A heart free from deceit, beloved, attracts the gaze of God. It means we are serious concerning our transformation. Consider Jesus’ words about Nathaniel: "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" (John 1:47). Guile means, "craftiness, deceitful manipulation." In one brief statement our Master described a true Israelite as one in whom there was no guile.
The huge over-riding theme of this great movement is LOVE. "Behold how they love one another" is the catch-cry of many who watch this 'new church' in action. And everyone is given to MUCH PRAYER.
You as a leader, or your company might be in trouble with God
if:
Are you wrestling with a career decision, not sure which path to take? Are you wondering which direction the Lord desires you to go? If so, you are not alone!
I am not ashamed that I used to preach these things. It was all I knew at the time. But I was certainly shocked to discover how much of the basic gospel I was leaving out. Like me, there are a number of you who will have to "search the Scriptures to see if these things be so" just as the Bereans did. Believe me, I fought these truths for months before I simply ran out of corners to back into. I knew the implications of this were huge and I just did not want to face it. But there they are in black and white. And this is not a trivial matter. These are key gospel truths that we are talking about here.
With layoffs and business failures so prevalent today, how should the church and we as individual Christians respond to people in our midst affected by these events? Marketplace Network recommends consideration of some or all of the following steps.
"Why is it so many believers in Christ are so abysmally ineffective for God in the workplace? Could it be because "too many…have given the Gospel a bad reputation by their crude, insensitive, soapbox approach to evangelism. What’s worse, many do it without a lifestyle and work style to back it up. The order is terribly important! If you want to win a hearing for the Gospel, start by being the best worker you can be and gain the respect of your peers.
Jewish and Early Christian thought took a positive view of work (unlike the Greeks).
By about AD500, the distorted idea that faith and work don't fit together was taking hold.
The period produced a flawed argument that work had less value in God's Kingdom than contemplation.
