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TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
04-01-2008

“Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah” (1 Kings 19:20).

There is a man in my life who I consider my mentor. He came into my life during a crisis period and helped me understand my situation. I have learned a great deal from him. I have rarely spent more than a few hours in his presence at any one time. However, I did not learn from him through a formal arrangement. I mostly caught what I have learned. He never took me through a Bible study. He never sent me articles or things to read. I learned by being around him.

One day I had a crisis situation arise. I remembered what my mentor did in a crisis in his life. I decided to apply the same faith principle to that issue. Amazingly, a miracle occurred because I appropriated faith, just as my mentor had, to my crisis. This is what I mean by catching the faith of another. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning.

When Elijah handpicked Elisha as his successor, Elisha immediately killed his twelve set of oxen and ran after Elijah just to be with him. No doubt he knew what a great privilege it was to be selected by the great prophet. However, it was not enough for Elisha to be handpicked. He also wanted a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. It appears that God answered this prayer.

If you want to grow in your Christian life, ask God to lead you to a man or woman who is far ahead of you spiritually and simply start hanging out with them. As you walk alongside them you will begin to catch what they have. You will begin appropriating the anointing that is on their lives that will mix perfectly with your unique gifting and talents.

We need more people today who are willing to run after their “Elijahs.”

Lord, Please make me a blessing. I present myself to you, a living sacrifice, for ministry to the world. I pray that I would see others through your eyes of love and concern and that I would ask myself “What would Jesus do?” Please forgive me of the times I have been selfish or apathetic, for the times I have missed out on the opportunity to minister and be a blessing. I pray for all the people in my family and community who need a blessing right now. I pray for Christians around the world who need your hand of blessing right now. Lord, you know the need. You are good, all the time. I pray that in your mercy, you will will reach out in the way you know best and meet those needs, uplift those spirits, bless those souls, for your glory. In Jesus name, amen.

“Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world…red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” Yes, Lord, you love all the children. Thank you for being “color blind.” I pray that humankind will put away their prejudices and see others are you do. I pray that every Christian will look at others through your eyes. Yes, you hate our sin, but you love us so much and want us to have fellowship with you and be with you in eternity. And children…are so precious. I pray that their innocence will not be stolen, that every one will be loved as they should be, that every one will have comfort and food and shelter…and loving families. I pray that every child will have the chance to grow up and know you and serve you…and give back to you and to others through reaching out in ministry as you lead and equip them to do. Bless each one. Help us adults to be sensitive to the needs and feelings of all children and to be caring and compassionate and Christ-like examples, as Jesus would have us be. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
03-28-2008

“So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant” (Josh 24:13).

In the world of business we are taught to do whatever it takes to produce a desired outcome. Competitive forces can drive companies to go beyond the limits of ethics and integrity to achieve a desired outcome. Men and women can become work-a-holics as the need for competitive advantage is passed down the various management levels in order to meet sales and marketing goals. This sweat and toil mentality contradicts God’s Kingdom Economy.

The Kingdom Economy is found in the above verse in Joshua. When the people of Israel were coming out of Egypt, a place of sweat and toil and slavery, God was trying to teach them a new economy of receiving. Instead of sweat and toil, He wanted them to learn obedience. Now their income would be based on their obedience, not their skill or their sweat and toil.

This new Kingdom Economy meant that there would be times when what you receive from your efforts might be less than the commensurate time invested. Yet, there would also be times when you would receive more compared to your time invested.

I used to determine whether I would meet with a person based on my perceived return on that investment. I justified that behavior as being a good steward. God says we are to determine if He wants us to meet with that person or be involved with an endeavor based on His leading alone, not based on the perceived outcome. It is His responsibility to bring fruit from the activity.

This will result in a new freedom in your work life. Stay vertical with God and let Him determine your next activity.

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
03-27-2008

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me. . . . My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:14,27).

Tom Fox is a successful financial investment manager who heads up a workplace ministry in the Twin Cities, Minnesota area. He used to be troubled when he heard Christians say, “The Lord told me . . . ” He certainly had never heard God speak to him like that. “What is different about those people and me?” he wondered. In the book of John, Tom had read that Jesus had said that His sheep hear His voice, but he didn’t understand how they could do that. His pursuit to answer that question began his quest to discover how to hear God’s voice himself.

Today, Tom realizes that God does speak and that we, as His children, can hear His voice. He has discovered how to hear God’s words of guidance in his daily life, which includes the day-to-day operations of his business, and he is teaching others how to hear God’s voice as well.

A friend of mine told me a story about an experience he had in Israel that demonstrates how sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He and his wife were visiting some of the famous biblical sites when they saw a group of shepherds and their flocks. They watched as three different shepherds put their sheep in the same pen for the night, and they wondered how in the world the shepherds would separate their sheep the next day, since none of them had any identifying marks on them.

My friend got up early the next morning to watch the shepherds gather their sheep. The first shepherd went over to the pen and called out to his sheep. One by one, his sheep (and only his sheep) filed out to follow him. The same thing happened with the other two shepherds. My friend said it was amazing to watch how only the shepherd’s sheep followed him while the others remained in the pen–and all because they recognized his voice. What a picture of Jesus’ words spoken centuries earlier.

Ask God to help you hear the voice of God–even on the job.