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.
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Unconditional Obedience
"But Simon answered and said to Him Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down my net" (Luke 5:5)
Would you like to know the secrets to overwhelming blessing and favor beyond your wildest expectations? Of course we all would. The reality, however, is that this "secret" is not really a secret at all but a well-known principle that we know but struggle with its application. This principle is called unconditional obedience. We have all heard of obedience, which is defined as listening with a desire to act. True obedience is about submission; it is the act of completely yielding oneself to the person giving the instruction. It is about rejecting our will and embracing His will. Unconditional obedience takes it a step further; it is not just completely submitting our will to the will of God but it is doing so without reservations. Unconditional obedience is listening with the desire to act without reservations.
This principle is demonstrated in the first encounter between Peter and Jesus. After Peter allowed Jesus to use his boat to preach the Gospel, Jesus, in his desire to bless Peter, instructed him to "launch out his net in the deep". Peter, a professional fisherman, had been fishing all night without success but his response to Jesus was that at His Word he would let down his net.
Though Peter was not certain of the outcome of his action, he unconditionally obeyed the Master and as a result he was extremely blessed beyond measure. He caught so many fish that day that he needed help to pull the net out of the water and the net even broke. This demonstrates that Peter had never caught that many fish in his professional career and had not planned on it, because if he had, he would have had a stronger net to handle such a harvest.
How long have you been toiling without real success? Fortunately we are at a time when the fate of our economy has been removed and we are all facing the real consequences of our actions. Our disobedience and inefficiencies can no longer be hidden in the abundance of the economy because it has been exposed by the current crises.
Like Peter you have recognized Jesus as Savior of your life. However, it is time to recognize him as Lord. You trusted Him with a part of your assets but it is time to trust him with all of your assets, including your profit centers. It was easy for Peter to let Jesus use his boat since this act did not impact his profit center. Taking operational advice from Jesus would impact his profit center; it was recognizing Jesus' Lordship over everything he had. What does a rabbi know about fishing? What does the Bible really have to say about business?
Peter obeyed Jesus unconditionally even though he did not know what the outcome would be. Will you turn everything to him? Will you obey Him unconditionally? Will you allow your business, your life and everything you do to be guided by the Bible? Of course your outcome may not be like that of Peter where he experienced immediate blessings. It may be like Daniel's, where His unconditional obedience led him into the lion's den or like Joseph, where his unconditional obedience led him to prison. Whatever challenges you may face as a result of your unconditional obedience will be nothing compared to the surpassing weight of Glory that awaits you. So go ahead and obey Him unconditionally and watch Him perform a miracle in your life and in your business.
Copyright © 2009 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Would you like to know the secrets to overwhelming blessing and favor beyond your wildest expectations? Of course we all would. The reality, however, is that this "secret" is not really a secret at all but a well-known principle that we know but struggle with its application. This principle is called unconditional obedience. We have all heard of obedience, which is defined as listening with a desire to act. True obedience is about submission; it is the act of completely yielding oneself to the person giving the instruction. It is about rejecting our will and embracing His will. Unconditional obedience takes it a step further; it is not just completely submitting our will to the will of God but it is doing so without reservations. Unconditional obedience is listening with the desire to act without reservations.
This principle is demonstrated in the first encounter between Peter and Jesus. After Peter allowed Jesus to use his boat to preach the Gospel, Jesus, in his desire to bless Peter, instructed him to "launch out his net in the deep". Peter, a professional fisherman, had been fishing all night without success but his response to Jesus was that at His Word he would let down his net.
Though Peter was not certain of the outcome of his action, he unconditionally obeyed the Master and as a result he was extremely blessed beyond measure. He caught so many fish that day that he needed help to pull the net out of the water and the net even broke. This demonstrates that Peter had never caught that many fish in his professional career and had not planned on it, because if he had, he would have had a stronger net to handle such a harvest.
How long have you been toiling without real success? Fortunately we are at a time when the fate of our economy has been removed and we are all facing the real consequences of our actions. Our disobedience and inefficiencies can no longer be hidden in the abundance of the economy because it has been exposed by the current crises.
Like Peter you have recognized Jesus as Savior of your life. However, it is time to recognize him as Lord. You trusted Him with a part of your assets but it is time to trust him with all of your assets, including your profit centers. It was easy for Peter to let Jesus use his boat since this act did not impact his profit center. Taking operational advice from Jesus would impact his profit center; it was recognizing Jesus' Lordship over everything he had. What does a rabbi know about fishing? What does the Bible really have to say about business?
Peter obeyed Jesus unconditionally even though he did not know what the outcome would be. Will you turn everything to him? Will you obey Him unconditionally? Will you allow your business, your life and everything you do to be guided by the Bible? Of course your outcome may not be like that of Peter where he experienced immediate blessings. It may be like Daniel's, where His unconditional obedience led him into the lion's den or like Joseph, where his unconditional obedience led him to prison. Whatever challenges you may face as a result of your unconditional obedience will be nothing compared to the surpassing weight of Glory that awaits you. So go ahead and obey Him unconditionally and watch Him perform a miracle in your life and in your business.
Copyright © 2009 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Life Balance, Overload and Renewal
Found a treasure!
Regent's Media Services just sent me some updated links from some recordings made a couple of years ago. This one, entitled Life Balance, Overload, and Renewal, drew my attention right away: who doesn't struggle with stress and balance in life, at least sometimes?
Here's the link from Fall 2006, I believe: http://www.regent.edu/admin/media/fms/butterfly/butterflyURL.cfm?address=5000052
Doug Chandler, who taught this course, is a good friend and was very much appreciated by students while he was teaching at Regent Universtiy.
Regent's Media Services just sent me some updated links from some recordings made a couple of years ago. This one, entitled Life Balance, Overload, and Renewal, drew my attention right away: who doesn't struggle with stress and balance in life, at least sometimes?
Here's the link from Fall 2006, I believe: http://www.regent.edu/admin/media/fms/butterfly/butterflyURL.cfm?address=5000052
Doug Chandler, who taught this course, is a good friend and was very much appreciated by students while he was teaching at Regent Universtiy.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Ramadan 2009
Just a reminder to all--Ramadan is here. Let's pray for those who are seeking God during this time, that He would reveal Himself to many. Also pray for those living and doing business in lands where Ramadan is observed: that each person would have wisdom to know whether or not to participate and how to conduct themselves courteously and discreetly, even if they are not fasting.
May the Name of the Lord Jesus be lifted up!
Resource pages:
http://www.30-days.net/category/ramadan/
http://www.holidays.net/ramadan/ramadan.htm
May the Name of the Lord Jesus be lifted up!
Resource pages:
http://www.30-days.net/category/ramadan/
http://www.holidays.net/ramadan/ramadan.htm
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Update from RCE - KENYA
-by Jeremiah Koshal(Jeremiah is the former Research Fellow for RCE. He and his wife Ruth returned to Kenya in July 2008 after many years of study and work in the US. Jeremiah operates two kingdom businesses and Ruth is a Regional Director for World Vision Africa.)
Though we’ve been back in Kenya for almost four months now, we’re still in the adjusting mode. It is funny to talk of adjusting in your own country, but that’s a fact we cannot pretend to ignore.
When we arrived at the beginning of July, I was upbeat about implementing all the ideas and projects that I thought would help my community and country. First of all, I already had two kingdom businesses that were on-going with two different partners (Alpha International Consultancy and Go Africa Safaris). I was ambitious about starting a fertilizer import project with AgConcepts (a US-base company) that can help reduce the shortage of fertilizer in this country as well as make the fertilizer more affordable to small farmers. I was also to start the process of building an Ecotourism Community Lodge that will help create employment for hundreds of unemployed young people, and generate income for holistic programs (health care, education, environmental conservation, business development, etc.) in the community.
Further, I was planning to start a Regent MBA cluster as well as start teaching Biblical Entrepreneurship (BE), a biblically based business training for people who want to operate their businesses according to Godly principles. I have gone through the Regent MBA program myself and I’m also a certified BE instructor.
I had the enthusiasm, the passion and the drive to do all these things, but I soon realized that I was setting myself for failure, as there was no way I could undertake all of the above projects while trying to readjust to being here at the same time.
Speaking of adjusting, we’ve had to learn a lot since returning, even in our own country. For instance, ninety-percent of the people don’t keep time, and they are not apologetic about it. There are other issues such as scrambling for just about any service, people not being straightforward because they expect kickbacks, etc. But needless to say, there are also myriad great things here; connecting with family and friends is one of those, plus the feeling that God has us here to try and fix what we think is not working well. So we are honored to be back home, but at the same time we are also challenged to roll up our sleeves and do what we can.
I’m focusing on Go Africa Safaris right now, but I’m also strategizing on all the other projects that I’ve mentioned. With God’s help and with your prayers and support, all these projects and many more will come into fruition.
Though we’ve been back in Kenya for almost four months now, we’re still in the adjusting mode. It is funny to talk of adjusting in your own country, but that’s a fact we cannot pretend to ignore.
When we arrived at the beginning of July, I was upbeat about implementing all the ideas and projects that I thought would help my community and country. First of all, I already had two kingdom businesses that were on-going with two different partners (Alpha International Consultancy and Go Africa Safaris). I was ambitious about starting a fertilizer import project with AgConcepts (a US-base company) that can help reduce the shortage of fertilizer in this country as well as make the fertilizer more affordable to small farmers. I was also to start the process of building an Ecotourism Community Lodge that will help create employment for hundreds of unemployed young people, and generate income for holistic programs (health care, education, environmental conservation, business development, etc.) in the community.
Further, I was planning to start a Regent MBA cluster as well as start teaching Biblical Entrepreneurship (BE), a biblically based business training for people who want to operate their businesses according to Godly principles. I have gone through the Regent MBA program myself and I’m also a certified BE instructor.
I had the enthusiasm, the passion and the drive to do all these things, but I soon realized that I was setting myself for failure, as there was no way I could undertake all of the above projects while trying to readjust to being here at the same time.
Speaking of adjusting, we’ve had to learn a lot since returning, even in our own country. For instance, ninety-percent of the people don’t keep time, and they are not apologetic about it. There are other issues such as scrambling for just about any service, people not being straightforward because they expect kickbacks, etc. But needless to say, there are also myriad great things here; connecting with family and friends is one of those, plus the feeling that God has us here to try and fix what we think is not working well. So we are honored to be back home, but at the same time we are also challenged to roll up our sleeves and do what we can.
I’m focusing on Go Africa Safaris right now, but I’m also strategizing on all the other projects that I’ve mentioned. With God’s help and with your prayers and support, all these projects and many more will come into fruition.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)