Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)
Unity is one of the most widely used yet least applied or understood words in the body of Christ. Most people do not understand its true meaning let alone how important it is. Without unity, God cannot command a blessing. Without unity the world will not know that Jesus was sent and without unity there cannot be real marketplace transformation.
A pastor friend of mine commented on a difference he recently noticed between the business world and the body of Christ. While business people will argue over contracts and terms, at the end of the day it's never personal - just business. Leaving the table as friends, they grab a cup of coffee together.
Sadly, this is most often not the case within the body of Christ. Sometimes, we leave the church or quit a ministry because of petty disagreements. In the worst case scenario, churches split - simply because our love for Jesus and one another is not as compelling as the business man's love for money.
It is sad that we bring this spirit of petty divisiveness with us from the church into the marketplace. When will our love for the Lord and each other be greater than our disagreements?
Unity is an unbroken chain forged from our love for Christ and an unconditional love towards one another. If the goal of kingdom business is truly to fulfill the Great Commission, then it cannot be realized without unity. The Great Commission won't be realized by building a big business, amassing more money or garnering political influence. The world has all that. If big business, more money and political influence are evidence of godliness, then Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffet and Donald Trump are on their way to heaven. These factors are not the keys to our success. They are important but not the most essential elements. Without unity, they are empty and meaningless; they make us kings of our own castle but do not necessarily bring us closer together.
As long as the world sees a divided kingdom they will not know that the Gospel we preach is any different than great philosophies, or other religions. That is why Jesus prayed in John 17:20-22 that the Father will make us one just as He and the Father are one so the world will know that He was sent. This is the key to the Great Commission and marketplace transformation; if the world does not believe that Jesus was sent they will not believe that He is the Son of God. When you look at the transformation happening in the book of Acts it was due, in part, to the oneness of the early church (Acts 2:1, 44, Acts 4:32). What has happened to that oneness? Why do we pursue power, money and influence at the expense of the very thing that can bring the sinner to repentance?
We are all guilty and I'm the chief of them. We forsake basic relationships to get 'more.' We will not work together because we are 'different.' Some have even left spouses when ministry called because those spouses were perceived as a hindrance to God's work. Do we really believe that God is blessing our hypocrisy? Jesus himself said that before you give Me any gifts, you must first be reconciled with your brother (Matthew 5:23).
If we truly desire to see God transform the marketplace, we must be committed to the oneness Jesus prayed for. We must fully allow our love for Christ and our unconditional love for each other to create that unbroken chain that will bind us together.
How do we create this unity?
1. Repent for our lack of unity
2. Cultivate our personal relationship with Jesus
3. Confess our sins one to another
4. Forgive one another
5. Stop competing with and complete one another
6. Lay down our lives for each other
7. Wash each other's feet (serve one another)
Who are you holding a grudge against? Has business brought division between you and your mate? Who are you competing with? Whose success have you not celebrated? Whom have you withheld help from due to envy, jealousy or judgment? It is the desire of our King that we be one - so commit to walking in unity and confront your attitude toward your brother or sister so you may enjoy the blessing that He will command. Those around you will know that He was sent by the Father to save us from our sins.
Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Upcoming Leadership Prayer Luncheon
The next South Hampton Roads Leadership Prayer Luncheon will be held March 15th at noon, in the new fellowship hall of First Presbyterian Church of Norfolk. Dr. Carlos Campo, President-elect of Regent University, will speak. Everyone is welcome!
For more information click here
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For more information click here
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Monday, February 15, 2010
Why Sit Here and Die?
Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?" II Kings 7:3
A story is told in II Kings of a crisis that fell on the nation of Israel after it was invaded by the King of Syria. This crisis created a famine that was so dire that a woman, out of desperation, ate her own child (II Kings 6:26-29). During this crisis, the prophet Elisha prophesied that God would restore the city, but because of unbelief, the officer of the king did not believe him.
Meanwhile, there were four leprous men who were at the entrance of the city gate, hungry and afraid to enter the city because of the famine. Lepers had a contagious skin disease that made them unclean according to Old Testament regulations. They were isolated from the population until they were healed (usually miraculously) or until they died. The only place these lepers could find food was at the Syrian camp, but they were afraid to go there because they might be killed by the Syrians. They realized that whether they stayed where they were, entered the city, or went where the Syrians were, they would die.
They mustered up their courage and took the path with the most chance for them to survive. They approached the outskirts of the Syrian camp. To their surprise, there was no one there. There was plenty of food and treasure, but no people. The Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and horses; the noise of a great army which caused them to flee. The Syrians thought that the king of Israel had hired the king of the Hittites and the Egyptians to attack them. After eating and getting their share of the treasure, the lepers went to the king of Israel to inform him about what had happened. This led the Israelites to plunder the tents of the Syrians, and the prophecy that was told by Elisha came to pass. The courage of the lepers and their refusal to die prematurely not only saved their lives, but made them heroes and saved the lives of others.
It can be easy to take a defeated posture during a crisis. With decreased revenues, unavailable credit lines, high interest, unemployment and the uncertainty of when all this will end, you may be tempted to throw in the towel. These are times when the entrepreneur should be most alert and ready for action. These are times of great risks and great rewards. Like the lepers, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Do not simply rely on what you see; trust in a God who can do more than you can hope, think, and even imagine. Trust in a God who can part the Red Sea, open blind eyes and raise the dead- a God who is still performing miracles in the life of the believer.
Do not sit there and die! Rather, with great courage, seek the Lord for wisdom and direction, adjust your plan to reflect the reality of the times, and like the lepers, press forward toward the direction where there is provision. Make those phone calls to prospective clients, send out those promotional materials, visit those customers, and call those creditors and vendors. What is the worst thing that could happen? Give it all you've got, and I guarantee you the Lord will meet you more than half-way. Who knows? Your success may lead to God using you to save the lives of others, or at least cause them to turn to the God who saves.
Copyright © 2008 Patrice Tsague
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
A story is told in II Kings of a crisis that fell on the nation of Israel after it was invaded by the King of Syria. This crisis created a famine that was so dire that a woman, out of desperation, ate her own child (II Kings 6:26-29). During this crisis, the prophet Elisha prophesied that God would restore the city, but because of unbelief, the officer of the king did not believe him.
Meanwhile, there were four leprous men who were at the entrance of the city gate, hungry and afraid to enter the city because of the famine. Lepers had a contagious skin disease that made them unclean according to Old Testament regulations. They were isolated from the population until they were healed (usually miraculously) or until they died. The only place these lepers could find food was at the Syrian camp, but they were afraid to go there because they might be killed by the Syrians. They realized that whether they stayed where they were, entered the city, or went where the Syrians were, they would die.
They mustered up their courage and took the path with the most chance for them to survive. They approached the outskirts of the Syrian camp. To their surprise, there was no one there. There was plenty of food and treasure, but no people. The Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and horses; the noise of a great army which caused them to flee. The Syrians thought that the king of Israel had hired the king of the Hittites and the Egyptians to attack them. After eating and getting their share of the treasure, the lepers went to the king of Israel to inform him about what had happened. This led the Israelites to plunder the tents of the Syrians, and the prophecy that was told by Elisha came to pass. The courage of the lepers and their refusal to die prematurely not only saved their lives, but made them heroes and saved the lives of others.
It can be easy to take a defeated posture during a crisis. With decreased revenues, unavailable credit lines, high interest, unemployment and the uncertainty of when all this will end, you may be tempted to throw in the towel. These are times when the entrepreneur should be most alert and ready for action. These are times of great risks and great rewards. Like the lepers, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Do not simply rely on what you see; trust in a God who can do more than you can hope, think, and even imagine. Trust in a God who can part the Red Sea, open blind eyes and raise the dead- a God who is still performing miracles in the life of the believer.
Do not sit there and die! Rather, with great courage, seek the Lord for wisdom and direction, adjust your plan to reflect the reality of the times, and like the lepers, press forward toward the direction where there is provision. Make those phone calls to prospective clients, send out those promotional materials, visit those customers, and call those creditors and vendors. What is the worst thing that could happen? Give it all you've got, and I guarantee you the Lord will meet you more than half-way. Who knows? Your success may lead to God using you to save the lives of others, or at least cause them to turn to the God who saves.
Copyright © 2008 Patrice Tsague
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Created in His Image
"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27).
Out of all of God's creation, He chose to make us in His own image. What does that really mean? What is the image of God? How can we conform to that image? Walking in the image of God, which is our original nature before sin, is essential to building a successful kingdom business. As kingdom business stewards we are operating as God's representative and must manage His business as He would.*
The image of God is His own reflection; we were made to look and act like Him. There are seven characteristics to God's image:
1. Eternal - God has no beginning or end. He Is, Was, and Is To Come. Like God we become eternal upon receiving salvation. Not that we are immortal but death becomes our passport to eternity.
2. Holy - God is pure. There is no imperfection in Him. He calls us to be Holy as He is Holy. Holiness for us is not the absence of sin but rather it is the presence of a dynamic relationship with a loving Savior whose blood cleanses all of our imperfections.
3. Spirit - God is not a physical being but an existing Spirit. The mistake we tend to make is to limit our existence to our physics, when that is really not who we are. Like God the real us is spirit and we must allow that spirit to be activated and take full control over our physical being. Our physical nature is limited while the spirit man is unlimited.
4. Creator - God is an innovator and industrious. He has the ability to make things. Of all His characteristics entrepreneurs can best relate to this one because we understand the process of creating. Like God, whatever we imagine we can produce. There are no limitations to our creative abilities.
5. Loving - For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son... John 3:16. God's love is what caused him to cover Adam's nakedness and it is what led Him to send His only Son to die on the Cross. Like God, we must be loving and this love must be demonstrated by our compassion for others and our willingness to lay down our lives for others.
6. Savior - Without His saving nature, Adam would not have been redeemed and Jesus would not have been sent. He loves rescue missions because it gives Him the opportunity to be the Savior that He is. We have the opportunity through our business to bring salvation to the lost, saving them from their sins. We have the privilege to provide a safe environment for people to serve and provide for their families, saving them from abuse and tyranny.
7. Just - God's justice causes Him to judge wickedness and chastise those whom He loves. We must not cooperate with wickedness but take every opportunity to challenge it. We must resist the temptation to adopt fairness as a value which is a false attempt to play God and walk in the justice of God even when it is painful knowing that God's justice yields to redemption.
Ultimately, God is an eternal Holy Being who created everything that exists and although sin brought destruction to His creation, His love for us compelled Him to come as a Savior to redeem His creation and bring judgment upon the wicked.
Walking in the image of God is essential to our success as kingdom business stewards since that is God's original and divine order. In order for us to conform to our original nature we must make sure that we have accepted His Son as our Lord and Savior. We must have an active prayer and devotional life and we must challenge ourselves daily to walk in the characteristics of God's image.
Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
*Introduction:
It is unfortunate that in spite of the revealed truth of the word of God some still foolishly believe in the lie called evolution; that man was a result of chance and evolved from a monkey into a human being.
If that were the case, why is it that monkeys no longer turn into humans? Though I have not yet seen a monkey turn into a human, I have however seen humans turn into monkeys. Only a monkey will believe that he came from a monkey. Man turns into a monkey when he rejects the truth of scripture and does not reflect the image of God His creator. "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God..." (Psalm 14:1a).
*(RCE recognizes that there are sincere believers with various views on this issue--Ed.)
Out of all of God's creation, He chose to make us in His own image. What does that really mean? What is the image of God? How can we conform to that image? Walking in the image of God, which is our original nature before sin, is essential to building a successful kingdom business. As kingdom business stewards we are operating as God's representative and must manage His business as He would.*
The image of God is His own reflection; we were made to look and act like Him. There are seven characteristics to God's image:
1. Eternal - God has no beginning or end. He Is, Was, and Is To Come. Like God we become eternal upon receiving salvation. Not that we are immortal but death becomes our passport to eternity.
2. Holy - God is pure. There is no imperfection in Him. He calls us to be Holy as He is Holy. Holiness for us is not the absence of sin but rather it is the presence of a dynamic relationship with a loving Savior whose blood cleanses all of our imperfections.
3. Spirit - God is not a physical being but an existing Spirit. The mistake we tend to make is to limit our existence to our physics, when that is really not who we are. Like God the real us is spirit and we must allow that spirit to be activated and take full control over our physical being. Our physical nature is limited while the spirit man is unlimited.
4. Creator - God is an innovator and industrious. He has the ability to make things. Of all His characteristics entrepreneurs can best relate to this one because we understand the process of creating. Like God, whatever we imagine we can produce. There are no limitations to our creative abilities.
5. Loving - For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son... John 3:16. God's love is what caused him to cover Adam's nakedness and it is what led Him to send His only Son to die on the Cross. Like God, we must be loving and this love must be demonstrated by our compassion for others and our willingness to lay down our lives for others.
6. Savior - Without His saving nature, Adam would not have been redeemed and Jesus would not have been sent. He loves rescue missions because it gives Him the opportunity to be the Savior that He is. We have the opportunity through our business to bring salvation to the lost, saving them from their sins. We have the privilege to provide a safe environment for people to serve and provide for their families, saving them from abuse and tyranny.
7. Just - God's justice causes Him to judge wickedness and chastise those whom He loves. We must not cooperate with wickedness but take every opportunity to challenge it. We must resist the temptation to adopt fairness as a value which is a false attempt to play God and walk in the justice of God even when it is painful knowing that God's justice yields to redemption.
Ultimately, God is an eternal Holy Being who created everything that exists and although sin brought destruction to His creation, His love for us compelled Him to come as a Savior to redeem His creation and bring judgment upon the wicked.
Walking in the image of God is essential to our success as kingdom business stewards since that is God's original and divine order. In order for us to conform to our original nature we must make sure that we have accepted His Son as our Lord and Savior. We must have an active prayer and devotional life and we must challenge ourselves daily to walk in the characteristics of God's image.
Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
*Introduction:
It is unfortunate that in spite of the revealed truth of the word of God some still foolishly believe in the lie called evolution; that man was a result of chance and evolved from a monkey into a human being.
If that were the case, why is it that monkeys no longer turn into humans? Though I have not yet seen a monkey turn into a human, I have however seen humans turn into monkeys. Only a monkey will believe that he came from a monkey. Man turns into a monkey when he rejects the truth of scripture and does not reflect the image of God His creator. "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God..." (Psalm 14:1a).
*(RCE recognizes that there are sincere believers with various views on this issue--Ed.)
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