“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.

My wife and I were watching the Olympics a few nights ago, and something we saw has stuck in my mind ever since. I can’t say with absolute certainty, because a few days have gone by — and quite a few celebratory interviews with athletes have too — but I’m nearly positive it was the Women’s 4×400m relay.

You may remember this race. The American women had individually experienced some blunders in previous races. They were pretty heartbroken as a result. So they came into the race with some serious motivation.

As the relay came to an end, they were down. It was the last leg of the race. Sanya Richards was churning along a fair distance behind the runner from the Russian Federation. But as she rounded the last bend in the track, she absolutely turned something on.  She was “digging deep,” as the commentator called it.  She held a laser focus on the finish line, while the Russian runner’s eyes kept glancing up to the big screen to see what was going on.

After her experiences at the Beijing Olympic games, Sanya could’ve lightened up. After all, she’d suffered some hard knocks. To say she’d had some disappointments would be a severe understatement.  She ran pretty hard in the last leg… but she was behind for over 300 meters.  She’d given it a good run. She’d been behind from the very start — the Russians had taken the lead from the Americans in the last few meters of the previous leg.

What goes through your mind when you’re in the race, you’re behind, and the pressure is on? I’m sure that your body is screaming at you to stop. You’re not sure if you have anything left. Everything in you tells you that it would be OK to finish in second place.

And yet… somewhere, from the deepest parts of her, something arose.  What was it?  A decision.

“We decided we were going to win it.”

These were the words uttered by one of the American women after the race was over. The interviewer from the television network was trying to find out what they had done to make it happen. The sentence blew past in a flurry of words as the ladies relished their victory.

It wasn’t until a couple of days later that I took note of exactly how profound that statement was.

When was the last time you made a decision of that quality?  When was the last time you simply decided that there were no options… you were absolutely going to achieve that goal?

In the case of Sanya Richards, she came from behind to cross the finish line .28 seconds ahead.  That fraction of a second may not seem like much, but it was the difference between heartbreak and victory.

In your case, it might be in business. It might be a sales goal. It might be a revenue target. It might be a profitability number. It might just be to survive until that big deal closes. It may be to simply stay the course and finish producing a product.  No matter what your goal is… do yourself a favor: make a decision.

Decide you’re going to win.  You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish when you leave yourself no option.

“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!

Check out Michael Pink’s comments today on the recession of 2008. I can’t tell you how strongly I feel about the notion that it is time to get out of debt. In fact, some recent interviews with people who have tremendous expertise in banking and law have led me to believe that this message isn’t only a passing spiritual fad.

My wife and I became strongly convicted about this several months ago, and I’ve shared the conviction in just a handful of conversations. But each time I do, I’m amazed at the responses I get — others not only feel the same way but are hearing it from a variety of sources.

What’s interesting is that we’re changing our level of expectation. We’re not just talking about paying down some consumer debt that accumulated. We’re talking about eliminating business debt, paying off the one car note we have, and even getting rid of the mortgage. We’ve shifted into “aggressive mode” and we are looking to have all of this done in just a few months — even if that means selling the house rather than paying off the mortgage. That’s how urgent we feel these instructions are, at least for us personally.

Recently, a friend of mine pointed out that in any market transition, fortunes are won and lost. In times of shift, opportunities emerge that simply cannot exist when the status quo predominates. Right now is a time to re-evaluate your business — and even those dormant ideas — and see if there isn’t a unique opportunity to deliver value or otherwise benefit from the changing conditions.

For who is God except the Lord? … He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. (Psalms 18:31,34)

We’re pressing in to Him right now to receive ways to do what would’ve seemed impossible a few months ago. How about you?

This time of year, we frequently quote the prophecy concerning the birth of Our Lord which was immortalized in song by George Frideric Handel in The Messiah.  The passage, lifted from the first few verses of Isaiah Chapter 9, reads:

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV)

This passage is rich with meaning, and I’m sure that, like me, you’ve heard many explorations of its depth.  But one aspect that I’ve not heard explored nearly so significantly has to do with the unique terminology used only in these two verses regarding His “government.”

Digging one layer deep into the Hebrew, you’ll find that Isaiah used a word we’ve translated “government” that occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament.  I’m no Hebrew scholar, nor do I claim to be.  However, based upon my research, some might argue that translators would’ve hit closer to their mark if they had used the English word “empire” to represent this word.  I’m also enough of a student of the Bible to know that any time you find a word in the original languages that is used only a twice - in this case, the two occurrences are only a sentence apart - there’s something worth searching out.

Additionally of interest is the fact that this Hebrew word comes from another rarely-used word: a verb meaning, “to struggle, prevail, have power over.”  This verb is only used of one person in the entire Bible: Jacob.  It is used only to describe Jacob’s wrestling match with God wherein he struggled and ultimately prevailed.

The Struggle

This is a powerful picture of the nature of the Kingdom which the Lord Jesus Himself came to earth to establish.  It is a Kingdom - an empire - which is governed and ruled by the One True King, but which is only established - whether in the heart of a person or in the sphere of influence wielded by a person - through a process of struggle.  From the time of the arrival of the Babe in the womb of Mary until now, the Kingdom meets with resistance everywhere it goes.  From the struggle faced by Joseph at the discovery of his espoused wife’s pregnancy, to the ruthless destruction of human lives by Herod in an attempt to eradicate the young Boy… and on throughout history, the Lordship of Christ is realized in the face of resistance.

Perhaps you recognize the struggle in your own life… the one that occurs as you willfully choose to subject yourself to the King.  It can be a painful journey as we continually recognize and honor the authority of the King.

And yet, the outcome of this struggle is that the Kingdom expands.  The territory ruled by the King has been increasing its borders since the time that Jesus announced that it was, in fact, at hand.  He taught us the nature of this Kingdom through the parables.  He charged His disciples - His trainees - with declaring it and securing new territory for it to govern.

To the loyal subjects of the King… those who seek to expand the borders of His Kingdom through your labor and work in the business world, allow me to encourage you afresh and anew with the words of Isaiah’s prophecy:

You face resistance.  There is struggle.  Just as Joshua and the Nation of Israel had to battle giants and powerful enemies as they “possessed” the Promised Land, you and I will engage a variety of enemies in our mission.

“Of The Increase… There Shall Be No End”

This Kingdom is, however, destined to increase.  In fact, it is an ever-expanding entity.  We who labor at the edges of its borders - where the battle can be the hottest - are just the latest in a long succession of those who have been challenged and honored with the call to expand it.  I’m thrilled to know that at no point will the King call “retreat.”  At no time will He have said, “…it’s large enough, you can quit.”  Or, “You’ve failed miserably, get out of there.”  He has commanded that it will increase unendingly.

“The Zeal of the LORD of Hosts Will Perform This.”

And how refreshing it is to know that a powerful force bolsters us - the very zeal and passion of the King who longs to bring His Goodness, His Majestic Greatness and His Peace to bear over His created order.  And there can be no question that it will be accomplished.  May it be accomplished in and through you!

Where ever the battle may find you today, know that you are not alone, but instead are part of a victorious army called and commissioned by the very King of Heaven.  Relish the struggle and the battles - they are part of your training.  You are built for them!

For King and Kingdom!

Have you ever noticed that pursuing your dreams takes money?

We’ve talked previously in this setting about the notion that God is ultimately the giver of dreams (Psalm 37:4) and how that I believe that when we’re talking about these dreams that are rooted in the deepest places of our hearts, God gives them to us. By this, of course, I mean that He places them there to begin with! He then challenges us to engage the process of seeing them come to fruition. Not that He leaves us on our own (thankfully!)… but nevertheless, the process requires our involvement. But when it comes to the Source of these dreams… it is He!

Nevertheless, there are few things in life that can be accomplished without significant financial resources. This is true no matter what sort of dream you have. Even if your dream were purely, let’s say, to have healthy relationships with your family — your spouse, your kids, etc. — it would be severely hindered if you were impoverished. Lacking financial resources causes us to have to think constantly about where the money is coming from to pay the next bill… to get another job, to work harder and longer… all the while neglecting the people most important to us.

Is money the “be-all, end-all” goal? No way. However, none of us should apologize for turning a profit in business nor for bringing significant financial resources into our lives.

Some have argued that it is “selfish” to want to have abundance.

I would argue quite the opposite. If you are barely getting by, how can you pay for your neighbor’s kid to go to college? How can you buy a new car for that relative in need? How can you build a homeless shelter or create a camp for kids with illnesses?

Our poverty-minded thinking that has said, “I’ll be O.K. if I just have enough to pay my bills and put a little away for a rainy day,” has left us crippled and enslaved. You can’t be and do what God has called you to do without having more than enough financially.

Certainly, if we have hang-ups with greed, we need to address those as the heart issues they really are. But we must deal with them and move on!

There’s a great discussion on this subject going on over at Michael Pink’s blog. Check it out.

In the meantime, I’m going to leave you with a quote from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher:

No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions - he had money, too.