Not Providing Principles We Cannot Implement
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.
Matthew 6.8 observes, your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. So why pray? Knowing everything is an integral character quality for being God. Since God knows everything why should I pray? The God-Man, Jesus the Savior, makes this observation. So why pray? We really can’t help but pray. We will pray. Everyone prays. We don’t have to live long on this earth before realizing we need someone greater than ourselves to be in control and to gain control of this world. In our darkest hours, all people pray.
God, fortunately, is not discouraging prayer. Rather, Jesus teaches how to pray so that our prayers are well received by God. That is the goal of prayer isn’t it? Jesus’ observation about God knowing everything is a rebuke to those who would pray frivolously, publicly, about life’s minutiae. Those prayers are really about the person praying and not about God listening. True prayers, Jesus outlines, have certain characteristics.
First, they are relational. When we pray we are to look up and call God, Father. What an invitation God gives humanity. No other religion teaches us to pray this way. Effective prayer begins with being a child of God calling upon the Almighty as our Father in heaven. Second, prayer is about God’s glory and will and not our wants or desires. This is the shift in our prayer we most need to make. The vast majority of our prayers are about us and what we want changed in our world. Effective prayer begins with our focus toward God being honored in the world and His will being observed here as it is in heaven. We are to pray more people would love God and obey His commands.
Third, we are to focus on our needs not our wants. Food for today is about as basic a need as we can get. If we have this we can move on in our prayers. Fourth, prayer is to remind us of our need for God’s mercy and grace. Our prayers must include, Father forgive me. Our God is holy and we are not no matter how much good we think we do. As we remember our need for God’s mercy because we are sinners we are to likewise remember all those who have sinned against us and forgive them too. This is imperative for God hearing our prayers.
Fifth, our prayers are to remind us that good and evil exist in this world and we are to choose good. God’s enemy exists to steal, kill and destroy all people but especially those people who love Him. Our sin or rebellion against God’s good ways is what destroys us. Our prayers are to be about living a life pleasing to God seeking His strength to do the will of God. Finally, prayer is conditional. We don’t like this truth but God ends His teaching with the warning that the forgiveness we receive is conditional upon the forgiveness we give. The relationship we have with God is based upon His forgiveness of our sin so that we can be children of God and thus have access to the Father.
This forgiveness we receive from God must be given to people around us. It is the practical manifestation of our having received God’s forgiveness. When we love others as God loves us God takes great delight for then we are behaving as His children reflecting His character in this world.
When His people live this way their cries to Father are heard, well received and quickly responded to in a way that honors God and glorifies His Name.
His Opportunities
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MONDAY MANNA
A service to the business community
A Publication of CBMC International
July 10, 2017
Not Providing Principles We Cannot Implement
by Robert J. Tamasy
Recently I had the opportunity to spend time with Albert, a longtime friend who served as a leader in CBMC for many years. He was guest speaker at a retreat, and discussed about some of the things he has learned about applying biblical principles in his businesses, as well as his personal life.
One of the life-changing insights Albert said experience has taught him is, “God will never give you a principle in His Word that you cannot implement.” He added, “When you follow biblical principles, you can never go wrong.”
This was not an empty declaration. My friend proceeded to cite example after example of times when, even if it seemed counter-intuitive, he chose to follow guidelines from the Scriptures and discovered to his delight that they worked as promised. Albert was not saying that heeding biblical principles is always easy, or that outcomes will always be as we hoped. But as he commented, “A loving father will never ask you to do something that is not good for you – and the Lord is our loving Father.”
This started me thinking: What are some of these principles from the Bible that God gives, assuring us He has established them with our best interests at heart? Books could be written about this topic, but here are some examples that came to mind:
We do not work just for ourselves. We start our careers typically thinking in terms of “my work,” “my job.” The Bible teaches, however, the work we perform is part of our divine calling, and the talents and giftedness we possess, and even opportunities that come our way, are from God. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
There is no harm in having to wait. Many of us are action-oriented people, and having to wait for goals and desires to be realized tests our patience to the limit. But if we find ourselves having to wait, God has a good reason for it. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7). “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
Difficulties in life can be stepping stones for spiritual growth. When we encounter hardships, we are prone to explore alternatives for escaping the circumstances. But it is often the crucible of adversity that teaches us the greatest lessons from God and leads to spiritual maturity. “…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:3-5).
You cannot out-give God. Generosity does not come naturally for many of us. We cling to our paychecks and profits, reasoning, “It’s mine. I earned it.” We act as if giving to others, even worthwhile charitable causes, could result in our running out of resources for ourselves. But 2 Corinthians 9:7 states, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Jesus also taught we need not worry about not having enough: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).
© 2017. Robert J. Tamasy has written Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Tufting Legacies; coauthored with David A. Stoddard, The Heart of Mentoring, and edited numerous other books, including Advancing Through Adversity by Mike Landry. Bob’s website is www.bobtamasy-readywriterink.com, and his biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com.
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