift of eternal life when we first believed, but He keeps on giving eternal life. The life He gives us is perisson, meaning, “to have a surplus,” “superabundance,” “till it overflows.”
Jesus gives us Himself (John 14:6). He is this abundant life. It is God’s kind of life. “My cup overflows,” means it is not just full; it is “running over,’ filled to the brim and overflowing.
God’s saving and sustaining grace is always like that. His grace is always in fullness, abundance and all-sufficiency.
The woman of Samaria met Jesus at Jacob’s well on a hot day. Jesus did not have a rope and a bucket to draw the water from the well so He asked the woman for a drink of water to quench His thirst. In the course of the conversation with the woman Jesus said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water’” (John 4:10).
Jesus was ready to give this woman, who was a slave to sin, running water. “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (v. 14).
Jesus is the source of a spring of living water that is always bubbling up, unfailing source, ever fresh. The idea is of water leaping, springing up. It is full of action, not a stagnant pool of water, but water gushing up with energy.
Jesus puts the well within us. The well springs up, and it goes on springing up from within into everlasting life.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Financial Analysis
Most business deals today involve some level of risk. It is a known fact that most successful businesses are those that are unafraid to take risk. In fact, in order to become successful, our culture and economy is designed to revolve around a certain amount of risk. Usually the businesses that are the greatest risk takers are the ones that see the greatest return on their investments. Modern societies around the world have proven that markets gain financial stability quicker when risk is involved. America is no different. Recently, the Government sponsored the Cash for Clunkers program in an effort to help the car industry, which has suffered from the recession. The program offered customers a rebate up to $4,500 toward new, more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. The program has been a huge success for automakers Ford, Toyota, and Honda, but not so successful for Chrysler and General Motors.
Some believe that the government acted too quickly, while others think it was a good idea that could not have come sooner. They believe that this will give a bigger boost to the economy. According to Luke 14:28-30, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of that which the Lord has given us. Our word is our bond, we must be careful not to give a promise without considering the consequences. Wise men and women always count the cost before making major decisions. With that in mind, the argument can be made that the car companies got what they deserved and the government should not have given them any assistance. When we are frivolous with our spending or lazy with managing it, we run the risk of losing that which we have been given.
On the other hand, it can be argued that if the government did not step in and provide some type of assistance to these companies the economy would have gotten worse. We have here a situation similar to the story in Matthew 25:14-30 where a man was going on a trip. Before he left he called his servants and gave each of them money according to what they could handle. When the man left the servant that was given five bags of gold invested his money and got five bags of gold in return. The servants that received two bags of gold did the same thing. However, the servants that received one bag of gold buried his gold. When the man returned he was well pleased with the two servants that invested the gold. The man was very disappointed with the servant who buried his gold and commanded that his gold be taken and given to the one who had five bags of gold. Believing the Bible and this story makes it hard to have a condemning view of the car companies Ford, Toyota, and Honda. They can be compared to the men in the story who invested the bags of gold and was able to give the man a return on his investment when he returned home. General Motors and Chrysler, on the other hand, can be seen as the man who buried his bag of gold. They were very unsuccessful at capitalizing on the Cash for Clunkers sales because they ignored earlier signs of change in the car industry. While Ford, Toyota, and Honda was researching and making fuel-efficient cars before the recession, GM, and Chrysler was still making gas-guzzler. For this reason, the argument is being made that the government should not be in the business of saving companies that refuses to adhere to and adapt to the changes in society.
At the end of this discussion, we hope to conclude that the government used wisdom in making the decision to use taxpayer’s money to bailout businesses. 1 Timothy 6:17-19, deals with the importance of using wealth responsibly, and as citizens of the United States we should be able to trust the government to act responsibly when handling our money. That is not to say that we should have not bailed out these companies, but that the companies have a responsibility to the country to have good business practices. When businesses act responsibly, they should not be held back by a struggling economy.
Most business deals today involve some level of risk. It is a known fact that most successful businesses are those that are unafraid to take risk. In fact, in order to become successful, our culture and economy is designed to revolve around a certain amount of risk. Usually the businesses that are the greatest risk takers are the ones that see the greatest return on their investments. Modern societies around the world have proven that markets gain financial stability quicker when risk is involved. America is no different. Recently, the Government sponsored the Cash for Clunkers program in an effort to help the car industry, which has suffered from the recession. The program offered customers a rebate up to $4,500 toward new, more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. The program has been a huge success for automakers Ford, Toyota, and Honda, but not so successful for Chrysler and General Motors.
Some believe that the government acted too quickly, while others think it was a good idea that could not have come sooner. They believe that this will give a bigger boost to the economy. According to Luke 14:28-30, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of that which the Lord has given us. Our word is our bond, we must be careful not to give a promise without considering the consequences. Wise men and women always count the cost before making major decisions. With that in mind, the argument can be made that the car companies got what they deserved and the government should not have given them any assistance. When we are frivolous with our spending or lazy with managing it, we run the risk of losing that which we have been given.
On the other hand, it can be argued that if the government did not step in and provide some type of assistance to these companies the economy would have gotten worse. We have here a situation similar to the story in Matthew 25:14-30 where a man was going on a trip. Before he left he called his servants and gave each of them money according to what they could handle. When the man left the servant that was given five bags of gold invested his money and got five bags of gold in return. The servants that received two bags of gold did the same thing. However, the servants that received one bag of gold buried his gold. When the man returned he was well pleased with the two servants that invested the gold. The man was very disappointed with the servant who buried his gold and commanded that his gold be taken and given to the one who had five bags of gold. Believing the Bible and this story makes it hard to have a condemning view of the car companies Ford, Toyota, and Honda. They can be compared to the men in the story who invested the bags of gold and was able to give the man a return on his investment when he returned home. General Motors and Chrysler, on the other hand, can be seen as the man who buried his bag of gold. They were very unsuccessful at capitalizing on the Cash for Clunkers sales because they ignored earlier signs of change in the car industry. While Ford, Toyota, and Honda was researching and making fuel-efficient cars before the recession, GM, and Chrysler was still making gas-guzzler. For this reason, the argument is being made that the government should not be in the business of saving companies that refuses to adhere to and adapt to the changes in society.
At the end of this discussion, we hope to conclude that the government used wisdom in making the decision to use taxpayer’s money to bailout businesses. 1 Timothy 6:17-19, deals with the importance of using wealth responsibly, and as citizens of the United States we should be able to trust the government to act responsibly when handling our money. That is not to say that we should have not bailed out these companies, but that the companies have a responsibility to the country to have good business practices. When businesses act responsibly, they should not be held back by a struggling economy.
