Are You Position Hungry?

Peter said, "we have left everything to follow you Jesus! What's in it for us?" (Matthew 19:27)
Jesus responds by telling a story about laborers in the vineyard. (Matthew 20)
...The owner of the vineyard went at the 1st hour (6 AM) to find workers for the day. He offered them an agreed upon wage for the day. 
...Altogether, four groups of workers were hired, the last group just one hour before the end of the day.
...When the time came for the wages to be paid, the first group of workers saw the last group being paid the same thing that they were promised. Their anger against the landowner became obvious. They felt entitled to receive more because they had been there longer, even though they got exactly what they had agreed upon when they were hired.
Longevity doesn't determine position. God puts people where He sees fit. (1 Corinthians 12:11) 
We are all called to serve in the Body of Christ. Where we serve is up to Him...not us. Our tenure is not a badge we wear that let's people know, "Hey, I've been here longer than you." 
Ministry is a ROAD you travel, not a LADDER you climb.  
We serve WHEREVER and WHENEVER He determines. There is no place in the body of Christ for envy. It's like people who get upset if they don't get asked to "preach" while others are content if they never get asked. It's simply knowing WHERE you are in Christ and doing WHAT He has called you to do with EXCELLENCE!  
Whatever you do for Jesus...HE GET'S THE GLORY! ... NOT YOU!
If you have to politic for a position...you'll have to politic to keep it. Friends, we do not operate that way.

• We get down low...to be lifted high.
• We serve...like Jesus.
• We don't boast...only in Christ.
• We don't say "look at me!"...we say, "look at Jesus."
• We don't measure ourselves against others.
• We don't brag about our accomplishments & anointing.
• We don't "big talk"...we talk big about Jesus.
• We wash feet.
• We wait tables.
• We do the unnoticed things.
• We are not to be seen.
• We are to be invisible so He can be visible.
• We don't toot our own horn.
• We don't declare that we are going to be great...we declare that He is.

Quit running after TITLES and POSITIONS. You don't need the title or position to fulfill your destiny!  
God will use you immeasurably if you'll just be CONTENT in your own skin. Your gift will make room for you and you'll EXPAND to the CAPACITY your MATURITY can handle.
Now hold out your hand and receive the wage you agreed to. :)

5 Practical Things Concerning Hiring Staff

I'm asked all the time by pastors across this nation, "What do you look for in a potential staff member?" Well, here are some things I consider:

1. DO THEY HAVE THE HEARTBEAT OF THE HOUSE? 

Have they BOUGHT into the vision of the house or are they using the house to fulfill their own vision. Are they looking for a POSITION? Are they looking for a PAYCHECK? You can fill ANY position with a "staff member", but if you can fill it with a "SON"...you'll be miles ahead and save yourself a lot of headaches.

2. DO THEY SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE YOU DO? 

Are they speaking the "family language" or their own "individual language"? Son's will say "we, us & ours", but hirelings will say "mine, my & me." Pay close attention to the way they speak. Son's will promote their fathers and their house...not themselves or their own "team". Sons will introduce their family & friends UPWARD, not INWARD.

3. DO THEY PROMOTE THEMSELVES OR THE WHOLE? 

Are they generous with their compliments and kudos, or do they hoard to themselves recognition? Are they concerned with being seen? Do they speak about EVERYONE with joy, or do they only congratulate themselves?

4. ARE THEY OPEN TO INSTRUCTION? 

The true test of a son is if they will stay with you after correction. If they 'buck up" when corrected or cannot receive from delegated authority...they are NOT A SON, and they will cause division once they feel they've gained enough "relationships" with others.

5. ARE THEY A HARD WORKER? 

You don't need any loafers on your team! If they're a volunteer before you hire them...then you'll already know their patterns. Watch how they work with YOU and with OTHERS. Do they complain about the work? Are they always dropping hints about how tired they are and when is quitting time? Believe me, if you hire them...they'll probably be the last to show up and the first to leave...AND always calling off! (Lord have mercy...lol) Anyone you hire should OUT WORK you!

That's five PRACTICAL things...obviously there are SPIRITUAL things I consider...more to come!

Just Do Right

Genesis 4:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

Is it really that difficult to DO THINGS RIGHT?

We don't really know why God didn't accept Cain's offering, except that God looks upon the heart. This verse tells us that Cain's heart was NOT RIGHT with God when he gave the offering. It was not the gift itself, as we later see acceptable grain offerings in the days of Moses. Cain's offering was a representation of his HEART. He did not do what was right in his heart, and so, his offering was not accepted.

One sin leads to another. That is the warning God gave Cain. In fact, like a lion waiting to devour us, sin waits to devour our lives. The loving heart of God reached out to Cain with the warning that sin would like to dominate him, to be the authority over him, bringing him to destruction. But then God told Cain the correct response is to MASTER it. Don't let it master you.

God has been LONG SUFFERING to you and given you opportunity after opportunity to make a course correction.

Is there sin crouching at your door, waiting to dominate your life? Master it! Don't allow it to master you!

We master it, just as Cain could have, by looking to the work of the Seed to come...the SAVIOR! Because of what Jesus did, we can master it! His resurrected life gives us the power to master it rather than be devoured by it.

Cain was about to plot a murder because of jealousy!

Read the verse again. Think about how this verse applies to you each time that you give in to temptation. You can STOP the cycle or go deeper into it.

Consider: If you are caught in a cycle of sin, you can still master it by the power of the risen Christ, the Seed that CRUSHED the rule of Satan!

Allow Jesus to CRUSH...

• Rebellion
• Jealousy 
• Envy
• Disobedience
• Pride
• Etc.,

Rid your heart of...

• Disobedience
• Roughshod
• Bad Attitude

God is ABLE to receive your sacrifice in the RIGHT WAY if your heart is RIGHT.

JUST DO RIGHT! (It's really not that hard.)

It's All About Relationships

Life never tells you when it's going to teach you a new lesson.  I've seldom ever been able to plan for it.  It likes to sneak up on me when I least expect it.  This is especially true when it comes to RELATIONSHIPS.  With that being said, there have been a few times in my personal and professional relationships that I wish the lesson would have come a little earlier.  It would have saved me from some heartache and wasted time.

However, I'm GRATEFUL for every lesson my relationships have taught me because I'm now better equipped to deal with rough patches when they arise.  

Here are 7 REMINDERS of how to see the GOOD in every situation:

1 We all have a STRUGGLE!

• Everyone has struggles.  We don't know exactly how another person is feeling or what kind of emotional battle they're fighting.
• Before you pass judgment, consider that everyone faces a battle that they have learned to hide behind a smile.

2. Overlook the CRITICS!

• No matter what you do or how well you do, there will always be those who are critical of you.
• Do not let naysayers stop you from becoming what God has destined for you to be!
• If you want to be a singer...then sing!
• If you want to build a business...then build it!
• If you want to have a family...then have it!
• I've learned that it's a lot easier to be CRITICAL than it is to be CORRECT!
• Spend more time with the people who SUPPORT you than those who DISCREDIT you!

3. DETOX!

• Holding on to resentment and grudges is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to grow ill.  It's TOXIC to your spirit!
• Ease your BURDENS by letting go of resentment!
• If you feel them starting to stir back up, STOP and CONSIDER that there's nothing that can be gained by bringing yourself down over what you cannot control!
• Tell the GHOSTS of YESTERDAY that the haunted house is closed!
• Forget about getting even with someone who HURT you, instead get even with those who have HELPED you!

4. FORGIVE!

• When you've been hurt it's hard to be at peace. But you do it anyway because you know peace is the only battle worth waging!  Peace is BEAUTIFUL!  Peace is the manifestation of your LOVE and the best foot forward to a brighter FUTURE!
• Being peaceful isn't always easy.  In fact, I think it's much harder than being ANGRY or VENGEFUL!  It requires you to STAY CALM and LET GO of the pain!
• It requires you to FORGIVE & MOVE ON!
• You don't do it for the person that hurt you...you do it for you!

5. WORK for it!

• No matter if it's a FRIENDSHIP or an INTIMATE relationship, when someone loves you...you'll KNOW it!  It's in the way they LOOK at you, SPEAK your name or EMBRACE you.  You know your SOUL is safe in their care.
• To me, it's much more than any physical interaction...it's a SILENT connection that you can feel in your veins.  You feel at HOME with them.  But this doesn't happen overnight.
• Relationships require growth and often that comes SLOWLY.  It's how two people TREAT each other, RESPECT each other and WORK together over a prolonged period of time...through the GOOD times and the BAD.

6. Embrace the IMPERFECTIONS!

• If you're still searching for perfection in others...please STOP!  You're not going to find it.  In fact, what you're going to find is more imperfections than Baskin Robbins has flavors. :)
• Realize that YOU are just as imperfect as the people who are in your life.  The key to embracing imperfection is finding someone whose imperfections COMPLIMENT your own.
• It takes a lot of LIVING and LIFE EXPERIENCE to realize your own imperfections! Over time, you discover your greatest FLAWS and the QUIRKS that make you, YOU!
• Quite honestly, it's only after you learn those imperfect parts of your own self that you know what your looking for in others!  Someone whose SCARS and FLAWS fit your own...someone who's IMPERFECT in the perfect way for you.

7. Have faith in the POSITIVES!

• Be careful not to continuously doubt the POSITIVES in others while ignoring your own NEGATIVES!
• There is purpose for everyone you will ever meet.  Some will TEST you, some will TEACH you and some will bring out the very BEST in you!

All relationships require PATIENCE and WORK!  Nothing is flawless.  No matter...there will always be difficulties present, but you can still focus on the GOOD!  Look for what IS working instead of what isn't!

What you FOCUS on GROWS!

Blessings!