Do you Soar or Slide?

"Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint" - Isaiah 40:31

Eagles use storms to actually lift them above the storms. If you are flying above the storm you are unaffected by the turbulence. This is a complete contrast to a snake whose entire body is earthbound. The snake is not only effected by the storm above but the ground below scraping his belly. If you listen to the spirit of God and abide in Christ Jesus you can soar like an Eagle, while those who live out of the flesh are earthbound.

When it comes to your business do you Soar like an Eagle or Slide like a snake?

Pathfinders + Social

March, 5th 7 pm

Contact info@cccmanhattan.org to RSVP
Location Laura Parson Pratt Conference Center
281 Park Ave South (@22nd St.)

Unleashing Your Future: During challenging economic times businesses refocus on core competencies by cutting departments that are not key to their long term business objectives. God can use life's economic storms to strip us of our unnecessary baggage and have us refocus on Him. Join us as we lay out a plan for you to release your baggage and unleash God's plan for your future and your business.

AND, please plan to join us after the meeting for a Pathfinders Social at Barbounia. See you there

Stepping on your Problems

On Sunday, Senior Pastor Stephen Hickson of Christian City Church Manhattan had an amazing message on "Vision" and I had to share part of it that was particularly inspiring.

"When Jesus was walking on the water, he was walking on their problems, the water/storm and he commanded Peter to walk on his problems as well."

I love the image of Jesus encouraging us to walk on our problems. What is greater the problem or God and the direction He has for your life? If He has placed you in a boat and He is steering the vessel He will get you to the other side. Wouldn't you rather be where God is and where he wants to take you even if it means passing through turmoil?

Get out there and walk on your problems!

Gold will Rust

As the market turns south, investors turn to Gold as a safe haven. Yesterday, gold rose 2.7% to $967 a troy ounce. It made me look to see what the Bible has to say about gold and God led me to James chapter 5.

"Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment. For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you."

Since gold is not iron ore it can't actually "rust" so I can only come up with one of two possible meanings behind this passage it is literal or figurative. As far as the literal interpretation I have read that it is possible that a nuclear fall out could cause gold to rust however, I haven't been able to verify this and I don't think we would survive it to see gold rust so I think we may need to look at this passage as figuratively. Silver and Gold has always been synonymous with money and or wealth. It is clear that the passage is warning not to count on the wealth that you have stored away.

As investors we need to not put our trust in our wealth but put our trust in the Lord. As employers we need to make sure we are taking care of our employees because the verse says, "Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. " We need to expand and not contract. If you don't take care of your employees during this time, why should God take care of you?

Consumption vs Production

We have become a society of consumers rather than producers. Our spiritual and physical growth requires that we actually produce more than we consume. If your body consumes more food than it expends in work you get fat, likewise the more we become consumers of the things the world has to sell us the less spiritually fit we become.

As consumers it is important to keep account of where we are spending our money. In our household we call them buckets. We have buckets that can't be changed like the mortgage bucket, or the groceries bucket, but then we have buckets on things like the vacation bucket or the going out for dinner bucket. At the end of the month we can look at our buckets and see where our money has gone. Where your money goes is where your priorities in life are.

My wife and I made a promise to ourselves that with the exception of our mortgage none of our buckets would be bigger than our tithing bucket. What you consume determines where your heart is.