Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. 1 Chronicles 4:10

Our heavenly Father knows the exact time and the specific blessing each of His children needs. He knows when they need to be blessed, where they need to be blessed and how they need to be blessed. He customizes because He cares. Parents have the privilege of blessing their children based on their uniqueness—a good mom and dad love their children equally, but treat them uniquely. One child craves a parent’s blessing of affirming words, “I love you, I believe in you, You are beautiful.” Another needs cash compensation to make them feel valued for their work. Customized blessings come from a heart of love to a heart that needs love—a personalized love.

Jabez is Hebrew for pain. Born in a mother’s travail of childbirth, her physical pain was soon converted to a mother’s joy. Yes, an everyday example of how God turns a burden into a blessing. Like all humans, Jabez was a man of sorrow—as Jesus would be a man of sorrow. Also a man of prayer, he cries out to the one true God of Israel, whose leader Abraham was promised by the Lord to be blessed, along with his descendants. Customized blessings can come as a result of specific prayer requests. We cry out to Christ in bold faith, and trust Him to grant us His best.

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Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field; afterward build your house and establish a home. Proverbs 24:27, AMP

Business discipline develops an appropriate strategy and follows through to execute the plan with precision. Over time this systematic approach produces a growing organization that is a sustainable and thriving enterprise. Business discipline comes from leaders who are disciplined: Women and men who understand the need for orderliness and integrity supported by first in class competency. When our passion is channeled into processes that allow our energy to be harnessed for ongoing productivity, then we are practicing business discipline. Patience stays in the process.

Solomon offers sound advice around establishing our work, before we build a house and have a family—wise words indeed. Back in the day of the small farms —it was prudent to save and pay cash for your land and take whatever time and work was required to prepare your fields. Today a young adult is smart to patiently grow in their profession, before they pile on responsibilities like marriage, parenting and debt. Better for someone to get their financial house in order prior to purchasing a home. Business discipline sets goals and moves forward by faith.

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

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Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. John 21:12-14

In this Easter season, we as Christians spend a lot of time talking about resurrection, and for a very good reason. However, I sometimes hear the topic discussed in remarkably disembodied ways! We may speak, for example, of resurrection as a generic spiritual value, such as “discovering your own personal resurrection.” Likewise, Jesus’ own resurrection is sometimes seen as nothing more than a powerful spiritual analogy of conquering your demons or overcoming trials and adversities. May this never be so!

When we look to the resurrection of Jesus, we must wholeheartedly embrace the mystery and wonder of the physical, bodily resurrection of the Son of God. Just as he humbled and emptied himself, becoming fully incarnate as a human being, so too did Jesus physically die, yet all the more gloriously defeated death by rising again in triumphant glory.

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And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  John 1:16

Our society is all about “I can.” I can win the race. I can be the best salesperson in my company. I can get a college degree. I can be a good mother. We have been taught that the most important things can be earned if we only believe and try hard enough. Certainly, when God is behind something, all things are possible for him who believes (Mark 9:23). But there is an “I can’t” phrase every believer needs to embrace: I can’t earn God’s love. This phrase is empowering, liberating, and life-giving.

Granted, most believers know they are “saved by grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8) so they intellectually agree that salvation can’t be earned. So they will also say His favor and love can’t be earned. But there is often a disconnect between what we say we believe and what we truly believe. For example, in his book, Holiness by Grace, Bryan Chapell shares that many people believe that if they have a quiet time, God will love them more. If they are kind to their neighbor, it’s a guarantee of His favor. “However much we may want—or feel the need—to trophy our good works before God in order to merit his acceptance, our accomplishments remain insufficient to obligate him to care for us as members of his family.”

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The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. Luke 8:14

Everyday life is full of opportunities to do God’s will and distractions to miss God’s will. Worry is distracted by issues out of its control—like an unprecedented presidential election year, fear of a global financial meltdown driven by government debt or lackadaisical Christians who are more concerned over their comfort than obeying Christ’s commands. Any distraction that keeps me from maturing in my faith walk with Jesus needs to be dismissed. I am learning that growth in my discipleship is the result of staying focused on engrafting God’s word into my soul.

Jesus paints a familiar canvas to residents of a mostly agrarian community. Uncultivated soil is not ready to grow crops. The few seeds that do germinate and develop into tender plants are soon choked by suffocating thorns. Such is an unbroken heart that hears truth, but the word of life is slowly tortured by fear and distrust, so truth is choked by life’s worries. The prickly thorns of worry have to be carefully cut out by the shears of belief in Christ to bear fruit from an abiding life. When Jesus abides in a life and that life abides in Jesus—a mature disciple is on display!

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I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11

  From the domestication of fire and the invention of the wheel, to air travel and the creation of the Internet, human beings have achieved remarkable things. Yet in spite of all of our advancements and accomplishments, the resurrection of Jesus forces us to come to terms with our limitations and shortcomings.

Simply put, we are not all-powerful or all-knowing, neither are we self-originating or self-sustaining. Though we try to deny it, we are all running a losing race with time and daily feel the effects of sin and death on our bodies, families, and communities.

However, the discovery of our brokenness is the very way we enter into a life of worship, wonder, and overwhelming joy!

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Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:22-23

God has been sending some messages my way lately that have been hitting me right in the heart. Such are the words from Timothy Keller’s book, The Prodigal God. In this fantastic read, Keller reveals there is more to the Parable of the Prodigal Son than most Christians were ever taught in church.

In his book, Keller writes that there is not just one lost son, but two in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In reality, the older brother who diligently obeys his father is as lost as the younger who squanders his inheritance and lives a wild lifestyle. Both are alienated from the father because each reject relationship with the father but in very different ways: one through licentious living, and the other through legalism. One through being bad and one by being good (Luke 15:13; 29). Both attitudes are rooted in pride and self-centeredness—and both attempt to get from their father what they want without caring for their father’s heart.

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To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Revelation 3:21

Soldiers are my heroes—those who fight for freedom and assure domestic tranquility. Some are newly enlisted on their way to book camp, a few are enrolled in officer’s school, others provide technical support or manage administrative details—and then there are the fighters on the frontline—daily putting their life on the line. Some live, some die—but all sacrifice. War is ugly, messy and hellish in its fierce engagements. The best battles are fought to better the world and to rid civilization of evil forces. Wars can be won by unified forces and by the favor of God.

John describes a scene in heaven where the final battle has been fought, weapons cease to exist, weary bodies are in repose, minds are not churning with activity and emotions are at ease. Because Jesus fought the good fight while He lived on earth, He now reigns with His Father in heaven. Christ overcame the devil’s temptations so we might overcome the devil’s temptations. He conquered evil with good, so we can conquer evil with good. He endured suffering that we might endure suffering. Jesus lived, died and came to life—so we can live, die and come to life!

“Fight the good fight of the faith [in the conflict with evil]; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and [for which] you made the good confession [of faith] in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12, AMP).

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The idols speak deceit, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd.      Zechariah 10:2

People wander aimlessly due to lack of leadership, though they want to be led. They want to be led by loving leaders who listen to the Lord and listen to them. Look for leaders like Solomon, who petitioned the Lord on how to lead: “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (2 Chronicles 1:10). This is God’s design, for He has wired people to resist wandering and to want leadership. You are followers of Jesus Christ and followers of those He has placed in authority over your life. Yet, if someone who is in a position of leadership does not lead, there is doubt and confusion. People wander around, disconnected and disinterested, because they are unsure of where to turn. But eventually, someone will fill the leadership void by default.

Some ambitious soul will fill the empty shoes of leadership even if he or she is unable to lead effectively. A silent coup takes place when the responsible leader abdicates their leadership. An uncalled character, backing into leadership by default, is worse than no leadership at all. The followers can easily lose perspective and settle for less, because their hunger for a leader can cause them to use poor judgment. This happened to the people who begged Samuel for a King, then later regretted their request (1 Samuel 8:4-21).

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