Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6
The American Declaration of Independence includes this famous line, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness." One may argue that the term the pursuit of happiness is an empty slogan and the fuel behind our materialistic society. Since many entrepreneurs are in pursuit of happiness they believe that anything that will make them happy is their right to have. Although this view of happiness is unscriptural, the writers of the Declaration of Independence were not totally off base when they used those terms. The Bible does teach about happiness, but within the context of it being something that is a divine favor from God as a result of our obedience to His Word and His will.
The word "happiness" comes from the word "blessed". In His Sermon on the Mount, in what is commonly known as theBeatitudes, Jesus says, "blessed [or happy] are the poor in spirit, blessed [or happy] are those who mourn blessed [or happy] are the meek, and blessed [or happy] are those who thirst and hunger after righteousness". We can therefore conclude that God does want us to be happy, but this happiness is the bi-product of a spiritual pursuit and not the end unto itself. Happiness is not guaranteed; rather, it is a reward to those who do the will of the Father.
How do Biblical Entrepreneurs pursue this happiness? This happiness is attained by acquiring the following spiritual attributes taken from Matthew 5:3-11:
1. Poor in spirit, recognition of our spiritual poverty before God. We realize that we are incomplete; only He can enrich our lives and without Him we are miserable.
2. Mourn, to have feeling of grief. We must not be too proud but rather grieve before God for the unrighteousness around us so He may bring us comfort.
3. Meek, power under control. We must not use our advantage or talents to advance our own agenda but rather to protect and defend others.
4. Hunger and thirst after righteousness, we must continuously demonstrate a strong desire for God and His Word.
5. Mercy, a sense of compassion which leads to action. We must demonstrate compassion towards others, especially those who are suffering.
6. Pure at heart, a singleness of focus before God and allowing his word to transform us on the inside.
7. Peacemakers, we must be people who attempt to bring harmony and reconciliation to those who are estranged from God and others.
8. Persecuted for righteousness sake, allowing ourselves to suffer in the hands of those who do not know nor understand our Savior and His plan for our lives for the purpose of advancing the will of our Savior.
Do you still want to be happy? If so, covet after these things and happiness will be yours.
Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Rwanda: pics from our Business Development Center
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| Dr John Mulford interacting w/ students at opening of BDC |
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| Jason introducing egg-drop challenge |
Monday, November 1, 2010
For God So Loved the World...
"For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Most entrepreneurs, when asked why they want to start a business, respond by saying, "So I can be my own boss and make some money." As Biblical Entrepreneurs, money should never be our motivation for being in business. We should have the same motivation that God had as He sent His Son in the earth realm to start His business. God's motivation was not money or a big organization, but love. He could easily maintain love as His motivation because He knew that He owned everything and there was nothing else He needed to gain that He did not already have.
John 3:16 could be stated this way, "for God so loved sinful humanity that He started a global enterprise called Operation Rescue, Inc." This enterprise had one product called the Gospel or the good news. He assigned His only begotten Son, Jesus, to serve as the CEO. His goal is to recruit and train men who would lead this new enterprise and their mission is to seek and save the lost. How can a Holy God love sinful humanity? Does He not hate sin? God was able to see the potential of humanity beyond its condition. He saw what could be possible for humanity if someone was able to successfully rescue it from its current state. That possibility so excited Him that faith kicked in and embraced love in an attempt to make that potential a reality. God did that knowing that everyone would not accept His product and that among those who do, some would not appreciate it. He rejoiced knowing that if only one person accepts and appreciates His product it would all have been worth it. He did His market research and knew that enough people would accept His product to keep the business profitable. His love compelled Him to believe in humanity more than it could believe in itself.
What is your motivation for being in business? Are you motivated by love as God was, or are you motivated by money or gain? Our motivation is what fuels our passion for the business. It drives us and inspires us to defy logic and move by faith to make the impossible possible. Our motivation helps us overcome the difficult times of business; it helps us overcome fear and ensures that we will not fail. How do you know if you are motivated by love and not money? Here are a few things to help you determine whether you are an entrepreneur who is motivated by love or money.
In addition, remember that when your motivation is money, the only thing that can help you love the customer is money. The problem with that is there is never enough money to buy your love since money is temporal and one can never have enough of it. Consider the fact that because God owns everything and has nothing else to gain and is motivated purely by love, He entrusted you and I with all He owns. He made us to have dominion over the works of His hands and put all things under our feet. We therefore have nothing else to gain since all things have been put under our feet. We can focus on loving our customers and not on money, trusting that our God will add all things unto us.
Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Most entrepreneurs, when asked why they want to start a business, respond by saying, "So I can be my own boss and make some money." As Biblical Entrepreneurs, money should never be our motivation for being in business. We should have the same motivation that God had as He sent His Son in the earth realm to start His business. God's motivation was not money or a big organization, but love. He could easily maintain love as His motivation because He knew that He owned everything and there was nothing else He needed to gain that He did not already have.
John 3:16 could be stated this way, "for God so loved sinful humanity that He started a global enterprise called Operation Rescue, Inc." This enterprise had one product called the Gospel or the good news. He assigned His only begotten Son, Jesus, to serve as the CEO. His goal is to recruit and train men who would lead this new enterprise and their mission is to seek and save the lost. How can a Holy God love sinful humanity? Does He not hate sin? God was able to see the potential of humanity beyond its condition. He saw what could be possible for humanity if someone was able to successfully rescue it from its current state. That possibility so excited Him that faith kicked in and embraced love in an attempt to make that potential a reality. God did that knowing that everyone would not accept His product and that among those who do, some would not appreciate it. He rejoiced knowing that if only one person accepts and appreciates His product it would all have been worth it. He did His market research and knew that enough people would accept His product to keep the business profitable. His love compelled Him to believe in humanity more than it could believe in itself.
What is your motivation for being in business? Are you motivated by love as God was, or are you motivated by money or gain? Our motivation is what fuels our passion for the business. It drives us and inspires us to defy logic and move by faith to make the impossible possible. Our motivation helps us overcome the difficult times of business; it helps us overcome fear and ensures that we will not fail. How do you know if you are motivated by love and not money? Here are a few things to help you determine whether you are an entrepreneur who is motivated by love or money.
In addition, remember that when your motivation is money, the only thing that can help you love the customer is money. The problem with that is there is never enough money to buy your love since money is temporal and one can never have enough of it. Consider the fact that because God owns everything and has nothing else to gain and is motivated purely by love, He entrusted you and I with all He owns. He made us to have dominion over the works of His hands and put all things under our feet. We therefore have nothing else to gain since all things have been put under our feet. We can focus on loving our customers and not on money, trusting that our God will add all things unto us.
Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
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