The Link Between Peace and True Success
Our Mission
To present Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission.
Hosea 9.15 observes, The LORD says, All their wickedness began at Gilgal; there I began to hate them. I will drive them from my land because of their evil actions. I will love them no more because all their leaders are rebels.
Gilgal was a holy place. It was where Joshua landed with the people of Israel when he miraculously crossed the Jordan river into the promised land. It was the place where Samuel the prophet would make the will of God known to those who needed His judgement.
Gilgal was where God changed His mind about Saul being king as a result of Saul disobeying God by offering the sacrifice only the priest was to perform. Perhaps it is this last act that Hosea refers to when describing the leaders history of rebellion.
What does God hate? God hates disobedience and self-sufficiency that ignores dependence upon Him. God hates it when we worship anything or anyone but Him including the worship of ourselves through self-indulgence, self-reliance and self-gratification.
This doesn’t mean we do nothing until God somehow moves our hands and feet toward His will like a Puppeteer working with a marionette. Not at all. We are to be doers of His will, workers in His harvest field, servants of His eternal kingdom.
God has given us minds to think and hands to build and feet to go so we are without excuse for doing nothing for His glory upon the earth. Yet, what we do must be for His glory in accord with His will revealed through the Scriptures. Our ends is His honor and praise on earth as it is in heaven while our means is His ways according to His nature revealed through His Word.
This is exactly how Jesus lived. Jesus Who is God made visible as He lived with us fully human yet fully God. Jesus was always at work even as His Father always has been at work yet Jesus did only what the Father willed for Him to do.
God’s problem with our independence is our self-reliance. We work for our own gain to receive praise for ourselves. We call upon Him only when we get into a problem we don’t know how to solve.
Our job is to work for God’s glory by doing God’s will on earth as it is in heaven resulting in God’s honor and praise declared by all people throughout the world.
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November 7, 2016
The Link Between Peace and True Success
by Jim Langley
The late John Wooden became a man whose name was synonymous with success. With 10 national collegiate men’s basketball championships during his career, it is easy to see why his” Pyramid of Success” served as a foundational teaching tool not only in sports, but also in business.
If we look at the tenets that make up Wooden’s model for success, we can see each of the building blocks working to complement each other in team building. One of my favorite books was written by coach Wooden with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden One-on-One. Over the years, for me it became more than a devotional resource. It also became a wonderful reflection of a man I never met, yet I came to know him very well through his conversations with co-author Jay Carty.
Success is an elusive topic; what it really represents means something different to each of us. Here is a brief look at success through Wooden’s eyes:
He stated, “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” Interestingly, his quote makes no mention of winning, gaining wealth or fame, attaining honors, or finishing with more wins than losses. He also places no time constraints on achieving success. This is because Coach Wooden considered success to be a lifelong process.
In the Bible we find a similar perspective on success. Israel’s King David was not perfect, but it says he was a man after God’s own heart. At the end of his reign, David instructed Solomon, who would be succeeding him and building the temple for God. In 1 Chronicles 22:13, David told his son, “Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
Peace has nothing to do with wealth, status or anything tangible. It is that intangible assurance that allows us to know we are pleasing to our God and that He will one day tell us. “Welcome home, My good and faithful servant!” Here are a few things the Bible tells us about peace:
Peace is unwavering. External circumstances cannot disrupt the inner peace we can enjoy when we place our faith and confidence in God. “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).
Peace is a product of prayer. Why do we not experience peace in our lives? Maybe it is because we do not ask God for it. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”(Philippians 4:6-7).
Peace is promised. Cultivating a relationship with Jesus in both our personal and professional life offers peace the world around us knows nothing about. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
© 2016, all rights reserved. Jim Langley has been an agent and chartered life underwriter (CLU) with New York Life since 1983 and an active member of CBMC of Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A. since 1987. Adapted from one of his “Fourth Quarter Strategies.” His website is: www.fourthquarterstrategies.com
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