The most important thing that we can understand as believers is that GOD is enough. If we understand this then everything we do will be in context to him. This is why the first commandment states:
Exo 20:2 I am YHWH (Yahweh) your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Exo 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me. God was letting his people know from the beginning that all they need was in him but at the same time he was warning them of the potential of them being lead astray to serve other gods. We live in a world promotes idolatry, whether it is worshiping false gods or worshiping yourself. People have moved away from the worship of the true and living God (YHWH). We have moved away from absolute truth to political correctness and from fulfilling the WILL of God, to Do What Thou Wilt! (in other words, if it feels good, do it!). The strength behind any plant or tree is the vine, it does not matter if the branches get cut off or fall away, just is long as the vine is strong, the plant or the tree is strong: Joh 15:5 I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. Joh 15:6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. And they gather and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. Joh 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you. People are constantly in the pursuit of happiness, however, happiness is based on happenings and is temporary because if the happenings are positive you are happy, if they are negative, you are not. As believers we should in the pursuit of Joy and more specifically, The Joy Of The Lord, because that is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) People peruse money, relationships, recognition and things because they think that will make them happy, but when they get all of these things, if they are gotten outside of the context of God there is still an empty void and at some point in their life it becomes very apparent. You find people in these positions start to make very poor choices, choices that in some cases can prove fatal. King Solomon was the riches King that ever lived and yet when he looked at his life in the context of God he saw that all of his wealth meant nothing. Where a man’s heart is that is where his treasure is also (Matt 6:21), so if his heart is with God, then his treasure will be in context to God. If his heart is in this world, then his treasures and want for them will be directed according to what this world promotes. Parallel Principals In our industry there is the potential to make a lot of money and where there is that potential, there is also the potential to be tempted away from God because of the money. As believers we need to understand that money in of itself is not evil, however the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). We should never let this business stand in the way of our worship of God (YHWH) and if we understand who he is, we would also understand that he owns everything anything: Psa 50:7 Hear, My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God. Psa 50:8 I will not reprove you for your sacrifices; yea, your burnt offerings are continually before Me. Psa 50:9 I will take no bull out of your house, nor he-goats out of your folds. Psa 50:10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills If we seek God first and his righteousness, then everything will be added. So let’s put things in there right context, one with God is a majority, do not let the enemy lie to you. God wants you to do successful in all that you do, just as long as he is in it also and understand that God is enough for you to be successful in your Reliv business and he is also enough for you to be successful in LIFE!. ********************************************************* Jason Gregory Business Coach & Mentor Reliv *********************************************************
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This weeks notes come to you from Richard Stephens, one of the Reliv Business developers in the UK
The soggy banners have been taken down, the soggy people have gone back yo work and the soggy sausages have been thrown away. But despite the weather last week we all had a holiday to celebrate the queen and prince diamond jubilee, It was pointed out that Philip was Englands longest serving consort and in another 4 years the queen would be the longest serving monarch . Some celebrated, with pageant, brass bands , and a pop concert. Strret parties and village barbeques. For me the high pont was the celebration at Westminster abbey and Rowan Williams reflection on the occasion from God’s perspective In his address He described as 60 years of dedicated service by the queen to her nation and to her family As He pointed out the word dedicated has been much “debased” , We talk about dedicated golfers and tennis players. However “dedicated” really means available to God. This does not mean that we should not be ‘dedicated’ to our sport, our family or our nation or our business but we should be aware lest they become our god! We should never put these on a pedestal. This way we are heading for idolatry. People who live for their golf surely miss the point . people who put their country right or wrong their family right or wrong augment nation and family above right and wrong, and the Bible warns us we should have no other Gods. Rather we should honouring God in the way we pursue our goals, in how we live within our family or our nation, in how we practice out faith, conduct our business or even how we play golf! Col 3 17 Do all things whether by word or deed as if it is unto the Lord. Much was said over the four days about the Queens role as head of state and of the commonwealth. The jubilee made me wonder about the whole issue of leadership what it means and how it should be pursued. Jesus warns his disciples about being like the self-righteous and self-promoting Pharisees . seeking honour on the street corners while inwardly they were whited sepulchres; laying down the laws but doing nothing to help people meet the standards those laws demand. Jesus by contrast washed his disciples feet the muddiest dirtiest and lowest part of their bodies For the Son of God when it came to tending his sheep, there was nothing that was beneath him. What a contrast. Jesus throughout his life was lifter of people from their circumstances, whether it was the guilt ridden adulterer weeping before him on the sand, the paralysed man helpess on his pallet or Peter sinking in the storm.. By his death he has lifted al of us from our life of sin , set our feet apon the rock, so that we could eventually ascend with him to the heavenly places. Jesus was a lifter and a server not an imposer and a controller. In Math 20 26. He was explicit when he said Whoever wants to be the greatest, the leader must be servant of all. Such a servant kiuing would never abuse his position or his powert. It is the presence of God’s spirit , witnessed and taught by army chaplains in the armed forces that seeks to remind our soldiers that they are not there to conquer, rape or pillage, but to serve. So what are the qualities of a good leader? Good leaders:- Have godly goals. Whethert we like it or not we are all leaders in as much as we influence others. The issue is who are we leading and more importantly where are we leading them to. In prison I meet leaders , men of stature and charisma, However there are negative leaders, leading others into drugs, crime and ultimately death for their own self aggrandizement. Good leadership assumes Godly goals. Good leaders put the needs and goals of others first. They observant of the challenges and obstacles facing those they lead and find ways to lighten them. Like Jesus , they are a people lifters and like Jesus their reward will be in heaven if not on earth.. However the reality is when you help others get what they want you do not have to worry about what you want. Good leaders help others to win and to meet their potential. Good leaders adopt the attitude that it does not matter who gets the credit, because they seek no glory. It is not about expanding their ego but always about expanding Gods kingdom Good leaders are willing to accept the blame if things go wrong on your patch but reluctant to assign it. “Where possible walk in love with all men” Good leaders over communicate rather than under-communicate. They make it a priority to keep everyone in the loop . Confusion erodes leadership. For this reason good leaders spend time with their team, invest in them, and are available to them. Good leaders have pen doors and attentive ears. Good leaders don’t take things . Leadership is about others, When you start thinking about you, and how others have mistreated you, bitterness and anger make you lose perspective. Finally remember the words of a former attorney general told an audience of American college students “Don’t ever seek to be the greatest. Seek instead to do great things If your aspiration to be the greatest you will probably die disappointed, but even if you succeed ,your greatest-ness will die with you. However if you aspire to do great things your legacy will live on.” So how can we apply these principles to our Reliv work? Reliv is all about legacy. We need to learn from the founder Dr Ted who was told “Be ashamed to die until you have achieves a small victory for mankind”. Reliv is about legacy more than cash bonuses. Bob Montgomery was drawn to that philosophy. He is wanting to change the world but also by changing us so that we can change it! This is what makes his leadership style distinctive. He would I am sure shy away from being seen as the boss. Or even the. He wantd to be the vision sharer rather than a managing director. I remember him saying “I will never fire any my distributors. They make the company work, but I have to be aware every day that they can fire me, and work for someone else.” There is a servant heart. Was it not Jesus’ wish and prayer that “none should be lost”.? Jn 6 39. Reliv CEO Bob Montgomery, like Jesus sets high standards for himself and leaves us to follow his example.He makes people feel valued , On my second meeting with Gipsy and me , he remembered our names and even recalled we were in Prison. Can we do the same for those we meet in our meetings? As European distributors we are blessed by the quality of our leaders. We can be grateful they strive hard to communicate to us, to keep us in the loop, to support us with our clients, even if across lines when they clearly can have no financial gain and finally to give us the resources that we need to succeed. They are lifters of people, not criticisers of them. If there are issues in any meetings , they seek to be listeners, putting the local problems in front of those effected rather than allowing them to become between those effected. They encourage distributors to rise above personal slights, see the bigger picture, to forgive and to seek forgiveness,. They seek by prayer and action to maintain the spirit of unity in the body of local meetings, knowing that division weakens everyone. Their hope for us is Christ’s hope for us that we “walk in love with all people”. They seek to serve so that rather than ‘being great’ or even receiving great cheques, they hope they can leave a legacy of greatness in the changed lives of those they have led. Now there is something we could all learn to do! We, who are led, always need to honour our leaders, whether it is our upline, our MD .our pastor or the Queen for their dedication, for their ‘availability to God’ so that He can work through them and to and through us. We need to take up their torch and run with it. T finish on a homely point. The other day I saw a blind man walking to the traffic light being led by his guide dog. I stared at the beautiful labrador, his senses alert, his sole purpose was to serve his master. Then the light turned green and gently the dog led him across the street. God gave me a living parable. Pursue “great things” not “greatness” . Lead by serving. Good advice for those young enough to be able to look forward to the next 60 years! I would like to finish with the soldiers prayer of Ignatius Loyala . I hope you enjoy the poetry and but that the sentiments expressed will enrich your lives. Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labour and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do Thy will;through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ********************************************** Richard Stephens Business Coach Reliv ********************************************** We are in a constant battle for our souls, from the moment we are born until the moment we die, that battle for our souls is waging hot and strong.
As human beings originally created in God’s image and likeness, the enemy hates us with a passion and that is why there is an assignment on each and every one of our lives. Whether you want to acknowledge this as fact or not, it is not going to change the assignment: Joh 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. This spiritual battle is so real that we need spiritual tools in order to survive it. 2Co 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, 2Co 10:5 pulling down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ; Anger, Lust, Unforgiveness, Compromise, Vanity, Pride, Indifference, etc All of these are demonically influenced, which attach themselves to our flesh or our lower nature and then our flesh runs with it: Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, Gal 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies, Gal 5:21 envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revelings, and things like these; of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. So how do we as Christians combat these attacks? Well first of all we have to make sure we are dressed correctly: Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world's rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:13 Therefore take to yourselves the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Eph 6:14 Therefore stand, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness Eph 6:15 and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Eph 6:16 Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, Eph 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching to this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Once we have our clothes on, we need to equip ourselves with the right spiritual tools. As we are in an unseen battle we need unseen tools and these are: Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, Gal 5:23 meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. You see these demonic forces that influence our flesh are unseen, but what we see is the physical manifestation of that influence in how a person lives their lives. Therefore even though our tools are unseen, they should be evident by how we live our lives. Sometimes you can feel that the whole world is against you, in a way you are right because as a Christian, this world and everything it represents is against Christ and his church. However the feelings that you feel at that moment is a lie from the pit of hell, because the enemy wants to tap into your flesh to get you depressed and once you get into depression, you have stepped out of the covering of God. It is so important that when you fell like that, you get into fellowship we the saints, people of faith who can bear you up on such times. Just like what Elisha had to do with his servant: 2Ki 6:15 And the servant of the man of God arose early and went out. And, behold, an army surrounded the city, and horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! What shall we do? 2Ki 6:16 And he answered, Do not fear, for those with us are more than those with them. 2Ki 6:17 And Elisha prayed and said, I pray You, Jehovah, open his eyes so that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. We need to understand that one with God is a majority, so we walk by faith and not by sight because faith is the thing that cause God to move in our lives, so if we want to see the impossible, we first have to look to the invisible. Parallel Principals In our business the things that cause us to fail in it, whether that failure is in the short term or the long term, is not so much what we see, it is what we don’t see. You see people can advance in this business quicker than others, but how are they building? We all have gifts and talents; however our gifts and talents can take us where our characters cannot keep us. The unseen things that kill our businesses and things like: Lack of Integrity, Lack of Work ethic, Lack of Desire, Lack of Determination, Lack of Consistency, Lack of Persistency, Lack of Ethics, Lack of Activity. You physically cannot see these hindrances but what we do see is the physical manifestation of these hindrances! Some of these things kill our businesses quicker than others, but the one thing is certain, they ALL kill our businesses. In this business the biggest battle you are going to face, is the battle you are going to have to defeat yourself. Once that battle is won the rest of the battles you are going to have will pale in significance. That unseen battle will determine you success and failure, not just in Reliv but in your whole life. ************************************************* Jason Gregory Business Coach & Mentor Reliv ************************************************* |
Click Image below to see an opportunity to work with a group of believers, passionate about helping people with their health and their finances. Click image Now!Me and Aneela with the European Chairman of Reliv International Click below to watch some powerful Christian videos KINGDOM PEOPLE AuthorFor the past Eight years, I have been hosting a weekly prayer call for the believers in the offline company that i work alongside. Looking at biblical principals and seeing how we can apply them into our businesses. Archives
May 2018
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