MERGE Halloween Blog: Zombie Apocalypse

I don't know how many of you have actually watched a zombie movie. I have, and I have found most of them uninspiring and not that overly entertaining. Although I do like the one that tells you all the rules and they are on the hunt for Hostess Twinkies and get upset when they find a truckload full of Hostess Snowballs. No one likes a snowball. That was amusing. When watching all the zombie stuff, I always wonder about the fascination with it and where is the truth and the life lesson. Then I saw this on Facebook, which I had thoughts of this as well.

We have so many distractions in our world today. That we are not present to what is really going on. Not much different then a zombie. One of the enemy's tactics is to distract us. Whether you are dressing up for Halloween or not, let's make sure we are present to what God is doing right in front of us. You have been created for something amazing.

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them:
        “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!

October 31st is also Reformation Day. On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther wrote to Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, protesting against the sale of indulgences. He enclosed in his letter a copy of his "Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences," which came to be known as The 95 Theses. 

Don't let the distractions in your life take away from the amazing things God is doing.

Living on the Edge!

A friend on Facebook posted this picture with a question, "How can cats sleep like this without worrying about falling off?" I replied, "they always land on their feet."

I think there is a lesson in this picture. Do we not live life on the edge because we are worrying about falling off? This unsuspecting cat is not just living on the edge but sleeping on the edge.  The lesson then becomes two-fold. Are you living life to the fullest, taking risks and are you resting in that place?

I know what my answer would be, and I would have to say that I have some work to do in this area.  I find myself either willing to take a risk but then worrying about the outcome or not being comfortable in the risk. But merging risk and rest...  

After all isn't risk really faith? 

If we have heard clearly from the Father to risk than we should rest in it. I think about the story of Peter walking on the water. What an experience that would have been! To jump out of the boat and find yourself walking on water. And it worked as long as Peter's eyes were on Jesus and not the rough water.  Likewise, looking at the water makes us worry; looking at Jesus allows us to sit down and rest in where the Father is asking us to go.


"But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” - Matthew 14:27



Never thought I would blog about a cat...but the Holy Spirit will use anything to speak to us.

Read up on Peter walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33)...remember eyes on who? Eyes on Jesus!

Mulligan - Do Over!

How many of us in life want a "do over?" Although I am not a golfer, I believe it is called a Mulligan. The definition of a Mulligan in Wikipedia: "it is a stroke that is replayed from the spot of the previous stroke without penalty, due to an errant shot made on the previous stroke. The result is, as the hole is played and scored, as if the first errant shot had never been made."

I love that, "it is as if the first errant shot had never been made." Probably many of us don't think this way but what Adam did in the Garden of Eden, which brought sin into the world. Jesus did a do over, and his life, death and resurrection made as if we had never made the first errant shot or sin in this case.  Not only that, but we keep getting them. When we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, than God doesn't see our sin, He sees Jesus.

In Hebrews 10:16-17, "“This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, And on their mind I will write them,” He then says, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

The parallels to a Mulligan shot and what Jesus did are interesting. When we attempt to keep the law in our own effort, our shot can go into the water or the weeds. We get a do over, we get a better position to try it again in Him.

Wikipedia also says that in strict rules this practice is not allowed and can be disqualified from sanctioned competitions. While I have nothing against the golfing rules, in our lives, this is what the enemy wants to do to us. When we take a bad shot or do something we aren't supposed to do, he wants us to think we are disqualified. Which doesn't leave any room for how God wants to speak into the situation.

Friends, in Jesus, we are never disqualified! The reason for Mulligans were to speed up play, reduce frustration, increase enjoyment and help a player "shake off" a bad shot. Ironically, isn't that what God wants for us? He wants us back into relationship with Him where we are not fretting over the error, get back on track with where He wants to take us, and increase or enjoyment.  He wants to restore joy to our lives.

In a bad spot, call "Mulligan", thank Jesus that He went to the cross for it, ask Him into the next step, and live from joy that you are totally loved, not condemned and He wants to prosper you.

Jeremiah 29:11, ^"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Exchange Rate

There is a lot of focus on money today and the value of the dollar.  Our exchange rate for our U.S. currency appears dismal.  There is another exchange that can be equally dismal. What did we exchange our life for?  God created us in his image and we exchanged that for a lie of being like him, we already were.  Jesus exchanged his heavenly position for humanity in order to save the world.  We exchange our worldview for a Biblical view to believe in Him.  We exchange death for life again.  We exchange a life of bad choices for a life of transformation that brings abundant life.  We exchange our comfort to reach out to those who do not have.  The amazing thing is our exchange when choosing life, or Jesus, will always be better than what we give up.  Because Jesus paid it all!

Business is an exchange of products or services for money.  When we build products and services that transform the universe then we are showing love and doing the work of the Father.  We then have the opportunity with the wealth that we have accumulated to show the generous heart of the Father.  Our personal story and business story can be in alignment with God's story.  We also get to exchange our fallen story for God's story.  It's the story that Hollywood unknowingly writes about.  Where good triumphs over evil, where people find love, where lives are transformed, where ugliness is transformed into something unexpectedly beautiful.

I think about so many young people that graduate college and have great hopes and desires to change the world.  They have a passion written on their heart, college has equipped them, and they are ready to go.  Usually, it doesn't take too long before they are kicked in the teeth by the world and many exchange their passion and gifting for making money.  Then their lives become getting to the quickest retirement plan possible so they can do what they want to do and what they want to do has now been exchanged for rest, relaxation and parties.  Where did their passions and big ideas go, they exchanged them for a lie.  How do we avoid it?

We have to exchange our worldview for a biblical view.  We have to know the greatest story of all and how it continues to unfold in front of us.  We have to know the heart of our creator or "Abba" Father.  We need to engage in a relationship with him, the author of our life, and ask Him to unfold the story of our life so we can live it.  It's a daily process, it's an incredible journey.

C.S. Lewis was great at telling stories that so mirrored the story of Jesus.  In an article by Eric Metaxas, he discusses that C.S. Lewis didn't intentionally write these stories to push an agenda, it came out of his biblical worldview.  He understood the story.  So much of our worldview is formed by cynism from television and our story becomes skewed.  We need to exchange our worldview for a biblical worldview and out of that will flow stories that reflect the greatest story ever told.

Covenant Friendship - What a Blessing!

I just spent a weekend with one of my best friends.  It's the type of friendship I have always wanted.  Our friendship puts me in the mind of the story of Jonathan and David.

I Samuel 18
Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself. ² Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house. ³ Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. ⁴ Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, including his sword and his bow and his belt.

What I love about my friendship and what I believe makes it covenant is:

• We know the plans that God has for each other both professionally and personally
• We protect those plans
• We become the eyes and ears to see what God is doing in times of harvest and in times of famine for each other
• We pray for our families
• We learn from each other
• We push one another on to more of what God has for us
• We encourage one another
• We support one another
• We have shoulders to cry on (but no longer than 48 hours)
• We have cheesecake together
• We regret cheesecake together
• We love one another 
• We compliment, we complete, and we don't compete!

• Best of all...God orchestrates the relationship! 

This type of relationship is a one way God shows us how much He loves us and is a great asset for Kingdom business!  How do you get one?  Pray!  Both of us prayed for this relationship before God introduced us.  He will be faithful, community is His design.

Check out www.MergeBusiness.com to find a MERGE Community near you.   

Hospitality - It's All About Generosity

I Peter 4:9
"Be hospitable to one another without complaint."

What is hospitality?
According to Merriam's it is "generous and friendly treatment of visitors and guests"

So how is your hospitality in your work?  The trend in the past couple of decades has been towards more customer care.  We have metrics on customer satisfaction.  We get surveyed to no end by many of the businesses we encounter.  There is even a new executive title to pay attention to this area, Chief Customer Relationship Officer and departments for Customer Relationship Management.  So should we just mark this one off the list?  Do we as the workplace have hospitality covered?  

Does the hospitality that we are showing in the workplace show the love of the Father?  Is it generous, or is it just better than the competition?  Is it love, or is it good business because we know that customer care/hospitality builds relationships?

Here is our opportunity for the Kingdom!  We already know that outstanding customer care and hospitality is good for business.  But genuine love and generous hospitality shows the welcoming characteristic of the Father.  In Ecclesiates, it talks about how God has written eternity on the hearts of man.  What if we started calling that out?  What if we reflect the goodness of God and call out the life that God has placed on man's heart.  

Ecclesiastes 3:11 
"He has made everything  appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end."

It's an opportunity to be the salt of the earth that Jesus calls us to be.  Look at the way the Message translation talks about being salt of the earth.

Matthew 5:13 (MSG)
“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?" 

As salt we get to preserve what God has hidden in their heart and bring out the flavor.  That is an experience that the people you encounter at work will not soon forget.  It glorifies God and it brings more meaning to your work.  It is infectious and it's what people love being around.  The generosity of the Father is the best thing we can give our customers and co-workers.

How do we do that?  
1.  Pray for the person you are interacting with, always pray for the heart of the Father for that person.  It can be a quick prayer asking the Father what He has for them and show you how to love.
2.  What pictures or words come to your heart?  Is it encouraging?  It may surprise you that you thought something you don't know.
3.  Speak it out.
4.  Always be generous...surprise them! 
 

Spice Up Your Networking

Colossians 4
⁵ Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. ⁶ Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
  
As I was reading in Colossians 4, I was pondering verses five and six.  "Conduct yourself with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity."  This is great networking tip!  When I was a State Farm agent, many asked me how I would have time to run a business, sell insurance and financial services, and be a single mom to three in a town I wasn't familiar with.  I said, simple, it's about just living life and sharing what you do with those you  meet, listening for the needs they have, and trying to offer a product or service during those moments.  

While that was insurance, it was work for the Kingdom.  I didn't realize it.  But helping people recover from unexpected loss or from what Satan is continually trying to destroy;  that is Kingdom work.  It's about restoration.  Now with a larger understanding of how Kingdom work translates to the workplace, it is so exciting to see how God uses our businesses to do the work of the Kingdom.  

There is also another opportunity that the Scripture points to.  That is our opportunity to share what God has done for us.  The next verse, "Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person."  I hung on this phrase "with grace", while some translations interpret that to mean gracious, I think it is bigger.  It's communicating what God has done through Jesus through His finished work on the cross.  That is where the salt comes in.  His sacrifice, his labor of love, has so many features and benefits (still speaking sales), that's what we need to share.  The finished work of the cross brings freedom, it brings salvation, it brings purpose, it brings joy, it brings peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, and love.  Our speech regardless of what are calling is should be seasoned with all these amazing things.  It should be so attractive that it draws people in to want to know more.

Life is so busy, how do I do this?  The scripture did not leave us hanging, but we have to back up to see it.

Colossians 4
² Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; ³ praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; ⁴ that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.

It's the same as how I answered my critics when it came to being a State Farm agent.  You do life and you be watchful for every interaction, every opportunity.  We pray and we stay focused on what God is doing around us. We get to know the Father so well, we see His work, He will be faithful to prompt us, and He will provide for us as we make the most of every opportunity.  Those opportunities may look like sharing how your business or work can help (remember bringing solutions to life's problems is how God shows love to His people), it might be what God is doing or has done in your family, and it may be what God is or has done in your personal life.  Being present or in the moment of what God is doing is good for business and it's good for Kingdom.

For more on MERGE - visit www.MERGEBusiness.com
Like us on Facebook - MERGE Community
Follow us on twitter @MERGEmyLife