Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ.
Colossians 4:2,3 (The Message)

Be “watchful.” We don’t use the word every day in our speech, so it is worth meditating on “watchful.” If you were heading out on a military assignment and were instructed to “be watchful” you would ask your commander what you should be looking for. First, I do not think that Paul is advocating a frenzy of paranoia. 

“Always be watchful and thankful.” Watchfulness is about good things and potentially bad things. “Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude.” I believe that while we need to be alert for both good and bad, coupling alertness with thankfulness affirms the sovereignty of God. We should also be alert to internal and external factors too. Perhaps the greatest internal hazard for the household of God is...

and delight to see how orderly you are

Colossians 2:5

Order is a sign of wholeness and maturity. It is present in the lives of the mature believer, and the mature business. There is a huge difference between control, in a negative sense, and order. Too often we avoid order because we don’t want to be “control freaks” or process police. My contention is that we know instinctively when something is out of order, and we usually don’t like it. 

I was flying back from a Venture and reflected on those clients who made cohesive, clear presentations, and those who were somewhat chaotic. A strong discontent against the disorder that is symptomatic of Satan’s plan to “steal, kill and destroy” rose within my spirit. God has plans for our lives and organizations, and we let them get thwarted by chaos, be it internal or external.

To appreciate and nurture order, we need to acknowledge certain truths:

• Order is a sign of having a “complete...

as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope
1 Thessalonians 1:3 

I get tired of people questioning the motives of businesspeople. Those who do so assume that the only thing on the mind of a businessperson is the bottom line. While it is true that businesses need profits to be viable, this critique of businesspeople is ill-informed; it is also not Biblical, because “love expects the best.” Paul, on the other hand, thanks God for the Thessalonians’ “work of faith,” and acknowledges that the motive for doing that work was love… your “labor of love.” You know that work is tough. Scripture doesn’t present just a portion of the picture to us: there are three parts to this equation—work, labor, and patience. You may have determined to work by faith, surrendering your business or career to God, and daily drawing on him for help. The next thing that happens is kopos which is defined as:...

As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. Luke 19:36

I meet well-meaning business people who give their businesses to Jesus and then enter a passive mode. “Whatever he wants to happen will happen. I’ve given it to God.” They surrender the donkey, then trail behind it, rather than going ahead. In this passage, however, the good spot to be was in front of the donkey, not behind it. Luke tells the story of Jesus sending his disciples to get the colt needed for the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. When Jesus took over the use of this business asset—the donkey—it was surrendered to him by the owner. He then put it to a new use. It seems that events began with two things: an action by the apostles, and surrender by the business leader. Thereafter it includes a series of proactive steps that are anything but passive. What could this mean to the business owner?

• Expect apostles to come along who will challenge you to yield your assets for greater...

If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Hebrews 11:15 

Over the past decade, I have had the opportunity to work closely with hundreds of business people and speak with many more. Many have had exposure to a kingdom way of doing business: they have seen, they have tasted, and they have documented what it might look like in their business. None of this guarantees that they will shift to the kingdom way of doing business. We do not receive the kingdom by observation but by obedience. We do not obtain a country by planning a journey, but by moving into it one step at a time. Some have come to the border of Biblical Business and have returned to their old ways. Why? 

Well, it seems a little easier to avoid returning to Ur or Egypt than it does to avoid going back to “business as usual.” One is a tangible place, the other is not. Second, we encourage people to stay in the marketplace and not abandon it,...

I think of you through the watches of the night. Psalm 63:6

Has it ever struck you that what we think about at night is an indicator of who we are? Somehow the night has a knack of stripping away bravado, tearing the pajamas off false confidences. It leaves our minds naked and, when our clever defenses are asleep, our true thoughts emerge. When we let the sun go down on our unresolved items, they become poking sticks in the hands of the night watchmen. That’s the bad news. 

The good news is this: God is not sleeping while we sleep. He is active on our behalf, and sometimes he is active in our minds, our spirits, and our hearts even as we sleep. He gives us dreams that speak warning or encouragement to us. He uses the symbolism of things to steel us against danger, distractions, or discouragement.

God also inhabits our waking moments with solutions to problems. I used to wake up and go from 0 to 60 mph in a few seconds; now I try to lie in bed a few extra moments,...

I came across an interesting verse in Ecclesiastes 7. I had to look in several translations to find that which mapped most closely to a literal translation, and here it is from The Message. 

“Wisdom is better when it’s paired with money, especially if you get both while you’re still living. Double protection: wisdom and wealth!  Plus this bonus: Wisdom energizes its owner.”

Young’s Literal Translation says, And the advantage of the knowledge of wisdom [is], She reviveth her possessors. You might be saying, “Give me the money and then I will be energized; when I have money, I will be revived.” But it doesn’t work that way in the long run. Without God, the more you have, the more you have to lose; the more you have to lose, the more you fear; the more you fear, the less energized you are. Money without wisdom is not necessarily life-giving. The counter-principle says, “If I have it and share it I’ll have...

Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works on man’s behalf!
Psalm 66:5

Miracles can be a good thing, but they are not inconsequential. Miracles can get us out of a pickle, but they can also create their own dilemma. Miracles can be just what gets us out of trouble, and exactly what condemns us. Watch out for miracles. To understand this let’s unpack Psalm 66 a little, starting in the middle of the conundrum.  

5 Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works on man's behalf!

6 He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— 

   come, let us rejoice in him.

7 He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— 

   let not the rebellious rise up against him.

The first dilemma with miracles is this: some see them and rejoice: “Shout with joy to God…come and see!” But others see the miracle, for some reason cannot accept it, and they rebel: “let not...

Your troops will be willing on your day of battle Psalm 110:3 

We live in a time of war. There is no question about it. There are a number of “major wars” underway, with tens of lesser conflicts. These wars will most likely be with us until the end of time. If you believe in good and evil—or just evil—you will recognize that warfare in the natural is often an expression of spiritual warfare. There is a battle in the heavenlies between God’s forces and the forces of darkness. Like it or not, you are a participant, or at least you should be. 

Psalm 110 is one of those passages that looks forward prophetically to the time when Jesus vanquishes his foes for eternity. When it says “on your day of battle” it is the Father speaking to the Son, and he promises Jesus that his troops will be willing. 

1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 2 The Lord will...

Our people must not live unproductive lives. Titus 3:14

You may not be a proverbial Cretan—“liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons”—but you are facing some subtle pressures that can be a by-product of tough economic times. Many things can lead to un-productivity. Let me see if I can unpack the cycle for you:

• There is disillusionment with public officials. The only ones who seem to think that they are accomplishing things, are the politicians themselves. People simply do not believe “data” about job creation, turnarounds, and progress. Government leaders seem to be in a world of their own.
• There is disdain for the greedy. The very people who devised many of the meaningless products, that created some of the financial mess, are being rewarded with ridiculous bonuses at the expense of taxpayers.
• Hopelessness. People are low on hope.
• Disempowerment. The magnitude of the mess, at home and globally, is causing people to feel, ‘I cannot do anything...