2 Corinthians 8

Excel in Giving

¹ Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: ² that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. ³ For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, ⁴ imploring us with much urgency that we would receive^[a] the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. ⁵ And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. ⁶ So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. ⁷ But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.¹⁰ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse.

The next thing we covered in our study was about tithing. I decided tonight that I am going to start tithing 10% off of the top from my gross sales not net sales of my coffee shop/restaurant. (http://www.xpressbreakfast.com) I learned tonight that you need to tithe 10% of your paycheck every week or whenever you get paid, and then you pay all of your bills. I have heard so many stories about how God works in mysterious ways and that He will provide for you if you are faithful and do what your suppose to do. Well one of those things you can do is to tithe. Tithing shows an ultimate act of faith on your behalf when you do it, and you need to show your faith at times because faith without works is dead. Which leads me to James 2:14-26.

James 2:14-26 (New King James Version)

Faith Without Works Is Dead

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your^[a] works, and I will show you my faith by my^[b] works. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! ²⁰ But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?^{[c] 21} Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²² Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”^[d]And he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
²⁵ Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

“As we view it, effective leadership can move organizations from current to future states, create visions of potential opportunities for organizations, instill within employees commitment to change and instill new cultures and strategies in organizations that mobilize and focus energy resources. These leaders are not born. They emerge when organizations face new problems and complexities and cannot be solved by unguided evolution. They assume responsibilities for reshaping organizational practices to adapt to environmental changes. They direct organizational changes that build confidence and empower their employees to seek new ways of doing things. They overcome resistance to change by creating visions of the future that evoke confidence in and mastery of new organizational practices. Over the next decade or two, the leadership we are talking about will become more evident in organizations able to respond to spastic and turbulent conditions. We do face an uncertain and unsettling future, but not one without vision. Vision is the commodity of leaders, and power is their currency. We are at a critical point in out nation’s history and we cannot go back as individuals or as a country to what we were ten, five or even one year ago. The future is now and it’s our turn.”

What I most like about this quote is that it tells me that the future is unknown and scary, but also exciting. It is exciting to me because I know that what were doing as managers and leaders today will not be the same in the future. That companies are looking for great leaders who inspire and not just mangers who delegate responsibility. It also reinforces my decision of pursuing my masters degree in management and organizational leadership. It makes that graduate degree more prevalent in todays ever changing economy.

“People don’t want to managed. They want to be led. Whoever heard of a world manager? World leader, yes. Educational leader. Political leader. Religious leader. Scout leader. Business leader. They lead. They don’t manage. The carrot always wins over the stick. Ask your horse. You can lead your horse to water, but you can’t manage him to drink. If you want to manage somebody, manage yourself. Do that well and you’ll be ready to stop managing. And start leading”.

(A message as published in the Wall Street Journal by United Technologies Corporation, Hartford, Connecticut 06101)

Right now were studying Psalm 34,

¹ I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
² My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
³ Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.

Jesus can not be your Lord until you make him your Lord. Have you ever seen the show “Who’s the boss”? Well it should have been about a guy names Jesus not Tony Danza, ah thank you. He is the boss. Until you make Jesus the Lord in your life you are really limiting him. He should be the one in control not yourself. If you haven’t sown the word of God in you, theres no crop coming.