Monday Memo 1199: Don't Give Up
Have you ever faced what you considered a hopeless situation? Are you facing one now? The last couple of weeks, we have looked at the role of economic hardship as a means either to scare you off your purpose or to refine you along the way. This week I want to continue that theme and look at a woman who had given up hope, who was ready to go home and...
Monday Memo 1198: Don't Go Back
The last thing you feel like doing when you're afraid and intimidated is to do nothing, but that may be the best advice and action you can take. When you are powerless to make a difference, why not put it in the hands of the One who can? And there is no better Financial Adviser, Business Agent, or Board Member than the Lord Himself.
Monday Memo 1197: No Straw, More Bricks
Last week, I introduced the phrase 'economic terrorism' and promised to share more about it this week. If you didn't read 'Stale Bread' last week, you may want to go back and read it now, for we will build on that as we look at the people of God in Egypt under Pharaoh this week.
Monday Memo 1196: Stale Bread
Perhaps you find yourself in a tough spot right now. You launched out with the best of intentions to fulfill your purpose and do God's will. As you have, the enemy of your soul, who could not keep you from your purpose, is now trying to keep you from succeeding in it. He has created what I call...
Monday Memo 1195: God Will Take Care of You
Let's continue to look at the connection between your creative purpose and your finances. It goes without saying that you need to make a living so you can earn money and pay your bills. God knows you need money so you can eat and have the other necessities of life, and therefore promised through Adam and Eve that He would always provide for you:
Monday Memo 1194: Paid to Be Who You Are
You know the story of Moses, how he was born in Egypt and hidden by his parents because Pharaoh had decreed that all male babies had to die. When they could no longer hide him, they put him in a basket and floated him down the river where he was discovered by Pharaoh's daughter. Moses' sister had followed the baby and then there is a subtle aspect of the story that is easy to overlook:
Monday Memo 1193: Purpose and Occupation
We are looking at the relationship between your purpose and finances because, in my experience, I have found that provision is often the greatest concern for people searching for purpose. They assume that their purpose will be their source of revenue, but I have found that isn't always the case. Let's look at the Apostle Paul this week to see what he can teach us about our topic.
Monday Memo 1192: Wide Open Spaces
God wants to take you to your own wide open spaces so you can dig deep and find the fulfillment and finance you need. He can help you find water in the driest of places, but you have to be willing to embrace change and accept that God is the one who assigns you the wells you need but then also requires that you go find and dig them.
Monday Memo 1191: Innovation In Crisis
Are you going through a famine or drought? If so, do what Isaac did. Seek God for direction and then look for a way to water your crops while others are moving to Egypt. By doing so, you will uncover strategies in the midst of crisis that will help you find your financial blessing while you flow in your creative purpose.
Monday Memo 1190: Famine
God is the overseer of your purpose and knows you and your family need money to live on. Therefore, if the money isn't there, then God is up to something else and it's your job to find out what it is. The good news is that He's ready to show you...
Monday Memo 1189: Bread
Let's revisit the passage we looked at last week to gain additional insight into what God is teaching us about our finances and our purpose and the connection between the two:
Monday Memo 1188: Financial Seasons
Last week, we began a new series on 'Purpose and Finances' when we looked at Paul's words that he had learned how to be content with a lot or a little. Why would God permit there to be a little, when He promises abundance and a land flowing with milk and honey? We see the answer to that question in Deuteronomy:
Monday Memo 1187: Paul's Secret
Paul was a man of purpose in all financial seasons and God wants you (and me) to be like him. And it starts with accepting the limitation of Philippians 4:13, which doesn't apply to all of life but rather to your ability to purposely function in every financial season.
Monday Memo 1186: Purpose And Money
I have a set of questions I pose to people who come to me for help finding their purpose. One of those questions is, "If you had all the money you needed to live, what would you do with your life? How would you fill your time?" More often than not, people struggle to answer. They may tell me they would travel, but when I ask...
Monday Memo 1185: Follow Your Star
Who were those wise men known as Magi who came from the east to visit Jesus and bring him gifts? (You can read this brief story by at Matthew 2:1-12.) We aren't really sure. We also don't know what they were looking for as they studied the heavens and what kind of star they saw that caused them to follow it hundreds of miles to find an infant king.
Monday Memo 1184: God Is With You
During this holiday season, I want to share a few observations about the significance of John 1:14: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." In a sense, God endorsed humanity as the crown of His creation when He willingly took on human form so we could...
Monday Memo 1183: Down But Not Out
I enjoy spending time in London, although I haven't been there in a while. One year, I went to see Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Music Hall there. What a wonderful way to enjoy a timeless masterpiece of music and Scripture in the city where it was composed. That visit sparked one of my Christmas favorites from the Monday Memo archives.
Monday Memo 1182: Daylight
I receive many requests every year asking how to find purpose. Many say they have "no idea" what their purpose is and ask me for help. While I respond as best I can, after all these years I know that I can't help anyone see their purpose. I know the One who can, however, and how He does it is reminiscent of the story of the shepherds at Christmas, something I call...
Monday Memo 1181: Mary
As we enter Advent and the holiday season, I will post some of my favorite Christmas entries from years past in the coming weeks. We'll start a new series in January, but for now, it's time to glean some purpose lessons from the Christmas story and the lives of those who played a part. Let's start this week by looking at the purpose story of Mary.
Monday Memo 1180: A Time to Die
When I was younger, I would read Solomon's words in Ecclesiastes and think he had a fatalistic and pessimistic view of life. Now that I'm older, my perspective has changed—on life, death, and his words. How so, you may ask? For the answer, let's look at another one of Solomon's conclusions for one last lesson in our 'Never Too Old For Purpose' series.
Monday Memo 1179: Decide Now
How and when will you die? No one knows the specifics but we can decide the conditions where we are at right now. Will you be a person of purpose to the end? That you can decide. I invite you to join me in that pursuit as we seek to honor God with all our days, both the ones with youthful vigor and the ones with diminished capacity.
Monday Memo 1178: A Crown of Splendor
This week and next, I’m going to finish this series on “Never too Old for Purpose” the way I finished the previous series, “Never Too Young for Purpose,” and that is by focusing on the wisdom books of the Bible, of which Proverbs is a part. Proverbs addressed many aspects of life including finances, leadership, family, and business, and specifically...
Monday Memo 1177: Term Limits
No one owns their position, whether they work in a church or business. There's a season when they have energy and creativity to fulfill certain roles but when that energy and creativity wanes, it must be recognized as happening. That can occur when someone is 50 or 60 or 70 but it will happen. And when it does...
Monday Memo 1176: Share Your Wisdom
There's an old adage that says, "you should respect your elders." I would agree but it's always best if an elder is respected not because of their past but because of their ongoing service to others. We read in Job that those up in years should have one important thing to give people: Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old (Job 12:12, NLT).
