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Brachah -> Biz Devo Ministry (9/19/2007 1:42:45 AM)

FOCUS ON UR BEST

MAYTAG
“All will come out in the washing.”
—Cervantes

At the turn of the century Fred Maytag and several of his friends were busy running a small business in Newton, Iowa, that made farm machinery. They were fairly successful, but sales were very seasonal. In an attempt to stabilize sales, the partners decided to diversify and began to make other products. One of their ideas was the Pastime Washer, which they introduced in 1907. The device consisted of a cypress-wood tub that was fitted with hand-operated washing blades and had grooves in the interior that imitated the function of a conventional washboard. Fred’s company tried other products as well and, like almost every other manufacturer in America at the time, attempted to crack the burgeoning automobile market. The Maytag automobile was introduced in 1909, but it was not successful.

By 1920, when Fred resigned from the company, Maytag washers were its dominant product. The company continued to concentrate on making its washers more innovative and introduced such features as an all-aluminum tub and gentle blades that worked better than those of competing brands. In 1923 Maytag dropped its other product lines, and as a result, its sales rose from the 1921 level of $1.25 million to $28.7 million in 1925. The company continued to hold a leadership position in the washer industry until it was overtaken by Whirlpool in 1950.

CONSIDER THIS: Once you know what you do best, focus your attention on that one occupation and eliminate those tasks that distract you from your main business.



Brachah -> To Let Go (9/19/2007 1:52:38 AM)

To Let Go

To let go does not mean to stop caring,
it means I can't do it for someone else.
To let go is not to cut myself off,
it's the realization that I can't control another.
To let go is not to enable,
but to allow learning from natural consequences.
To let go is to admit powerlessness,
which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To let go is not to try to change or blame another,
it's to make the most of myself.
To let go is not to care for,
but to care about.
To let go is not to fix,
but to be supportive.
To let go is not to judge,
but to allow another to be a human being.
To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes,
but to allow others to affect their own destinies.
To let go is not to be protective,
it's to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to criticize, or regulate anyone,
but to try to become what I dream I can do.
To let go is to fear less, and to love more.

By St. Gregory's Abby



Brachah -> Time Management (9/19/2007 1:58:30 AM)

Time Management
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
A while back I was reading about an expert on the subject of time management. One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget....

As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz."
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"
Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.
Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was onto him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied.
He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted.
Once again he said, "Good!"
Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point.
The truth this illustration teaches us is, "If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."



Brachah -> A Leader Like That (9/24/2007 1:43:00 AM)

A Leader Like That

Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me." And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping.---Matthew 26:38-40

He picked his own team, and still every one of them failed Him.

They jockeyed for position, questioned His objective, misunderstood His priorities, and failed to comprehend the central purpose of His work. In the end, one of them sold Him out for reasons we still don't fully comprehend, and every one of the others deserted Him when given the chance to be faithful.

Still, remember, He picked them.

So He waded patiently through their questions, even when those questions showed how little they knew of the labor they shared with Him. He protected them from the storms that beset them. He trained them carefully, always focused not on the failures of the moment, but rather on that moment in the future when the mission finally made its way from His lips to their heads and hearts. He watched them fail on training runs, and patiently trained them some more.

Maybe He should have picked better people. Or maybe He should have replaced them when it was clear they failed to grasp the mission of the work.

It would seem especially true given their inability to pick up signs of the crisis building at Jerusalem. Tired from the work and the emotions constantly swirling around from being alongside Him, they even failed to keep Him company in His darkest hours.

And, when He most needed their support, they were gone. Like mist at mid-day, they disappeared when He was threatened, and watched from a distance while He carried on without them.

Dejected, disconsolate, and reeling, they gathered after His death without any idea of what to do next.

And then He did something most remarkable. He picked them again!

Jesus could have returned triumphant before Caesar; could have taunted the Roman soldiers who crucified Him and the high priests who belittled Him. Instead, He went back to the people who failed, and picked them again.

This time they understood. Armed not only with the information He gave them before His triumph, but now with the wisdom to put it in perspective, they did what they could not have done before: They built His church. We who know Him today stand as fruit of their labors, heirs to their strength.

Now, in the places where we work, a new generation of laborers has been called. For reasons we can't quite comprehend, He has plucked us out of the morass of sinful selfishness, and chosen us to join His labors.

With the same quiet patience He exhibited toward His first twelve, He trains us for the effort. And when we falter; when we let the irritations of life or the crises before us distract us from the tasks He assigns us, He does something few managers are likely to do:

He picks us again!

How can we not serve a leader like that!



Brachah -> RE: A Leader Like That (9/24/2007 1:48:35 AM)

focus on G-d n Jesus instead of some power-hungery religeous leaders, we can renew our strength in HIM. No man is like HIM, no leader is like HIM. Sit on a higher rock listenning to Jesus. amen.



Brachah -> The Source of Our Significance (9/24/2007 1:50:00 AM)

The Source of Our Significance

But Jesus called them to Himself, and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." -Matthew 20:25-28

My acting skills are so majestic, so carefully crafted in communicating nuance and deep meaning, directors have often selected me to play the dead body in their production-or sometimes a tree, or the moon.

Lazarus is my hero in this niche of acting nirvana. Out of a culture that placed greater emphasis on men than women, God chose to tell us more about Mary and Martha than He did about Lazarus. In fact, Lazarus shares my claim to fame, being remembered most for a "dead-body" role.

Lazarus' part as a bit player gave him a wonderful opportunity to serve the Kingdom in ways he could not have been expected to imagine.

At some point in our spiritual journey, we may become convinced we should be doing big things for God, producing fruit that's readily evident to Him (and often that's readily apparent to others.) Our focus shifts from pursuit of success in the physical kingdom to significance in the spiritual realm. Or we set off in pursuit of significance in other arenas.

Make no mistake-producing spiritual fruit must indeed have an urgent claim on our lives.But when the reason we're doing so is to make others feel good about us, or to make us feel good about ourselves, it ceases to be service and becomes self-gratification. Even measuring the impact of our labors should be done carefully, with humility, always guarding against claiming for ourselves credit for the work God is doing through us.

We must be willing to appear insignificant to the Kingdom if we want to experience the true joy of serving that Kingdom. We must be satisfied with bit roles-like Lazarus-in which our efforts are wholly dependent on His blessing, His work, to produce fruit. God doesn't need us in order to accomplish His will, yet He gives us the opportunity to be in relationship with Him as we work where He's working. We are significant because He made us significant; we are never significant because of what we do for Him.

Don't be fooled into thinking God can't use you as you go about your daily tasks. God is as much at work in the cubicles as He is in the sanctuary. He's as interested in being in relationship with you during the labor negotiations as He is in hearing from you in your quiet time. Service in the Kingdom only has rank in our eyes, from our perspective. Every action, every moment surrendered to Him out of gratitude and obedience is an opportunity for Him to work in us, and in those around us, even if we never see the effect this side of eternity.

The Westminster Catechism declares that "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." We glorify and enjoy Him best when our thoughts, our actions and our sacrifices are focused on Him, and not how they make us feel about ourselves.



Brachah -> RE: The Source of Our Significance (9/24/2007 2:13:54 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Brachah

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." -Matthew 20:25-28

We must be willing to appear insignificant to the Kingdom if we want to experience the true joy of serving that Kingdom. We must be satisfied with bit roles-like Lazarus-in which our efforts are wholly dependent on His blessing, His work, to produce fruit. God doesn't need us in order to accomplish His will, yet He gives us the opportunity to be in relationship with Him as we work where He's working.

Don't be fooled into thinking God can't use you as you go about your daily tasks. God is as much at work in the cubicles as He is in the sanctuary. He's as interested in being in relationship with you during the labor negotiations as He is in hearing from you in your quiet time. Service in the Kingdom only has rank in our eyes, from our perspective. Every action, every moment surrendered to Him out of gratitude and obedience is an opportunity for Him to work in us, and in those around us, even if we never see the effect this side of eternity.

The Westminster Catechism declares that "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." We glorify and enjoy Him best when our thoughts, our actions and our sacrifices are focused on Him, and not how they make us feel about ourselves.


amen. the above needs to be read daily. [:D]



Brachah -> How and Where God Speaks (9/24/2007 2:14:59 AM)

Ezekiel 3:22
The hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, "Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you."


God speaks in many different ways to His children. He spoke through a bush to Moses. He spoke through a donkey to Balaam. He spoke through prophets to His kings. He speaks through other believers. He speaks directly to us through the invisible Holy Spirit. And He speaks even through circumstances.

When God wants to speak a very important word directly to us without interruption from the noise of our busy lives, he will take us "into the plain." The plain is a place of no distractions and no other persons. It is a place of silence. It can be a place of great need as it often fails to have the normal provisions we are accustomed to. It can be a place we go to voluntarily to seek His face, or we can be moved there without choice by His supernatural ability. More often, it is the latter method that brings us into the plain. In modern times, it often means a separation from our normal activities such as jobs or families.

The plain can also be a place where we discover afresh that God's hand has been on us all the time. When we are so busy with life, we sometimes forget that God's hand is still there, gently leading our path. When our lives get so busy that we are not listening or responding to His gentle touch, He must take more aggressive measures to get our attention. Thus, the plain is one of those appointed times of one-on-one communication with our heavenly Father. No distractions, no people, no beautiful surroundings to capture our thoughts. It is a barren place designed to allow us to seek and hear clearly. When He speaks, we need to be able to listen. We hear much better in the plain.

Do you need to hear God's voice today? Is your life such that you cannot even hear His voice? Each day God calls us to our own mini-plain in order to speak to us and for us to hear. If we neglect this time of open communication, we may be invited to His plain in order to hear without distraction. Pray that you might make time to hear.



Brachah -> RE: How and Where God Speaks (9/24/2007 2:19:07 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Brachah
Pray that you might make time to hear.


amen. read, repeat, recite...



Brachah -> Are You God's Next Deliverer? (9/24/2007 2:32:54 AM)

Are You God's Next Deliverer?
Judges 3:9
But when they cried out to the Lord, He raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them.


Have you ever heard of a man named Othniel? Probably not. He was Caleb's nephew. When the people of Israel went into the Promised Land, they were victorious through the courageous efforts of Joshua and Caleb. As this generation grew older, a new generation began to emerge. Israel again fell into sin by worshiping idols. The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He allowed them once more to be enslaved by their enemies. However, the people again cried out to the Lord and God heard them.

Whenever God's people cry out to the Lord, He hears them. When they are truly repentant, He responds. He responds by raising up those whom He has prepared for such a time. Every soldier looks forward to the day he can use the training he has received. God had been preparing a nephew for such a time as this. He had the same Spirit as his uncle, Caleb.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, so that he became Israel's judge and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died (Judges 3:10-11).

Has God been preparing you for a time when you will be called upon to deliver God's people? Millions of men and women are enslaved to the god of mammon and idolatry in the workplace. Has He placed you there to be a deliverer? Pray that you will have the same Spirit as Joshua, Caleb, and Othniel.



Brachah -> RE: Are You God's Next Deliverer? (9/24/2007 2:37:31 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Brachah

Has God been preparing you for a time when you will be called upon to deliver God's people? Millions of men and women are enslaved to the god of mammon and idolatry in the workplace. Has He placed you there to be a deliverer? Pray that you will have the same Spirit as Joshua, Caleb, and Othniel.


amen.
the task is not only in the workplace, but also w/i the church, how can we seperate "church" from the workplace or from our family? may G-d add us strength to do the jobs He assigned to us, to our family today.



Brachah -> A Remnant That Prays (9/24/2007 2:38:52 AM)

A Remnant That Prays
Luke 11:1
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."


God is calling out a remnant of businesspeople throughout the world who understand the role of prayer in their business lives. These people have learned that prayer is not a five-minute exercise in the morning devotion time, but it is a vital strategic tool to discern and know God's will and purposes in their work lives. You see, they have learned that their business lives are their ministries to God and others.

These men and women have entered into covenant relationships with intercessory prayer partners who help discern the activities they should be involved in. Some even have paid staff who intercede for the decisions and activities in which they will be involved. They are a small remnant of businesspeople who know that skill and technique are not enough to fulfill God's purposes.

A servant of the Lord has well said: Prayer is the rail for God's work. Indeed, prayer is to God's will as rails are to a train. The locomotive is full of power: it is capable of running a thousand miles a day. But if there are no rails, it cannot move forward a single inch. If it dares to move without them, it will soon sink into the earth. It may be able to travel over great distances, yet it cannot go to any place where no rails have been laid. And such is the relation between prayer and God's work. Without any doubt God is almighty and He works mightily, but He will not and cannot work if you and I do not labor together with Him in prayer, prepare the way for His will, and pray "with all prayer and supplication" (Eph. 6:18) to grant Him the maneuverability to so work. Many are the things, which God wills to do, and would like to do, but His hands are bound because His children do not sympathize with Him and have not prayed so as to prepare ways for Him. Let me say to all who have wholly given themselves to God: Do examine yourselves and see if in this respect you have limited Him day after day. [Watchman Nee, Let Us Pray (New York, New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers, 1977), 11.]

Is prayer a vital part of your strategic business practices? Put prayer on the front lines, instead of making it an afterthought. You will begin to see renewed power in your work life.



Brachah -> RE: A Remnant That Prays (9/24/2007 2:42:43 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Brachah

Prayer is the rail for God's work. Indeed, prayer is to God's will as rails are to a train. The locomotive is full of power: it is capable of running a thousand miles a day. But if there are no rails, it cannot move forward a single inch. If it dares to move without them, it will soon sink into the earth. It may be able to travel over great distances, yet it cannot go to any place where no rails have been laid. And such is the relation between prayer and God's work. Without any doubt God is almighty and He works mightily, but He will not and cannot work if you and I do not labor together with Him in prayer, prepare the way for His will, and pray "with all prayer and supplication" (Eph. 6:18) to grant Him the maneuverability to so work. Many are the things, which God wills to do, and would like to do, but His hands are bound because His children do not sympathize with Him and have not prayed so as to prepare ways for Him. Let me say to all who have wholly given themselves to God: Do examine yourselves and see if in this respect you have limited Him day after day. [Watchman Nee, Let Us Pray (New York, New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers, 1977), 11.]

Put prayer on the front lines, instead of making it an afterthought. You will begin to see renewed power in your work life.


amen, pray in the HOLY SPIRIT.



Brachah -> God's Double-Talk (9/24/2007 2:43:49 AM)

Exodus 4:21
The Lord said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go."


Have you ever had a boss tell you to do something only to have him sabotage your ability to complete the task? Nothing is more frustrating than to begin to carry out a task and have your superior thwart your effort to do what he asked you to do.

Moses must have felt this way after God told him to go to Pharaoh and tell him to release the people of Israel. He said, "I am going to give you the power to release the children of Israel by the miracles I will do through you." Yet at the same time, He told Moses they would not be released because He was going to put a hard heart in Pharaoh. How do we reconcile this?

In my own life, I knew God called me to certain endeavors. Yet every time I turned around, a roadblock stood in my way. It took years of plodding along before the light came on as to why there was such a distance between what God called me to do and the manifestation of that calling. When David was anointed king of Israel, it was years before he realized the manifestation of that calling. There were a number of reasons for these delays.

In the case of Moses and Israel, God wanted to demonstrate His power in such a way that generations would be able to hear the story of their deliverance from their ancestors. God wanted greater glory from the situation. God also wanted to deal with Egypt by sending specific plagues. Finally, the very process built character in Moses and tested Moses to see if he would stay the course.

There is a time for everything. If God has called you to some endeavor and you are frustrated that it has not manifested, know that times of preparation and simmering are required before the vision can be achieved. Seldom does God call and manifest something at the same time. There is preparation. There is testing. There is relationship building between you and God that must take place. Once this is complete, you will see the vision materialize.



Brachah -> RE: God's Double-Talk (9/24/2007 2:49:42 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Brachah

Exodus 4:21
The Lord said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go."

There is a time for everything. If God has called you to some endeavor and you are frustrated that it has not manifested, know that times of preparation and simmering are required before the vision can be achieved. Seldom does God call and manifest something at the same time. There is preparation. There is testing. There is relationship building between you and God that must take place. Once this is complete, you will see the vision materialize.


amen. see frustrations thru the power of faith. spiritual growth can b painful, but be with G-d. fear not.
it's a time we see our own weakness, n renew our strength to a higher level than ever before.



Brachah -> David's Armor (9/24/2007 2:53:24 AM)

David's Armor
1 Samuel 17:39
David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off.


David, the young shepherd boy, heard the challenge from the Philistines to send someone to fight Goliath. No one volunteered to fight except David. King Saul reluctantly agreed and offered David his armor. David put on the weighty equipment, but quickly concluded he could not fight in this heavy armor.

God equips each of us in such a way that is unique to our strengths and abilities. David was trained as a shepherd to use another weapon. For David, it was a slingshot. David showed great maturity in realizing he could not be effective with Saul's armor.

What are the gifts and talents God has given to you? Have you ever tried to accomplish a task with tools you were not trained to use? God allows each of us to develop skills that are unique to our life. He will not call you to use someone else's tools.

However, this is only half of the equation. These talents must be mixed with faith. Talent alone is not enough. Faith alone is not enough. It is only when the two are combined that God's power is released and manifested in the physical realm.

Mix your unique gifts with faith today; you will be surprised at the power of God that will be manifested.



Brachah -> RE: David's Armor (9/24/2007 2:58:21 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Brachah

David's Armor
1 Samuel 17:39
David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off.

God equips each of us in such a way that is unique to our strengths and abilities. David was trained as a shepherd to use another weapon. For David, it was a slingshot. David showed great maturity in realizing he could not be effective with Saul's armor.

What are the gifts and talents God has given to you? Have you ever tried to accomplish a task with tools you were not trained to use? God allows each of us to develop skills that are unique to our life. He will not call you to use someone else's tools.

However, this is only half of the equation. These talents must be mixed with faith. Talent alone is not enough. Faith alone is not enough. It is only when the two are combined that God's power is released and manifested in the physical realm.


amen. He will not call you to use someone else's tools.



Brachah -> RE: David's Armor (1/23/2008 1:03:51 AM)

How to Prevent Failure in Your Ministry

Approach your ministry from the right perspective.

Remember that it's ultimately God's ministry, not yours. Instead of trying to minister in your own limited power, decide to rely on God's unlimited power to work through you. Give yourself the freedom to be human and break free of unrealistic expectations to be perfect. Expect that you'll make some mistakes, but when you do, embrace the grace God offers you to learn from them and move on with confidence. Rather than imposing your own agenda on your ministry, seek to discover God's purposes for it. Then simply do your best to fulfill those purposes, trusting God for the outcome. Ask God to give you the humility you need to work to please Him alone, instead of trying to validate yourself or please other people.

Article HERE

[edited by moderator to add link]



Brachah -> urantian vs christian (3/10/2008 2:13:57 AM)

http://www.urantia.org/

urantian: the Scriptures are faulty and altogether human in origin
jesus is one of more than 700,000 other Creator Sons...

The Urantia Book proclaims a different God, a different Jesus, and a different Gospel than the Bible.
Dr. Sadler once wrote that if there was anything supernatural about mediumistic phenomena, it was probably demonic.

http://www.believersweb.org/view.cfm?id=1158&rc=1&list=multi



Brachah -> A place to blog; some focus on my biz (5/8/2008 9:26:11 AM)

i havent been writing here for a long time.
even today i hesitated n asked G-d where is the best place for me to blog?
the answer so far is CW.

speaking of my biz, i always have a headache job which i call "xbotjob":

it's actually all the biz inquiries i receive everyday due to our global advertisements on internet (5,000-50,000 euro range).

these emails came in a few everyday. the screen job is huge.
1) u have to screen regions which fall outside ur target markets, due to the nature of ur product/quality/price positioning.

2) screen those companies without their own biz website, as there is no other easiest way to know the credit of the senders.

3) moq issue, technically, economically n market-practically.

4) pray for the biz man the sender.

*to be continued*[8D]



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