Fortune 500 Company: Homeschoolers Need Not Apply by MICHAEL DONNELLY/HSLDA

NiSource, Inc. will not hire home-school graduates, according to a recent report. (Flickr/Will Folsom)

NiSource, Inc., an Indiana-based energy distribution group with operations in Ohio, told the Home School Legal Defense Association that the company will not hire home-school graduates. In response to numerous letters written in an attempt to resolve a dispute over a particular job applicant whose job offer had been rescinded because he was home-schooled, NiSource Senior Counsel Adele O'Connor told me that NiSource "disagrees with the conclusions in your letter as to the legal requirements regarding a diploma. These requirements are set forth in Chapter 3313 of the Ohio Revised Code."

However, this section of the code applies to public and chartered private schools, not home-schools. NiSource is wrongly using Ohio law as an excuse to defend its discriminatory hiring policy. There is simply no legal impediment to NiSource hiring a home-school graduate—especially the one in question here. Ohio law clearly recognizes home-schooling as a legal and valid educational option. To rescind an offer of employment to an otherwise qualified and experienced applicant who received a legally recognized education is unreasonable and discriminatory.

Well-Qualified

This applicant was offered a job initially, but NiSource withdrew the offer when it found out he had a home-school diploma. In addition to graduating from home-school in compliance with Ohio law, this applicant had years of relevant job experience and several key industry certifications. During his last two years of high school the applicant took seven courses at a recognized state college and made the dean's list.

Although we are usually able to resolve problems related to home-school diplomas with employers and higher education officials, many human resources or admissions officials misunderstand Ohio law which recognizes home-schooling as a legal and valid form of education.

HSLDA has been working with home-school advocates in Ohio to seek legislative action to prevent this kind of discrimination. The problem may indicate more than just discrimination against home-schoolers. This situation reflects the precise concern that motivates HSLDA's opposition to the Common Core and its "college- and career-ready" standards—that qualified home-school graduates who don't have a state-issued credential will be discriminated against in employment decisions.

A National Scheme

The Common Core has been adopted in Ohio and is moving forward in the face of fierce opposition from grassroots activists—parents and educators who reject a nationalized education system that includes national standards and associated nationalized assessments and a national student data collection scheme. HSLDA opposes Common Core because it creates a system based on nationalized standards, assessment and data collection that could negatively affect home-school graduates and job seekers. Research indicates that home-schooled students are well prepared academically and socially for careers and college. But even if this is true, hiring decisions should be made based on an individual's qualifications, not a policy that discriminates against an entire class of people based on how they were educated.

HSLDA affirms the right of private companies to create their own hiring policies, which may include evaluating the academic credentials of prospective applicants. However, NiSource's discriminatory practice reflects a narrow-minded and statist view of education that is inconsistent with the values of a free society. In a free economy, companies have the right to hire those of their choosing; just as individuals have the right to decide who they work for and purchase from.

NiSource has a "contact us" form online. Home-schoolers may wish to take the opportunity to explain to the company why refusing to hire home-schoolers is not just bad policy, it is bad business.

What If Jesus Was Your Boss?

Leonard Davidson Charisma Channels - Women

Once as I sat on a 737 getting ready to leave the gate at the airport, my window seat looked directly down at the luggage loading area. A large tractor had pulled the string of carts up to a long conveyor belt that ran into the belly of the plane. A worker (I will call him “Larry the luggage guy”) stood with a scanner in his hand. As his “helper luggage guy” placed each piece of luggage on the belt that was slowly moving into the plane, “Larry” electronically scanned the tag that had been placed on the suitcase at check-in.

Wow, I thought. What a great way to keep track of our bags. A bag is placed on the belt, scanned and moves up the conveyor. Next bag … scanned … up the conveyor. Bag after bag. Someone had actually created a marvelous system to prevent “lost” luggage (the airlines will always tell you it is not lost; they just do not know exactly where it is).

Suddenly, someone else standing at another vehicle hollered for “Larry.” He was laughing about something. Larry laid his scanner down and walked over to Mr. Comedian. “Helper” guy seemed to not even notice. He just continued to dutifully place the bags on the belt that wasstill moving into the plane. Bag after bag was moving up the conveyer belt, but NOT being scanned.

Several minutes later, “Larry” walked back over, picked up the scanner, and started back in like nothing had happened. Only now, about every third bag, he would turn around to his not so funny friend and laugh again—and miss a bag.

While I was stunned at the “I couldn’t care less” attitude shown by “Larry,” at least now I knew why several years ago, my wife and I landed in Aruba at precisely the same time that our suitcase landed in Detroit. “Larry the luggage guy” must have been on duty that day.

The wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, instructed us in Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (NIV, emphasis added). In Colossians chapter 3, the great apostle Paul admonishes believers: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men … It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (vv. 23-24, NASB, emphasis added). Now, there is a work ethic that should be posted in every work place in America. You are working not for a boss, but for the Lord Jesus Christ.

What would happen if everything we did—every day—we did as if Jesus was standing there, and He was the one who had given us a task to perform? Would we approach the job differently? Would we be watching the clock so we could “punch out,” or count the days with a TGIF attitude? Probably not.

A few years ago I was with the best-selling author Andy Andrews, who said, “I believe thateverything we do matters.” Check out that attitude. No matter what you are doing every day, it matters. No job is “moderately” important.

For those of us who call ourselves Christians, every minute of every day should be lived with the mental concept that everything we do matters to Him, and we are simply living every day to please Him. We should realize that all of our positions—whether leadership, staff or even the janitor—make a difference in the kingdom of God.

This week as you journey in your Christ walk, determine to have a new attitude. Have a “can-do” attitude. Have an “I work for Jesus” attitude. Decide that you will not do your job to just “get by” and receive a paycheck. Work as if it matters—because it does. Work as if you are important—because you are. Work as if Jesus was standing and watching—because He is.

If you can develop this mental thought pattern, you can “whistle while you work.” Your job will never be drudgery. The days will fly by. Your soul will be light. You will have a smile on your face. Your heart will have a song in it. And what you do, while you may not see it, will matter toHim—and ultimately to the kingdom of God. I promise.

Respecting the Boundaries

FCCI

A pilot flying an approach in clouds is faced with the “decision altitude”, where he must make the decision whether to continue the approach to a landing or break off the approach and go to another airport. In order to continue the approach he must visually see the runway. If he does not see the runway when he is at the decision altitude, he must break off the approach. The decision altitude is the minimum altitude that the pilot can descend to without visually seeing the runway. That minimum altitude represents the boundary below which the pilot is not to descend without visually acquiring the runway. The minimums for an approach are lifesavers for the pilot. They prevent him from flying the airplane into the ground in a situation where the fog or clouds descend to the runway.

Boundaries are very important in the kingdom of God for us. God, in His love for us, has given us boundaries beyond which we are not to transgress without incurring damage or discipline. Some boundaries are very clear and generally known, such as the 7th commandment: "Do not commit adultery". So many marriages have been demolished and lives deeply wounded by one partner in the marriage committing adultery. But God made it clear that is what would happen; He clearly defined the boundary we were not to cross. Adam and Eve crossed a boundary God had set when He said: "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil". They transgressed that boundary and brought spiritual death into the world. We are still suffering from that transgression today.

You and I have more subtle boundaries set by God in our businesses. Your business is probably different, but our business is a black hole for time. It will consume all the time I can give it, and then cry for more. God set a boundary for me when He said "you need to go home at 5:30, no later than 6:00". That ended most late nights at the business. To my shame, I admit that I have transgressed that command a few times. And God has arranged for me not to accomplish anything of significance in that extended time.

There other boundaries He sets for us: He may forbid us from borrowing money, but rather insist that we trust Him to provide. He may tell us to not do business with a particular supplier or customer, because they are unscrupulous and He knows it would injure the business. He may tell us to not be in the office alone with an unmarried employee of the opposite gender.

The important thing is to respect the boundaries He sets for us. We need to continually study Scripture to identify boundaries of importance. We need to spend time alone with Him so He can impress upon our hearts other boundaries specific to us or to the business. His love for us is amazing and overwhelming (just look at the cross) and so we can trust His boundaries to be an expression of His love. But he gives us the freedom to disobey and cross the boundaries. That transgression can cause us and others great harm. Respect and trust His boundaries.

In God He Trust: Tan Sri Francis Yeoh

Tan Sri (Dr) Francis Yeoh, Managing Director of YTL Corp Bhd is featured on Bloomberg Television's first Asia-based business interview series.

Haslinda Amin interviews members of Asia's business elite from inside the famed observation wheel of the iconic Singapore Flyer.







Bear with the short Mandarin prologue before the interview in English begins. This is a powerful testimony of market place ministry, of being salt and light to the world while being in business.



Tan Sri Dato’ Francis Yeoh Sock Ping CBE (Chinese : 楊肅斌; pinyin: Yáng Sùbīn, born August 23, 1954) is a prominent business personality in Malaysia, and the eldest son of Malaysian billionaire Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Yeoh Tiong Lay. He obtained a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) Degree in Civil Engineering from Kingston University, United Kingdom in 1978.

Francis had his secondary school education at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he was School Captain. He became the Managing Director of YTL Corporation in 1988. Under his stewardship, the YTL Group grew from a single listed entity in 1985 to a force comprising five listed companies, and is now one of the biggest conglomerates in Malaysia.

On January 16, 2003, he was awarded the First Malaysian Ernst & Young Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2002 in recognition of his entrepreneurial acumen. On February 13, 2004, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from his alma mater, Kingston University. He was awarded BusinessWeek’s “25 Stars of Asia 2003″ on November 6, 2003 in Hong Kong; and was ranked 21 by Asia’s 25 Most Powerful Business Personalities on August 9, 2004.Fortune Magazine Francis married Rosaline Yeoh in 1982, and they have five children. His siblings reside in Malaysia and are fellow directors of YTL Corporation. In 2006, he was conferred Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his philanthropic endeavours. His wife, Puan Sri Rosaline died on 5th August 2006.

VISION - "SKIMMING OFF the DROSS"

by Raheli.

I had a vision a few years ago. I’d been going through the mill for many years and was getting fed up with everything going wrong, and I asked the Lord how much more was He going to put me through, because I thought I’d been through enough.

I had a vision of a huge cauldron that was sat on a load of flaming logs, and as I was telling the Lord that I’d had enough refining, He chucked more logs on the fire and the flames went higher and loads of black chunks kept floating to the top of the bubbling cauldron. Then I saw a large ladle which kept skimming off the black chunks that had floated to the top.

Then I realized that this is how gold or any other precious metal is made (I worked in a steel mill at the time, so I knew what I was seeing). The more heat you apply to metal, the more the impurities float to the top and they have to be skimmed off, so that in the end you are left with a pure metal.

I believe this is what the Lord has been doing with me for over 4 decades (which just goes to show you how sinful the human heart is). My prayer for years has been ‘Lord, burn up the dross’ – and He’s been doing exactly that! It’s not comfortable in the furnace, of course [!!]...


Source: http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

Flying on Instruments

Fellowship of Companies for Christ (FCCI)


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways and He will guide you on the right path."  Proverbs 3.5-6

"Now if any of you lacks wisdom, He should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and will be given to him."  James 1.5

Have you ever been in a business situation where you simply did not know what to do?  Have events happened so fast that you could not keep perspective and did not know how to respond?  Did the situation seem out of control, because the reference points that you relied on in the past were no longer visible?

Pilots are trained to fly under two separate types of conditions: visual flight rules (VFR), and instrument flight rules (IFR).  Visual flight rules are in effect when the pilot can see around him and, most importantly, when he can see the horizon to know how to keep the plane upright.  Under VFR rules, pilots are required to stay clear of clouds.  In IFR, the pilots are flying in clouds and are not able to see the horizon.  IFR aircraft are equipped with specific instrumentation to provide the pilot with all the information he needs to be able to control the aircraft.  The fundamental issue in training a pilot to fly IFR is getting him to trust his instruments and then to respond according to what the instruments are telling him to safely fly the aircraft.

Running a company for Christ is very similar to flying IFR.  The situation is often unclear and we are unable to clearly discern the events and situations to be able to make decisions on our own.  It seems that God often creates such circumstances to get us to trust Him.  But, just as an IFR aircraft is equipped to provide all the information the pilot needs to fly the airplane in IFR conditions, so God has provided everything the Christian CEO or business leader needs to manage his company in uncertain times.

The first set of "instruments" is the Scriptures.  God has provided everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1.3-4), including running the company entrusted to us, in His precious promises, which are a key part of the Scriptures.  One author has suggested there are 30,000 promises in Scripture, not counting those that are to a specific person or people group.  So many of the issues that concern us as CEOs are already dealt with in Scripture.  Just as the pilot has to continually study the pilots operating handbook (POH) to understand how to fly the airplane, so we need to be continually studying the Scriptures to know how to manage the company God has entrusted to us.

It is one thing to study the Scriptures; it is an entirely different thing to believe them to be true.  That is called faith: believing what God tells us about what we do not know.  For example, the Scriptures might command us to approach negotiations on a business deal from a position of trust rather than distrust.  Then we are faced with the question: Will we respond according to our "gut feel" or according to what the Scriptures say (Prov. 3.5-6)?

The actions we take are driven by what we believe.  In order to effectively "pilot" this company through stormy and dark times, we need to study the Scriptures, trust and believe that they are true, and then act according to that belief.

Security Fraud—Playing the World Market

by Dr David Jeremiah (Turning Point)

“Everyone was investing—everyone. The man was supposed to be religious and he did a lot of charity work. Like everyone else in [our town], just walk through the streets and most people will tell you they had invested with him. We’re lucky; some people mortgaged their homes [to raise money to invest]. So, we will manage.” ¹

The words of a victim of convicted Wall Street fraudster Bernard Madoff? No, but close. They’re the words of Mohammad Shour, just one of thousands of victims of Salah Ezzedine who is now being called the “Lebanese Bernie Madoff.” Shour invested his family’s life savings of $45,000 with the highly respected Ezzedine, anticipating promised returns of up to 50 percent. Shour, a business management college graduate, knew the promised returns were inconceivable: “I would always tell my family we are going to wake up one day and face a disaster,” he says. “And that day has arrived.” Now, the dream of the fruit orchard he was going to buy with his invested principle and returns has vanished.
Salah Ezzedine was a hero among the marginalized Muslim Shi’ite people of southern Lebanon. He made it out of his own small village of Maaroub and found success in business, later building a stadium and mosque in his hometown. He published children’s books and ran a tour company, taking Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. He was generous and charming and offered Lebanese villagers the opportunity to profit by investing in his businesses—supposedly oil, publishing, commodities, and television. And trusting villagers pooled their money and handed it over, grateful for a once-in-a-family’s-history opportunity.

But the estimated $1.5 billion Ezzedine collected from investors is now gone. Having squandered his investors’ money (including prominent Lebanese leaders connected to the Hezbollah political party), he went bankrupt in 2009 and went into hiding until Hezbollah forces captured him and turned him over to authorities. He left a trail of dashed hopes in his wake: “I inherited $100,000 from my father to continue my studies,” says a young man from Ezzedine’s village. “I invested them with Ezzedine, and now all my dreams are destroyed. I don’t know what I was thinking when I invested with him.” ²

Bilking Without Borders

The story of the larceny in Lebanon could be told in any language—bilking of innocent people is no respecter of borders. Most of these frauds are versions of what is now referred to as a Ponzi scheme, named for Charles Ponzi who concocted a way to steal money from investors in and around Boston in 1920. His investment vehicle was postal reply coupons—sort of a currency exchange deal between countries. About 40,000 people invested $15 million before he was caught, jailed, and ultimately deported back to Italy.

I was amazed to survey a chronological list of Ponzi-type schemes from 1899 to the present day.³ More than fifty different frauds were described from countries around the world, using every conceivable scheme imaginable to separate people from their money. And there will be more. For that reason, every person who has a dollar more than he needs must be careful about where he decides to store or invest it.

“But I would never fall for a scheme like that,” you say. Really? When CBS news anchor Katie Couric interviewed a group of Bernie Madoff’s “investors,” among them were a certified public accountant and a successful investment advisor.⁴ If financial experts can be deceived by white-collar thieves, where does that leave the rest of us? Remember: Deceived people don’t know they’re deceived! The Bible would not warn us about deception if it could not happen to us (Deuteronomy 11:16; Luke 21:8; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 15:33; Galatians 6:7; James 1:16).

Bilking knows no borders for one reason: the pervasiveness of sin. The biblical doctrine of the total depravity of man does not mean that man is totally as bad as he could be. Rather, it means that every part of his being is depraved (Romans 3:10-18). The part of a human being’s moral fiber that we might expect to stop him when he is about to steal a widow’s life savings . . . is depraved. There is nothing inherent in the natural man that would keep him from doing bad in any realm except the conditioning of the conscience through parental or societal influence. But such conditioning can be easily overcome when the possibility of wealth is in play.

America, Australia, Philippines, Germany, Brazil—it doesn’t matter. Wherever human beings live, the possibility of fraud and deception is alive and well because of the depravity of man.

Living Without Losses

So what should the average person do to feel secure in a world where fraud is possible in the most respected tiers of society? In the last few years, hundreds of banks have failed, pension funds have lost billions of dollars, companies have gone out of business—and the bad news keeps on coming.
All I can advise anyone to do in times like these (with finances or any other issue) is to be prayerful (Proverbs 3:5-6), careful (do extra due diligence), and conservative (conserve what you have). And above all, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Whenever I meet a person—even a brother or sister in Christ—who is anxious about the future, his family, his finances, or any other peace-stealing situation in life, I know I’m talking with a person who is living with loss. Not primarily the loss of money or a job or a house, but the loss of peace and security and hope. Because there is no situation in life (and Paul lists quite a few dramatic ones in Romans 8:38-39) that can separate us from the love of Christ, we have no reason to live without complete peace and security.

You may lose, through no fault of your own, everything this world has to offer in terms of security. But there are four things no one and no circumstance, locally or globally, can take away from you:

1. Your salvation in Christ. John 3:16 says that if you have truly believed in the Lord Jesus Christ then you shall not perish but have everlasting life. No one, Jesus says in John 10:28-29, can snatch out of His hand the ones the Father has given to Him—ones like you, if you have believed in Him. You can lose all your money, all your property, all your possessions, but you will never lose your salvation in Jesus Christ.

2. Your shield of God’s promises. The apostle Paul says every believer’s faith is a shield to protect them from the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). Satan speaks lies (John 8:44), but your shield is faith in the truth of God’s Word (Psalm 119:160; John 17:17). No angel or human being can take God’s truth away from you.

3. Your security as a child of God. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit in you is to testify to you that you are God’s child. Not only are you God’s child, your inheritance is already reserved for you in heaven—an inheritance you can never lose (Romans 8:16-17).

4. Your soundness of heart and mind. One of the gifts God has given you is a sound mind with which you are able to counteract the spirit of fear so prevalent in this world (2 Timothy 1:7). Would God allow anyone to steal from you something He has given you?

Meditating on these (and other—Philippians 4:8-9) truths is your best defense against the spiritual and commercial fraud that is let loose in our world. Our job, Peter says, is to “be serious and watchful in [our] prayers,” because “the end of all things is at hand” (1 Peter 4:7). We are to be “watchful in all things,” Paul wrote Timothy (2 Timothy 4:5).

But there is a difference in watching with confidence and watching with fear and insecurity. “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong,” Paul wrote (1 Corinthians 16:13), “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Watching for anything else in this world is sure to disappoint.

Representing Christ

by FCCI.org

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.” 2 Cor. 5.20

 As business owners or leaders running your companies for Christ, what is your overriding purpose when you go into a meeting?  If it is with your employees, it is probably to accomplish important tasks, resolve problems, or assign tasks to further the business that Christ owns, that He has hired you to run.  But what if it is with another company?  What is your overriding purpose in that meeting?  The above passages suggest that it is to represent Christ in that meeting.  We are his ambassadors, and ambassadors serve to represent their government to other governments. 
 
 The embassy is legally a piece of the home country on foreign soil.  The ambassador is the one who is in charge of that embassy.  That embassy is one of the tools the ambassador uses to represent the home country to that foreign government. In that same way, as Christ's ambassadors, we are to represent Him to the world around us the marketplace.  When we enter a meeting, perhaps to negotiate a contract or to sell a product, we are Christ's ambassador to those people.  Our overriding objective is to represent Christ well in that meeting.  So, as we are negotiating this contract, the terms we seek are the terms Christ would want.  We must seek the contract to be fair and equitable to both parties.  (“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Phil. 2.4) The issue is not trying to gain as much advantage as we can for ourselves, but rather to represent Christ in the negotiation of the contract.  The issue is not to "win", but for the other party to be grateful they chose to do business with us.
 
 This raises another interesting issue.  We should not enter into the negotiations unless Christ has directed us to do so.  If we have settled that issue and are confident that we are doing what He has directed us to do, then we can trust Him for the outcome.  We can enter into the negotiations from a position of trust as opposed to a position of mistrust.  The world's way to negotiate is to start from a position of "I am really not sure I can trust you but am willing to explore it", and then slowly grow to a position of trust as the other party slowly grows to a position of trust.  But if Christ has selected the party we are to negotiate the deal with, then we can trust Him to work out the details with the other party.  It then enables us, even requires us, to enter into the negotiations from a position of trust and confidence in the successful outcome of the negotiations.  This significantly differentiates us from worldly businessmen.
 
 The world's thrust is to "get all you can" and to "win" because they have no other purpose in life.  But we are directed to represent Christ in all of the dealings of the business He has entrusted to us: to our employees, to our customers, to our vendors, and to our subcontractors.  We have been bought by Christ at a very high price, and we need to act accordingly, especially in the marketplace.

Prayer.  In the business world, prayer is often approached as the last resort ... "When all else fails, pray!" As business people, we thrive on strategic planning, problem solving, creativity and a myriad of resources that enable us to accomplish whatever it is that we set out to do.

However, the Fellowship of Companies for Christ International is committed to the understanding that, apart from prayer before, during and after, none of these resources can ever accomplish the kind of transformational impact that God has built into them ... and into the business leaders they serve.

The Great Magician

by Peter Briscoe

The alchemists throughout world history have sought to create something out of nothing and more specifically gold out of base metal. Today modern financial alchemists endeavour to create wealth out of money – something which can never happen.

In God’s economy, wealth is represented by what He has created (people, land, natural resources, animals, plants) and by the work of man to add value to these expressions of wealth by honest work. Money, as such, has no intrinsic value. It represents a promise and only has value because of government regulation or law. This value is constantly diminishing due to inflation, printing more money and even governments purposely devaluing or even walking away from their obligations.

This has been happening ever since the gold standard was abandoned. This gold standard has been in use almost since trading began (using gold and silver as coinage and later as a guarantee for paper money) as a fixed, absolute standard of value and was finally abandoned in 1970.

The great German author Goethe wrote a classic drama called “Faust.” Part One opens with Mephisto entering into a bargain with God for the soul of Faust. Faust thirsts after knowledge and understanding. In parallel with the testing of Job, God gives Mephisto freedom to lead Faust astray but determines eventually to lead Faust towards the light.

In Part 2, Faust attends the Emperor’s court with his constant companion Mephisto. The empire is in financial ruin through the extravagance of the court, but Mephisto and Faust devise a cunning solution to these problems. The currency of the empire has been always been based on Gold, but there is insufficient Gold to cover all the Emperor’s extravagant spending. Mephisto comes up with an answer. The Emperor owns much land under which there must be a lot of undiscovered gold. A promissory note can be issued for the value of this gold. The court of the Emperor is showered with this new paper money. The foundation of the empire has been moved through Mephisto’s cunning from the solidity of metallic gold to insubstantial promises on paper.

Goethe illustrates the truth that everyone who tries to be superior in knowledge to the Creator runs the risk of losing his soul. We ought not to think we are smarter than God and can create wealth by issuing paper money!

Jesus unmasked a fallen power behind money which he called Mammon. This power tries to enter a Faustian pact with us today by tempting us to increase wealth by trying to multiply money without any real and tangible wealth (gold, silver) or honest work behind the process. This can begin by gambling which morphs easily into speculation. It is also happening with today’s money supply that economists call ‘fiat money’, which has grown into electronic money and this is pro-creating like Mephisto’s money to become a monster. We experienced the terror of this monster in the credit crisis of the past few years.

Jesus asked a penetrating question. “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26) Learning to live and work in God’s economy means to work with Him to multiply true wealth – not money!

Everything you learned about economics is wrong!

by Peter Briscoe

Imagine the end of a day’s sales conference at a large insurance company. The invited keynote speaker gets up and delivers this bombshell: “Everything you’ve heard so far is not true.”

Tony Campolo, professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University in Pennsylvania, opened his speech with this statement after some power speakers had instructed the audience on how to “set up” clients, push the right emotional buttons, and close the deal. Tony’s task was to “psych up” the audience for a last big motivational push. You can imagine the shock when he said, “Everything you’ve heard so far is not true!”

“People are not things to be manipulated with the right techniques,” he said, “not economic objects; they are entitled to love.” Love is the “killer app” in business he said.

In our economics class we learned that one of the fundamental principles in economics is the management of scarcity. Herein lies a distinctive difference with God’s economy. God knows no scarcity! He is the creator of an abundant earth with more than enough for all. The song goes, “he owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the gold in every mine!”

On a personal level, I read recently from David VanDrunen’s “Living in God’s Two Kingdoms”.The explanation lies not in a complex theory worthy of a Nobel Prize economist, but in the mysterious, wonderful, economics-defying work of God. He “is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). When the impoverished give generously, God makes them “enriched” in the experience (9:11). In part, this is about money, but only in part.

He then goes on to define Kingdom Economics. “In the church there are no winners and losers, but every act of love is mutually enriching in Christ’s economics — an economics built not on the principle of scarcity but on the principle of extravagant abundance. As the church defies the constraints of the common kingdom’s justice so it also defies the constraints of its economics.

God’s abundance must never be an excuse for materialism. God’s plan is for prosperity with a purpose – to make and manage money to fulfil God’s purposes. He will prosper us so that we can bless others with our overflow!

Technical progress and innovation is making the old scarcity theory extremely shaky. Generosity , an expression of love, makes it totally redundant!

Wesley’s three rules for money management

John Wesley’s teaching on money offers simple, practical guidelines for every believer.

His first rule about money was Gain all you can. Despite its potential for misuse, money in itself is something good. There is no end to the good it can do: “In the hands of (God’s) children, it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, raiment for the naked. It gives to the traveler and the stranger where to lay his head. By it we may supply the place of a husband to the widow, and of a father to the fatherless. We may be a defense for the oppressed, a means of health to the sick, of ease to them that are in pain. It may be as eyes to the blind, as feet to the lame: yea, a lifter up from the gates of death!”

Wesley added that in gaining all they can, Christians must be careful not to damage their own souls, minds, or bodies, or the souls, minds or bodies of anyone else. He thus prohibited gaining money through industries that pollute the environment or endanger workers.

Wesley’s second rule for the right use of money was Save all you can. He urged his hearers not to spend money merely to gratify the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eye, or the pride of life. He cried out against expensive food, fancy clothes, and elegant furniture: “Despise delicacy and variety and be content with what plain nature requires.”

Wesley had two reasons for telling Christians to buy only necessities. The obvious one was so they would not waste money. The second was so they would not increase their desires.

The old preacher wisely pointed out that when people spend money on things they do not really need, they begin to want more things they do not need. Instead of satisfying their desires, they only increase them.

Wesley’s third rule was Give all you can. One’s giving should begin with the tithe. He told the one who does not tithe, “Thou dost undoubtedly set thy heart upon thy gold” and warned, “It will ‘eat thy flesh as fire!’” But one’s giving should not end at the tithe. All of the Christian’s money belongs to God, not just the first tenth. Believers must use 100 percent of their income as God directs.

In an age when a single man could live comfortably on 30 pounds a year, his annual income reached 1,400.

He recorded in 1731 that he began to limit his expenses so that he would have more money to give to the poor. He records that one year his income was 30 pounds and his living expenses 28 pounds, so he had 2 pounds to give away. The next year his income doubled, but he still managed to live on 28 pounds, so he had 32 pounds to give to the poor. In the third year, his income jumped to 90 pounds. Instead of letting his expenses rise with his income, he kept them to 28 pounds and gave away 62 pounds. In the fourth year, he received 120 pounds. As before, his expenses were 28 pounds, so his giving rose to 92 pounds.

What a great example from this great man of faith! Read the full sermon

Your Work or Your Life? Don't repeat the mistakes of the past.

by Peter Briscoe - FCCI Director in Europe.  Peter is also the International VP of Crown Financial Ministries.

My first FCCI International Conference was in Cancun, Mexico in 2002.  Over the years these conferences have made a big impact on me, largely due to the practical application of faith in leading a business. At that time, I was just taking over as CEO of HE Space Operations, a company delivering specialized services to the European Space Agency at their main technical centre here in The Netherlands. As CEO of this hi-tech business, I was determined not to repeat some mistakes made during my very first assignment as CEO of a chemical company back in 1980.  My analysis of that period was simple. “ Success in business =  failure in life.”  Success in business came at a price that was not worth paying; my relationship with my wife and family,my health and my relationship with God all suffered.  The lessons I learned through FCCI helped me to understand the life/work balance much better.

  A survey conducted by the advertising and marketing firm Ogilvy & Mather showed that people would rather get out of the rat race than climb the corporate ladder. 76% said they would rather spend more time with family than make more money and 75% responded that they would trade job security over a job that offered an opportunity for a pay increase.

  Graceann Bennett, Managing Partner and Director of Strategic Planning at Ogilvy & Mather Chicago commented, “The most surprising thing about our study was how much consumers were saying what they would NOT do for money, even when money worries are high on the list. Prioritizing your life based on money is seen as a sure way to be disappointed since the pursuit of money is often reliant on factors outside of consumers’ control. They have gone down this road before and are saying that they are not necessarily happier or better off as a result.”

This reminds me of the words of Jesus when He warned, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his life?” Money always promises much but delivers little. You can buy a bed, but not rest; medicine but not health; a house but not a home. I know from my own experience that you can be a success in business but fail at life.  John D. Rockefeller said, “The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money." An old mentor of mine said many years ago that when you get to the end of your useful working life, you will never regret that you didn’t spend enough time at work. You will regretthat you spent too little time with your family!

Thanks to FCCI, I am much better equipped to manage my career and family choices in line with God’s greater plan.  I encourage you to come to the 2011 International Conference and discover what God has in store for you.

JOSEPH RESPONDED TO THE SPIRIT'S CALL

by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

God's Spirit has always been calling mankind to himself—to holiness, purity of heart, a separated life—and in every generation a remnant answers this call. Joseph responded to God's call at a very early age; his ten older brothers received the same call to surrender and walk righteously, but they
chose to remain in the world.

On at least two occasions all of Jacob's sons received the Spirit's call very clearly. The first was when Jacob built an altar to the God of Israel (Genesis 33:18-20). Jacob called his sons to the altar to worship with him, to kneel before the Lord and follow him, but Joseph’s brothers turned to revenge and
bloodshed, instead.

The second time God clearly called out to the ten was at Bethel. Jacob knew his sons were bound with idolatry and were rejecting God's call to purity and righteousness, so he warned them: "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: and let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and 1 will make there an altar unto God" (Genesis 35:2-3).


This is one of the clearest calls in all of God's Word! The phrase "change your garments" in Hebrew means a moral and spiritual purification of the mind and heart. Outwardly, Jacob's sons surrendered: "And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings" (verse 4). But their repentance was only on the surface—they never had a true heart-change. They went right back to their rebellion, hate, envy and strife!

Joseph was different from his brothers: his repentance had been from the heart. He had responded to the Spirit's call and was wholly set on following the Lord. In the midst of a wicked, evil environment, Joseph maintained clean hands and a pure heart.

Joseph was sent out to the fields to help his brothers care for the family’s flocks. But he was soon grieved because his brothers spoke and lived like the heathen! His pure heart was crushed by the wickedness in his own family.

"And Joseph brought unto his father their evil report" (37:2), Joseph unburdened his heart to his father: "You wouldn't believe the way they live, Father. They speak against your God. They're grieving him!"

A mark of the Joseph Company is that they grieve over sin! They have forsaken all idols and are in love with Jesus, their hearts aflame with his holiness! They see the sin in the land, but they are grieved most of all by the sin in the church. They cry out from their souls, "Oh, Father, look at what is
happening among your children!" If you are a part of this last-day company, you can't overlook sin. Rather, something has to rise up in you that says, "Oh, God, I can't stand what they're doing to your name!" You begin to pray—not against people, but against the inroads of demonic powers into the church of Jesus Christ!

JOSEPH'S GREATEST TRIAL WAS THE WORD OF GOD!

by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

"He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant . . . until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him" (Psalm 105:17, 19).

Joseph was tested and tried in many ways but his greatest trial was the word he had received! Consider everything Joseph endured: At only seventeen, he was stripped down and cast into a pit to starve to death. His cold-hearted brothers laughed at his pleas for mercy and sold him to Ishmaelite traders who took him by caravan to an Egyptian slave market and sold him as a common slave.

Yet Joseph's greatest trial wasn't his rejection by his brothers or even the human indignity of being made into a slave or being cast into prison. No—what confused and tried Joseph’s spirit was the clear word he had heard from God! God had revealed to Joseph through dreams that he would be given great authority that he would use for God's glory. His brothers would bow before him and he would be a great deliverer of many people.

I do not believe any of this was an ego trip for Joseph. His heart was so set on God that this word gave him a humble sense of destiny: "Lord, you have put your hand on me to have a part in your great, eternal plan.” Joseph was blessed just by knowing he would play an important role in bringing God's will to pass! But the circumstances in Joseph's life were just the opposite of what God had put in his heart. He was the servant—he had to bow! How could he believe that he would one day deliver multitudes when he was a slave himself?

He must have thought, "This doesn't make sense. How could God be ordering mysteps into prison, into oblivion? God said I was going to be blessed but he didn't tell me this was going to happen!" For ten years Joseph faithfully served in Potiphar's house but in the end he was misjudged and lied about. His victory over temptation with Potiphar's wife only landed him in jail. During such times he must have pondered the awful questions: "Did I hear correctly? Did my pride invent these dreams? Could my brothers have been right? Maybe all these things are happening to me as discipline for some kind of selfish desire.”

Beloved, there have been times when God has shown me things he has wanted for me—ministry, service, usefulness—yet every circumstance was the very opposite of that word. At such times I thought, "Oh, God, this can't be you speaking; it must be my flesh," I was being tried by God's word to me but God has given us his promises and we can trust them, all of them!

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/14320

JOSEPH - EVERY WORD AND PROMISE WAS FULFILLED

by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

Joseph was in one of his darkest hours—lonely, downcast, about to give up his dreams, questioning his place in God. Suddenly, the call came from one of the king's guards: "Joseph! Get cleaned up—Pharaoh is calling for you!"

In that moment, I believe the Spirit of God came mightily upon Joseph and his heart leapt with excitement. He was about to understand what it was all about! As Joseph shaved and trimmed his hair, he probably thought, "This is the beginning of what God promised me. Now I know I heard from him! The devil has not been in control and my life hasn't been wasted. God has been directing everything the entire time!"

In a matter of minutes, Joseph was standing before Pharaoh, listening to his dream. Joseph gave the interpretation of the coming famine and told Pharaoh he had to gather and store the nation's grain: "Someone must be in charge of the storehouses. You have to find a man who's full of wisdom to oversee it all" (see Genesis 4l).

Pharaoh looked around and then turned toward Joseph: "You! Joseph! I appoint you second ruler. Only I will have more power in the kingdom than you. You will oversee it all!"

How quickly things had changed! The day came when Joseph stood before his brothers and was able to say: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20).

"God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt" (45:7-8).

Dear saint, very soon you're going to understand your present fiery trials. God is going to bring you into the promise he gave you and suddenly it's all going to make sense. You'll see that he has never forsaken you. He had to take you this way, for he has been training you, preparing you, teaching you to trust him for everything. He has planned a time for you to be used—and that time is just ahead!

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/14319

Why Goals Can Be Harmful

Dr. Joseph Mattera

Ambitious Goals Father God Never Gave Them To Begin With!

The older and more mature in the Lord I become, the more I have learned to simplify my life and personal goals. Years ago my personal mission statement, vision statement, and goals were about two pages long. Now they are all one short sentence: “Love God and love people.”

In my opinion, many of the popular self-help teachings in books today are for people that don’t know themselves or God very well. The more you mature in the Lord the less you rely on these “training wheels.” Many self-help teachers and motivational speakers get into things that are very practical, but without the leading of the Lord it is often akin to humanism.

How did I arrive at my present opinion? Based on scriptures like Ephesians 2:10 which teaches us that God foreordained us to walk in a certain calling of “good works,” and Romans 8:29-30 that teaches we were predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. I believe that all of our inherent giftings based on our calling, personality, ability, physical limitations, intellect, geographic region, family location, and hereditary and genetic proclivities all add up to the truth that God has already providentially mapped out our lives (Proverbs 3:5-7). Thus, if we would live a life devoted to knowing and loving Christ then our fellowship with our Creator would activate whatever is inside of us, and we would automatically begin to walk in our unique vocations as we are led by His Spirit.

(Reading books on personality types, temperaments, giftings, abilities, and purpose are good primers to understanding ourselves and to identify how and what God wants to activate inside of us.)

But, many are so caught up in these kinds of methods that it takes our focus off the most important thing that catalyzes our purpose and gives us significance.

Jesus told all of us what our mission statement as individuals should be, when He said that the whole law of God is summarized in loving God with all the heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbor even as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). He said all the teaching of Scripture depends on these two laws!

Paul the apostle continued this tradition of single-minded simplicity of focus when he said in Philippians 3: “One thing I do: I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way.”

In context, the upward call of God in Christ Jesus was to “count everything loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord….That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:8, 10).

Paul’s mission statement was simple: to know God and to follow His high calling in Christ Jesus. It wasn’t some corporate graph replete with mission, vision, personal short and long term goals, etc.

Jesus also made it simple in Matthew 6:33 when He said “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all other things would be added unto you.” True, God’s kingdom, like all other kingdoms, involves more than prayer. It involves economics, politics, education, family, etc. But, if you or I want to influence a nation, the fastest way is to get to know the president or king of that nation so that we could affect the way their decisions are made. It’s the same in God’s kingdom: if you want to influence His kingdom, get to know the King and have transformational conversations with Him through prayer.

Anything I have ever done of value for God has come out of my communion with God in which God laid something on my heart to do while I was worshipping Him and enjoying His presence. Some other times this occurred while I was interceding. (Most of the time it has been while I was relaxing and in silence before the Lord after a season of prayer and intercession.) I didn’t try to make it happen with goals and vision; it came to me automatically as I connected my heart to His heart and mind! And because He told me to do it, it was greatly blessed!

I have seen many pastors burn out or put undue pressure on themselves because of some books they have read, such as one book in which a successful leader says that he had a goal of reaching ten thousand leaders in three years before he would consider himself successful. Other books by self-help authors tell their readers to create their own reality by making the things they visualize happen through having practical goals. Although there is much truth in this methodology, oftentimes pastors and Christians fail when they attempt to employ these teachings because God never gave them the goals they are pursuing. Their goals are merely projections emanating out of their “dark side” (selfish ambition, pride, insecurity, proving their value by performance, etc.) Thus, they are bankrupting their churches or sacrificing their families for ambitious goals Father God never gave them to begin with!

I have no problem with strategic planning and mapping out short and long term goals. We all have to do this to be successful in what we attempt individually and corporately. But, my main caveat is that these goals better be given to you by the Father while in communion with Him. Jesus said that He only does what His Father tells Him to do (John 5:19). Unfortunately, many of us are busy doing things to prove our worth to our earthly fathers, peers, and to aid our own self-esteem.

Is the Local Church Becoming Obsolete in the Present Kingdom Movement?

by Joseph Mattera

To Be Truly Kingdom-Centered One Must Start With Being Local Church-Centered

Can you imagine a time when key apostolic leaders—both in the church and marketplace—would come together to exert strong influence over cities, communities and nations, with or without the cooperation or partnership of local church pastors and congregations? A time when the local church would almost be irrelevant when it comes to societal transformation because leaders would form their own ecclesia that would be mobile and not nuclear in nature? A time in which the local church would be relegated merely to shepherding our families, pastoral counseling, and Sunday school for our children?

There is a growing tendency in the Body of Christ among practitioners in kingdom societal transformation to bypass the local church in order for the reformation of society to take place. This is due to the frustration of many marketplace leaders with the slow pace, bureaucracy, myopic local view, and lack of high-level leadership found in many of this nation’s congregations. As more of us receive greater light regarding the kingdom, and we rightly go from a church mindset to a kingdom mindset, I am afraid some will have a tendency to go too far and jettison the local church altogether!

Further exacerbating this challenge is that many who are on the leading edge of cultural change are institutional (para-church) or marketplace leaders who by nature are entrepreneurial, independent, high-performance leaders who have not always had a strong anchor in a local church even before they came into the kingdom message. This independent spirit and impatience for change will influence their kingdom theology to the point of finding prooftexts or doctrines that justify the bypassing of local churches.

It is my position that jettisoning the local church, or relegating it merely to the purpose of shepherding our families, would be a huge mistake! Whether we like it or not, God has chosen the local church to be the beachhead that facilitates social and religious change in the nations. We need to reform the church not jettison it! We need to help transition the local church to becoming kingdom-centered; being kingdom-centered and local church-centered need not be mutually exclusive. To be truly kingdom-centered one must start with being local church-centered.

In addition, each local church needs to view itself as one congregation among many in a particular region that, combined, comprise the city church. (The New Testament epistles such as Philippians, Romans, Colossians, etc. all assume one church per city or region.) Hence, this view necessitates cooperation and collaboration with other congregations as a biblical responsibility.

Likewise, pastors are never solely called to shepherd only their individual flocks but are to be shepherds or chaplains to whole communities.

Let us now go back and attempt to understand the local church paradigm and pattern.

First, when God desired to reconcile world systems and redeem individual sinners He sent His Son—who didn’t come as a political or business leader couched as a religious rabbi. Jesus began as an itinerant teacher of the Word of God (Luke 4:18). Those with him in synagogue were His platform for inauguration as the King of Kings as Lord of Lords (John 18:37).

With Jesus and His people there is no separation of the offices of king and priest. Jesus was a combination of priest (His body was the sacrifice given once for all; Hebrews 10:10, 14), prophet (Deuteronomy 18:18-19) and king (Rev. 1:5, 19:16). All three offices are completely summarized and unified in Hebrews 1:1-3.

The model of Jesus for reformation shows the most powerful and effective starting point and matrix to initially operate for reformation is the (so-called) religious sphere of society.

There has been a popular teaching during the last ten years in which people are categorized as either functioning as priests or kings in the kingdom. However, marketplace leaders miss the mark when they say preachers of the gospel merely function as priests—whose primary role concerns the priestly duties related to “spiritual” things—while Christian political and business leaders function as kings who take the cultural lead in His kingdom.

It is clear Romans 5:17 was written for all believers. This passage shows that all saints reign as kings in this world. Ephesians 2:4-6 teaches that all saints are presently reigning with Christ in heavenly places.

In the book of Leviticus the priests not only administered animal sacrifices but were also the ultimate authority interpreting the Law of Moses to judges and kings (Deuteronomy 17:18). The 613 laws involved civic as well as sacrificial rules and regulations. Individually these priests even administered in the areas of health by regulating the Jewish diet (Leviticus 11), examining homes for harmful mold and mildew, and even examining individuals to determine if they were physically clean or unclean (Leviticus 13-14). Thus, these priests functioned in both the context of the temple and the community without a dichotomy between sacred and secular, or as we now term it, priest and king.

The later divisions between the priesthood, the prophetic, and the kings of Israel seem to separate these offices (read 1 Samuel 13:8-13 and 1 Kings 12:32-13:6 when the kings were judged for offering priestly sacrifices). However, King David, who was a prophetic foretaste of the Messiah, had a New Testament kingdom dispensation as he was able to approach God’s presence and offer sacrifices (1 Chronicles 16:1-2), eat the showbread (1 Samuel 21:6; Mark 2:25-26), prophesy (Psalms 22 and 110) and rule the kingdom (2 Samuel 5:1-3). Thus, all three functions were integrated in him.

Jesus said that even the least in the Kingdom of Heaven are greater than John the Baptist and all of the Old Covenant prophets and leaders (Matthew 11:11). This implies the prophetic, kingly, and priestly functions are all combined in God’s people in the kingdom age. Even so, with the advent of the kings of Israel the priests still had to regulate societal functions for the community as written in the Pentateuch. Nowadays these functions would be classified by some marketplace leaders as kingly functions.

Furthermore, what category would we place Joseph and Daniel? They both functioned as political leaders but would also neatly fit in the category of priest because of their spiritual bent and prophetic lifestyle. Also, who would ever say that the prophets Elijah and Elisha were merely functioning in a priestly role? Both of them gave commands to political leaders (for example, the kings of Israel as in 1 Kings 18:18-19) and framed major policy initiatives for societal reformation. Elisha even gave military advice to Israel when the nation was at war with Syria (2 Kings 6:8-23).

I have never accepted the assumption that I, as a bishop, should function merely in the priestly realm and concentrate primarily on spiritual things while Christians I work with in business or politics function as the kings in the kingdom who are responsible for governing and practical application of kingdom concepts in the natural realm. I have always functioned in both roles, and feel just as comfortable with both pastors and marketplace leaders. Furthermore, as a leader in my city I have always been involved in community, business, and political processes and decisions that help frame public policy. I personally believe that my priestly roles of intercession, prayer, and meditating on the Word of God empower me to act as a king by influencing my community and city in matters related to both the church and society.

Furthermore, the original apostles, who were given the command to disciple nations (Matthew 28:19) actually were commanded to leave their marketplace vocations and serve full-time in the religious sphere. In Acts 6:2, 4 Peter said they weren’t even allowed to wait on tables so they could give themselves fully to the ministry of the word and prayer. It was out of this powerful context of being in the presence of God, studying and preaching the word, and planting local churches in key cities that the first century apostles were able to “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:5-7). Thus, reformation of society will not come outside of the local church or from a separation of kings and priests in the kingdom, or to the neglect of the local church authority in the kingdom, but out of the local church context.

We see this further unpacked in Ephesians 4:10-12. The primary call of church apostles and five-fold ministers is to prepare God’s people for the work of the ministry which, as described in Ephesians 4:10, has as its goal to fill up all things. Thus, the center of power—equipping and releasing for cultural leadership—should emanate out of the local church context that houses the five-fold ministers.

First Corinthians 12 teaches that true local churches are first started by those gifted as apostles then prophets. This has more to do with establishing cultural beachheads for kingdom purposes than just exercising spiritual gifts in a church building.

When we attempt to reform society outside of the context of the local church (which Paul calls “the ground and pillar of truth” in 1 Timothy 3) we are attempting to have a missiology without a clear ecclesiology. This results in having unaccountable marketplace leaders who are not groomed and discipled in regards to their character development, family lives, and personal emotional health—and possibly are in a place of power merely because of their giftings! (Although to be fair, the same can be said of pastors and church ministers who are not in accountable relationships with their peers and overseers.)

God is called our Father. The church is supposed to function as a family of families so that we can restructure, reform, and serve humanity, and build a healthy civilization that stands upon strong marriages and families. God told Abraham that in him all the “families” of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). This is how biblical dominion and transformation will take place.

Separating the ecclesia from the local church will not accomplish this task because mobile churches in the context of a business or political system do not engender strong family structures, nor are they equipped or called to!

In the local church, older men and women are to be treated as fathers and mothers. Younger men and women are to be treated as our brothers and sisters, or sons and daughters (1 Timothy 5:1-2). This produces the greatest learning environment in which to teach discipleship because the Kingdom of God is based on relationships. This is also potentially the greatest equipping center to bring healing to individuals and enact policy change for cities and nations.

Separating business and marketplace leaders from the local church has historically been a disaster. It is also one of the primary reasons we have lost the culture in the United States. Mark Noll (read his great book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind) and others have done a great job documenting the fact that Ivy League universities abandoned the Christian worldview when pastors and clergy were replaced as the college presidents by business and community leaders during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Recently I spoke to one major Southern Baptist leader and asked why so many Christian colleges eventually lose their Christian identity and become bastions for liberalism. He told me the colleges that stay connected to a local church or keep their school under the auspices of the church usually stay biblically focused but those schools that separate from the local church historically become liberal, lose their Christian voice, and compromise biblical values within a few decades. Consequently, if Harvard, Yale, Princeton and the other Ivy League schools stayed under the guidance of local church leadership they would still be churning out future presidents of nations and Fortune 500 CEO’s for the kingdom and glory of God!

When it gets down to it, perhaps the real challenge we have is our lack of apostolic local churches led by apostolic leaders with a leadership lid capable of leading high-impact marketplace leaders called apostolically to culture. The answer isn’t to jettison the church (which would be against the biblical pattern laid out in the New Testament) but to reform the church so that apostolic strategies and leadership become the norm, not the exception.

If you are a marketplace leader who is frustrated because your local church doesn’t have apostolic vision then ask the Lord what to do. Perhaps He will lead you to another church that is more regional and kingdom in its scope. But whatever you do, don’t use your situation to change your theology in an attempt to justify your independence from the local church.

Source here.

Now I "Entered the Ministry"

WB - "Called Into Work - Grasping Vocation" Journal

Try this experiment. Type the words "entered the ministry" in the Google search box. How many hits will you get? I did that recently. Those words returned 30,600,000 results. Most referred to Christians starting to work as religious professionals.

I typed the same phrase into my Bible software concordance, checking a dozen translations. The response: "No matches found for 'entered the ministry.'" Hebrews 9:6 came closest, telling how the Old Covenant priests "entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry."

But their entering brought them into a room-not into the ministry. According to the Bible, the work of ministry or serving (Greek diakonia) belongs to the saints-to all of God's people (Eph. 4:12), Paul, writing to all the Christians in the Corinthian church, told them to give themselves fully to the work of the Lord (I Cor. 15:58). So the call of God to become a Christ-follower is a call to serve God and others-to minister. If you have entered the kingdom of God through Christ, the Door, you have been called into "the ministry." (How well or poorly you are doing that ministry is another question.) So by entering Christ, the Door, you become a minister (servant).

I recently led a seminar on serving Christ in the workplace. Afterward several participants came individually to say that they had finished seminary or Bible school and were now working in this or that non-religious job. One after another they told how they had struggled with feeling they had missed God's best for their lives. What I heard confirms this statement in a current web site: "Even late into their lives, [many Christians] wonder about leaving their businesses or careers to enter the ministry . . . ."

Christ calls every member of His body to serve-minister to-Him and to others. If our Christian jargon deceives many of those members into thinking they are still outside the ministry, we effectively strait-jacket the full effectiveness of the church. The way we use the words, "enter the ministry," comes not from Scripture but from our own religious traditions and institutional thinking. Let's abandon that phrase and learn to think and speak in ways that build the church.

Again, the call of God to become a Christ-follower is a call to serve God and others-to minister. If you have entered the kingdom of God through Christ, the Door, you have been called into "the ministry." (How well or poorly you are doing that ministry is another question.)

Answering the Call... Don't Forget the Vest! (Part I)

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place [Ephesians 6:14 NIV]

Perhaps the most popular genre of programming on television – at least on U.S. television – today is the criminal investigation series – you know, CSI, CSI New York, CSI Miami, NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, Bones, the Mentalist, etc. All of them feature law enforcement “good guys/gals” doing whatever it takes to get the bad guys/ gals. But I’ve noticed another point of commonality that struck me primarily because of what you and I are talking about right now … on every one of those programs, before the “good guys/gals” go into danger, they put on a protective vest (we used to call them bullet-proof vests, but that is apparently not entirely accurate anymore … some bullets can penetrate even the best vest … remember that for later). They don’t protect their heads, legs or arms, but the vests are designed to protect that part of the body which is the easiest target and which contains the most vital organs. Put a picture of a protective vest beside a picture of a “breastplate”, and you’ll easily see the family resemblance.

Paul is teaching us the same lesson every “good guy/gal” needs to learn, before you go into danger, protect your vital organs … but not with Kevlar – popular vest material – but with “righteousness”. Now how does that work … and how does it apply to business leaders?

Even though it looks like it, “righteousness” does not mean just being right or correct. The dictionary adds that it carries a sense of moral uprightness, virtue, justification. But that is not enough for the kind of protection we need. Jesus makes that clear when He says that “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees (that is the religious, moral leaders of His day), you will not enter the kingdom of heaven”. [Matthew 5:20] We are looking for Kingdom-of-Heaven-based protection, so where does that “vest” come from?

You probably already know the answer to that one – it comes from Jesus: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” [2 Corinthians 5:21] Our breastplate of righteousness comes through our personal relationship with Christ – not through our own being right or moral … that vest would already be full of holes!

The understanding that real righteousness comes from God is woven throughout scripture. In Genesis, God made a promise to Abram/Abraham, “Then he (Abram) believed in the LORD; and He (God) reckoned it to him as righteousness.”[Genesis 15:6 NASB] God is the definer of true righteousness. And in that great passage in Matthew where Jesus deals with all of the anxiety and self-concern that can occupy our time and effort – weapons that can be aimed at our vulnerability - we are told that the solution – and the promise that goes with it – are tied to God’s righteousness: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” [Matthew 6:33 NASB) There is so much more, but I think we understand that, as with Truth, we are not the source of this vital piece of our Armor. It’s all about God … your relationship with Him … and how you live that out.

Now, why a “breastplate”? We know that perhaps the most vital organ in the body – our heart – is located in the chest …behind that breastplate. There are a number of other organs it protects – lungs, stomach, liver, etc. – any one of which when injured can cause pain, long term disability or death. But it is the “heart” that we see as the source of love, courage, commitment, character, faith and so many other attributes that God uses to reflect His image in us. That, of course, makes it a target for any enemy of our souls, our marriages, our families or our businesses – misdirect our love, infect courage with fear, minimize our commitment, impugn our character, shake our faith and we can no longer provide that clear reflection that draws others to our God … let alone live the kind of victorious, filled-with-the-fruit-of-the-Spirit life that God has offered.

You probably don’t need more evidence, but if you want to see how devastating an attack on the heart can be, just take a look at what happened in the past few days to a U.S. Congressman from New York. It took only four hours from the time an inappropriate picture and emails were released on the internet for him to resign from congress – his career, opportunity to impact a nation, reputation, marriage, family … all irreversibly damaged by his apparent failure to put on his “vest”.

We all lose when those things happen. So let’s close Part 1 by committing to each other to do a thorough examination of the vest / breastplate you and I are depending on to protect our hearts and all of the areas of our lives that are impacted by what happens there. What – or Who – are you depending on for your righteousness? Is it all about your goodness and your ability to stand your moral ground … or is it all about Christ and His ability to enable you to stand? Jesus told us what to seek first … are you / am I?

Next week let’s talk about the practical impact that vest can have on your life and your company.

Seeking First,

President and CEO
Fellowship of Companies for Christ International / Christ@Work
doug@fcci.org
Cell: 678-358-9341
http://www.fcci.org/
4201 North Peachtree Road
Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30341

The Joseph Company by David Wilkerson - A Must Read!

By David Wilkerson

I know of one Bible scholar who has discovered more than a hundred ways in which Joseph was a type of Jesus Christ. Yet, as much as I believe Joseph was a type of Christ, I also believe He was a type of last-day remnant - a people whom God is raising up right now to show His church how to break out of its spiritual famine!

Let me show you the Joseph Company - a small body of last-day believers wholly given to the Lord. They commune with God daily. 'They are led by the Spirit in every detail of their lives. And at this moment they are coming out of great trials and testings to enter a place of revelation, wisdom and fruitfulness. God is working in them, giving them His truth and knowledge. And the time is coming soon when He is going to call upon them as He did Joseph!

Right now, the church of Jesus Christ is growing increasingly worldly, sensual, wicked and cold. Our ministry receives literally thousands of letters from pastors and laypeople who are burdened down by the condition of their church. People complain that they don't hear convicting, life-changing sermons. Pastors complain that few want to hear the truth. Yes, there are some powerful "lamp-stick" churches in America - full of light and glory and the holiness of God. The pastors are on fire, preaching righteousness, and God is moving mightily among the people. But for the most part the church today is experiencing wide spread spiritual famine: shallow sermons, dead hearers, "lively" worship that is not backed up by righteous living. A Laodicean blindness has fallen like a cloud over the eyes of multitudes who once were on fire for God. Many true ministers of God are becoming disheartened.

One pastor wrote recently:
"A great number of godly pastors are being fired or forced out by their churches. I resigned from my church last December 31. A colleague just ten miles away also left his church under a cloud. A third pastor sixty miles away submitted his resignation under duress, a fourth was fired by his church in October.... In my region, churches are not growing by making new converts, but from Christians moving around, shopping with a consumer mentality. It's a revolving door.... Please find out for yourself how many men of God are heartbroken, defeated, discouraged - yet also saying, 'Even so, come, Lord Jesus'!"

What Is God's Solution to Such Backsliding and Famine?

God has always been at work far in advance of every spiritual famine in His church. In every generation He has moved ahead to prepare a way out for His people!

The seventy-five members of Jacob's clan would have died in the great worldwide famine (and the promise of Israel would have been destroyed) had not God been working ahead of it all. In fact, some twenty years before the famine hit, God was already setting in motion a plan to save His people from
destruction. He sent Joseph ahead to Egypt! For twenty years God worked on this man - isolating him, trying him, preparing him for a place of authority - because Joseph was to become the life-saver of God's chosen, He kept Joseph from the limelight - to be discipled for a coming day of chaos and death!

Beloved, just as surely as God isolated Joseph, He has a Joseph Company today that is hidden from all eyes. These are in the furnace of affliction, prisons of testing, battlegrounds of trials and temptation, They are dying to this world, wanting nothing of its fame, honor, money or pleasure. And they are growing hungry to become more intimate with Christ - to know His heart and His voice. You may not understand all the mysterious testings, trials and troubles in your life. But if your heart is fully set on following Christ, you can rest assured God has purpose in it all: He is wanting to bring you into His Joseph Company!.

There are three things that went into the making of Joseph as a tried and tested servant. An d you too will experience these things if you are a part of this last-day company:

1. Joseph Responded to the Spirit's Call to a Holy, Separated Life.

God's Spirit has always been calling mankind to Himself - to holiness, purity of heart and a separated life. Tragically, few ever respond - but in every generation God has a small remnant who do answer His call. They separate themselves, purify their lives and give them selves wholly to Him.

Joseph responded to God's call at a very early age. And he had ten older brothers who received the same call to surrender, walk righteously and separate themselves. But they chose to remain in the world - and their walk with God was halfhearted.

There were at least two occasions when all of Jacob's sons received the Spirit's call very clearly. The first was at Shalem, in Shechem, where Jacob built an altar to THE GOD OF ISRAEL. Jacob called his sons to the altar to become worshipers with him - to kneel before the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly.

But Joseph's brothers instead turned to revenge and bloodshed. When a Shechemite defiled their sister Dinah, they rushed into the city, burning it down and killing every man, woman and child (see Genesis 34). These ten brothers hadn't given themselves wholly to trust and serve God. No - their violence made Jacob a stench among the Canaanites!

Yet God called cut to them clearly once more, this time at Bethel. Jacob knew his sons were bound with idolatry and were rejecting God's call to purity and righteousness. So he warned them: "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: and let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and 1 will make there an altar unto God" (Genesis 35:2-3).

Beloved, this is one of the clearest calls in all of God's Word! The phrase "change your garments" in Hebrew means a moral and spiritual purification of the mind and heart. Outwardly, Jacob's sons surrendered: "And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings" (verse 4). But their repentance was only on the surface - they never had a true heart-change. They went right back to their rebellion, becoming full of hate, envy and strife!

Yet there was something different about Joseph: his repentance had been from the heart. He had responded to the Spirit's call - and from the age of seventeen, he was wholly set on following the Lord. In the midst of a wicked, evil environment, Joseph maintained clean hands and a pure heart.

Now, Jacob had other sons who were born to Bilhah and Zilpah, his maid and concubine. These sons cared for the family flocks, and Joseph was sent out to the fields to work among them, But he was soon grieved - because his brothers spoke and lived like heathen! His pure heart was crushed by the wickedness in his own family. "And Joseph brought unto his father their evil report" (37:2), Joseph unburdened his heart to his father: "You wouldn't believe the way they live, Father. They speak against your God and mine. They're grieving Him!"

Beloved, this is a mark of the Joseph Company: they have a grief for sin! They have forsaken all idols and are in love with Jesus - their hearts are aflame with His holiness! They see the sin in the land, but they are grieved most of all by the sin in the church. They cry out from their souls, "Oh, Father - look at what is happening among Your children!"

If you are a part of this last-day company, you can't overlook sin. Rather, something has to rise up in you that says, "Oh God, I can't stand what they're doing to Your name!" You begin to pray - not against people, but against the in roads of demonic powers into the church of Jesus Christ!

Joseph's Father Favored Him, Clothing Him With a Special Garment That Made Him Stand Out Among His Brethren! Does our heavenly Father favor certain of His children? Or doesn't the Bible say God is no respecter of persons?

When it comes to eternal salvation and His wonderful covenant promises, God treats all alike. But God also responds to all who respond wholeheartedly to His calling. He puts His special favor on those who yield their lives to Him entirely! Job said: "Thou hast granted me life and favour" (Job 10:12). And David said: "For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield" (Psalm 5:12) . "Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong" (30:7). Scripture also tells us: "And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men" (1 Samuel 2:26). The fact is, our heavenly Father puts a special garment on those who seek after Him and give Him their heart completely: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10).

Joseph responded to the Spirit's call, surrendering all - and he received favor from his father. He was given a robe that set him apart. But that favor of his father was costly! It cost Joseph every relationship. It brought him rejection, misunderstanding, mockery: "All his brethren... hated him" (Genesis 37:4).

Why did Joseph's brothers turn on him? The key is in verse 11: "His brethren envied him." When they saw the robe Joseph wore, they knew it spoke of favor, righteousness. And they hated it - because it reminded them of the Spirit's call they had rejected! Joseph was a reproach to their half-hearted life-style!

You see, Joseph's brothers sat around trading in petty gossip and self-centered talk. Their hearts were occupied with land, possessions, their future, But Joseph's was elsewhere. He spoke of the things of God, of supernatural dealings. God had given him dreams, which in that day was synonymous with hearing the voice of God. Yes, Joseph was of a different cloth - and that difference made him hated and envied among his brothers. And beloved, the same thing will happen to you if you have sold out to Jesus!

Lukewarm believers around you will want to talk about their cars, houses and jobs - but you'd rather talk about eternal things, about what God is saying to you. Soon you'll become a reproach to their half-heartedness. They'll envy you - because you represent the call of the Holy Ghost they turned down!

Indeed, those of the Joseph Company remnant know all about rejection. They know the pain of being tagged a fanatic, a spiritual kook, an "unbalanced" believer. Even preachers mock them, calling their separation and devotion to Jesus "spiritual pride." They tell their congregation, "This one is too far out. God does not expect such fanaticism!"

2. Joseph's Greatest Trial Was the Word of God He So Loved and Trusted!

"He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him" (Psalm 105:17,19). Joseph was tested and tried in many ways - but his greatest trial was the word he had received!

Consider everything Joseph endured: At only seventeen, he was stripped down and cast into a pit to starve to death. His cold-hearted brothers laughed at his pleas for mercy. He was sold to Ishmaelite traders, taken by caravan to an Egyptian slave market and then sold as a common slave.

Yet Joseph's greatest trial wasn't his rejection by his brothers. It wasn't the human indignity of being made into a slave or being cast into prison. No - Joseph was confused and tried in spirit by the clear word he had heard from God!

God had revealed to Joseph through dreams that he would be given great authority, and that he would use it for God's glory. His brothers would bow before him - even the sun, moon and stars would bow! He would be a great deliverer of many people.

Yet I believe none of this was an ego trip for Joseph. His heart was so set on God that this word instead gave him a humble sense of destiny: "Lord, You have put Your hand on me to have a part in Your great, eternal plan. Oh God - why choose me?" Joseph was blessed just by knowing he would play an important role in bringing God's will to pass!

But all the circumstances in Joseph's life were just the opposite of what God had put in his heart. He was the servant - he had to bow! How could he hold to such a word from God, that he would one day deliver multitudes, when he was a slave himself? He must have thought, "This doesn't make sense. How could God be 'ordering my steps' into prison - into oblivion? He said I was going to be blessed. He didn't tell me this was going to happen!"

For ten years Joseph served in Potiphar's house faithfully - but in the end he was misjudged and lied about. His victory over temptation with Potiphar's wife only landed him in jail. During such times he must have pondered the awful questions:

"Did I hear correctly? Or did my pride invent these dreams? Could my brothers have been right - that I'm too given over to this word? Maybe all these things are happening to me as discipline for some kind of selfish desire....

Beloved, there have been times when God has shown me things He has wanted for me - ministry, service, usefulness - yet my every circumstance was the very opposite of that word. At such times I thought, "Oh God, this can't be You speaking - it has to be my flesh," I was being tried by God's word to me!

I know a dear pastor who is being tried by God's Word. He believes what the Bible says about healing - yet, for the past five years he has watched his wife deteriorate with a rare disease. He prays for the sick at his church - and then he comes home to feed, dress and bathe his wife. He believes God for her healing, yet she grows worse every day.

Yet I see revealed in this man the grace and patience of Christ. He is one of the most loving, caring men of God I have ever met, the tenderness he shows his wife now comes out in his ministry to his congregation!

A dear sister wrote recently that over a year ago she finally determined to go all the way with Jesus. God began to reveal Christ in her - yet soon after-ward, she discovered her husband was seeing prostitutes. He was staying out every night in bars and brothels.

This woman was forced to leave her home and get a job to support her three children. The more devoted she became to Christ, the more her husband turned away from God, She couldn't understand why, when she set her heart on Christ, such an awful tragedy would happen. But I sensed in her letter a power, a heavenly strength. She too is being tried by the Word! God has given her His promises - yet her circumstances are the exact opposite!

Even in the Midst of Every Trial and Hard Place, God Prospers His Joseph Company!

Even while Joseph was a servant in Potiphar's house, he was blessed by God. And soon after he landed in prison, he prospered there as well. How did God prosper him? It wasn't with money or possessions; it wasn't with position. No - all along God was prospering Joseph's spirit - speaking to his heart, giving him dreams and interpretations! This is what kept Joseph going on with God. He had faith that, in spite of all his hardships and situations beyond his control, God was with him. Joseph was never for a moment without the manifest presence of the Lord - and that constant, abiding presence produced a peace within him.

I believe God must have longed to show Joseph the end of the story - to whisper to him, "Don't worry, Joseph. This is how it's going to end...." But He dared not - because Joseph was still in school! You see, Joseph didn't know that one day he was going to "teach (Pharaoh's) senators wisdom" (Psalm 105:22). Yet how could he teach God's wisdom to Egypt's leaders unless he first had learned it himself? God's children learn such lessons only by faith! We get God's wisdom through trials, tribulations, hardships and testings. We don't pray it down - we live it out!

If you are in God's last-day Joseph Company, then you are learning to lean on Him in your trials. You're learning to trust and not complain - to rest in Him completely. You may not comprehend all the mysterious ways God has led you. In fact, everything around you may seem the very opposite of the word God has given you. But you're learning that in all things, Christ is your resource. And God is keeping you in school for the day when He will call on you!

3. The Day Came When It All Made Sense to Joseph! God Brought Everything Together - And Every Word and Promise Was Fulfilled to The Letter!

I believe it happened during Joseph's darkest hour -when he was lonely, downcast, about to give up his dreams, questioning his place in God. Suddenly, the call came from one of the king's guards: "Joseph! Get cleaned up - Pharaoh is calling for you!"

In that moment, the Spirit of God must have come upon Joseph mightily. I believe his heart leapt - an excitement grew within him: he was about to understand what it was all about! As Joseph shaved and trimmed his hair, he probably thought, "This is the beginning of what God promised me. Now I know I heard from Him! The devil was not in control - my life hasn't been wasted. God has been directing everything the entire time!"

In a matter of minutes, Joseph was standing before Pharaoh, listening to his dream. He gave the interpretation of the coming famine and told Pharaoh he had to gather and store the nation's grain: "Someone must be in charge of the storehouses. You have to find a man who's full of wisdom to oversee it all!" (see Genesis 4l). Pharaoh looked around - and then he turned to Joseph: "You, Joseph! I appoint you second ruler. Only I will have more power in the kingdom than you. You will oversee it all!"

How quickly things had changed! Within an hour, Joseph had gone from being a forsaken, unknown prisoner to the second most powerful man in Egypt. As he rode a royal chariot through the streets, the people were bowing before him - and suddenly he realized, his dream, was being lived out!

I can just see Joseph riding along in deep but joyful contemplation. He must have relived every hard time of the past twenty years. He thought of all the trials and tests - of his brothers' rejection, and of being sold by them into slavery. But now a joy came into his heart - because everything was coming together! He said, "Now I can see it! A famine is coming - and God is wanting to save my father and my brothers. He sent me ahead of them. This was His plan all along!"

The day came when Joseph stood before his brothers and was able to say: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20). "God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt" (45:7-8). Joseph was saying, "God was behind this, every step of the way! Every hardship the devil brought upon me - even the harm you meant to do to me - God turned to good and made a part of His eternal plan!"

Dear saint, if you are a part of this Joseph Company, very soon you're going to understand your present fiery trials. God is going to bring you into the promise He gave you - and suddenly it's all going to make sense. You'll see that He has never forsaken you. He had to take you this way - for He has been training you, preparing you, teaching you to trust Him for everything . He has planned a time for you to be used - and that time is just ahead!

The Last-Day Evangelists Will Not Be Primarily in Pulpits: They Will Be in the Congregation -Avoiding Attention, But Mightily Used!

A time is coming soon when there will be a spiritual famine such as the world has never seen. People are going to be starving spiritually on all sides. Yet the broken and famine-stricken will be taken one by one and told, "Come with me - I know someone full of Jesus. They've been tested, they've been through the fire, and they're full of the Holy Spirit. They will have a true word of deliverance for you!"

Beloved, already I see this happening! I know a number of the Joseph Company by name, because I've talked to them. They are able to give out the Bread of Life to the starving - because they have the keys to God's storehouse! They know the ways of the Lord, because they have come through their tests and trials with grip on God. Something powerful is being revealed in them - and that is a heart fully persuaded that God answers, prayer!

How are you responding to God's mysterious dealings with you? Are you fully persuaded that God is at work in all things, fulfilling His promises to you? Can you say, "It's enough right now that I know Jesus is with me - and He's prospering my spirit"?

Hold on in faith! Don't be afraid - because you are in Christ's school. Everything is under His control.

Suddenly the hour will come when your battle will end and your victory will be made real. You'll come out of the fire a vessel of honor - to do His will as part of the Joseph Company!

Related: VISION: The Move of God in the Marketplace