In Tough Times…

God’s people have been sailing through tough times for a long time…

Here’s some commentary on 1 Kings Chapter 17 that I hope you’ll find helpful and encouraging.

“As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

Ok, here’s a problem that certainly has a significant national impact.

“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.”

But, the Lord is CLEARLY taking care of Elijah.

“And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.”

Now, here’s where we get ourselves in trouble.

When God lets a brook dry up…

When God closes a door…

When God shuts down a channel of supply…

We get MAJOR upset. We start thinking that God doesn’t care about us. And of course, the enemy is there to suggest that if God really loved us and cared about us, this wouldn’t be happening to us.

My friend, God doesn’t ever dry up, close up, or shut down anything without simultaneously providing something BETTER!

“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”

See…I told you the Lord always has something else better for you.

“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

Isn’t this so like us?

We had plenty to eat yesterday.

We’ve got something to eat today.

Yes, things may or may not be exactly what we want but as of right now, we’re ok, we’re good.

But, when we can’t see tomorrow’s supply we just naturally assume that we’re going to die.

Friend, God’s been taking care of people a long time and He’s going to take care of you and me too!

“And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.”

Here’s your take-away point: in no way is God’s supply wasting away nor is His supply failing. God’s abundant supply is ever plenteous and ever available to you and me.

Yes, there are “lean” times and there are “fat” times – according to the cycle of seasons that God has ordained from the beginning of time – but that in no way means that God won’t take care of us.

Peace, Love, and Blessings,
Lane Fox

Copyright © 2008 by Lane Fox, MillionairesForJesus.com

Permission is granted to reprint this article ONLY if a link is included with it as follows:

URL: http://www.millionairesforjesus.com/

Link Text: Millionaires For Jesus - God's Millionaires - Christian Millionaire

Here’s Where The Money’s At…

In light of the current economic crises and the news media’s endless shouting of troubles, problems, failures, unrest, doom and gloom…

Today is a perfect day for me to remind you…

The Lord is your source and supply – He always has been, always will be – and God’s abundant supply is independent of and in spite of any world, national, regional, or local condition or situation.

“Let [men and women] trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon [their] God.” Isaiah 50:10

Contrary to what the enemy of good is constantly suggesting (remember, he’s out to steal, kill, and destroy wherever he can), it pays to live your life trusting in the goodness and supply of the Lord because…

“He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat [blessed and successful].” Proverbs 28:25

In all the noise, commotion, and chaos coming from the world, have you kind of forgotten this?

My friend, God’s calling to you…

“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear [love, respect, and reverence] the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear [love, respect, and reverence] him. The young lions [covetous and greedy people of the world] do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” Psalms 34:8-10

Have you ever waited out a rainstorm from underneath a dry shelter? That’s what it’s like for the person who’s in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ…

“I [the Lord thy God] have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand.” Isaiah 51:16

Isn’t that wonderful?

Nevertheless, this IS a time for you to be careful and wise.

“The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly [trouble and problems].” Proverbs 14:24

This IS a time to put away foolishness…

“The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.” Proverbs 19:3

What does that mean?

So many people are looking for great gain – without providing a corresponding level of value and service to mankind. It’s this kind of foolishness that perverts people’s life – and then they find themselves fretting against the Lord because of all the trouble they’re in – that they put themselves into.

Similarly…

“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” 1 Timothy 6:9

This verse isn’t talking about money being a bad thing – money is nothing more than a medium of exchange for goods, services, and value – and providing value and service and being compensated and rewarded accordingly is an indisputably God-ordained principle and concept.

What this verse is talking about is people TRYING TO LIVE BEYOND THEIR MEANS!

People driving automobiles that are more expensive than they can really afford.

People who live in homes they can’t really afford.

People who are "upside down" in all or most of their financial affairs.

Do you see that?

It’s also talking about people who WANT A LOT FOR SOMETHING LITTLE.

That’s what’s been going on strong for a long time – especially the last 15 – 20 years…

Individuals, corporations, and even governments handing over any extra money they can scrape together to OTHERS (the stock market, etc) and telling them, “Make me rich – without any real effort or rendering of service on my part.”

As we can see and hear all around us, this doesn’t work on a long-term basis.

The only reliable, sustainable, and God-ordained way to turn a dime into a dollar is to take that dime and infuse it with your God-given creative mind, talents, abilities, and skills such that it provides a REAL dollar worth of value and service to people.

To their own misfortune, too many people are trying to just get a dollar out of a dime.

So again…

“Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.” Proverbs 9:6

One last thing…

This IS a time to make sure there’s nothing but Jesus – nothing but good – inside of us…

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:21-23

“Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Romans 8:9

And, if we have the Spirit of Christ inside of us, then we also have available to us…

“The supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:19

My friend, God's way is the good way! It always has been and always will be.

Here’s what I want you to hold in your thoughts as you go about your day…

1. Let’s go back to trusting in God as our source and our supply
2. Let’s get in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ
3. Let’s put away the foolish notion of wanting a lot for a little and start providing real value and real service and thereby EARN real compensation.

Peace, Love, and Blessings,
Lane Fox

Copyright © 2008 by Lane Fox, MillionairesForJesus.com

Permission is granted to reprint this article ONLY if a link is included with it as follows:

URL: http://www.millionairesforjesus.com/

Link Text: Millionaires For Jesus - God's Millionaires - Christian Millionaire

If You Want To Be Big… (A Lesson on Mustard Seed Faith)

Lots of people have read about mustard seed faith (Matthew 13:31-32, Matthew 17:20, Mark 4:32-32, Luke 13:19, Luke 17:6)

Lots of people like to talk about mustard seed faith.

Few people who are willing to BECOME mustard seed faith…

Few people are willing to “go backwards” when it comes to material things. Few people are willing to let themselves, their circumstances, their finances, or their lifestyle become small so that God can make and grow them into something big and fruitful.

God has ordained things to start out SMALL.

Often, things start out EXTREMELY small.

In nature, a seed is planted. It’s so small and insignificant. Compared to the full-grown “giants” that are all around it, it’s hard to imagine that this one little seed even matters – let alone that it could ever make a difference.

But, the seed doesn’t concern itself with such burdening, limiting thoughts.

It just begins the germinating process by absorbing miniscule amounts of moisture and nutrients from the soil that’s around it.

Compared to the resources of the surrounding “giants”, the resources of the tiny seed is almost laughable.

But again, the seed doesn’t waste it’s time making such non-useful comparisons.

By drawing upon that which is available to it with the small strength that it has, it soon enough starts a root. Now, it’s a little bigger and has a little more strength. Now, it can draw a little more moisture and it can draw even more nutrients from the soil.

It doesn’t worry about what others around it are doing. It just keeps doing all it can do with all it has available to it.

Before long, a sprout pops out of the ground. Now, it can draw on even more resources such as sunshine.

Eventually, the little seed becomes one of the “giants” that contributes to the eco-systems of nature in a major way.

This is the way of God. This is how God has ordained things to work.

Do not be afraid of becoming small.

Do not be afraid of people seeing you in a low estate.

Do not be afraid of moving into a position where you’re now the “least”.

For in doing so, you place yourself firmly into the hands of God so that He can make you one of those who are among the “greatest”.

Peace, Love, and Blessings,
Lane Fox

Copyright © 2008 by Lane Fox, MillionairesForJesus.com

Permission is granted to reprint this article ONLY if a link is included with it as follows:

URL: http://www.millionairesforjesus.com/
Link Text: Millionaires For Jesus - God's Millionaires - Christian Millionaire

How Can I Be Successful Like...

Frequently, people ask me, “How can I be successful like [successful person's name]?”

Sometimes they ask it like this, “How can I be as successful as [successful person's name]?”

And, when they ask me this question, you can feel their frustration, you can feel their hopelessness, you can feel that they don’t believe they can attain the success they desire.

They feel this way because they stopped too soon. They asked one single question and because of how they phrased and positioned the question to themselves, there wasn’t an easy answer and now they’re stuck – and that’s why they feel the way they do.

My friend, you must get beyond limiting questions and learn to ask yourself empowering and enabling questions!

So, in response to their question, I might ask them a question back like, “How successful is [successful person's name]?”

They almost always tell me, “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure”.

Well, as you can already tell from my question and their answer, they don’t even know what their target is. They have nothing more than a vague, ambiguous, ethereal notion of what they want. They just know they want to be more successful.

No wonder they feel stuck, stumped, and frustrated. Trying to hit a target of “nothingness” is ALWAYS a maddening exercise.

The obvious point is that regardless of whatever level of success you perceive someone else to have, you must decide clearly and specifically what level of success YOU want.

But, let’s say they are clear on how successful they want to be. Then, I’ll ask them something like, “What makes [successful person's name] so successful? In your study of them, what are the specific things that you have observed them doing that you believe causes them to be so successful?”

Again, they almost always tell me, “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure”.

So now, we both know that really, their desire for greater success is merely an idle wish. They want “something” but they aren’t really serious about it. They aren’t serious enough about it to actually try to study and figure out how to attain the success they say they want.

Really, they just want something for nothing – and God never supports that model. There is always a sacrifice, there is always a price.

But, I’ll push forward and ask them to give my question some thought for a moment and see if they can come up with some things they “think” the successful person might be doing. And, now that they’re actually thinking about it, they usually come up with two or three things.

Now, I ask them, “Are these things that the successful person does – that you just told me about – are these things that at some level – maybe it’s to a different degree – maybe it’s on a different scale – but at some level, could you do these same things?”

Usually, their answer is along the lines of, “Uhhhh, yea, I guess so.”

At which point, I usually ask them one last question, “Do you really want to be as successful as [successful person's name]? If you do, then you now know what you need to start doing because if you do what they do, you’ll become as successful as they are.”

Ask yourself empowering, enabling, thought-provoking questions.

Study success.

Take action.

Success is waiting for you.

Peace, Love, and Blessings,
Lane Fox

Copyright © 2008 by Lane Fox, MillionairesForJesus.com

Permission is granted to reprint this article ONLY if a link is included with it as follows:

URL: http://www.millionairesforjesus.com/
Link Text: Millionaires For Jesus - God's Millionaires - Christian Millionaire

You Be The Success Coach Today...

Sometimes, a person can help themselves the most by turning their attention away from their own situation and giving thought to another person’s situation and considering what the other person could do in order to be more successful.

In doing that, it’s amazing how new ideas and new realizations come to one’s mind for their own situation.

So, with that, I present to you an email that a woman sent me and I’m asking you to consider her situation and leave a comment below based on your thoughts and suggestions.

If you’ll participate and contribute a comment, I believe this could really be educational for everyone.

Here’s her story:

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“I am desperate and even more than advice my family needs money. So I would like to know what you would do in my situation.

My husband works very hard. I am a stay home wife/mom. We have four children, 13, 10, 3, and 21 months. I am home because even if I worked, most if not all of my check would go towards child care for my two toddlers.

We have done credit counseling and was advised to file bankruptcy. We don't have enough money left from our day to day living, to pay off bills. Well we can't even afford to file bankruptcy! We need 900 dollars for that, and don't have it.

I have an ebay store and I blog and it seems as though everything we try, we can't get a grip on things, and still can't pay our bills. We don't have credit cards and our credit is so bad we have to pay cash for everything anyway.

We have a family friend who hit a 14 million dollar lottery and gambled it all away at the Casino. Why? My husband and I just want to be debt free and be able to buy a house for our family, and not have to worry about where the rent and grocery money is going to come from.

If we were blessed with 200,000.00 dollars you can best believe we would make the most of it, including helping who we can with what we can. There are rich people who bet that much money on golf games.

Do you know of any who would help a family like mine? Where are the millionaires for Jesus that would take a family like mine and give us a chance for a brand new start?”

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What are your thoughts?

What’s this lady doing right and what's she doing wrong?

How is she thinking right and how is she thinking wrong?

Where is her focus right and where is it wrong?

Click the COMMENTS link below and give us all your perspective, insight and wisdom so that everyone can benefit from it.