workplace-ministry.com

And I say it again, God is so good!

How often do you think ‘I must do that, I must do that’ and keep putting that thing off? Yes, it happens to me too. It’s been on my mind that I should be writing here regularly, reviewing daily bible readings and see how I can apply it here. I receive TGIF daily and that is great inspiration but I get inspiration from many other areas too.

Tonight I logged into my blog, wondering what I was going to write and then discovered a post I’d written a few weeks ago but hadn’t published yet. So I published it and then thought it would be a good article to submit at FaithWriters.com (as if I don’t get enough of writing!!!). Within minutes of publishing it there I get a message that it was just what someone needed to read, just at that very moment - I mean, I’d only just published it!

But that’s not all - minutes before that I’d read today’s TGIF message and discovered something there that was meant for a lady who had emailed me earlier in the day, with her feelings of weariness and almost at the point of giving up. The message was titled ‘Sowing in Tears’ and I didn’t even know how it was going to be received - I know very little about this lady on a personal basis, although she is a member of my VA team. But her reply email soon demonstrated that message was exactly right for her and if I’d read it any other time, it wouldn’t have been fresh in my mind for her.

Two times, within 5-10 minutes, messages I was sharing spoke volumes to two very special ladies who needed to read them. What message do you have that someone needs to hear? KMT

sharing messages, God is so good, listening to the Spirit

On my desk I have a perpetual calendar and a couple of days ago, it had the following verse:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. Psalm 1:1 NIV

It had a small explanation and I remembered our Pastor had spoken about this late last year. This is about who you choose to keep company with and who you take notice of, perhaps even taken advice from. It could even mean issues of ethics.

Someone I know some years ago was working with a stockbroking firm but some of the practices carried out in that office made this person feel uncomfortable. He decided that the practices didn’t align with his beliefs or ethics and he left the company, even though he didn’t have another job to go to. But God was good to him and placed him in a better role, using the skills he’d learnt in the former one.

In the business world it is so important that we hold firm to what we believe in and maintain a set of ethics that are right for us, as followers of Christ. There have been odd occsasions when I’ve had to tell a client ‘no, I won’t do that’ to something that didn’t appear to be ethically wrong to the person asking, but definitely felt that way to me. It’s important that we can look at something we’re doing and knowing that Jesus is there beside us, we don’t feel uncomfortable about it. That means what we say, what we think, what we do, who we mix with and do things with.

Jesus did minister to those who needed him the most - the sinners - but he did not participate in their practices or way of life and it’s important that we do the same. Not only for our own sakes, but also for those who may be watching us from a distance - we may be a witness to them without even knowing it.

Happy New Year to all my readers! I’m excited about 2007 - last year was a challenging one for me and some things that have been happening in my life for some years built up to a crescendo and resulting challenges last year. But I do believe those things are now behind me and that this year is a new beginning for a new chapter.

The Pastor at our church received a Word from God at the end of 2006 and he was told that this year would be a Year of Green Lights - that many in our church would find that this is the year that God will clear obstacles and move them forward on the path He has directed for them. I’m claiming that Word to include me!

But what about you? One thing mentioned is that often we seem to experience the same lessons over and over again. Have you been there? I have, and what it tends to mean is that we’re stuck on a roundabout, revisiting the same places, situations, challenges and struggles over and over again. But it’s time to get off the roundabout and head on up the highway to the destination that God has planned for us.

Do you know your path? Would you recognise it when you see it as you move round the roundabout? I hope so, but if not, then seek God for clear signs to let you know when you need to get off. Search yourself to see if the lessons you’ve been learning are now fully learnt and you’re ready to move on. How many times have you gone through that same thing? Ask God to help you get off the roundabout and move on with life and His plans for you. And enjoy the journey! God does want us to be content with our lives but He also wants us to feel motivated to move to the next step on our journey with Him.

I was recently invited to a show in the city by a client of mine - she’d been invited by someone she knew and was told she could bring a guest with her. This isn’t unusual and I was happy to go along, but asked first about the content of the show. An event we’d attended the previous week had some pretty ‘off’ comediennes performing and I really didn’t want to sit through something else like that again. I’d only stayed because it was an awards night and thought that if my client won an award, it would be really good if I was there for her. I made a comment to my client about last week’s performances and she agreed that they were ‘off’ and suggested I contact the lady who invited her.

I introduced myself on the phone and explained my connection with my client, and then asked two simple questions: Was there bad language in the show, and did it have off sexual references? I was met with a stony silence. After a pause she then said that it’s an adult show and asked me how old I was? I told her and said I take that as meaning the show has bad language and off sexual jokes.

She reacted like I’d insulted her. I tried to explain (nicely) to the lady that I just didn’t appreciate that kind of show and that was why I was asking. She hung up on me. I contacted my client and told her I wouldn’t be going.

It’s a shame that today anyone who would prefer not to go to a show that has bad language and off jokes is treated as though they’re from another world - perhaps the reality is, that we are. Christians need to stand up for what they believe in, and if necessary, question about the content of something they’ve been invited to see. The lady I spoke to said no-one had ever asked her that question before - she was the publicist for the show and it has 4 women who sing and perform, and provide comedy in a show that is supposedly about women with standards. Perhaps a Christian had never been invited to one of her shows before, but I think it more likely that she just never heard about it.

I remember recently hearing in a sermon at church how important it is that we do speak up - that silence can be taken for agreement, when often we are not in agreement at all. There is a time when we need to know when to be silent (as Jesus was when being questioned before his crucifixion) but there are also times when we should make a stand. There are people all around us watching and we might be the only person they know who knows our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. What will you be watching during this celebration time of the year? KMT

standards, offend, Christian business

I was told a couple of weeks ago that the Bible Society has a new slimline bible out - a business bible. I was able to view one at the recent CMA Business Breakfast. It was silver in colour, had testimonials from well known Australian Christian business people in the front few pages and looked like a really book to have. Sells for $19.95 and would be an ideal gift for someone in the business world. You can buy them in bulk at a cheaper rate also.

I’ve searched the Bible Society website but there’s nothing up there yet about it so I’ll have to ring. In the meantime, here’s a link for their current catalogue, in case you’re looking for gifts for Christmas.

Business Bible, Christian business, Bible Society, Christmas gifts