eChaplain

In Part 1, we talked about God’s “Grand Goals” for the birth of Jesus. In the interest of sparking further thought and discussion, here are some more:

God’s Grand Goal #4: Reproduction/Duplication
Jesus was only round one.  Paul called Him, “the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).  Clearly, none of us are worthy nor are we called to sacrifice our lives for the sins of others.  We certainly cannot minimize the value of His redemptive work.  However, God’s purpose is to reproduce the life of His Son in us… in you.  Jesus was the model, the prototype, the forerunner.  The very life of God that empowered Him dwells in us.  The same power that God used when raising Jesus from the dead is quite literally at our disposal.  What results are we getting?

More to come…

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No matter what your feelings about the modern-day celebration of Christmas, one particular value of this season is the return in our thinking to God’s grand purpose for injecting His Son into earth.

But, before you dismiss this as another trite re-hashing of the same old message, let me challenge you to read these next few lines carefully and thoughtfully. In particular, how does the reason for season affect those of us involved in the marketplace?

I’d like to submit to you a few of God’s “goals” for sending his Son. These are not necessarily in any particular order, I’ve just numbered them for the sake of bringing some order to them.

God’s Grand Goal #1: Transformation
On every level – personal, local, regional, societal, cultural, etc, God is in the business of transformation. Jesus was, in His arrival, His life, His business, His “ministry”, and certainly in His death, burial, and resurrection, an agent of change. He constantly brought people into relationship with the Father and demonstrated God’s power for true transformation. As his “disciples” (read: “trainees”), this is now our inherited task. What transformation are you bringing to your life, your family, your business, your city?

God’s Grand Goal #2: The Incarnation of Truth
Jesus was the embodiment of the Word. He was “the living Word.” He was the, “express image of the invisible God.” He gave unseen Truth visible and tangible expression. He did so without legalism, without religious weirdness, without judgment and wrath. In fact, the only targets of His anger were those who placed undue religious burdens on the seeking. How are you bringing eternal truth to bear in your spheres of influence?

God’s Grand Goal #3: Government
Perhaps one of the most powerful passages we quote when talking about the birth of Jesus is Isaiah’s prophecy contained in chapter 9, verses 6-7 (quoted here from the Amplified):

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from the [latter] time forth, even forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Jesus came to establish a true Kingdom — one with authority, with rulers, with subjects, with dominion, with might, and with peace. Some believers are, like the Jews, still awaiting the arrival of this Kingdom, but it’s been here for 20 centuries. Time and space do not permit a thorough examination of this prophecy from Isaiah, but I would challenge you to study it out and meditate on its meaning for us today. One interesting place to start: take a look at the Hebrew word for “government” used in these verses. Why would God choose this word for Isaiah to use? Why would it only occur in these two verses? Why would it be related to the word used to describe Jacob’s “struggle” when he wrestled with God?

We’ll continue this discussion later in the week. Please feel free to comment and participate!

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Tune in to CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 tonight!
Airing between 10:00 pm and midnight Friday 12/15

CNN spent some time with the Tampa C12 group and Bart Azzarelli of Dallas 1 Construction and Development. The story will be aired on the provocative show Anderson Cooper 360 sometime between 10:00 p.m. to midnight Friday, December 15. We encourage you to tune in!

UPDATE (December 18, 2006):  Coverage extended to the CNN Website:

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/12/christian-ceo-brings-faith-into.html

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Get out your box of tissues.

Recently, I received an e-mail from a friend which told the story of Dick Hoyt and his son, Rick, who was born, “…as a spastic quadriplegic, cerebral palsy, non-speaking person.”

The compelling text in the link is quite dramatic. But even more dramatic was the YouTube.com video that seemingly corroborated the information. So, as I usually do (if I’m even remotely interested) with an amazing story that makes its way to me through cyberspace, I checked it out at snopes.com, which investigates the veracity of such things. Not only is the story true, but there are plenty of references and even more information about the Hoyt family. They have even reproduced the entire text of the story. Once you have fresh tissues in hand, check out the amazing story here.

I bawled my eyes out.

Obviously, the story makes you think. Not just about how little my problems and yours seem by comparison, but there’s an amazing lesson in being thankful no matter what the circumstances.

This year, I hope your Thanksgiving finds you and the ones you love in the best of health, comfortable, and without major worries or concerns.

But if not, my prayer for you is that we all learn how to be grateful… and allow God to work as only He can.

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And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Luke 19:15 (NKJV)

Isn’t it interesting that the first question the master asked when he returned was, “What have you gained?”

Friends, God is expecting us to produce increase. He has invested valuable resources… not just the precious blood of His Son, but also giftings, abilities, knowledge and skills… in you. One question that God is asking us is… what have you gained with what I have entrusted to you?

This isn’t intended to be a guilt trip… but it is intended to provoke a little bit of thought. Here’s a question for you:

What is it about what you’re doing with your working life that is worthwhile?

Is it just a way to feed your family? Are you trying to climb the corporate ladder? Or, as my friend Eric Beck likes to ask, “Are you just trading 5 days of one thing for 2 days of another?”
Or… is there some element of calling in what you’re doing? Are you spending your days doing what you were created to do? Have you ever asked the question about what God may be doing through you? How do you fit into His plan?

Friends, I want to challenge you to spend some time answering these questions.

And, I want to let you know that some friends of mine (Michael Pink, Carlos Ramirez, Justin DeStoppelaire) and I will be discussing these questions and more like them at an event in Sarasota, Florida called Nourish The Dream on November 17th and 18th. The even is for anyone interested in pursuing God’s purpose for their lives. I hope to see you there!

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In stating his purposes for compiling the collection of writings we now know as “Proverbs,” King Solomon penned this little nugget:

That people may know skillful and godly Wisdom…and receive instruction in wise dealing and the discipline of wise thoughtfulness, righteousness, justice, and integrity…. Proverbs 1:2-3 (AMP)

Several months ago, that phrase, “the discipline of wise thoughtfulness” jumped out at me. Discipline can be defined* a couple of ways:

• as a noun: “activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training”
• as a verb: “to train by instruction and exercise; drill.” or “to bring to a state of order and obedience by training and control.”

In other words, Solomon is implying that we should be training ourselves — and in particular, training our minds — in a consistent pattern or habit of wise thoughtfulness.

This says to me that the manner in which we think is important — not just the subject which we are thinking about. How many times have you or I said something or done something without systematically thinking it through first? Obviously, we can damage relationships, ruin opportunities, or just get less out of an experience when we aren’t thinking clearly.

If we’re taking this hint, we should cultivate the habit of living thoughtfully… of engaging our minds intentionally in focused, disciplined thought. If you’ve ever intentionally set aside time to think something through, you know why this requires training. It is hard work! But the rewards are unmistakable.

Do it today. Set an appointment and clear some time in your schedule to think through the challenges you’re facing. You’ll be glad you did.

—
*“discipline.” Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. 26 Oct. 2006. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/discipline>

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Announcing the addition of e-mail to our subscription options! (You may always subscribe via our RSS or Atom feeds.) If you’d like to subscribe via e-mail you may use one of the subscribe links, or simply use this form:

Thanks again for reading! Enjoy.

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Hat tip to Karen Le for drawing this one to my attention!

The strongest are those who renounce their own times and become a living part of those yet to come. The strongest, and the rarest.

- Milovan Djilas, Yugoslav author and politician (1911-1995)

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Today’s Proverb is all about being practical. Here’s some fun from it:

Many a man proclaims his own loving-kindness and goodness, but a faithful man who can find? Proverbs 20:6 (AMP)

This one has always scared me a bit. Okay… maybe a lot. It’s easy for any of us to talk about how good we are – especially when it comes to business. We’re all inclined to talk up our reliability, our good service, our integrity. But Solomon’s question here is: who can find someone who actually follows through? Where are the people who are actually faithful and reliable and trustworthy?

Even a child is known by his acts, whether [or not] what he does is pure and right. Proverbs 20:11 (AMP)

Walking in integrity has nothing to do with what you say. It comes down to what you do. Period.

Is what you’re doing reflecting who you claim to be?

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Jon, the Baptist (yes, that’s what he calls himself) pointed out an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal recently about executives who are relying upon overtly Biblical principles to manage. I located a free (no subscription to WSJ required) copy of the story here. WSJ’s Phred Dvorak does a nice job of covering the bases, including a favorable mention of C12, which is an organization of Christian CEOs and business owners that originally had its start in the Sarasota, Florida area.

Mr. Dvorak also points out some of the typical pitfalls that believers can run into when operating as a “Christian” business, including ulterior motives (feigning genuine faith to advance one’s own agenda) and religious discrimination.

What is truly fabulous about what this article points out, but even more so about Tampa Bay Steel (one of the companies covered in the story) and C12 and so many other companies and organizations . . . is that Biblical principles, when properly applied, always produce fruitfulness and profitability. May we all demonstrate this in our daily work.

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