How To Impress God

When was the last time you impressed God?

You remember the story. Jesus went about doing good, and came home to Capernaum to do good there, too.

When Jesus entered the city, a centurion came to Him, asking for help. The centurion was a Gentile, a Roman, an officer of the army and someone familiar with rank and file. He understood authority.

The centurion appealed to Jesus above other known possible means:

“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”

Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”

As the centurion recognized God’s grace, a humble man became more humble. The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

This man’s genuine faith amazed Jesus! This hated Gentile’s faith put to shame the stagnant piety of many of the Jewish religious leaders.

To the gracious He will show Himself gracious:
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour. – Matthew 8:5-13

Christ admired the centurion, not for his greatness, wealth, position or power, but for his faith. It was not surprising to Jesus – He knew the centurion’s faith for He made the man and provided the grace; but it was rare and uncommon, and Christ spoke of it as wonderful. He taught us what is lovely and worthy of admiration – the beauty of holiness. The rich in faith are the ones that impress Him.

Are you impressing God in your family, faith, and place of business?

Grow in grace and truth.

The Economics of Trust

By Tom Pryor
March 7, 2009

America’s recession can be resolved with an infusion of trust, not cash.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “Our distrust is very expensive.” While he’s been dead 127 years, his statement holds true in 2009.

In “The Speed of Trust”, author Stephen Covey describes the cost of distrust as The Trust Tax. “When trust goes down, speed will also go down and costs will go up. When trust does up, speed will also go up and costs will go down.”

Will You Follow?

…someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go” (Luke 9:57).

How many times have I boastfully said: “Here am I Lord, send me” while thinking to myself, “As long as Your plans do not conflict with my business plans.”

Character Under Fire

Depth of character is realized under pressure. Anyone can be a Christian when things go well at work, but how do you do when a little pressure, a little pain, a little discomfort, criticism or gossip, a sick child, loss of income, are applied? When your fruit is squeezed, what kind of juice comes forth? We must remember that it is God’s will, “that you should be sanctified” (1 Thessalonians 4:3; Romans 8:29), to make you whole, mature and complete, not to make you happy, but to conform you into the image of Christ Jesus – the true blessing. We should see our struggles as opportunities for growth. God will not leave you alone with your problems; He is as close as you will allow and will help you grow.

Building a Kingdom Company According To Code

From God’s Word, we discover that God builds using 3 important keys.

“Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.” (Mark 6:3)

1. God Builds Revelationally:

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” (Deut. 29:29)

Are you willing to do whatever it takes?

I am a part of the body committed to doing “whatever it takes.”

I have Holy spirit power. The die has been cast. I’ve stepped over the line.

I am out of the comfort zone. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of Jesus. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, or back away. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame vision, mundane talking, chincy giving, and dwarfed goals.

Understanding Your Destination

We’re on a journey. It has a beginning, middle, and end. It’s a process.

God has a plan and the pattern is Christ Jesus. The goal is to become like Christ. You will never understand your journey until you understand your destination. Knowing your destination, where you’re going, gives you an interpretation and an explanation of your journey. If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter where you are – you won’t understand the trip.

These 7 Keys Will Grow Your Business

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” ( Luke 16:8 )

In a nutshell, business exists to serve God and serve clients. All else is secondary. The Great Commandment is all about giving God first priority and giving people priority. Godly business leaders implementing God’s biblical directives learn the simplicity of one big idea: we’re here to serve and not be served (for an example, look at Christ Jesus).

The Lone Ranger Was Not Alone

The phrase “no man is an island unto himself” is actually an idiom and not found in the Bible. The precise quotation is, “No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main. – John Donne – Meditation XVII.

However, the meaning behind the quotation is central to God’s plan for man as evidenced from the Genesis account and carried throughout the whole of the Bible; it is called restoration, first to God, and secondly, with each other.

The Secret To Winning

Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning is a habit and so is losing.”

God has a prosperous future for His children and each of us are to run the race set before us. The problem is that most of us don’t know or we forget that we’re in a race. The Apostle Paul tells us: “You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.” (1 Cor. 9:24-27, The Message)