Selling Mattresses as Ministry

"This is one of the sleaziest industries in the world," says business owner Ethan Rietema. "Customers are treated so poorly. Stores beat you up, trying to get as much money as they can, but they couldn't care less if you get the right bed." Rietema and Steve Van Diest, both former campus ministers, are bringing rest—and integrity—back to a business largely devoid of it. Four years ago, a Christian entrepreneur invited the Colorado natives to begin deploying their relational abilities in strip malls rather than on college campuses. They now co-own three Urban Mattress stores in Denver and have franchised four more. And, they argue, their current work is just as important as their former ministry. – Christianity Today, 11/12/12   Two guys with a vision to live out their commitment to Christ in the world are seeing results. Without pushing literature about the Gospel or preaching sermons, they are making Him known in their shops.  They see no problem with a profit motive. These stores are about creating an income, but profit does not come at the expense of integrity. Providing a service at a fair price, with the goal of honoring the Lord, takes priority over making money.

   

The Bible says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3:23-25, NIV) Ethan and Steve are doing this, are you?  Do you ‘take Jesus to work with you’ or do you leave Him home?  Every Christian is directed to ‘go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.’ (Mark 16)  How do we do that?  Less by overtly religious actions or activities related to church and more by bringing Christ’s love and integrity with us into the gritty reality of our bank, real estate office, factory floor, or construction site!  I am not naïve about this. Nice guys do often finish last! If we commit ourselves to living honestly, if we won’t join the political games, if we put people over profit – it might cost us a promotion. It certainly will cause some, at least, to see us as weak.  However, isn’t His approval more important?

It isn’t just these two guys selling mattresses who have caught the vision.  David Green, CEO of Hobby Lobby, a vastly profitable chain of stores across the United States, says “It’s not always about money – it’s principles. God will bless us if we continue to run our business on Christian principles. Our Heavenly Father is pleased when we don’t compromise our faith and principles in times of desperation.”

I hope that you are thinking, every day, about how to be Christ’s representative in your ‘secular’ world. As you drive to work, take time to talk to the Lord about those with whom you will spend the day. Commit yourself to the Spirit, inviting Him to influence through you.  Don’t slip into offensive piety!  We all know those people who mistakenly think they are preaching the Gospel by playing a Christian station so everybody has to ‘enjoy’ it, or by rebuking the guy who tells a ribald joke, or by praying loudly over lunch. They think that the rejection that comes their way is suffering for the sake of Jesus. Actually, they are just being socially inept!  Live it. Love others. Work hard. Pick up the slack. Say less, do more!

Here’s the word from the Word - “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."  (Matthew 5:13-16, NIV)

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Lord, Be Glorified

In my life, Lord,

Be glorified, be glorified!

In my life, Lord,

Be glorified today.

In our home, Lord,

Be glorified, be glorified.

In our home, Lord,

Be glorified today.

Bob Kilpatrick

© 1978 Bob Kilpatrick Ministries (Assigned to Lorenz Publishing Company - 1998)

CCLI License # 810055

Slap on the handcuffs?

Slap on the handcuffs?

Restraint is everywhere.  In an attempt to provide an orderly society, our government – local, state, and federal – keeps on writing rules and laws.  The regulatory burden for the average American is crushing. Just try building something in New Jersey; or worse, try opening your own business. You will be forced to spend thousands of dollars just to satisfy multiple agencies of the government.  The result of this growth of regulation does not change us for the better. In fact, it may actually accelerate criminalization by breaking down the sense of responsibility to regulate our own behaviors.  America has a higher percentage of its people behind bars than any other developed nation in the world!  One out of every 31 adults in our nation is either in prison or on probation! 

The impulse to regulate and control flows into the Church with a terrible and tragic result – religion replacing relationship. It’s as old as our faith. Legalism, attempting to create right standing with God by keeping rules, showed up among the first generation Christians.  With strongest language, they were pointed back to the Cross and the grace of God. “What magician has cast an evil spell on you? For you used to see the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death as clearly as though I had shown you a signboard with a picture of Christ dying on the cross.  Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by keeping the law? Of course not, for the Holy Spirit came upon you only after you believed the message you heard about Christ.  Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?”  (Galations 3 NLT) Does that passage describe your life?

Over and over, the Bible – both Old Testament and New – tells us of the insufficiency of our own efforts to make us acceptable to a perfect and holy God.  God, the Holy Spirit, moves on us, works in us, and transforms us when we respond with faith to Him. Romans 8 is an amazing chapter about the death of the sinful nature and the life of the Spirit. Christ erases our guilty sense of condemnation and brings us near our Abba’s heart. There we gain the strength to reject temptation and live ‘in the Spirit’ which brings us life. There is no ambiguity about the wonder of this new life. "My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day." (Galatians 5:16-17, The Message)

Too often we mistakenly reverse the order- focusing first on regulating our behaviors and eliminating even temptations. We try very hard to slap the handcuffs on our sinful nature, thinking that only then will we experience the Spirit’s life. God says, “Love me first. Just focus on my Presence. Receive my gift of life by coming to me just as you are.”   And He says,  "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26, NIV)

This impulse for regulation leads many Christians to experience a spiritual life that is akin to incarceration! They are not joyful, free, and productive children of God. They are stressed out, highly controlled, prisoners of themselves. Religion takes over and destroys the promise of God.  The Word says that "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ... by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope." (Galatians 5:5, NIV)  Have you submitted yourself to religion, replacing a passionate pursuit of God Himself with empty forms or human regulations?  If so, this question is for you:  "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?" (Galatians 5:7, NIV)

Habakkuk was shown the principle long ago:  “the righteous will live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4, NIV) The glory of the faith bursts from this passage. Take it to heart today. Throw away the handcuffs and raise those hands to the One who gives real freedom to live a holy life by His Spirit. "But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight—not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins." (Romans 3:21-24, NLT)

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The Power Of Your Love

Lord, I come to You;

Let my heart be changed, renewed-

Flowing from the grace

That I found in You.

And, Lord, I've come to know

The weaknesses I see in me

Will be stripped away

By the pow'r of Your love!

Lord, unveil my eyes,

Let me see You face to face;

The knowledge of Your love

As You live in me.

Lord, renew my mind

As Your will unfolds in my life,

In living ev'ry day

By the pow'r of Your love!

Hold me close.

Let Your love surround me.

Bring me near.

Draw me to Your side.

And as I wait

I'll rise up like the eagle,

And I will soar with You,

Your Spirit leads me on

In the pow'r of Your love!

Geoff Bullock

© 1992 Word Music, LLC (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.)

Maranatha! Music (Admin. by Maranatha! Music)

CCLI License # 810055

Scandal!

David Petraeus, head of the CIA, a former four-star general, a man with ‘rock star’ status in Washington, DC, came tumbling down from lofty heights last week.  He was tripped up by desire gone awry. It would only take me seconds to name a dozen people, preachers and politicians, whose libido brought them down.  The story is so familiar.  A man at the pinnacle of success meets a younger woman who flatters him, attracted by his power and influence. What starts as a friendship ends up as an affair. The secret finds the light and the implosion starts. Then, he’s gone, slipping into obscurity, his greatness eclipsed by his very human failure.

Some may condemn him as a fool. Others may wonder at his choices. I will only say, “there, but for the grace of God, go I.”  Too many have said it could never happen to them. They have considered themselves too smart to take the bait. Not I!  Knowing the deceitfulness of the human heart and the seductive power of the sinful nature, I hold tightly to the promise of God Who says that if trust Him, He will keep me. The Bible says, "If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin. But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it." (1 Corinthians 10:12-13, NLT)  

Jesus tells us that He holds us securely in His hand. What a joyous thought! "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand." (John 10:28-29, NIV)  But, we also can never forget that we can, and some do, reject the very grace that keeps us secure.  With these vivid words, the Scripture describes them: "For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:20-23, NKJV)  Jesus says that those who get cleaned up and delivered from the grasp of Evil, who do not continue to live in and by the Spirit, risk becoming seven times the sinner they were in the past.

In spite of all those warnings, we need not live in terror of Self or Satan. The call is not to scrupulous self-righteousness, but to greater surrender to His love. If we are willing to say “yes” to the Spirit in each moment, temptation has no hold on us.  We are made wise to the weaknesses in ourselves, warned of the ‘roaring lion that seeks to devour’ us, and we stand strong.

Here’s a word of practical instruction from the Word. As we ponder the wreckage of the fallen, may we be kept from pride, and called to awareness of His strength to save. "God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “Those who claim they belong to the Lord must turn away from all wickedness.” In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts." (2 Timothy 2:19-22, NLT)

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Take My Life

Holiness, holiness,

Is what I long for.

Holiness is what I need.

Holiness, holiness,

Is what You want from me!

So take my heart and form it;

Take my mind - transform it;

Take my will - conform it;

To Yours, to Yours, Oh Lord.

Scott Underwood

© 1995 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

When all around my soul gives way

There are days when questions arise and doubts pound away like the incessant clamor of a jackhammer in the street. I wonder, “Have I done the right thing? Did I make a fatal mistake?”  The tension causes my body to ache.  When I go to prayer to find relief, I would like to say that I always sense God near.  That is not true.  Oh, I know He’s there, but the soul storm makes it hard for me to sense His Presence.  Why do these difficult times come?  It can be physical exhaustion or disappointment with life that kicks up the dust. It can be willful disobedience that grieves the Spirit, who withdraws His Presence. It can be too many challenges unmatched by taking time to rest.  It can be God leading us through a time of testing! Or, the cause may remain a mystery.

   

Job endured terrible anguish of the soul and we learn from the Scripture that God allowed it! In the depth of his suffering he said, “I’m given a life that meanders and goes nowhere— months of aimlessness, nights of misery!  I go to bed and think, ‘How long till I can get up?’  I toss and turn as the night drags on—and I’m fed up!”  (The Message, Job 7:3-4) 

Elijah won a great victory for the Lord on Mount Carmel when God sent fire from Heaven and demonstrated His glory to all Israel. In the weeks that followed that amazing experience, the prophet fell into a terrible depression, fled to the desert, and asked God to let him die! “He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: “Enough of this, God! Take my life—I’m ready to join my ancestors in the grave!” (1 Kings 19:4).

David walked in the dark, too, but as a result of his own sin. He said, “ Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice … Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (Psalm 51:8, 11-12, NIV)  

Jesus was in anguish on the night before He went to the Cross.  He anticipated bearing the sins of the world, the coming separation from His Father, and it tore Him to pieces. He sweat drops of blood, begged His friends to stand with Him, and even prayed, “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me." (Mark 14:36, NIV)

With such company walking before us in the ‘dark night of the soul’ (St. John of the Cross, 16^th century) we realize that our plight is not so uncommon.  These crises of the spirit come to saint and sinner, young and old, rich and poor alike.  So what can we do? 

Patiently wait out the storm!  There is a Psalm that every disciple should commit to memory.  God’s wisdom comes through each word, not with an instant release from the ache, nor with a promise of immediate comfort. Rather, He calls on us to steady ourselves until the storm blows over. 

"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land." (Psalm 37:3-9, NIV)  We are tempted to rage against God and man in our frustration.  We are often tempted to seek some relief. The Lord tells us quiet down and wait; yes, to patiently let His Spirit work.  Sometimes He changes me;  sometimes He changes my circumstances; and sometimes He just lets the storm blow over!

Jacob wrestled through night with an angel, perhaps even a Pre-incarnate appearance of Christ Himself.  We  know few details of that fateful encounter, except that it left him a transformed man, with a new name that reflected his triumph.   “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:28, NIV)  Israel means “God wins!”  

Are you struggling, wrestling with doubt, disappointment, fear, or temptation? Don’t quit. Don’t take a shortcut to relief. “Wait patiently!”  Here’s the word from the Word. "And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making all things new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of the water of life without charge! All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children." (Revelation 21:5-7, NLT)

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The Solid Rock

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly lean on Jesus' name

When darkness veils His lovely face

I rest on His unchanging grace

In every high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil

His oath His covenant His blood

Support me in the whelming flood

When all around my soul gives way

He then is all my hope and stay

When He shall come with trumpet sound

O may I then in Him be found

Dressed in His righteousness alone

Faultless to stand before the throne

On Christ the solid Rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

All other ground is sinking sand

Edward Mote | William Batchelder Bradbury

Public Domain

Crabgrass or Roses?

When I stand on the deck and look out over the acre and half I call home, I see beauty.  When I moved here last year, I saw work, lots of it. But, with trimming, pulling, weeding, and planting it’s become attractive. Our lawn and our heart, alike, demand effort to create beauty! Weeds grow quite well without fertilizer, don’t they? Similarly, sin flourishes without encouragement. When the rain does not fall, the grass in my lawn dries up, but the crabgrass does just fine! Without consistent water of the Word, the fruit of the Spirit withers in my life, too; even as the evidence of the sinful nature (impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy- Galatians 5:19) does just fine!

Isaiah describes the beauty that the Spirit of God will cultivate in us if we love Him. He will "bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." (Isaiah 61:3, NIV)  Now, note the response of those so loved. "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations." (Isaiah 61:10-11, NIV)

Is your life allowing for the display of the“beauty of His holiness?”  Don’t confuse the pinched, self-created ‘holiness’ taught by some with the real holiness of the Lord. There is a kind of holiness that focuses on the superficial, that is built solely around rigid regulations of human behavior. Jesus, when interacting with the Pharisees, who specialized in external forms of ‘holiness,’ said that they were whitewashed tombs!” In scathing terms He rejected their ‘holiness’ as anything but good or godly."Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, … You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required." (Matthew 23:5-6, 23, The Message)

There is, for those who walk in the Spirit, the promise of greater Glory! Give the Lord full access to every corner of your life. Invite Him to prune and beautify your heart. "One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life " (1 Thessalonians 4:1-3, The Message)  "God hasn’t invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful—as beautiful on the inside as the outside." (1 Thessalonians 4:7, The Message)

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Beautiful One

Wonderful, so wonderful, is Your unfailing love.

Your cross has spoken mercy over me.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

No heart could fully know,

How glorious how beautiful You are!

Beautiful One, I love,

Beautiful One, I adore,

Beautiful One, my soul must sing.

Powerful, so powerful, Your glory fills the skies.

Your mighty works displayed for all to see,

The beauty of Your majesty awakes my heart to sing,

How marvelous how wonderful You are.

You opened my eyes to Your wonders anew,

You captured my heart with this love,

'Cause nothing on earth is as beautiful as You!

Tim Hughes

© 2002 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055