“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 NKJV)

It’s really an easy concept to wrap your head around: with the Creator of the universe — the all-supreme Ruler — on your side… who or what could really stand against you?

The big problem seems to come from that little tiny, 2-letter word: “If.”

Maybe it’s never happened to you, but I know what it feels like to really question whether God is really for me or not. The question isn’t really about God or His character. The question comes from whether or not I qualify to have God on my side.

The righteous are bold as a lion. Prov 28:1

From Sunday School in my childhood through countless sermons ever since, I’ve been given reason after reason to believe that I don’t. And being the analytical person that I am, I can spend hours (literally) rehearsing all of those reasons. Even when I think I’ve been on good behavior, all I need is time (and usually not very much) to come up with some reason that I’m disqualified from the favor of God.

Perhaps it sounds silly to admit this. And hopefully you don’t deal with this kind of thinking. Frankly, it doesn’t affect me very much when things are going well. But if there are challenges… if things don’t seem to be going my way… if I’m up against some obstacle that doesn’t seem to want to budge, this line of thinking rears its ugly head.

Ultimately, you have to settle this question. Is God for you or not?

Ironically, the very passage from which this Scripture is drawn contains some real solid answers. Reading the verses that precede this one, you find that as someone who is in Christ, you have been:

• foreknown by God
• predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son
• called by God
• justified by God
• glorified by God

The One who knew you beforehand… decided ahead of time…  that as you enter into covenant with Him, He would begin conforming you to the image of His Son, Jesus. He called you. He justified you — or literally, “He declared [you] righteous.”

I once heard someone say that if today is Wednesday (and it is, as I write this to you), if God suddenly decided He wanted it to be Thursday and then said, “It’s Thursday,” then it would be Thursday! Just like that. All of our watches, calendars, computers, and systems would suddenly say “Thursday” instead of “Wednesday.”

You see… we don’t get to vote. The Blood of Jesus was shed on your behalf. By receiving Him (a choice we do get to make), you became a recipient of this declaration that God made: “You are Righteous.”

“Who shall lay a charge against the choice ones of God? God is He that is declaring righteous, who is he that is condemning? Christ is He that died, yea, rather also, was raised up; who is also on the right hand of God–who also doth intercede for us.” (Romans 8:33-34 YLT)

In other words… no one (not even you) has the authority to charge you with failing to qualify for God’s favor. Only God has that authority, and He is the one declaring you righteous! If someone were to lay a charge against you, it is over-ridden by the declaration of God! Jesus has the authority to condemn, but He is the one interceding (“going between”) on our behalf!

Don’t believe me yet? Here are some places to spend some more time studying this out: 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 5:4-5, Ephesians 6:14, Revelation 12:11, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 3:9

The bottom line, my friend is this: because of Jesus, you qualify for the Favor of God today. He is for you. He said He would, “never leave you nor forsake you.”

Whatever challenges or obstacles you may be facing in your business, your family, your finances, your health, you can silence the voices that try to convince you that you don’t qualify for God’s favor. Once you settle that question, you can move forward with boldness and confidence! (Proverbs 28:1 NKJV)

Believing this — really accepting it as true — will affect everything you do. David would never have run out onto the battlefield against Goliath had he not been certain God was with him.

What will you do today, knowing that God is for you?

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This is probably going to be controversial. Any time “the Bible” and “money” show up together, all kinds of feathers get ruffled.

But you know what? I’m tired of God’s people not having enough money. And I’m willing to stir up a hornet’s nest if necessary and even shake you up a little bit if I can provoke you to do something big for the Kingdom.

I know that we’re all trying to have a good heart and not be greedy. I get it. I really do.

But after appearing recently on Christian television, my office has been flooded with phone calls and website inquiries. Time after time, my staff and I have spoken with people who have a desire to do something big. They’ve got ideas. They’ve got “million dollar ideas,” even.

Some of them want to support missions efforts — overseas and at home. Some of them want to fund other ministry efforts, including feeding the hungry or creating financially strong private schools so that options other than State-run Godless education will be available.

But nearly every one of these people lacked one thing.

Yep. You guessed it… the money to get it done.

I’m tired of it! I’m absolutely finished with God’s people — the ones inhabited by the very Creator of all things — not having enough to do what He’s called them to do. He’s placed destiny in their hearts… and we as the Body of Christ haven’t trained them to go get the resources that it takes to fulfill their God-given destinies.

So… to start things off, I’ve just created and released a free e-Book.

But consider yourself warned: it is controversial. It will shake up your thinking.

Go get your copy. There’s a $10 free gift inside. No strings attached.

If you follow the path of least resistance — as we are so prone to do — it’s easy to slide down the slippery slope of negativity while being bombarded by all the bad news about the economy. Perhaps you’ve lost a job or experienced a downturn in your business. Maybe your local environment is getting tough… you might be surrounded by foreclosures or businesses boarding up or people in dire circumstances.

Never Waste a Good Crisis!

Regardless of what’s happening around us, though, we are in one of the greatest moments of opportunity in our lifetimes.

Why?

Because in times of change, opportunities get created. In times of great change, more opportunity exists than at any other time. And now is without doubt a time of significant change.

John F. Kennedy once related that the Chinese character for “crisis” is a conglomeration of two other characters: “danger” and “opportunity.” This means that in any crisis — including a major one — you have a choice about what you will see. On the face of it — the portion that is obvious to anyone — is the danger. And in fact that facet of any crisis will be the most oft-repeated. It’s simply a matter of human nature.

But as people inhabited by the Spirit of Almighty God, the Creator Himself, we have the ability to look beyond what we are bombarded with in our 5 senses. We can, instead, view the situation from an entirely different perspective. Yes, there are needs; perhaps even great needs. But to a creative person who is diligently looking through the lens of opportunity, needs represent the occasion for solutions.

I firmly believe that hidden within the Kingdom of God are all answers to life’s situations. We as believers are the very dwelling place of the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation (Ephesians 1:17). Like Joseph confronted with the news of impending disaster in the nation of Egypt, we have the ability to access the Wisdom of God to understand how to bring solutions.

And here’s the interesting thing: the world pays for solutions. The marketplace rewards problem solvers.

Friend, this is our moment to shine. Perhaps you have a dream of moving out of the system of wage slavery that dominates our society. Maybe you’ve been considering starting a business. Perhaps you’ve been questioning God about your purpose, your calling, your destiny.

This is your hour to allow God’s Spirit to reveal to you how to share the giftings and talents that He has put in you… and to share them in a way that provides solutions to the problems of others while providing a reward for you and your family.

The key is found in 2 distinct, but connected elements:

1. Pursue relationship with God at all cost.
2. Take action on what He reveals to you.

We must first seek after Him with all of our hearts. Clear up your relationship with Him. If you’re angry, resentful or frustrated with God as a result of your difficult circumstances (or those of people around you), then tell Him. Allow His Spirit to address the issues. Plow into His Word. Allow Him to speak to you. Cultivate a listening heart.

Secondly, we must take action. God has “right now” Wisdom available to us. We may never see a season of such incredible opportunity again in our lives. Simply hearing from God will not be sufficient. We must act. This is the hallmark of the life of faith: it is a life of action. Sieze the moment. Grab the opportunities in front of you… and take territory for the Kingdom of God by force.

Will it be easy? No. But valuable doings rarely are. This doesn’t mean it will be complicated, but it will require that you reach down into the depths of your internal fortitude and latch on to the supernatural power of God residing within you.

You can do it!

Recently, we began talking about A Believer’s Response to Bad Economic News. There’s so much more to talk about along these lines, but today let’s focus on the question we asked:

Does what we believe have the ability to produce what we need?

The starting point for this is that we do believe that God Himself has the ability to supply what we need. This isn’t in question.

Are you in crisis?

But… will He produce and supply it for us?

This can be the harder question. Again, it isn’t just “in Whom” I believe — it’s what I believe about Him that will affect the results that I get…

In the book of Ezra, there’s a moment in Israel’s history that I’ve gone back to again and again these last few months. It’s not the most popular book of the Bible for sermons, so a little background may be useful if you haven’t read it recently.

Ezra was a priest during Israel’s captivity under the Persian empire. He began to search out God’s Word and eventually went to King Artaxerxes and, with great favor upon him, requested — and got — permission and funding to go back to Jerusalem and re-establish the temple and the sacrifices.

He hit a snag, however, when he and the several hundred he recruited to make the journey to Jerusalem with him set out. They had a very dangerous road in front of them, and the trip would ultimately take several months.

In other words, he had a dream. He had discovered his God-given purpose. He had some of what he needed to succeed, but he had a major area of lack — security and protection in his case.

Here was his response:

“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a straight and right way for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy along the way, because we had told the king, The hand of our God is upon all them for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.”
(Ezra 8:21-22 AMP)

This passage strikes such a strong chord within me. Where do we turn?

Notice that he and the others needed to know how to proceed because their lives, their little ones, everything they owned, and their God-given purpose was all at stake. This wasn’t a time when a nice-sounding prayer and a religious platitude would help.

Their faith had to manifest a result. Period. End of story. We quite literally wouldn’t be reading this story if they hadn’t received their answer. The risk was real — enemies on the road, uncertainty, failure.

Are you in that kind of situation today? Does your relationship with God have to manifest what you need?

To be continued…

It always happens in an election year — some kind of upheaval. But this year it really seems to have teeth. Banks failing, huge drops (and gains) in the stock market, businesses closing, layoffs, etc.

As believers, how do we respond?

I’ve spent a lot of time studying this subject this year. With ups and downs in my own business and perhaps more personal financial pressure than ever, a serious question emerges:

Does what we believe have the ability to produce what we need?

Notice the question does not address the One in Whom we believe. His character, His love, His ability and His goodness aren’t even remotely in question.

But what I’ve learned is that it matters what we believe about Him.

If, for example, I don’t believe that His help is available — whether it’s because I’m unaware of it or because I haven’t built up trust in Him through relationship and experiential knowledge — then I won’t seek it out. If I do seek it out, I might choose not to do what He leads me to do.

And guess what? That means that I don’t get the result that He promised. It’s that simple.

In today’s Proverb is this verse that caught my eye:

“Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.”
(Proverbs 30:5 AMP)

With the storms of economic bad news raging around us, it’s time to “trust and take refuge in Him.” You may be surrounded with wreckage in the midst of this economic storm. You may have even taken some personal blows in your business or your family. But now’s not the time to leave the battlefield. It’s time to surround yourself with the shield and take refuge in it.

It occurs to me that shields are unnecessary if you’re not getting fired upon or attacked.

More on this in the days ahead.

Your thoughts?

“I [Wisdom] walk in the way of righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation), in the midst of the paths of justice, That I may cause those who love me to inherit [true] riches and that I may fill their treasuries.” (Proverbs 8:20-21 AMP)

It just doesn’t get any plainer than Proverbs chapter 8.  The chapter begins with Wisdom (personified) calling out to any who will listen — offering her instruction, her words and her benefits to one and all.

As the chapter progresses, we gain further insight into who Wisdom really is. She was “present” with God at the moment of creation. She was “brought forth” at the beginning of His “way” before His “acts.” In other words, she emerges from the very essence of God and represents His ways.

You may remember that the children of Israel knew His acts, but Moses knew his “ways.”  God has always offered His Wisdom to those who would incline their ear — reach out for it, listen for it, intently pursue it.

Isn’t it interesting that among the very clear benefits of hearing and obeying the Wisdom of God are, “riches and honor… enduring wealth and righteousness?” (Proverbs 8:18 AMP)  For some of us, it would still seem that being righteous or having right standing with God would make it impossible to have wealth and riches (God’s words, not mine!)… and vice versa!

But acting according to Wisdom will fill your treasuries.

Obviously, pursuing Wisdom — especially as described in this chapter — requires that we pursue God and His ways as our first priority. But just as night follows day, we should expect that we experience substantive improvement in our lives as a result. It reminds me of what Jesus said:

“But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.” (Matthew 6:33 AMP)

Don’t be ashamed to expect financial increase when you are pursing God and His ways with abandonment.

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children….” (Proverbs 13:22a NKJV)

Off and on for the past few years, I’ve returned to this subject in my personal study.  Whether ministering from the pulpit or working with entrepreneurs and businesspeople in the context of business, the idea that we — as Christians — struggle more than most with money has come up again and again.

Looking at my own church experience, I can see that there are a number of factors that have affected me personally.  It has been a journey in and of itself to reconcile my own thinking with what I’ve come to understand from the Word of God.

But… reaching beyond myself, I’ve discovered that many people struggle with many of the same issues.  And there are others that I’ve found are working to limit the effectiveness of God’s people that had not been a part of my own experience.

The most dangerous ones, of course, are the ones that affect us without us being aware of them. For example, confusing wealth with money is a common misunderstanding. What exactly is it that we are pursuing in business anyway?

All of this has led me to work on something that I’m excited to be announcing very soon.  It is intended to address all of this — and much more — head-on.  Watch this space for updates!