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Thursday Devotional 9.17.09

The Error of Positive Thinking

By Os Hillman, September 17, 2009

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..."Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the Lord Almighty. - Zechariah 4:6

God's people should be the most positive, joyful people on earth. This joy should be a by-product of a healthy, intimate relationship with Jesus. In today's business climate, we are barraged with every possible means of becoming more productive workplace believers. Positive thinking and self-help philosophy are promoted as tools for workplace believers to fulfill their potential and overcome the mountains in their lives. God calls each of us to be visionary leaders, but we must be careful that vision is born out of His Spirit, not the latest self-help program. These ideas lead us away from dependence on God to a self-based psychology designed to give us more power, prosperity, and significance.

The result is heresy. Our faith in God becomes faith in faith. It is born out of hard work and diligence rather than obedience to God's Spirit. The problem lies in that these philosophies sound good, and can even be supported by Bible verses. Beware of anything that puts the burden of performance on you rather than God. There are times in our lives when God doesn't want us to climb every mountain. Sometimes He wants us to go around. Knowing the difference is the key to being a man or woman led by the Spirit.

God has called us to affect the workplace through His Spirit, not by our might. Have you tapped into the real power source of the soul? Ask the Lord to reveal and empower you through His Spirit today. Then you will know what real positive thinking is.

Thursday Devotional 4.16.09

The Graduate-Level Test: Self-Defense

By Os Hillman, April 16, 2009

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He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. - Psalm 37:6

As a believer grows in trusting obedience and love, God often brings a test that seems uncharacteristically cruel. The test: being wrongfully judged by those close to you. It is not for the reactionary. It cannot be passed over by simply gutting it out. Supernatural grace is the only means of passing this one. It is one of those tests the Savior had to experience Himself when being tried by the court of public opinion, the religious community, and the government of His day. His response to the government was silence. His response to the religious establishment was silence at the final judgment. To the rest of His accusers He remained quiet and left vindication to the Father. He lived the commandment He gave to the disciples:

Thursday Devotional 3.5.09

Striving Versus Abiding

By Os Hillman, March 5, 2009

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Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. - Psalm 127:1a

What does it mean for the Lord to build the house? It almost seems a contradiction when we consider that we might be the builders in this passage. God wants us to allow Him to build the house. He explains further:

Thursday Devotional 2.26.09

Spiritual Warfare

By Os Hillman, February 26, 2009

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For our struggle is not against flesh and blood.... - Ephesians 6:12

Have you ever heard someone say, "I will never do business with another Christian"? I hear this comment quite often in my dealings with Christian workplace believers. This comment represents the battle that rages against us by the enemy of our soul to destroy the witness and effectiveness of Christian workplace believers. We must realize that we are in a war - a war for the souls of men, a war to discredit all that a Christian stands for, a war that is designed to divide Christian against Christian.

Thursday Devotional 2.19.09

Saved From Such Men

By Os Hillman, February 19, 2009

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O Lord, by Your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life.... - Psalm 17:14

Whenever I travel over the ocean, I am always reminded of the seemingly insignificant time we have on this earth. I often imagine dropping a glass of water out the window of the jet into the huge body of water below. The Lord then reminds me that this is how my life is compared to eternity - a mere drop in the ocean.

Thursday Devotional 2.5.09

Understanding Your Gift

By Os Hillman, February 5, 2009

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Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. - 1 Corinthians 12:1

In First Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, the apostle Paul is teaching us about the role of spiritual gifts in the Church. He correlates these gifts to a human body, telling us that each person's gift helps the whole Body of the Church. This is such an important principle for us to learn. I must say I learned this principle regarding my own spiritual gift the hard way.

"God will never speak as strongly to you as to someone else," said my mentor to me one day. The statement shocked me. "What in the world do you mean by that?" I argued with him.

Thursday Devotional 12.18.08

Betrayals
By Os Hillman
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If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend. - Psalm 55:12-13

"You will always be attacked in the place of your inheritance," said the man sitting across the breakfast table. "God has called you to bring people together and to impact other people's lives as a result of this anointing in your life. You must make sure that you seek to maintain righteousness in all of your relationships." Those words came from someone who had the wisdom and authority to speak them to me.

I have had a number of close relationships that ended in betrayal. I am very loyal to my friends and those with whom I have covenant relationships. Yet there are times that no matter how righteous you are, when someone means to betray you, he will do it. Loving those who betray you is "graduate-level Christianity." The religious community and one of His closest friends betrayed Jesus. Those who were closest to David betrayed him. Joseph's own family betrayed him. Loving our enemies cannot be accomplished by mustering it up. It can only happen when we have come to a death in ourselves so that Christ can love through us. It is truly one of those acts of identifying with the cross.

If you are a leader, you can be sure God will allow you to experience betrayal. It is one of those courses in the Kingdom that may not be required until God has seen that you have successfully passed other tests. It is the most difficult and most gut wrenching of all tests. A godly response goes against all that is in us. Our natural response is to protect, retaliate, and retain unforgiveness and bitterness. Our natural response is satan's most powerful weapon; to overcome it requires much grace from God. Ask God to build His nature in you now so that when such attacks come, you will be aware that it is a test and you will respond in righteousness.

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Wow, the Lord is really stirring some hearts around here.  I don't know if you've noticed, but this is at least the 3rd or 4th devotion in the little amount of time we've been doing this, that deals with forgiveness and the idea of perfect love.  Do we love others as Christ loved us?  We, as humans, get upset when someone disappoints us, or doesn't show love back after we show love to them.  However, what do we do to God, day after day?  Do we not disappoint him when we don't study his word everyday, or how about when we don't give him the glory for everything that we do?  In our pursuit to be more Christ-like let us not forget the love that he shows us and others.

 

Thursday Devotional 12.4.08

Paul's Personal Mission Statement
By Os Hillman
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I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11 - Acts 21:11-12

Paul understood his personal mission, which should be the personal mission of every believer in Jesus Christ. It is the one summary statement that best describes the purpose of our existence on earth and the goal of our Christian experience. It can be reduced to three important characteristics.

To know Christ.

To know and experience His power.

To identify with His sufferings.

All that flows from these three objectives becomes a by-product. Salvation is a by-product. Miracles are a by-product. Christlikeness is a by-product. Paul's focus was on relationship. He understood that the deeper the relationship, the more power he would experience. He also understood that as he grew in this relationship, there would be suffering. Whenever the Kingdom of Light confronts the kingdom of darkness, there is a battle, and this often results in casualties. Christ confronted these earthly kingdoms and suffered for it. If we are living at this level of obedience, we, too, will face similar battles; it simply comes with the territory.

Does this sound like your personal mission statement? Is your focus in life centered on knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection? If not, press into Him today in order to begin experiencing Christ more intimately.

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i know with Christmas Season upon us, we are often rushed and so busy.  I am guilty of this as well.  It's has been several weeks since i posted our Thursday devotional.  Although we still have been meeting each Thursday I have been to busy to post for others to see.  This week was to powerful to pass over.  How amazing of a testimony Paul leaves for us as we see how he strived to be Christ like.  How often do we use Christ as our measuring stick for our daily life?  The WWJD saying that we used to see everywhere got so cliche, yet the truth behind that was so powerful.  Let us take time to examine our lives and testimonies during the Christmas Season.  The Christmas story is much more than jsut the birth of Christ.  It is about God giving his only son, a sacrifice for our sins, giving us a perfect being to live up to.  Let us begin today to make that effort.  Do you see Christ in what you are doing today?

Thursday Devotional 11.6.08

Divine Setups
By Os Hillman
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Simon, Simon, satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. - Luke 22:31-32

Have you ever perceived yourself to be at one place spiritually only to discover that you were actually far from this place? Peter perceived himself to be so spiritually strong that he was prepared to suffer greatly for his Master. Yet Jesus knew where Peter really was in his own pilgrimage. He knew that Peter's enthusiasm did not match his reality. He was suffering from an attitude of self-righteousness. So, how did Jesus help Peter match his perception to his reality? Peter was the object of a divine setup.



First, notice that satan asked permission to sift Peter as wheat. Jesus determined that satan would be used to bring Peter to the maturity level both Jesus and Peter really desired. And Jesus was praying that Peter would pass the test. Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times that very day. Peter could not believe what Jesus was saying.

Sometimes the lessons we must learn are very painful. This experience was necessary in Peter's life. It was necessary to purge Peter from his sin of self-righteousness. This very lesson would allow Peter to come face to face with his own misperception of where he was in his relationship and devotion to Jesus. When he was forced to confront this, it nearly broke him apart. He wept bitterly once he realized he had done just as Jesus had predicted.

This confrontation with reality is necessary at times in our lives. Do not be surprised if Jesus allows you to experience some painful circumstance. You may be the subject of a divine setup designed to bring you to a greater maturity level in your walk with Jesus. It may not be a fun experience when you go through it, but you will, like Peter, become a leader whom God will use to lead others.

 

Thursday Devotional 10.23.08

Wow, I completely forgot to to post the the Thursday devotional.  So, here it is.  See everybody on Friday!

A Remnant That Prays

October 23, 2003

Os Hillman

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." - Luke 11:1

God is calling out a remnant of workplace believers throughout the world who understand the role of prayer in their work. 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 work 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 workplace believers 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 desires you and I to labor together with Him in prayer, prepare the way for His will, and pray "with all prayer and supplication" (Eph. 6:18) to work on our behalf. Many are the things, which God wills to do, and would like to do, but He is awaiting the prayers of the saints. 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.
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