BOLD Ministry

Check Out BOLD's New Blog Site

2010-08-10T12:47:00.001-04:00

Thursday is the National Day of Prayer

2010-05-05T07:39:00.000-04:00

History of the National Day of Prayer

“Fasting and prayer are religious exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the time for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and right can never be safer than in their hands, where the Constitution has deposited it.” Thomas Jefferson, 1808

Because of the faith of many of our founding fathers, public prayer and national days of prayer have a long-standing and significant history in American tradition. The Supreme Court affirmed the right of state legislatures to open their sessions with prayer in Marsh vs. Chambers (1983).

The National Day of Prayer is a vital part of our heritage. Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through our history, including President Lincoln’s proclamation of a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer” in 1863. In 1952, a joint resolution by Congress, signed by President Truman, declared an annual, national day of prayer. In 1988, the law was amended and signed by President Reagan, permanently setting the day as the first Thursday of every May. Each year, the president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. Last year, all 50 state governors plus the governors of several U.S. territories signed similar proclamations.

1952 Harry S. Truman declares a National Day of Prayer and signs into law an annual
observance there of – United States Congress passed Joint Resolution 382 on April 17, 1952/ President Truman signs Public Law 82-324 (Public Law 82-324; 66 Stat. 64—April 17, 1952).
1988 Ronald Reagan signs into law the designation of the first Thursday in May as the annual observance for the National Day of Prayer – President Reagan signs Public Law 100-307
January 25, 1988, in the Second Session of the One Hundredth Congress (Public Law 100-307—May 5, 1988).
1998 Pub. L. 105-225, August 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1258: The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.

The National Day of Prayer is Significant

The National Day of Prayer has great significance for us as a nation. It enables us to recall and to teach the way in which our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when faced with critical decisions. It stands as a call to us to humbly come before God, seeking His guidance for our leaders and His grace upon us as a people. The unanimous passage of the bill establishing the National Day of Prayer as an annual event, signifies that prayer is as important to our nation today as it was in the beginning.

Like Thanksgiving or Christmas, this day has become a national observance placed on all Hallmark calendars and observed annually across the nation and in Washington, D.C. Last year, local, state and federal observances were held from sunrise in Maine to sunset in Hawaii, uniting Americans from all socio-economic, political and ethnic backgrounds in prayer for our nation. It is estimated that more than two million people attended more than 30,000 observances organized by approximately 40,000 volunteers. At state capitols, county court houses, on the steps of city halls, and in schools, businesses, churches and homes, people stopped their activities and gathered for prayer.

The National Day of Prayer is Ours

The National Day of Prayer belongs to all Americans. It is a day that transcends differences, bringing together citizens from all backgrounds. Mrs. Shirley Dobson, NDP chairman, reminds us: “We have lost many of our freedoms in America because we have been asleep. I feel if we do not become involved and support the annual National Day of Prayer, we could end up forfeiting this freedom, too.”

History Summary

1775 – The first Continental Congress called for a National Day of Prayer
1863 – Abraham Lincoln called for such a day.
1952 – Congress established NDP as an annual event by a joint resolution, signed into law by President Truman (82-324)
1988 – The law was amended and signed by President Reagan, designating the NDP as the first Thursday in May (100-307).

Factoids

1) The President of the United States has called for a National Day of Prayer every year since 1975.

2) There have been 135 national calls to prayer, humiliation, fasting and thanksgiving by the President of the United States (1789-2009).

3) There have been 57 Presidential Proclamations for a “National Day of Prayer” (1952-2009).

4) Gerald Ford (1976) and George H. Bush (1989-91) are the only U.S. Presidents to sign two National Day of Prayer Proclamations in the same year.

5) Every President since 1952 has signed a National Day of Prayer proclamation.

6) 33 of the 44 U.S. Presidents have signed proclamations for National Prayer. Four of the Presidents who did not sign a proclamation died while serving in office.

BOLD Ministry Annual Meeting, Tuesday, March 16, 2010

2010-02-22T13:02:00.000-05:00

BOLD Ministry will hold its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010. This meeting will be held in lieu of its usual ministry time at St. Bart's Small Chapel, 50th and Park Avenue.

A Marketplace Ministry Mini-Conference, March 5-6

2010-02-16T19:27:00.000-05:00

Three Areas of Impact to Transform Workplaces, Cities and Nations for Christ

Marie Phillipson Instructor

Friday, March 5th, @ 7pm - 10pm & Saturday, March 6th, @ 9am - 7pm at the Church of Grace and Peace, in Toms River, NJ.

9-5 Window - the Christian in the Workplace

Learn what the Bible actually teaches about our work, and the deception that has been passed down through the centuries, with practical teaching on four levels and attributes of workplace believers.

In Depth Track for Christian Business Owners: Learn new business principles for conducting business God’s way; the power of prayer and intercession, managing employees and building Team Leadership based on the 5 Ascension Gifts; Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher and Evangelist.

Networking: Sharpen your collaboration and partnerships skills bringing principles to the marketplace with God’s blessing. Learn how the new social networking platforms are affecting how we do business and how they can benefit you.

Students will come away with an understanding of God’s view and purposes for their work and business in the MarketPlace. A session on Finding Freedom from Strongholds will also be taught during this course. The class will include teaching through group interaction, video, discussion, and prayer.

This is a 4 TU Wagner Leadership Course: Wagner Students: $100, Non Wagner Students (Auditors): $50. For more information call: 732.349.1550, x213. RSVP is requested for attending, it helps us in our planning. Thank You! For directions click here.

A Ruthless Love for Truth

2010-02-14T08:31:00.000-05:00

During periods of great testing, the price of truth increases. It will always cost you more than the store-brand lie being dispensed at a deep discount. I was re-reading Jesse Penn Lewis' classic, "War on the Saints," written 98 years ago. It is in the public domain, and is a great re-read to refresh one's spiritual awareness.

Here is an example of an outstanding passage:
"For the knowledge of truth is the first essential for warfare with the lying spirits of Satan, and truth must be eagerly sought for, and faced with earnest and sincere desire to know it, and obey it in the light of God...There is a fundamental principle involved in the freeing power of truth from the deceptions of the devil. Deliverance from believing lies must be by believing truth. Nothing can remove a lie but truth. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8: 32)"

For more from JPL, go to this link.

See you this week at BOLD, 12:45pm, St. Bart's Small Chapel.

Living the Yes Life: Part 2: Becoming a Rock Star

2010-02-13T10:23:00.000-05:00

It is pretty easy to read right through the exhilaration and triumph of David’s life. David was not born to royalty – and actually was not highly esteemed by his own father or his brothers. There is no evidence that he went to school or studied, but rather was a shepherd, but a shepherd destined to become king.

We are very familiar with David’s achievements, his victory over Goliath, his accomplishments over the Philistines and his record as a king; but for a moment I would like us to consider David the musician.

For a moment, I would like us to focus on his music. So powerful was David’s musical ability – that a king hired him to play and sing to fend of the demons that were afflicting him. When David played – God’s power became manifest. Not only God’s power – but the entire atmosphere of the palace shifted. I am sure that when people entered Saul’s palace and they heard music, they must have said, “David is in the house.”

David somehow was bestowed with this talent that could rent the spiritual atmosphere apart. I believe that this was the by-product of at least three elements:

The depth of his knowledge of God
The depth of his experience with God
The depth of his revelation of God’s character

The combination of all three produced reliance upon the Lord that consistently manifest what I call: The Final Reality.

If you track back to David’s knowledge of God, even back to the days when his father left him to fend for himself with the family’s sheep – David’s life was design to be a training ground for reigning.

David learned to fight off the lion and the bear.
David faced adversity.
David faced isolation.
David faced himself,
But what produced the unique quality of a leader in him was the fact that David learned to face God.

It was David’s ability and persistence to wrestle successfully with God ultimately taught him that ‘wrestling’ was God’s way of empowering him to fight the lions and the bears and prevail.

Wrestling with God yields a level of authority referred to in the bible as royalty.

I am sure that you have come to see that God hates to waste a ‘good’ crisis.

With God, adversity becomes His University.

In those days, the family was the nuclear basis from which everyone operated. [It is still true today, that within the Semitic culture; family loyalty trumps all other allegiances.] The family was the nuclear basis out of which everyone operated. Everything revolved around family. You lived for family. You worked for family. You even married and died for the family. Survival of the family was the cardinal rule.

The Lord allowed David to be extricated from his feudal family culture in order to embed a divine culture in him. David was exiled by his own father and brothers to care for the sheep of the family. This ‘exile’ was so palpable, that when the great prophet Samuel came looking to anoint the next king, Jesse didn’t even think to include David with the rest of his sons. In Jesse's eyes David didn't even rate.

All of this was leveraged by the Lord as Leadership 101 for David in which he would be forced to learn about God. But David went far beyond learning about God; he actually learned to love God in the way that God loved to be loved: through worship in song.

It was as a shepherd that David learned that every adversity could produce a spiritual benefit that he memorialized in musical memorial form.

And so it was here that this shepherd king would learn that the process of spiritual and personal growth often involved crisis through injustice. David never permitted himself the 'luxury' of becoming a victim. He resisted that temptation through the power of waiting on God. And with each setback, he learned it was the Lord creating a 'set-up.' Each time, David would emerge with a new song in his mouth – and it was his song that God used to shift the circumstance of his life.

David went through so many of these transformational events in his life, that he wrote 73 Psalms in the Bible. That's a lot of setback and a lot of setups. But it was not the vast number of songs that he produced that distinguished David as the ultimate Rock Star in history: it was what people saw when they heard those songs.

People saw a man who had emerged through adversity, and his secret was his location.

Waiting on God is like searching for the right house to' buy' when you can't just settle on any house. It has to fit you and the life you want to live.

By waiting on the Lord, David learned that his spiritual batteries were getting charged and that he could expect the Lord to set him on The Rock.

When people heard a David song, it was David's rock that made him a Star... and it is your Rock which will make you a Star as well...

So Rock on, Rock on!

Come out to BOLD this week and get ROCKED! St. Bart's, Tuesday, 12:45pm, 50th Street and Park Avenue.

Living the "Yes Life"

2010-02-12T12:38:00.002-05:00

In reading and meditating on Psalm 40, I struggled with the idea of waiting. I don’t mind the idea of judicious and planned action which integrates pauses into each phase. But how does this waiting thing work out? And how do I pray this portion of scripture?

As simple as it sounds, the gospel comes down to the power that resides right under your nose. You begin to speak it out and pray it back to the Lord.

A Forgotten Power
So that is what I did, and no sooner did I say back to Him, “Lord, I am waiting on You. And I thank You that You have heard my cry,” than this image and thought came into my mind: God embeds into us the power to biblically wait, which activates a myriad of blessings. The first blessing is the power to Stop God. By stop, I mean, the ability to turn God’s head, or arrest His attention toward our situation and condition.

I point out these individuals in Scripture:

The Syrophoenician woman who was able to believe Jesus for healing of her daughter
Zacchaeus — the tax collector who stopped Jesus by his tree-climbing faith
Woman with the issue of blood — who stopped Jesus with her touching faith

Waiting contains the ‘seeds’ to cause God to turn toward us and to listen to what we are saying.

Are you getting that? The Universe Master stops and asks, “What do you have to say?”

But then when God turns around and asks us what we want, the outcome is nothing short of spectacular. He sets into motion all the resources of heaven and earth, which results in the following:

He brings you out of the pit
He takes us out of the miry clay
Sets us on a rock
He establishes and guides my direction
He puts a new song in my mouth

Waiting represents a lifestyle of flexibility, adaptability, and changeability.

So then what are the elements of waiting? Waiting starts with:

What you think
What you say
What you don’t say
What you confess
The direction that you choose to face
How you choose to listen
What you do
What you worship

"Waiting on God gets you farther than going without Him. "
As I was sharing with BOLD’s Chairman, Vaughn Weimer, waiting on God empowers you to live a “Yes Life.”
You know that you are living a Yes Life if people look at your life and they are saying “Yes” or “No.” Yes, God is with him, or No, God is not. Living the Yes Life doesn’t guarantee everything always goes right. It does mean, though, that everything works together for good.
God wants to make each one of our lives one big YES.

Wonderful News

2010-02-10T10:02:00.000-05:00

Welcome Owen Michael Chowayou
Date/Time of birth: Feb 8 at 2:07 AM
Weight: 6 lbs 13 oz
Length: 20.5 inches

Jacob’s Seven Laws of Leadership

2010-02-08T16:13:00.000-05:00

I was studying the life of Joseph and Jacob when I came across this study by Bob Deffinbaugh, a contributor to Bible.org. If you haven't ever oogled over to this site, it is well worth it. In this piece, Bob writes about the Seven Laws of Leadership which governed Jacob's life, and I thought they were poignant and very transparent. Would love to know what you think as well!

(1) Whatever problems arise today are best dealt with tomorrow. Jacob delayed acting decisively on the issue of sending Benjamin to Egypt until the situation reached crisis proportions. Given enough time anything could happen, Jacob reasoned, and he was willing to wait indefinitely on this slim hope.
(2) No problem can possibly be as bad as it seems. If the first principle betrays a “manana mentality,” the second is the effort to minimize the problem to the point that it hardly seems worth giving time to its solution. If the problem is not serious, then it can be put off indefinitely.
(3) Honesty is not the best policy. Jacob still had a lot of the old deceiver in him. He believed that good communication only causes problems. He thought that the less others knew about him, the better off he and his family were. Judah was thus rebuked for telling Joseph any facts about the family. Many Christians today operate on this same principle. They think that keeping others from knowing them well avoids problems, but they, like Jacob, are desperately misled. Sin loves secrecy and darkness, while righteousness loves the light (cf. John 3:19-21).
(4) Always look out for number one. Jacob’s leadership was consistently exercised in the light of his own personal interests. It was Judah who urged his father to think of others rather than himself (cf. verse 3). No leader is harder to follow than the one who seeks only his own interests. Conversely, no leader is easier to follow than the one who seeks the best interests of those he leads (cf. Ephesians 5:22ff.).
(5) As much as is possible, see to it that others receive the blame for any problems. Jacob sought to place the responsibility on Judah and his brothers because they told the truth (verse 6). A good leader is one who is willing to accept the responsibility for his mistakes.
(6) If our efforts to solve a problem fail, add money. Jacob hoped that his presents, along with double payment, would help achieve his desired ends. Christians are often accused of being the last to reach for their wallets. Whether this is true or not, we are all tempted to resort to monetary solutions to our problems. We may pay our children for behaving as they should or offer to pay whatever it takes to solve their problems. Money seldom solves problems, while it causes many.
(7) When all else fails, trust God. It is no accident that Jacob mentions God last. It never seemed to occur to him as it did to Joseph that God was active in all of his troubles. His wish that God would be with his sons is only a last ditch effort when it should have been his first line of defense. “Foxhole religion” is not new, and it did not cease with Jacob.

Don't forget BOLD is meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, 12:45pm - 1:15pm, at St Bart's, 50th Street & Park Avenue, in the small chapel.

Copyright ©1996-2010, Bob Deffinbaugh, The Fears of Jacob and the Tears of Joseph, Biblical Studies Press, reprinted with permission from www.bible.org.

Superbowl & Media Messages

2010-02-06T09:01:00.000-05:00

Seems Focus on the Family has already achieved more than it could ever imagine with the Tim Teebow Superbowl ad. The 'controversy' surrounding the commercial has 'bought' $20 million in media coverage, and the commercial hasn't even been broadcast. Just proves that some smart people know have to put money to work. Also, according to Mullin & Radian, in the Tweetersphere, (wherever that is) Focus is ranking #1 in its branding, with 40% of tweets being positive about the ad and 60 % neutral, and the number of negative tweets, didn't even register.

Infusion -- Glory to God

2010-01-31T18:58:00.000-05:00

They Have to Wait: You Don't Have to

2010-01-14T08:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a quick list of online donation links to help with the relief efforts currently going on in Haiti:

THE SALVATION ARMY

615 Slaters Lane
P.O. Box 269
Alexandria, VA 22313

SAVE THE CHILDREN
Haiti Earthquake Children in Emergency Fund
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
(800) 728-3843

WORLD VISION
Haiti Earthquake Relief
P.O. Box 9716
Federal Way, WA 98063-9716
(888) 511-6548

The Nineteen Powers of Gratitude

2010-01-04T08:53:00.000-05:00

For most of us, this is our first week of 2010. One of the great power attitudes is that of Gratitude. Knowing it and keeping it will keep you fresh all year long.

1. Gratitude keeps you focused on the right things on the way to the next thing.

2. Gratitude will open your eyes to the unseen riches of the kingdom.

3. Gratitude is like spiritual yeast; raising everything in your life to another level.

4. Gratitude is our handle of heaven to which we hold while taking the 828 Express.

5. Gratitude keeps you tracking instead of lacking.

6. Gratitude keeps you from fighting with yourself and others.

7. Gratitude keeps you from shadow boxing with yesterday.

8. Gratitude releases a positive force of attraction.

9. Gratitude is the language of faith.

10. Gratitude excavates the Gold that lies under the ground in our lives.

11. Gratitude fences out and imprisons the devil.

12. Gratitude activates heaven.

13. Gratitude silences hell.

14. Gratitude opens the windows of our lives.

15. Gratitude shuts the doors of the past.

16. Gratitude frees us from regret, condemnation, recrimination, and liberates us to Hope, Expectation, and Peace.

17. Gratitude is a fortress and an attitude that garrisons the dreams and visions that God has deposited into your hearts and soul, especially those that are yet to be discovered.

18. Gratitude is influence which not only affects our attitude, but actually releases a blessing on the very thing that it esteems. Gratitude is the current of the river of our heart. Your heart is a river; and gratitude is the spring of water keeping everything fresh and clean.

19. Gratitude reminds us that we never stop learning.

This is an excerpt from the ebook: "The Seven Power Strategies from the Psalms."

BOLD Ministry meets every Tuesday at St. Bart's at 50th Street and Park Ave, at 12:45pm in the small chapel.

The 23 Promises of Psalm 91

2009-12-21T08:14:00.000-05:00

You shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
He will deliver you from the deadly pestilence
He will cover thee with his feathers,
His truth is a shield and a buckler.
You will not be afraid of the night terrors
You will not be afraid of the arrows of the day
You will not be afraid of the pestilence that walks in darkness
You will not be afraid of the destruction that destruction at noonday.
Though a thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; yet it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes you shall behold and see the reward of the wicked.
There shall no evil befall you
Neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
For the Lord will give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and adder, the young lion and the serpent
God will I deliver you
God will set him on high
God will answer him
God will be with him in trouble
God will honor him.
God will satisfy him with long life
God will show him His salvation.

Prayer for Deliverance from Familiarity

2009-12-08T07:40:00.000-05:00

Pray Out Loud

Lord I come to You, because You first came to me.

You know what I need,

Where I need to go, and

What it is going to take to get me there, along with those you want me to bring as well.

I say Yes to You and No to the things that I have allowed to cloud my vision: contempt, suspicion, accusation, unforgiveness, hatred, envy and the mother of them all, pride, the ‘I can do it myself’ thinking and living.

I ask you to forgive me, and I forgive those that have acted in ways that have hurt me and those I love.

I forgive them; their slates are clean since you have done the same thing for me.

I want to cross the finish line with You Lord, not ahead of you, not behind you, but along side of you.

I want to walk in agreement with Your plan and Your design.

You are the Author and You are the Finisher of my faith and my life.

I only want to finish this race with You.

So what do You say? I lift my hand, and place it in Yours.

Thanks, and just one more reminder, I want us to bring as many along as You can handle.

I am ready Lord.

Up Up and Away into Your Heart.

This prayer was first introduced @ the BOLD Prayer Meeting in New York City, Tuesday, December 1, 2009. BOLD meets every Tuesday at St. Bart's at 50th Street and Park Ave, at 12:45pm in the small chapel.

Playing It "Safe"

2009-10-29T13:22:00.001-04:00

We live in such a protocol-rich culture with nuances and rituals that can make life so convoluted. What provided a plumbline on this thinking for me was a men's bible study that I attended in New York City. There was no 'marketplace ministry expert conducting the meeting' per se. There were an assortment of men, and for the most part, some half my age (and they could still vote).

Well one of the men there told of a story about how he jams at one of the most famous clubs in the city on Wednesday (you would know it if I mentioned it, and it not Carnegie Hall - but almost as famous). Well during one of the sets they were going all out and then one of dudes there tells our man -- "hey do your church thing." Right there in the middle of the stage our guy just steps into some of the most exciting improvisational prophetic riffs. Just blew everyone away. He was amazed by the access he was granted.

As I thought about it, I told him that the reason they were willing to extend such a gracious invitation was not because they liked his doctrine or his bumper sticker. Nope, it was because he had given them cause to feel safe whenever they were together.

Very few places are truly safe. To be a truly safe place (not politically safe) but spiritually safe requires a different grid. Being spiritually safe is so much different than from being politically safe because the motive is different. When you are Politically safe it is governed by the fear of man, when your are spiritually safe is governed by the love of God. BIG DIFFERENCE. In one atmosphere you are trained on how to look free and in the other, people are set free. Selah.

What Happens in a Bible Study

2009-10-28T06:22:00.000-04:00

Maybe you have been attending a Bible Study for years, but there are millions of people who have never attended a Bible Study, and it isn't always what some people think. This post is for them.

A Bible Study is a little bit like a huddle in that they come together in one place.

A Bible Study can last about 35-45 minutes. It can go longer depending upon the level of engagement.

A Bible Study can focus on a theme or a selected passage or book of the Bible.

A Bible Study doesn't require that you know Greek or Hebrew.

A Bible Study can include men and women together or just men or just women.

A Bible Study doesn't require people to take tests.

A Bible Study isn't always 'serious' in its approach. It is intended to be real and address issues that are real with an approach, What Would Jesus Do.

A Bible Study often creates relationships between people in the group that grow outside the group.

A Bible Study doesn't require membership.

A Bible Study often creates an atmosphere where people sense a closeness to God.

A Bible Study will help you understand how the Bible is put together, the order of the books. Usually people develop 'favorite books.'

A Bible Study may not last forever. Some last a few months, others can last years and even decades (the one study I attend was originally formed in 1977).

So if you are not in a Bible Study, Google around for one near you. Most are open to new people. Your first time you might feel a little unsure, but chances are you will be welcomed with a lot of "hello's" and "where are you from's". I went to my first Bible Study in 1979. It changed my life. It will change yours too.

Our Anyhow Seasons

2009-10-12T10:15:00.000-04:00

When I first heard the expression, “As it happens with God, we may not always see Him coming, but we definitely know when He’s been there,” it just rocked me because of its raw truth.

That goes to say, we may be in a season where we may not see God, but I promise you, He's there. I think that it is incredibly important to pay attention in those seasons of God: the ones in which we are called to act without immediate benefit or reward. I call these times God’s Anyhow Seasons. I got the expression from Elizabeth Payne, who in addition to being a marketplace leader with a major international bank, and a mother who has raised a wonderful family with her husband, is a pastor on the weekends. Liz has processed a myriad of Anyhow Seasons in her life.

Listening to her speak when she can @ BOLD, reminds me that these Anyhow Seasons, are truly God-designed processes for revitalizing our hearts and revealing our motives to ourselves. Motives often start out pure, but like any bills pushed through the legislatures, end up coming out with a lot of pork attached. “Porked motives” are those good acts and intentions in which we include personal perks, and look the other way areas.

In those Anyhow Seasons we should stand vigilant against the ‘believing’ that we are doing the right thing, all the while ignoring certain amounts of slippage that occur along the way. We all have slippage. The problem with slippage and pork is when we start to accept it, and incorporate it into our lives; it will ultimately undermines our commitment and power to live unto God.

Living for God requires everything you have; and then some!

If you are living for God and don’t have to rely upon Him every day, you probably have a lot of slippage or pork packed in there. This is not to condemn anyone. That's why we have the Cross. The Cross was given to us to cripple the kryptonite of the soul and spirit.

One of the greatest things is living for God, and living BY God. Man, when He shows up, IT IS ALWAYS WORTH THE WAIT! ALWAYS!

These Anyhow Seasons are always Seed Seasons. God has planted a lot of Word in your life; and it is through and in these Seasons of Anyhow, that that Word or Seed takes root and starts to grow. First the root, then the blade, then the stalk… You never know exactly what God has planted until you give it a growing season. The pork and slippage are the tares planted alongside of the seed of God that chokes that seed from growing to maturity.

God’s Anyhow Seasons are wonderful times
What has the Lord planted in your life? Is your Anyhow Season a Season of Pre-Promotion? Seasons of Promotion are preceded by Seasons of Anonymity. Another process during the Season of Anonymity is to be rejected of men. When this occurs it is not intended to be a rebuke, but an inoculation against the temptation to cave in for the sake of popularity. Before anyone is accepted of God, they must be inoculated by the rejection or fear of men.

Seasons of Darkness are preceded by Seasons of Light and Revelation.

Seasons of Freedom are preceded by Seasons of great Submission.

Seasons of Unity are preceded by Seasons of Prayer and Patience.

I encourage everyone to come out to hear Elizabeth Payne share on Seasons of Anyhow tomorrow, Tuesday @ 12:45pm at St. Bart’s Church, 50th and Park Avenue.

The Power of Divine Context

2009-09-30T12:47:00.000-04:00

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Last week we focused on the new Jewish calendar year, a time of new beginnings. The New Year is like an anniversary, a time when you intentionally consider the highlights, the sustainability and significance of a relationship. Not every day in a relationship it a mountain top, but where there are mountain tops, we need to recognize them, and remember them so that they stay in the forefront of our minds and hearts. Without the discipline of remembrance, the negatives and the discouragements that occur in daily life will muscle out the value blocks in your life.

I mentioned that so much of our revitalization comes from our intimacy with God. One of the ways we revitalize our intimacy with the Lord is through repentance. Another way is through waiting on the Lord. There was a great prayer push years ago placed upon waiting on the Lord, but in recent times, the prayer emphasis has been placed upon activity rather than a yieldedness to God.

In the book of Acts, the power came after a specific period of prayer and waiting together and waiting in agreement.

This mindset of repentance and waiting are sure keys to unlocking the refreshing presence of God.

With spiritual refreshing comes more than a breath of fresh air, along with it comes power. Power is one of the key signatures of the early church.

Scripture speaks about power in a number of ways. Reading this context will provide the Divine Context of God.

Power to get wealth – Deut 8:18
Strength and power - Ps 68:35
Power to heal sicknesses – Mk 3:15
Power to tread upon serpents – Luke 10:19
Power of demons – Matt 10:1
Power from on high - Luke 24:49
Power to become sons of God John 1:12
Power to lay it down and take it up again John 10:18

Friday's, Fathers and Pizza

2009-09-21T10:07:00.000-04:00

We were sitting in our Thursday morning men’s group when Craig, a very busy corporate attorney shared this story about he and his sixteen year old son. Craig had had a hectic day that Friday, and his chance for breaking away from work evaporated with each pressing matter. His wife and daughter decided to drive out to their beach house that weekend, and Craig would follow with his son either late Friday night or early Saturday. By the time that Craig was able to call his sixteen year old son, it was from the train on the way home. When his son answered the phone, the call went something like this:

- Hi Dad.

- Hi ….

- Just wanted you to know that I am on my way home.

- OK Dad. Listen, I think tonight I am planning on hanging out with a couple of the guys tonight.

- Oh? Alright, but I was hoping that you and I might grab a pizza together and relax. Then we would drive out to the house first thing tomorrow morning and catch up with Mom and your sister. But if you have plans already…

- You know, that does sound good. OK. You know, I can call the guys and just tell them we are going to be hanging out. I could go for some pizza.

- Great! I’ll meet you at home and pick up the pizza on the way.

- See you in a few Dad.

Craig’s simple phone call prompted a very spirited discussion among all of the men, especially the fathers. One father said how important our fatherhood becomes when by virtue of our presence; fathers provide an alternative to some otherwise non-productive social activities.

Another father said that he found that his children not only look for him to set boundaries, but also appreciate them.

I found the phone call between Craig and his son even more compelling, because I saw that his relationship with his son was such that spending time with each other wasn't a gotcha time, or an obligation but actually something the son looked forward to doing.

Knowing how to spend time with our children is important.

The other end of this story comes with the metaphor surrounding this story: how often does it occur that we are busy going about our work days, that God interrupt us with a ‘call’ asking if we would like to hang out and have pizza. It’s gotta happen; I mean God reaching out to us. One of the things that I have found is that fathers reach out for fellowship, and kids reach out for ‘fundership.’ How do we create this kind of relationship with our kids?

1. Be intentional about creating rituals and language surrounding ritual. I loved in the movie City Slickers, when Billy Crystal says, "Whenever my father and I couldn't talk about anything else, we could always talk about baseball."

2. Fathers should look for cues, not clues. Joe Friday from Dragnet had one objective: nab the bad guy. But hanging out with your kids needn’t be 90 minutes under the hot lights. Listening to what isn’t being said. Let the kids take the lead. Remember there is an art to relationship. One way my father was able to establish a common ground was with story. My father used stories about his faithful mutt Duke. Duke for me reminded me that Dad was a kid too. It wasn’t any wonder that when I was old enough to understand and I got my first dog, his name was King.

In the same way, God likes rituals as well. Not these formal things. For me one of the ritual places for me and the Father is the beach at dawn. When I spend time with Him, it can even include reading the Sports pages together and reading the box scores. It’s just another thing that I get to share with the Lord. Oh, BTW, did I mention, my Father also likes to share things with me.

As an aside, one time, the Lord showed me something very profound in Scripture. It was deep. I was a little puzzled. I asked Him, “How come you are showing ME this. Don’t the important people and Christian leaders need this more? He never answered me.

I remember….

2009-09-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

This time of year I think back to Sept, 2001.

I remember, Monday, Sept 10, 2001 so clearly. I remember looking out from my office on the 94th Floor in 2 World Trade Center. I remember that the view was spectular. Little did I know that it would be the last time I would ever see such a view. I remember working late and taking the car service home. I remember being annoyed at Josh since he rushed off and left me to finish up. Little did I realize that would be the last time I would ever see or speak to him ever.

I remember my alarm clock not going off on the morning of Sept 11, 2001. I remember being annoyed that I just missed the train. I remember being pissed off that the next train was delayed since I had a 10 million trade for the MET account and I didn't have time to be late for work. Little did I realize this all factored in why I am still alive today.

I remember rushing off the train and rushing to my office in 2 WTC.

I remember the chaos when I entered into the lobby of 2 WTC.

I remember thinking that they were filming a scene for Spiderman and wouldn't it be cool if I was an extra in a movie. Then I thought to myself why are they filming at 8:46am when everyone is heading to work. Reality then crashed in. I realized that something was seriously wrong and this was not a scene in a movie. People were trampling on each other. A man ran past me screaming 'bomb'.

Security was not letting anyone take the elevators. I recognized one of my coworkers in the crowd. He didn't stop - he yelled "Run Rosanne" and continue to run.

Another coworker grabbed me and said there was some accident and we needed to leave. As I entered the concourse, I looked up. I remember seeing the billowing smoke and the gaping hole where the plane crashed into 1 WTC. I was in shock and I realized that I was an eyewitness to a historic moment.

On that day, I did everything I could but I realized that I'm not in control. Even in the midst of chaos and danger, God guided me and brought me to safety.

As I remember the events, I realized that I am so grateful to be alive. Life is a gift. I'm grateful for my friends and family. I am so blessed. For anyone who is feeling hopeless, I want to say there is hope.

For anyone who is feeling restless, I want to say there is peace.

God is good! Life is good! I love you all! Remember his goodness always!

Roseanne Yu is a BOLD Believer

Thanks Ro for sharing this.

A New Language - A New Territory

2009-09-12T17:13:00.000-04:00

If you have been to any of the BOLD Meetings on Tuesday for any period of time, you would have heard me say: "Whenever the Lord is about to give you a new territory, he will give you a new language (for the territory). Well, I had an impression to research a bit more of Chuck Pierce's site, and found that they transcribe some of their intercession. BAM. I started to read some new language for intercession.

"Ask Him to equip you. Equip us Lord, new and fresh, as we make a turn into the next season. Ask for equipping, for positioning; ask for the new weapons for the new wars. Ask for advancement; ask for an enlargement. Ask for new sounds, new revelation, new direction. Ask Him to remove the frame from around your box in, so you can be reframed. We welcome all of you tuning in this morning; let‟s thank Him for how amazing He is. Thank Him for His Spirit that dwells richly among us. Thank Him for the richness of His Spirit. Praise Him that His Spirit has riches. Indescribable!"

Notice some of the specific requests: equipping, positioning, new weapons for the new wars, advancement, enlargement, new sounds, new revelation, new direction.

Note: he asked for the old framework to be removed, and the new framework to be installed.
Pretty cool, right? Thank God for a new lexicon. Well if you would like to read more, click on this link.

Otherwise, look forward to seeing you at BOLD this week: Tuesday, 12:45pm, St Barts, Small Chapel, 51St and Park Avenue. Come out, break out, meet up and break up some of the fallow ground. :)

The Right Heartset - Fear of the Lord

2009-09-05T09:14:00.000-04:00

Fear of the Lord is a 'heartset.' I was totally shocked (but now come to think about it, not so much) that when doing a search on Google, there was a bit of difficulty in finding a list of the benefits to the fear of the Lord.

The fear of the Lord is a gift; it is an attitude of heart; it is a passion of the soul; it is the signature of a relationship. To fear someone biblically is to recognize, honor and cherish an individual for who they are. If you are lacking any of these benefits listed below, I suggest that you up your dosage of the fear of the Lord.

BENEFITS
1. It is learned
Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Psa 34:11

2. Wisdom & Discernment
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom; and to depart from evil [is] understanding. Job 28:28
The fear of the LORD [is] clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD [are] true [and] righteous altogether. Psalm 19:9
The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do [his commandments]: his praise endures for ever. Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding. Pro 9:10
The fear of the LORD [is] the instruction of wisdom; and before honor [is] humility. Pro 15:33
3. Knowledge
The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction. Pro 1:7
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: Pro 1:29
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. Pro 2:5
The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding. Pro 9:10
4. Love of God and Hatred of Evil
The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Pro 8:13

5. Long Life
The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. Pro 10:27
6. Confidence
In the fear of the LORD [is] strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. Pro 14:26

7. Life
The fear of the LORD [is] a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. Pro 14:27
The fear of the LORD [tendeth] to life: and [he that hath it] shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. Pro 19:23
8. Gratitude
Better [is] little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. Pro 15:16

9. Honor
The fear of the LORD [is] the instruction of wisdom; and before honor [is] humility. Pro 15:33

10. Escape from Evil
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD [men] depart from evil. Pro 16:6

11. Wealth
By humility [and] the fear of the LORD [are] riches, and honor, and life. Pro 22:4

12. Satisfaction
Let not thine heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long. Pro 23:17

I encourage anyone working in midtown New York City, to come out to BOLD's first prayer meeting on September 15th, @ 12:45pm at St. Barts.

The right mind stems from a right heart

2009-09-02T13:14:00.000-04:00

“You live in an imperfect world and work in the marketplace that at present is under the control of the evil one. Consequently, you can find plenty reasons to be upset, even angry, at the marketplace in general and at your job in particular. However, anger gives the devil an opening into a Christian’s life. An angry Christian poses no threat to satan. In fact, it give him room to work (Eph 4:27). Anger neutralizes our effectiveness because it is the opposite of grace, and grace is God’s remedy to the evil caused by sin."

“Joseph, Daniel and Esther had to make peace and accept situations that were not what they would have chosen, yet they did because they wanted God to be able to reveal His purposes for them…If they had quit because their task were humiliating, they would never have fulfilled their destinies. This is why it is essential for you to take the first step and become part of the marketplace; then accept and sanctify your station in the marketplace."

"I suggest that right now you declare that your job (or lack thereof) is God’s gift to you. Your attitude will determine your outcome. “ Ed Silvoso, Anointed for Business.

You can read more if you get your copy here from Amazon.

Symphony

2009-08-20T12:31:00.005-04:00

Obedience is not a switch that we flip, it is the barometer of the state of relationship.

Moses really was pretty good at obeying the Lord, as his relationship went.

Obedience is like a symphony that orchestrates the will, plan and purpose of God in real time.

The Symphony of Obedience Requires 5 Instruments

Even before you get to the instruments, every symphony requires a Maestro. The maestro of our lives is the Holy Spirit. He is the one who directs every aspect of our lives.

1. Knowledge: in order to be obedient, you have to know what is expected of you. This is knowledge
2. Humility: this is the spiritual bird dog in us. Humility keeps us pointed in the right direction with a keen sense of spirit (versus smell).
3. Hunger: we were born with a natural appetite. What satisfies that appetite will require some discipline and diet. (Fasting increases our spiritual hunger for the things of God.)
4. Expectation: this is the positive posture. As a wide receiver, it doesn't matter how good the quarterback is, unless you are in a position of receiving with your arms open, you will never catch what God is trying to pass to you. Worship keeps your arms ready to receive as you give God the celebration of thanks.
5. Trust: If you don't trust God, you will never obey him. Trust comes as a result of history. Without history with God you can expect very little with respect to the trust factor. The core ingredient of History is time.

Obedience isn't a duty, it is a love affair. As much as love is a covenant, it was meant to be something so much more.

Joseph Part 2: Sentenced to Success

2009-08-10T09:10:00.003-04:00

I can’t just leave the heroic character Joseph living with a big fat No. For we know that all the promise of God are yeah and Amen in Him.

So what did Joseph do in his ‘No’ Seasons?

He didn’t give in to sexual temptation
He refused to give up on his integrity and doing the best job possible
He carried the presence of God
He possesses the Spirit of God
He demonstrated the favor of God
He never stopped trusting in God
He didn’t stop using his gift (dream interpretation) even when others didn’t value it or respect it
He never gave up on his dream
He was always looking to see how God would vindicate him
He didn’t allow his brothers failure to defeat him and did so by forgiving them
He was willing to defer to Pharaoh when he had the chance to grandstand

What allowed Joseph to prevail was his faith in the Lord: he understood that he was living under a sentence from God, a sentence of success.

When God Says ‘No’

2009-08-04T09:11:00.004-04:00

It requires less skill to live when there is very little resistance and opposition in your way. The challenges arise when you come across a series of situations when Life, People and what’s even harder, and even God, throws roadblocks in your life.

That's what is called Living Through Life’s’ “No” Seasons.

Recently, I began to think through a situation in which I felt that the Lord was consistently saying ‘No’ to me in one specific area. I suppose I was forced to think differently about it. That's when I stumbled upon the idea that when we are getting too many No’s, we should look around to where He is possibly saying to us “Yes.” [Especially since all the promises of God are Yes and Amen. 2 Cor 1:20]

Too often we legitimize our behavior or ‘decision trees’ by accomodating our dysfunction and poor performance.

Joseph, in Genesis 37-50, represents a wonderful example of an individual who successfully navigated through a series of God "No’s."

Joseph’s life was distinctively populated with a significant and substantial series of divine No’s.

No to his brothers liking him
No to his father’s understanding of his call
No to his understanding of the real meanings of his first dreams
No to his living with his brothers in peace
No to his avoiding the pain and suffering of his brother’s jealousy
No to his living in Canaan with his father and family
No to his rights to live as a free man
No and being sold out & betrayed
No and being bought by an Egyptian
No and being bought by Potiphar
No and being unrighteously tempted by Potiphar’s wife
No and being accused of ficticious rape
No and being thrown into prison for a crime he didn’t do
No and staying in prison for years while running the prison
No and being forgotten by those he ministered to (butler and baker)

God’s No’s ultimately become God’s roadmaps to His Yes’s. Often in God’s economy our No’s from God often are because He has a bigger yes in mind.

Start looking and thinking YES, and be willing to walk away from the No's of our lives.

"God Meant It for Good"

2009-07-25T08:37:00.003-04:00

Traction is one word that I would feel very comfortable using to describe R.T. Kendall. In it's eighth printing already, Kendall's "God Meant It for Good" is 200 page 'must-have manual' using the life of Joseph (Genesis 37-50) as a basis to unpack the processes that God uses for personal sanctification. The depth of Kendall's understanding is underscored by his skillful application through his own 'personal laboratory' that being his life. It comes together very nicely to make this a must read for anyone seeking to pursue a level of sanctification and consecration concomitant with the great leaders of the Bible.

This is NOT a Woe is me, I am undone religious exercise but rather the heart of a coach, cheering those on the gridiron of life to get up and play with the vigor and resilience of a champion.

He touches upon themes and subjects very close to the heart of ministry such as: vindication, the cycles involving God-given dreams, and the uniqueness of every person's walk with God. Whereas many Christian 'How to" books proport to give you the skinny and fast track to spiritual greatness, Kendall pulls back on our spiritual reins to keep us from galloping over the closest cliff.

He writes, "It is that God sovereignly ordains for a specific purpose that which drives us to our knees and to tears. The tasks to which we are called may be unique. Therefore, the preparation we need will also be unique. There may be no precedents to which we can point in order to explain what is going on. The biblical word for it is 'chastening' (see Hebrews 12:6-11). p.12.

His use of anecdotes moves the read ahead quickly at times. One such excerpt is:

"A sculptor was going to make a horse out of a big block of marble and somebody came along to him and said, 'How are you going to do that?'
He replied, 'It's simple. I just start chipping away, and I chip away anything that doesn't look like a horse!' And so it is with God."

Kendall later on notes, " This is why James said, '...count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations' (James 1:12). May I suggest this? The next times a trial comes, rather than battle it out or try to be ride of it, or grumble the whole time, accept it graciously. See what God does....When I look back on my life, it is my suffering that I cherish most - not the blessings, not the bouquets, not the compliments, but suffering." p.18

It seems that we all personally battle to eliminate, extricate and annihilate all discomfort, delay and denial in our lives. I must confess to waging my own personal war against these and a few others. Kendall's insights inject into my heart that very necessary dose of patience and confidence.

"Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" Philippians 1:6.

"As the "gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Romans 11:29) with every call, comes a crucible, and with every gift comes the surrender of what in in my hand in order to accept what is in His.

You can buy it online @ Amazon here.

Life Lessons from Golf Ball Design

2009-07-23T18:13:00.001-04:00

When manufacturers first produced golf balls, they made the covers smooth. Then they discovered that a ball would travel farther if it is made rough. Soon sporting-goods companies began producing golf balls with dimple covers. So it is with life. It takes some rough spots in your life to make you go your farthest. Be patient and hold firm to your vision. When your dream is at hand you will feel that the result was worth it , no matter how long or how far you had to go to get there! Arthur L Andrews

3-Days with Chris Harvey

2009-07-10T17:35:00.001-04:00

It's not how far you fall, but how quick you bounce back. To live in defeat and denial is to cheat yourself and others, so don't waste your stay here on the planet by living in fear! Have the courage to face the giants whether they be in you or others. Overcome the fear by welcoming the love ~ Chris Harvey

Friday July 24 7pm @ CityLight Church 121 E. 7th St.
Saturday July 25th 7pm @ CityLight Church 121 E. 7th St.

Sunday July 26th 6pm @ CityLight - Blender Theater @ Gramercy 23rd & Lex.

It's a Landslide!

2009-07-10T16:59:00.004-04:00

Should the motto "In God We Trust" be removed from U.S. currency? * 15051700 responses

	Yes. It's a violation of the principle of separation of church and state. 12%

	No. The motto has historical and patriotic significance and does nothing to establish a state religion. 88%

Vote for "In God We Trust"

2009-07-10T16:51:00.002-04:00

You can now express your belief by voting in MSNBC's survey of sentiment regarding the phrase, In God We Trust on our currency. Go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/ or click right here.

4 Qualities that Preserve Unity

2009-07-08T16:47:00.004-04:00

In the current hectic environment, staying focused and on point is job ONE. Distraction is exactly that: dis -- traction; a loss of traction. Today, with so many areas calling for our attention and time, the ability to keep focused, and single-minded calls for an almost herculean effort.

In the Tuesday morning, NYSE Bible study, Vaughn mentioned spiritual unity, as referenced in Ephesians 4:2.

Eph 4:1-2 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

After the meeting, I took the time to give it a little more consideration. The verse mentions "the calling' and our response to it. According to this passage, the call requires that we comport ourselves with four qualities: humility, gentleness, patience and love.

It appears that when these four qualities are in operation, we are able to maintain or "preserve the unity of the spirit."

One way to understand these four qualities is to compare them to the antonym of the word.

For humility, the antonym would be pride. Pride is that emotional and intellectual force which intentionally pushes the other person back.

Gentleness' antonym is judgment; which takes place whenever the the blame game is played for the purpose of gaining an advantage.

Patience's antonym is reaction. Whenever we are reactive, we are paving the road toward rejection.

Love's antonym is hatred, which covenants to see the extinction of another.

The first three qualities center around what we need not to do, or to control. The fourth one is something that we must do, and it usually involves the first three.

These four qualities also represent for me the offensive line, to employ a football metaphor. The job of the offensive line is to protect the quarterback, who in this case is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the one who calls the plays from out of the pocket, not the linemen. The 'pocket' from which the quarterback throws the ball is the heart of a man. If any of these linemen or character qualities fails to block its antonym or opponent, the quarterback gets sacked. When the quarterback gets sacked, we lose yardage, we waste the opportunity to move the ball forward, and what is worse, we risk losing the football.

As long as the quarterback is protected we stand the chance of scoring one for the Kingdom of God.

The New Lexicon

2009-07-06T12:21:00.003-04:00

Scriptural Definitions of words and applications.

The new lexicon definition of excercise here.
"...exercise thyself [rather] unto godliness." 1 Timothy 4:7

Ex-Cer-Cise: Ex- out of, beyond; Cer- what we believe to be certain; Cise - cut across.

Thus excercise is going beyond and cutting through what we believe to be a certainty.

The Fatherhood Series: Abraham

2009-07-06T08:06:00.002-04:00

BOLD Ministry is sponsoring a The Fatherhood Series: Abraham, a Profile in Manhood. This will be a four-week series held @ St. Barts every Tuesday, from 12:45-1:30pm, starting July 7, 14, 21 and 28. Our guest facilitator is John Carr: a licensed LCSW and psychotherapist practicing in Greenwich Village. He is a graduate of Hunter College School of Social Work and the Blanton-Peale Institute where he completed his psychoanalytic training in Psychotherapy and Spirituality. John is expecting to have his first book published later 2010 which is a guide to the emotional and practical challenges of the first three years of fatherhood, published by Sterling Press. In addition to his private practice he is affiliated with the Soho Parenting Center and Everyday Parenting where he offers workshops specifically for dads. His workshops have been offered in both schools, churches and mental health agencies. He specializes in working with fathers who want to raise emotionally healthy children; manage their anger; take better care of themselves and improve their marriage. John lives in NYC with his wife and three children.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

2009-07-06T07:48:00.003-04:00

We can refresh our understanding as to Who the Holy Spirit is by the names used to refer to Him in Scripture.

Spirit of God
Spirit of Wisdom
Spirit of Counsel
Spirit of Might
Spirit of Knowledge
Spirit of Understanding
Spirit of Adoption Rom 8:15
Helper
Comforter
Spirit of Truth
Spirit of Life
Spirit of Christ
Spirit of Promise Eph 1:3
Spirit of Power
Spirit of Love
Spirit of Glory
Spirit of Prophecy Rev 19:10

Safety Tips for Storms & Tribulations

2009-06-29T10:36:00.002-04:00

ACCESS POINTS
Three gates or activities which give you access to the Kingdom of God are:
Faith: And without faith it is impossible to please {Him,} for he who comes to God must believe that He is and {that} He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hbr 11:6
Obedience: Blessed [are] they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Rev 22:14. and
Thanksgiving: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving . Ps 100:4.

BLOCKAGES
There are also four blocks to Kingdom Access:
Vision - Bad Aim
Love of Money – Selling vs. Serving
Tradition – Old Tricks don’t create new solutions
Tribulation – Character gives you the horsepower when sweat isn’t enough

These four items point to: who we look to, what we love, what we do and finally what we are willing to endure. It is this fourth one which gets pretty tricky.

There are a lot of people that look to Jesus, they even love Jesus and act upon that love, but when that love doesn’t produce the result or results that they want or need, do they still continue to look, love, and act the same way?

People in tribulation experience a contradiction when doing the right thing and the wrong thing happen. Tribulation often leaves confusion in its wake. One of the ways to cut through the debris is through story. Some may call it testimony, but the world calls it story.

In an article in Knowledge@Wharton, Peter Guber, former head of Columbia Pictures and later head of Sony Pictures. Guber oversaw the making of “The Way We Were”, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “A League of Their Own”, “A Few Good Men” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” discussed some of what he learned as a studio chief.

Guber believes that the best leaders lead with story. I actually don’t limit it to leaders, but include parents, teachers, business professionals, and especially Christians.

Everyone has a story. I would even venture to say that people don’t follow people, they follow the story behind the people. The bigger the story, the bigger the following. People are naturally attracted to power and wisdom.

The more uncertain the times, the greater the demand for wisdom and for power: actors need not apply.

The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They asked, "Where did he get all his wisdom and the power to perform such miracles? Mark 6:2

Guber said that “Uncertainty makes for a complicated business environment,” and tribulation represents those extraneous counter-currents that keep pushing us off course.

When technology, theology and theory appear not to work or apply, story is a language that can carry one through the 'high seas of life.' Stories are the universal language and science by which we are able to process the unfamiliar.

Dr. Tim Keller, senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian, defines wisdom as ‘knowing what to do when the rules don’t apply.’

As a child I hung upon the stories of my parents; especially the stories told to me by my mother of Jesus.

The Gospel was never a set of rules and regulations. The gospel is the ultimate story a man whose life transformed history.

Peter Guber quotes Winston Churchill saying that “success can be measured by moving from failure to failure with enthusiasm.” Guber believes that in order to lead and succeed, “you need to manage three inevitable ‘states’: fear, uncertainty and change.” He made a point about fear that everybody has it, but what you do with it determines your success. He asks “Does it catalyze you or paralyze you?” I was surprised he missed a forth state: tribulation.

The hardest part of believing in the storm of tribulation is that God is right there in the middle of it all. This goes back to our inherent subliminal erroneous theology that thinks that if things are going well, God must like what I am doing. Silence is a faulty barometer, especially in matters relating to God.

Tribulation often reveals the cracks in our character’s foundation. When tribulation comes, it will expose the true standards and rules in our lives. Tribulation will expose what we are willing to do, not to do or give up, in order to live on Prosperity Mountain.

In general, our country has been so blessed with success that withdrawal from success is actually exposing our addiction to it.

Dr. Spenser Johnson, author of Peaks and Valleys, believes that what do we do and what we learn in difficult, painful circumstances will determine how long we remain in the grip of the storm or depth of the valley. Here are some best practices to observe when in tribulation:

+ Keep Disciplined: it was when Peter stopped doing what Jesus told him to do, that he began to sink into the water.
+ Keep Focused: it was when Peter’s focus blurred, and looked away from Jesus that he began to drown. Guber said that “Uncertainty makes for a complicated business environment.” Complexity is part of every problem, so seek to streamline and focus. 2Cr 9:8 And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work:
+ Keep the storm out of your boat.
+ Rely upon the power of kingdom grace. Romans 5:20b “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:”
+ God’s Life Preservers are His Promises: promises aren’t there for the good times. 2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

We hope to see you at BOLD this Tuesday, 12:45-1:30pm @ St. Barts, Small Chapel, 50th and Park Avenue.

My NYSE Broker Friend Passed this Along

2009-06-27T05:20:00.001-04:00

When your hut is on fire...
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?'

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.

The Moral of This Story:
It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

Behind Every Name is a Reality

2009-06-23T05:02:00.002-04:00

What does BOLD stand for? On the legal level the letters stand for Business Outreach Lord Directed. But Christine, one of my dear friends and intercessors wrote out what the letters can also represent:

Be still and know that I am God
Open your Spiritual eyes of understanding
Lean on me and follow the unction of Holy Spirit
Do not be afraid or discouraged; I am with you always.

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, even though he dies, will live." John 11:25

All that I could think was, that works for me. :)
We are meeting today @ 12:45pm in the small chapel @ St. Barts on 50th and Park Avenue in NYC.

Taking Spiritual Inventory

2009-06-22T17:32:00.002-04:00

Kingdom Access: Part 2
Last week at BOLD we saw how the scripture teaches us two ways to gain access to the Kingdom of God: Repentance and Innocence (purity). It also demonstrated four ways which block our access to the Kingdom: our Focus (vision), the love of Money, Tradition and Tribulation.

Times and Seasons
Now if I told you to repent, it isn’t like ordering a burger medium rare. Repentance often involves taking spiritual inventory of our lives. Going a little deeper, we can discover specific items on the ‘spiritual inventory’ list on the Jewish calendar which can help us honestly approach God. Repentance is rarely an instantaneous process or snap judgment. The older we are in Christ, the more subtle toxic behavior patterns become.

A book that we are presently reading, Victory at the Gates, by Vance D. Russell, states that we would do well to be attentive to the spiritual seasons, and according to his writing, we are currently in the month, Tammuz, (the 4th month, which begins in June and ends in July). Tammuz represents the Gate of Righteousness. On a symbolic basis, the number ‘four’ often represents testing and trial (40 years in the desert, 40 days tempted of satan, etc.). Russell writes:

■ “This is the month of the crab so during this time, remove the hard outer shell (bondages that separate you from God) and that restricts your relationship with the Lord, so that you can enter the next month with victory.
■ You must ask God to place a guard around your heart and eyes because satan is out to deceive you , so it is a time when you can easily be thrown off guard.
■ The word Tammuz reads in Hebrew: ‘tam’ meaning connect together or consummate. Be careful with whom you enter into covenant with, because the results of unwise decisions will be exposed in later months.” P.73-74.

Seasons of repentance precede seasons of power, anointing and fruitfulness. Another great tool to assist you in examining our walk and lives is a list that I found in Chris Harvey’s book, Insights to the Anointing, he calls us to repent of:

■ Greed replace with Generosity
■ Fear replace with Boldness
■ Manipulation replace with Loyalty
■ Bitterness replace with Submission
■ Exclusiveness replace with Kindness
■ Stinginess replace with Hospitality
■ Gossip replace with Grace
■ Giving-up replace with Patience
■ Unbelief replace with Faith
■ Unforgiveness replace with Forgiveness

Anointing Killers

2009-06-15T07:59:00.002-04:00

Over snacks with friends—one of our friends asked “What is the anointing? I stopped for a moment and then I found this definition coming out of me. The anointing (God’s anointing) is the final reality-it is true in word, in power, in purpose, When Jesus healed someone, He told them the Kingdom of God had come unto them. Healing was the evidence of the final reality.

Jesus is called the way, the truth and the life. Each of these is a dimension of the final reality, the final way, the final truth, the ultimate life.

There are anti-anointings as well. An-anti-anointing is one that challenges, blocks, or mimics the authentic anointing and its function. (Remember that Jesus is the Christ- then there is the anti Christ)

What does the anti anointing look like?
1. Fear is an anti-anointing (fear of God liberates, and purifies. Where there is no fear of God it will be replaced with: fear of man, fear of failure, fear of the unknown.)
2. Familiarity - this is when we place false expectations onto the landscape of our lives, forcing out anything new. Familiarity takes place when you can’t separate people from what God is doing through them. You find yourself making judgments, dismissing the chance that God might STILL use them. Signs of this are suspicion, competition, comparison, and gossip.
3. Foolishness - is the by-product of self-reliance, self promotion, pride, and presumption. It’s all part of the same package. All foolishness has pride or self at it’s root and self on the alter of life.
4. Unforgiveness – blocks the anointing. Truly, if you hold any unforgiveness it will open you up to two major anti-anointings: it will make your prayers ‘flat,’ like driving a car with four flats. You can drive your car with flat tires, but you won’t get to where you want on time. The second anti-anointing that you open yourself up to is deception. Why? Because if you chose to ignore or deny God’s command to love and forgive others, you are withstanding the spirit of Truth; and when that occurs, you are more vulnerable and susceptible to a spirit of deception. Unforgiveness will block your relationships (especially if you are looking for a partner in life or in business), block promotions, block favor, block your peace (anxiety, fear and sleeplessness will harass you), it will stop your joy, blind your hope, and sap you power.

All unforgiveness is the by-product of hidden idolatry. We don’t forgive people because we believe that 1. They are unforgivable, and 2. They are even greater than God, who is willing to forgive. Each act of forgiveness actually acts as a form of worship toward God, declaring in action that God is sovereign and what he has determined will come to pass. Forgiveness is actually a form of godliness, since our Father has forgiven us.

BOLD meets every Tuesday @ 12:45pm in St. Barts Small Chapel.

Riding the Power Wave: The Covering, Pt 2

2009-06-08T09:17:00.003-04:00

His Banner and Your Armor

You don’t even think about it, but the only reason that you can walk around the city today and not die from all the germs, bacteria and foreign elements that surround you is this thing called skin. And we all know that skin has seven layers; maybe the Lord is trying to tell us something? As soft as it may appear, it is highly functional and without it you would die in less than 24 hours.

In a similar way, there is spiritual skin as well. Paul writes about it in Ephesians 6. We have all had teaching on the armor of God, but I would like to approach it differently.

First: why is it that we are not told about this amour before the New Testament? There is a good reason: before we could put on ‘righteousness, we had to be made righteous, and that could not have occurred until Jesus died for our sins.

So then how did we do this thing without spiritual protection before the death of Jesus? I believe that before spiritual armor it was by virtue of spiritual banners: banners of blood and banners of praise. It was the blood of the innocent animals (Gen 3) which was shed to cover Adam and Eve, without it they would have died in a matter of days. And it was the praise which preceded the armies before they took Jericho. So now we understand the design and purpose of the banner: the banner of blood (Exodus over the door) and the banner of worship and praise. Just a side note about praise and worship: God is not lonely or depressed about His life if people fail to praise Him. No, you see praise puts us into harmony or alignment with the God of all Goodness. Praise releases the power and the glory of the King.

The banner of God does three things:
Banners are declaration of truth, and we understand that in John 8, that truth is what keeps us free.
Psa 60:4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.

Banners represent ownership and covering. A woman takes the man’s name because it is his name guarantees identity, provision and protection. The banner is not given to a slave but to the free woman.
Sgs 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me [was] love.

The banner of God releases revelation. In His presence, God reveals Himself and His plans and will for our lives.
Isa 13:2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.

Fitly Joined Together

2009-06-06T09:35:00.003-04:00

My dear NYSE Broker friend has come through again with a priceless piece of evidence demonstrating the truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made. There is a protein in every living thing that holds all the molecules together; they are called Laminins.

'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see.... Laminins are what hold us together..... LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And did you know what they look like?

The glue that holds us together..... ALL of us.... Is in the shape of the cross.
Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.

'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible
And invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
All things were created by him and for him.
He is before all things, and in him
All things HOLD TOGETHER. '
Colossians 1:15-17

45 Lessons

2009-06-04T08:15:00.002-04:00

A dear friend who is a broker on the NYSE forwarded this email to me, and it's a 'keeper.'

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12.. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Increasing Your What-age

2009-05-26T06:20:00.003-04:00

In the book, “Finding God in Unexpected Places,” Philip Yancey writes about a South African woman named Joanna who began a prison ministry which radically transformed one of South Africa's most violent prisons. Before her arrival, there were 279 incidents of violence for the prior year; a year after she started with Bible studies in the prison, there were 2 incidents. When you asked her how she did it, she told Yancey: "Well, of course, Philip, God was already present in the prison. I just had to make Him visible."

Prayer is often about seeking God to make visible what is normally not visible.
• Silence of the heart: emotions
• Silence of the mind: concerns
• Silence of the spirit: your internal spiritual hard drive AKA automatic pilot

How to begin: Reading God's Word
"I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, Isaiah 42:6. I call this, Increasing your Whatage. Whatage is the difference, the effectiveness and peace that passes understanding that makes people ask, What is it about us? The higher the Light, the more people will ask, “What do you have that makes you so…” That’s whatage. I think as Christians we have gotten used to providing formulas instead of whatage.

Prayer is often about learning to ask the right questions: Jesus answered and said unto her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that saying to thee, Give me to drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. [John 4:10] Listen for the Holy Spirit cues.

Cultivating a God-Inside-of-Me Awareness. Wisdom is one of the by-products of silence - asking-listening: Jam 1:5-6, 17 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all [men] liberally, and will not reprimand; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed… (for) Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Get a new batch of Wisdom every morning. Prayer for Wisdom: Lord, help me to see what I need to see, see through what is unimportant, and see beyond to where your are calling me. Yesterday’s wisdom won’t do… you need some WOW: the Wisdom on the Wind.

Your Personal PIN # Grace: "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6 [Reminder that grace is the unmerited favor of God.] The three dimensions of grace: unmerited, undeserved and unfathomable. Grace is not only favor, but it is God’s force in these last days. What activates grace? The Name of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus, and the spoken Word of God.

Activate Your Card by Faith: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Eph 2:6

Withdrawing Moved Him Forward

2009-05-19T16:32:00.002-04:00

Withdrawing Moved Him Forward
1. Processed Persecution: Jesus withdrew in Mark 3:7 After healing a man’s hand, and offending the Pharisees sense of righteousness. He withdrew rather than confront. His withdrawal created room for the Holy Spirit to work. Jesus allowed room for the Holy Spirit in his relationships, even those that were adversarial. Resistance is one of God’s favorite ways to keep us free from man’s approval.

2. Processed the Pain. Jesus withdrew a second time when he heard about the execution of John the Baptist. Jesus allowed time to process those things that are upsetting. He processes, he didn’t camp out and get stuck in the evil that took place. Pain does have a place in life, but what it should never have is lordship.

3. Processed Triumph and thus Avoided Defeat. Victory Jesus withdrew a third time after there was a great miracle, of feeding the 5.000. He didn’t want to camp out on a great victory, but rather kept the disciples moving forward. If you don’t process your victory, you will either become prideful or never move beyond to greater potential. Never stop or be satisfied with success.

4. Provided a Place for the Presence. Jesus withdrew to allow the disciples the opportunity for God to reveal Jesus to them. Revelation often comes when the competing activities stop and we create space for God. Always expect and make room for the glory of God. Make room for the glory.

5. Provided a Place to Receive Power. Jesus withdrew when he was about to face the most difficult test: the cross. Spiritual strength requires that we fill up. Imagine going on a trip to Florida but neglecting to fill up the gas tank? What we are called to do is impossible. But that’s the point, God is attracted to the impossible; He was attracted to you wasn’t He? If God is not driving, move over. Remember that weakness is simply a vacuum waiting to be filled by God.

Life: It's an Open Book Test

2009-04-16T10:55:00.000-04:00

So what book are YOU reading?

The Power of Thanksgiving

2009-04-06T06:22:00.002-04:00

One of my dear friends turned me onto this resource on www.ibethel.org which is somewhat of a prayer, offering and declaration. Whatever you chose to call it, one thing that it truly is, is POWERFUL. Try making it a declaration in the morning, and in the evening. It keeps you focused on God's character, His promises and off of ourselves. This resource is not JUST a prayer, but if you can receive it, it becomes a spiritual assault rifle of grace. This past Sunday, as we gave in the offering, I wrote on the envelop: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

Every act of giving and thanksgiving is a declaration of God's faithfulness IN OUR LIVES. It becomes weapon able to take down strongholds in a single bound! Like David in 1 Samuel 21, we must eat the showbread (communion) and take the sword of Goliath (the cross) and face forward!

OFFERING OF THANKS #1

Jobs and better jobs,
Raises and bonuses
Benefits Sales and commissions
Favorable settlements
Estates and inheritances
Interests and income
Rebates and returns
Checks in the mail
Gifts and surprises
Finding money
Debts paid off
Expenses decrease
Blessing and increase

Thank You, Lord, for meeting all of my financial needs that I may have more than enough to give into the Kingdom of God and promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah!!!!!!

TMBG - Time Management by God

2009-04-01T05:38:00.002-04:00

BOLD Meetings are held in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, and so the average individual would think to themselves, "Who has the time to get out to a prayer meeting in the middle of the work week? It appears to be such a waste of time and energy, when you could be making it happen from the comfort of your office, telephone and computer."

We live in a make it happen world, and in this economy, if you don't make it happen for yourself, it doesn't come to pass. For some it means working through lunch, weekends and late nights. So even the 'spare time' you have is chipped away.

Not so for those of us who believe we love and serve the God that never sleeps.

One of our BOLD board members is learning first hand how this life in God works in a tangible palpable way. He had already attended the NYSE Bible Study in the morning, and now made the time to come out in the middle of the day for the second meeting at BOLD at St Bart’s’ at 12:45PM. The meeting went over, as usual, and just when he was walking out, I reached out and asked everyone to pray for him: specifically, that when he returned to his office he would have received multiple calls from clients giving him work.

This is the email I received from him this afternoon:

Anthony:
Meant to call you.
When I got back to my office the President of this finance company in Chicago called to say he had decided to make an offer to one of our sales candidates, but has been so busy, he hasn't had a chance to put a package together, but will by Friday.

And the President of a Christian College called to say that she has been busy arranging funding for a new position in the Development Office and will send us an email outlining the terms by Friday. Wants no other headhunter to work on it and it will be a test to see how we do.

And the HR Dept of a Leading International Bank called to say the final meeting with one of our candidates is scheduled for Thursday. Praise God and thank you for your prayers. They work!!!
Keep going!

I give God the credit, and want to say, that when you start making room for God, God begins making room for you and your business.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will follow.

Facing Forward

2009-03-22T19:35:00.001-04:00

Had a great time this afternoon speaking at Missionaries on the Move in New Rochelle. As a church, they have been around for about a dozen years, and are led by the wonderful and anointed Elizabeth Payne. They are enthusiastic and love worshiping God. Awesome.

I shared on the topic of Facing Forward. During times like these, the tendency is to 'look the other way' when bad stuff happens. We all do it. We ignore or deny it; but doing so doesn't make it better or force it to go away.

Ephesians 5:15-20 gives us a biblical design for facing forward: walk precisely, redeem the time, worship and most of all, be thankful. It was a wonderful word that encouraged us all to believe the Lord and keep facing forward to where Jesus is standing.

5 Questions

2009-03-19T08:07:00.003-04:00

One of the NYSE members forwarded to me a very interesting email. Granted that most of us receive emails that people forward that seem to have a sense of urgency. This one caused me to give pause and certainly some peace. It centers on five simple questions.

Q: What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
A: Psalm 117
Q: What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
A: Psalm 119
Q: Which chapter is in the center of the Bible?
A: Psalm 118

Facts: There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118.
There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118.
Add these numbers up and you get 1188.

Q: What is the center verse in the Bible?
A: Psalm 118:8

Does this verse say something significant about God's perfect will for our lives?
The next time someone says they would like to find God's perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the center of His will just send them to the center of His Word!

Psalms 118:8 (NKJV) "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."

Now isn't that odd how this worked out… or was God in the center of it?

Quote and Size

2009-03-16T09:53:00.002-04:00

When I worked on the floor of the NYSE from 1981-1989, often before a big institutional order hit the floor, it would be preceded by a request from the trader on the desk to get a look of a stock. This was called quote and size. That is what I will be posting in the future for a quote whose wisdom exceeds the number of the words.

"Almost every significant thing God births He allows to die before the vision is fulfilled in His own way. Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders

Knowing the Difference & Living the Difference

2009-03-11T05:52:00.002-04:00

One of my early mentors, Hampton Kealthley III from Bible.org wrote an outstanding study titled: The Seven Laws of Harvest, [click here to access this study], and within the first section Keathley makes an amazing point.

"Did we bring the Bible to these shores? Did it not rather bring us? The breath of the ancient Prophets was in the sails that drove the tiny Mayflower .It has been said that South America was settled by the Spanish, who came to that land in search of gold, but North America was settled by the Pilgrim Fathers, who came in search of God. That is what made the difference."

The way anything begins effects its outcome. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."—2 Corinthians 3:17.

That is why prayer and faith are the most important tools of any spiritual person, because the depth of a foundation predicts the height it will attain. I thank God for the spiritual heritage that distinguishes this land of freedom.

The Message that changed the world, still hasn't changed.

2009-03-10T06:47:00.002-04:00

My dear friend, John Patrick O'Neill, a former member of the NYSE reminds me that the Lord often works in ways that far surpasses our ways. When John was praying about what to 'give up' for Lent this year, he received a very strong leading from the Holy Spirit, that what he was to 'fast' was negativity. Considering that we are in the most severe bear market in 80 years, and the way that John now makes his money is through trading, this like leading a horse to a desert and asking it not to be thirsty. But since the beginning of Lent, John has observed this fast, and is discovering that through God, in the midst of this economic collapse, he continues to remain optimistic. This not only attests to God's power but to the rewards of obedience.

I found that Psalm 118 is a great prescription for fear and concern, especially the first 21 verses. Consider it your 21 Day Rx to Breakthrough

Psa 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Psa 118:2 Let the congregation of Israel repeat: "His faithful love endures forever."

Psa 118:3 Let Aaron's descendants, the priests, repeat: "His faithful love endures forever."

Psa 118:4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat: "His faithful love endures forever."

Psa 118:5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and rescued me.

Psa 118:6 The Lord is for me, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

Psa 118:7 Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.

Psa 118:8 It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in people.

Psa 118:9 It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

Psa 118:10 Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all in the name of the Lord.

Psa 118:11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all in the name of the Lord.

Psa 118:12 They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a roaring flame. But I destroyed them all in the name of the Lord.

Psa 118:13 You did your best to kill me, O my enemy, but the Lord helped me.

Psa 118:14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my victory.

Psa 118:15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!

Psa 118:16 The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!

Psa 118:17 I will not die, but I will live to tell what the Lord has done.

Psa 118:18 The Lord has punished me severely, but he has not handed me over to death.

Psa 118:19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord.

Psa 118:20 Those gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.

Psa 118:21 I thank you for answering my prayer and saving me!

Excerpt from the Welsh Revival 1904-5

2009-03-03T05:32:00.001-05:00

"Drunkenness was immediately cut in half, and many taverns went bankrupt. Crime was so diminished that judges were presented with white gloves signifying that there were no cases of murder, assault, rape or robbery or the like to consider. The police became unemployed in many districts. Stoppage occurred in coal mines, not due to unpleasantness due to management and workers, but because so many foul-mouth miners became converted and stopped using foul language that the horses which hauled the coal trucks in the mines could no longer understand what was being said to them."

Excerpt from “The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever,” Elmer Towns and Douglas Porter quote historian J Edwin Orr

The Paradoxical Commandments

2009-02-28T09:46:00.002-05:00

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
by Dr. Kent M. Keith © Copyright 1968, renewed 2001

Re-Printable

2009-02-21T05:25:00.002-05:00

One of the NYSE Brokers forwarded this email to me: and thought it was worth a reprint.

Christian One Liners

Don't let your worries get the best of you; remember, Moses started out as a basket case.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited until you try to sit in their pews.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

People are funny; they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door forever.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect, you couldn't belong.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Some minds are like concrete thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Peace starts with a smile.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

I don't know why some people change churches; what difference does it make which one you stay home from?!

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* +*+*+*

A lot of church members who are singing "Standing on the Promises" are just sitting on the premises.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Forbidden fruits create many jams.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

God grades on the cross, not the curve.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

God loves everyone, but probably prefers "fruits of the spirit" over "religious nuts!"

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

He who angers you, controls you!

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

If God is your Co-pilot - swap seats!

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* +*

Prayer: Don't give God instructions -- just report for duty!

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

The Will of God never takes you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

We don't change the message, the Message changes us.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to.........discourage him. 20

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

The best mathema tical equation I have ever seen:

1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given

Wineskins of Revival

2009-02-13T09:19:00.008-05:00

Alistair Petrie’s Transformed! is one of those special books that you have got to reread on a regular basis because of the cornerstone content it holds.

He addresses ten principles for sustaining genuine revival in our society.

He wastes NO TIME getting to the heart of the matter and by page 16 which actually is page 3 of his book, he states: “God can penetrate every part of life and society…”

In simple terms: there are no systems, organizations or cultures that God is incapable of affecting: that includes the world economy.

So going back to the subject of Petrie’s book, revival, we have got to shake the dust off the word to rediscover that revival is NOT JUST A RELIGIOUS EVENT, but actually is the recovery of the functionality of any sustainable system from dysfunction or disease.

If you want to revive your business, what you do stop doing is just as important as what you start doing or redoing. Selah.

The Church today has a part to play in the economic disaster today. This is the third catastrophic calamity to hit our church and the world in less than ten years. The first two being the attack of 911 cost our country alone -- the price tag approaches $2 trillion [according to the Institute for Analysis of Global Security] and Hurricane Katrina.

These three events are reconfiguring the global economy away from a grid comprised of national economic segments into one which is integrated one-world system.

This new model will force Christians either to reconsider the implementation of the Great Commission or see the relevance of the gospel reduced to doctrine and dogma. According to one of BOLD's original organizers and former New York investment banker from the 80’s & 90’s, Skip Naglevoort, the platforms of media and global finance will emerge to be “the Roman Roads” upon which we carry the good news of Christ.

This new world is going to require us to revisit what it means to walk out our faith in the marketplace. We must be willing to explore all aspects of the way that faith in Christ is communicated. Jesus tells us that you can’t put new wine into old wineskins. I think that we presume that we hear what is written but the fact that there is a scarcity of new wine in our lives is a crushing indictment that we don't understand what Christ is actually saying.

The models of old evangelism (old-time religion) and new evangelism just won’t mix; and that is scripture saying that! This doesn’t have to be a bad thing which creates competing denominational camps and factions.

What typically happens is that when a model is no longer working, the old guard digs in its heels and works twice as hard doing the things that worked back then. Their anthem proudly holds on and says, “We always did it this way, and if it was good enough then, it’ll be good enough now.”

Look at what Jesus said in Luke 5:33-39
[33] They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray [old wineskin], and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking [new wineskin]."

[34] Jesus answered, "Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? [35] But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast."

[36] He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. [37] And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. [38] No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.
[39] And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.' "
In other words, we all get used to the wine we grew up on. My father loves Italian wine; as a matter of fact he won’t even keep a bottle of Californian wine in his house. Does that make him wrong? No, just as long as he understands that wine can be grown in other places! [He’s starting to admit that it does.]

There are still two more significant points I would like to make about this wineskin concept:
#1. We are not in charge of the wineskins the way that executives are in charge of business models; wineskins correspond to the vintage of grapes and the season in which they are grown.
#2. Every growing season has its own distinctive taste and which will require its own wineskins to hold it, according to Jesus.

Now take a closer ‘spiritual look’ at the wineskin concept. What are wineskins made from? They are ‘bags’ made from the skin of a goat.

The goat symbol has two meanings 1. goats represent practical wisdom; 2. goats also came to symbolize evil and the term "scape-goat" becoming a common expression for someone bearing blame for others. (See Leviticus 26:20-22 – and take a look at why goat mentality is so different: they not only eat anything, including garbage, but are so so self-willed that they are incredibly difficult to handle.)

Here is the rub: I believe that you will agree with me that with every new growing season comes a new vintage. This ‘new wine’ cannot be placed into the old wineskins but rather must be placed into fresh wineskins of goats freshly slaughtered.

A goat in scripture represents that which carries the sin of the people away from them. So the metaphor follows: that with each new season and new vintage of grapes, will come a season in which the goats and sin-carrying habits and activities will be slain.

The new wine requires a fresh repentance. Each new area of repentance will require a vengeance or judgment against anything in our lives, families, businesses and churches that exults itself above the knowledge of God must be eliminated. The new wine can only be carried with the fresh and new repentances of our lives.

Woman healed of Asthma

2009-02-08T19:31:00.004-05:00

This is a testimony from Pamela Chowyou. Pam has been a member of BOLD since 2002. It is an example of everyday faith, making an extraordinary difference. Pam has demonstrated a facility to pray for the sick and see God manifest through healing.

Pam writes: God met me in the middle of my errands last Friday. I was running late to my appointment with my personal trainer in the City. A few people called me as I was rushing out, and I was begining to panic because I was going to be very late for my appointment. As I was wrapping up my last call, my trainer called and told me she was actually in MY neighborhood in Queens to pick up vitamins. We were planning to meet up to take the subway together into the City, but my husband suggested that I show her the gym in our building. She agreed, and I learned that her appointment after mine was cancelled, so we actually had time to catch up and talk. I decided to bring her up to our apartment to talk to her and to pray for her.

My trainer had been suffering from alot of anxiety due to a difficult ending of a work relationship at a local gym and severe asthma which she had since she was a teenager. She was on the steroid Prednisone which causes bloating and weight gain (something not desirable for a personal trainer!). I prayed for her asthma and anxiety, and she received total healing immediately. Her labored breathing became easier as we were praying, and she began to give thanks to God. She had been waking up at 2am or 3am in the mornings because of her asthma, and she is now waking up at her normal 6:30am which enables her to return to her exercise regimine. She's been away from church for 3 years, and I encouraged her to return. She is praying now for a church to attend. I gave her a book on leadership that I had purchased a few months back but which had been sitting on my bookshelf. She says that the book has been blessing her so much, and it's meeting her exactly where she is. She said that the day that we prayed together felt like the real start of the 2009 for her. My trainer says that she now has the confidence to launch her personal training business, and she is no longer afraid about the finances. She knows that God will provide.

BOLD Ministry, originally founded in 1989, is a marketplace outreach to the NYC professional with a mission to bring the relevance of Jesus and His presence into the workplace. It meets @ St. Bart's every Tuesday from 12:45pm - 1:30pm. BOLD also hosts a bible study downtown which is one of the oldest, longest running, marketplace study in the city Tuesday mornings from 8:00am-8:45am, 74 Trinity Place, 2nd floor. For information email: boldministry@gmail.com

BOLD MINISTRY PRAYER CONFERENCE CALL

2009-02-05T14:12:00.001-05:00

OBJECTIVE: To seek God to move within the New York City Marketplace, specifically within the NYSE and the midtown areas.

Special Prayer Facilitator: SKIP NAGLEVOORT

Skip Nagelvoort is former Investment Banker with stints with Goldman Sachs and his own boutique investment firm, Nagelvoort & Co in New York City. Skip is also one of the NYSE Bible Study founding members and organizer of BOLD.

Subject and Topics: The History of Marketplace Ministry from the context of the New York City. Skip will share on the place that prayer played within the NYSE outreaches during the late seventies and early eighties when the first NYSE Bible Study was born, to the subsequent birth of the New Canaan Society and BOLD. His remarks will include testimonies and patterns that produced the greatest spiritual impact.

This call will provide several deep insights into how God moved so dramatically back in the 70's & 80's and how we might learn from these original marketplace ministry models.

Also in attendance with be the BOLD Board of Directors. This call is open and we encourage you to invite those seeking a word or touch from the Lord to dial in. Skip Nagelvoort today lives in Michigan and was very involved with the National Prayer Breakfast through the 1990's.

February 5th, 7-8 pm, EST

Dial-in #: (218) 844-8230

Access Code: 1099309#

Spiritual Blueprints for 2009 - CTRL + ALT + DEL

2009-02-03T05:42:00.007-05:00

"Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it."~ Irving Berlin
After years of serving God and now in prison, Paul the Apostle is sharing in his letter to the Philippians what he has found to be his blueprint to spiritual effectiveness. In his case, it wasn’t a matter of what he knew and how much he knew that kept him on his spiritual course. For Paul, it was his ability to keep his eyes on the spiritual prize. My personal opinion is that Paul must have been an athlete at one point in his life, because of his regular references to the disciplines of an athlete.

Not that I have already obtained or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of {it} yet; but one thing {I do:} forgetting what {lies} behind and reaching forward to what {lies} ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:12-4

FIVE POINTS FROM PAUL
1. Pressing on (endurance, the personal perseverance necessary)
2. Laying hold of
3. Forgetting the past
4. Reaching forward
5. Pressing toward

1. Pressing on: means keep moving forward, even when it feels like you are spiritually treading water. Pressing on means to pursue with the intention of catching a person or reaching a goal.

2. Lay hold of: means to lay hold of so as to make one's own, to obtain, attain to, to make one's own,. A big part of laying hold of is to avoid distractions: i.e. Bird in hand, vs. two in bush.

3. Forgetting: Failure, difficulties, disappointments have an ability to keep us anchored to what once was, and not to what is to be. We should take inventory of those things that hold us back. The art of forgetting will keep us moving forward. This principle is based upon the law that whatever we focus on will manifest in our lives. The word used to forget implies the idea of neglect, as if to starve to death that which must be fed. As long as we continue to feed the failures and disappointments in our lives, they will exert upon us a power to hold us back. The art of forgetting inherently requires the process of forgiveness. Who do we need to forgive? Ourselves, God and others.

ALT + CTRL + DEL
When living in a SHIFT Economy, it is crucial to be able to move on. Very often, when I have been working for many hours on my laptop, and it starts to overheat, then it freezes. I can’t get into or out of any programs or everything is working so slow that it takes for…..ever…. to .... do ….. anything. I then have to press ALT + CTRL + DEL all at the same time to get out of the non responsive programs. All three keys must be pressed at the same time, which brings up a list of open applications that can be forcefully ended. It also enables the user to reboot the computer. Same thing with life; when Life becomes non-responsive, you have to be able to press the ALT + CTRL + DEL of forgiveness in order to go on. Forgiveness is like the defrag on my computer, which has to be performed regularly to keep things running smoothly.

4. Reaching forward: this is the act of reaching over, into a realm from beyond the realm that we are in.

5. Pressing toward: daily discipline, according to, with the intention of winning. Study the YouTube of Dave Wottle who won the 800 Meter race in the 1972 Olympics. Dave was famous for three things: his golf cap, his strategy which often put him in back of the pack and his incredible capacity to come from behind. In the Olympic 800 meter final, Wottle immediately dropped to the rear of the field, and stayed there for the first 500 m, at which point he started to pass runner after runner up the final straight, finally grabbing the lead in the final stretch to win by just 0.03 seconds. View the YouTube of this historic race by clicking here.

Life is not an accident

2009-01-26T17:01:00.003-05:00

One of the most frightening times in a parents’ life is when their kids begin to drive. The parents know that they will face any number of situations for which no formal education could have prepared them. The parents also know their kids have a FALSE SENSE OF INVINCIBILITY.

The same thing holds true for us and God. God knows that they we will face any number of situations for which no formal education could have prepared us. As is the case with a new driver, our self-sufficiency, a form of adolescent ignorance, is probably the most difficult thing we have to overcome, simply because it’s invisible. As we know from driving and life, even when following the rules, accidents do happen.

7 FACTS
1. YOU ARE NOT AN ACCIDENT – we tend to either blame others or ourselves when bad things happen.

2. LIFE’S ACCIDENTS ARE REAL & OFTEN PAINFUL -- Why is so much of life broken around me? Confusion occurs when we mistakenly accept the crazy stuff surrounding us. Can the brokenness of the world get inside of me? Sure. Do I have a choice in this? YES!

3. WHAT DO I DO WHEN THE BROKENNESS OF THE WORLD IS GETTING TO ME? Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding.

4. SOMETIMES I AM THE ONE CONTRIBUTING TO THE BROKENNESS IN MY LIFE? Pro 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. One of the best features of prayer is that it gets us listening.

5. YOU CAN’T BRIBE GOD WITH GOOD WORKS. Psa 51:16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

6. JESUS’ MINISTRY WAS TO THE BROKEN, WHICH QUALIFIES US ALL – the only folks that Jesus had a hard time with were the people that had it all together: the religious folks and the rich; both thought they didn’t need God to get to God. Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

7. PRAYER IS A LANGUAGE THAT WE LEARN BY LISTENING TO OTHER PEOPLE DO IT People wouldn’t listen to you or pay attention to you unless you learned to communicate in the language of the floor. The same thing is true with prayer. Here is a great example found in 1 Chron 4:9-10: 1Ch 4:9 And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that your hand might be with me, and that thou would keep [me] from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

Free Client Attraction Teleconference January 20

2009-01-19T15:25:00.001-05:00

We are recommending to all of those who attended the Spring Breakfast Series to call in to this Free Tele-Conference, this Tuesday, January 20th.

This is a FREE Preview Teleseminar Series, as a preview of the Spring 2009 Client Attraction Marketing Workshop given by Fabienne Fredrickson.

Fabienne has developed a marketing system for anyone that is in their own business and wants to get smarter about what they do. If you want to:

Increase revenue
Attract new customers
Create a functional and effective marketing system

Client Attraction Call

Call #1:

Tuesday, January 20, 8pm (NY) Eastern

Signup online at http://www.clientattraction.com/previewcalls.htm

BOLD Ministry has no financial arrangement with Fabienne Fredrickson or her company. We actually invited her to come to meet some of the NYSE members some months ago but her schedule was booked. So please consider getting on the phone. She is knowledgeable and can help anyone get smarter in building their business.

Earning a No Trade Clause

2009-01-13T07:01:00.003-05:00

I saw today in the paper, that Tony Dungy retired. He is going to do some work with prison ministry. In the story in the New York Times, the Colt's president, Bill Polian recapped Dungy's time with the team by saying:

“What a joy it was to come to work with Tony Dungy every day,” Polian said. “What a privilege it was to work with a man who talked the talk, albeit softly, but who also walked the walk, emphatically. What an honor it was to reach the ultimate goal with a man who did it the right way. Tony said his only regret was we didn’t win more world championships. But Tony, you’re wrong. We were winners every day we worked with you. I wouldn’t trade that time for all the trophies in the world.”

Imagine that: as you leave the team, winning only one Super Bowl, (kidding), and the team owners say that as a result of playing with Dungy, they were winners every day.

There are some trophies that we win by what we do on the field; but the most important trophies are those won off the field by the people we work with everyday. Well done Coach Dungy, well done.

Not Easily Surprised -- But I Am

2009-01-09T08:05:00.005-05:00

I am not easily surprised by movie reviews and some of the politics of art, but T.D. Jakes' movie, "Not Easily Broken," seems poised to surprise people in the industry and the public. The New York Times movie critic A.O. Scott does a very fair job of reviewing the Jakes initiative by framing not only the story within the context of Jakes' personae but as a separate piece of entertainment.

Where this review truly impressed and surprised me was when Scott's courageous review not only compared "Not Easily Broken" with the highly publicized "Revolutionary Road" but praised "Not Easily Broken" as "a thousand times more honest, and more humane, than Mr. Mendes’s preening work of ersatz art." Thank you Mr. Scott. Here are the final two paragraphs of Scott's review:

This is the kind of picture that will probably meet with critical indifference, a response the distributors either anticipated or courted with late and scarce press screenings. Still it is worth comparing “Not Easily Broken” with another, much-written-about film about a marriage in crisis, Sam Mendes’s “Revolutionary Road,” which has energetically solicited the admiration of reviewers and awards-giving organizations. That movie, it seems to me, is fatally compromised by pretension and bad faith, by its refusal to engage with the lives of its characters other than by means of a secondhand literary conceit and a set of unexamined and dubious sociological assumptions.

“Not Easily Broken” certainly has its own, fairly transparent, ideological agenda, but is nonetheless a thousand times more honest, and more humane, than Mr. Mendes’s preening work of ersatz art. Many more people are likely to see Mr. Duke’s film, and to find it moving, edifying and even useful. That’s not everything, of course. But it’s not nothing either.

Lessons from the Ants

2009-01-07T09:29:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, January 6's reading in proverbs takes time to point us down... to consider the ant. In John Maxwell's Leadership Bible, he points us toward this passage in Proverbs 6:6-8 to make four points about what this insect can teach all of us, using the acronym ANTS:

A - Attitude of Initiative: Ants don't need a commander or boss to tell them to get started.

N - Nature of Integrity: Ants work faithfully and need no outside accountability to keep them doing right.

T - Thirst for Industry: Ants work hard and will replace their anthill when it gets ruined.

S - Source of Insight: Ants store provision in the summer.

If we consider and learn from the ways of the ant, we TOO can grow wise.*

*From the Maxwell Leadership Bible.

My wife Carol is a big fan of the Maxwell Bible saying that the sidebar comments are always relevant and helpful when reading through the chapters.

If you want to check it out at Amazon, click here.

Join Marketplace Leaders This Thursday for a FREE Tele-seminar

2009-01-06T10:49:00.004-05:00

Please not the change in call in number:

Don't Miss This Free Seminar

Thursday, January 8th, 8PM EST

Os Hillman will host this Free Seminar

Topic: Becoming a Change Agent

The new call in number is:

(712) 432-0075 Access Code: 226198

The mission of Marketplace Leaders is to help men and women fulfill God's call on their lives by understanding the role faith plays in their workplace calling. Check out Os' daily devotional devotional which goes out to 140,000 subscribers daily. His website is www.marketplaceleaders.org.

One of the Signs of a New Thing

2009-01-05T19:40:00.003-05:00

When God does a new thing, He doesn't provide road maps... just a lot of empty spaces.

2009 the Year of the Long Tail

2009-01-05T17:01:00.003-05:00

The New Year is a great time and place to rethink our ideas and assumptions about business, life and faith.

You may have heard about the cage containing five hungry monkeys. In case you have, it’s worth rereading at least once a year. And in the case that you haven't, well sit back and enjoy this modern parable.

In this cage, hung a banana on a string and under it were a bunch of stair leading to it. After a short amount of time, one of the entrepreneurial monkeys goes toward the stairs and starts his climb towards the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, there comes this spray of cold water which soaks all of the monkeys in the cage with cold water.

After a while, another hungry monkey attempts the climb with the same results - all of the monkeys are sprayed with cold water. This happens for the next few days.

Then without any warning or notice, the cold water is turned off.

Now, if, one of the monkeys tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys try to prevent it even though no water sprays them.

Now, if we remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one the result is interesting.

The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm.

Replace the third original monkey with a new one. The new one makes it to the stairs and is attacked as well. Two of the four monkeys that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, all the monkeys which have been sprayed with cold water have been replaced. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs.

Why not?

"Because that's the way it's always been done around here.

I first read this story in a book on worship, referencing the roadblocks that we create to true worship of God. This year 2009 could be my year when we climb the spiritual ladder of worship and we surprise ourselves by reaching the banana.

Spirituality?

2008-12-29T11:11:00.002-05:00

OK… so now explain this headline to me please someone.

“Top Search Keywords Reflect Spirituality”

The article from Online Media Daily went on to say, “Consumers became more spiritual and less materialistic this holiday season, according to San Francisco-based Kontera… The most clicked-on holiday keywords for 2008 in the U.S. highlight a return to traditional values and a holiday spirit, compared with a focus on material gifts in 2007."

OK so here is the 2008 Spiritual Search Term Awards. The envelope please. And the winners are:
1. "Santa letter"
2. "Christmas wish list,"
3. "Christmas spirit,"
4."secret Santa,"
5."gift idea,"
6."Christmas decoration,"
7."Christmas stocking,"
8."Christmas,"
9."Christmas Party,"
10."gift."

Maybe after reading this, St. Nick might have to write to Santa. Ho ho ho.

BOLD resumes Tuesday, January 6th, @ 12:45 at St. Barts in the Small chapel. Visit www.boldministry.com.

Not all wounds are created equal

2008-12-26T15:06:00.004-05:00

Proverbs 27:6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

A lot of us want to insulate ourselves from the pain that accompanies growth and learning; but every destiny requires a certain 'variety' of pain that leads to greater strength, life and wisdom. There is no school or written test that can confer this distinction. The only school is the school of obedience and silence.

Proverbs 3:11
My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction.

From Steven W Bliss

2008-12-20T06:08:00.002-05:00

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up
the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken
Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Isaiah 58:12 (NIV)

I am the restorer. Bring to me all who are weary.
I will restore those who are broken or abused.
There is no shame. Bring yourself to me. There
are no strings attached.

Be my reflection and comfort those who mourn.
Feed them the bread of life. Allow them to drink
unbridled in my presence.

I came that you may have life, that your life be restored
into the fullness of what you are called.

BOLD Ministry, originally founded in 1989, is a marketplace outreach to the NYC professional with a mission to bring the relevance of Jesus and His presence into the workplace. It meets @ St. Bart's every Tuesday from 12:45pm - 1:30pm. BOLD also hosts a bible study downtown which is one of the oldest, longest running, marketplace study in the city Tuesday mornings from 8:00am-8:45am, 74 Trinity Place, 2nd floor. For information email: boldministry@gmail.com.

Brit Hume and the 3 G's

2008-12-16T20:29:00.002-05:00

I was really rocked when I was looking at an interview with Brit Hume who is leaving his Fox News anchor chair next Tuesday. He stated that he was leaving his position to pursue the three 'G's' - God, Grandkids and Golf.

I looked at a Reuters interview with Hume and he stated: "Hume: I certainly want to pursue my faith more ardently than I have done. I'm not claiming it's impossible to do when you work in this business. I was kind of a nominal Christian for the longest time. When my son died (by suicide in 1998), I came to Christ in a way that was very meaningful to me. If a person is a Christian and tries to face up to the implications of what you say you believe, it's a pretty big thing. If you do it part time, you're not really living it."

'Magine that. Taking time for God. How ... wonderful.

Some people lead by where they go, some lead by what they say, some lead by what they do, and others who are truly gifted, also lead by what they choose not to do. Let's see whether Brit Hume gains more influence by his choice of actions.

Desert Preparation

2008-12-15T06:11:00.004-05:00

In today's "TGIF Today God Is First" for Monday, December 15 2008, written by Os Hillman, I was struck by the insightful accuracy of Paul's understanding of what was necessary for his call.

“Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. - Galatians 1:17

He [Paul] tells us that he clearly understood the call Jesus placed on his life. He did not have to consult other men about this calling. But before he was released to begin his own mission, He went to Arabia for three years. Why did Paul have to go to Arabia for three years before he ever met another disciple of Jesus Christ?

The Scripture does not tell us plainly why Paul spent three years in Arabia. However, based upon many examples of God placing special calls on people's lives, we know it often requires a time of separation between the old life and the new life.”

I remember in one of the BOLD meetings hearing or saying, "The greater the delay, the greater the glory." Delay in God's kingdom is more often a matter of time adjustment rather than denial. The key to time adjustments is having the discernment to know accurately with what to fill that time. Are there some things "not happening in your life?" It might be a matter of filling that time not with activities but with a person -- Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Before God ever desires us to do ANYTHING, He usually wants to make sure that we are saturated with Him first. One of the tools that I use to keep saturated is reading Os Hillman's devotional. His resources are really outstanding.

I highly recommend subscribing to Os Hillman's FREE email devotional. Go to www.marketplaceleaders.org

BOLD Ministry, originally founded in 1989, is a marketplace outreach to the NYC professional with a mission to bring the relevance of Jesus and His presence into the workplace. It meets @ St. Bart's every Tuesday from 12:45pm - 1:30pm. BOLD also hosts a bible study downtown which is the oldest, longest running, marketplace study in the city Tuesday mornings from 8:00am-8:45am, 74 Trinity Place, 2nd floor. For information email: boldministry@gmail.com.

Christianity - The Great Romance

2008-12-13T03:16:00.004-05:00

We have an incredible appetite for great stories, specifically, great romance. In one of my fellowship studies with marketplace men in New York City, I mentioned that one of my favorite scenes is in the movie "Jerry Maguire," in which Tom Cruise repentantly returns to Renee Zelwigger asking for forgiveness and reconciliation. The only thing he can say that communicates his love is to declare, "You complete me!"

In another great romance, a humble king pursues a feckless girl. She discovers not only her fallen ways, but that this humble king completes her as no other lover. And she too declares to Him, "Forgive me, for you and you alone complete me?" to which this holy king responds, "You had me on hello!"

Check the video

Discovery of Archive Testimony of Carl deMoon

2008-12-08T10:54:00.006-05:00

BOLD Ministry is making available for FREE the incredible testimony of Carl deMoon circa 1978. This is a stunning account of the journey of a former Catholic Priest who rediscovered a faith he never thought was possible through a series of events which includes the total healing of his daughter born with an incurable condition. The recording came to BOLD ministry through Anthony DiMaio and his friend John O'Neill, a former NYSE member and leader within the Brooklyn charismatic renewal which took place during the late 1970's and early 1980's. Please pass this link along to anyone who might have lost hope.

Father Ralph DiOrio was one of the leaders in the one of the greater spiritual revivals of the last century. Even People Magazine did a story on the gifted priest. Link here to the article in People.

The story explains how, "Carl deMoon brought his 3-month-old daughter Sarah from Addison, Ill. to see the priest last fall. Sarah was thought to be suffering from Down's syndrome, or mongolism. Says deMoon today: "I not only think Sarah is cured, I think she's a genius. She's doing more than expected of a normal 1-year-old. Science and medicine don't have all the answers. God still has the last word.""

BOLD Ministry, originally founded in 1989, is a marketplace outreach to the NYC professional with a mission to bring the relevance of Jesus and His presence into the workplace. It meets @ St. Bart's every Tuesday from 12:45pm - 1:30pm. BOLD also hosts a bible study downtown which is the oldest, longest running, marketplace study in the city Tuesday mornings from 8:00am-8:45am, 74 Trinity Place, 2nd floor. For information email: boldministry@gmail.com.

Nearly 9 Million People Tell MSNBC They Trust in God

2008-12-03T09:55:00.003-05:00

	Should the motto "In God We Trust" be removed from U.S. currency? * 8930940 responses

	Yes. It's a violation of the principle of separation of church and state. 18%

	No. The motto has historical and patriotic significance and does nothing to establish a state religion. 82%
Not a scientific survey. Click to learn more. Results may not total 100% due to rounding.

Taking a Closer Look

2008-12-02T05:14:00.004-05:00

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I took a few minutes to look at an classic that I never thought would be as good as it was.

"I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man."

That's Al Capone speaking. Yes, America's most notorious Public Enemy- the most sinister gang leader who ever shot up Chicago. Capone didn't condemn himself. He actually regarded himself as a public benefactor - an unappreciated and misunderstood public benefactor.

And so did Dutch Schultz before he crumpled up under gangster bullets in Newark. Dutch Schultz, one of New York's most notorious rats, said in a newspaper interview that he was a public benefactor. And he believed it.

I have had some interesting correspondence with Lewis Lawes, who was warden of New York's infamous Sing Sing prison for many years, on this subject, and he declared that "few of the criminals in Sing Sing regard themselves as bad men. They are just as human as you and I. So they rationalize, they explain. They can tell you why they had to crack a safe or be quick on the trigger finger. Most of them attempt by a form of reasoning, fallacious or logical, to justify their antisocial acts even to themselves, consequently stoutly maintaining that they should never have been imprisoned at all."

If Al Capone, "Two Gun" Crowley, Dutch Schultz, and the desperate men and women behind prison walls don't blame themselves for anything - what about the people with whom you and I come in
contact? How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie, p. 22.

The first person that we are called to influence is ourselves. Our capacity to overlook and ignore our flaws is one of the easiest ways to live life that places blame everywhere except on us. Our current economic condition is exposing some world class "blamesmanship."

One of the best ways to pull the covers off of any cover up is to be in relationship with people that will tell you the truth, even when it hurts or is inconvenient.

That is one of the great "features" of Christianity. Jesus is a great truth teller because He has no self-interest in manipulating us to be honest. The greatest benefit to knowing and living truth is freedom. John 8:32 says: "you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

By living an abiding life with Jesus, you discover the areas that you are not seeing that are holding you back. My recommendation: go back and reread some of the classics, like the Gospel of John and even the Dale Carnegie classic. Today, make the decision to get a little more free.

Another way to encourage the "freedom diet" is to come out to BOLD today @ 12:45 at St. Barts. By getting into the presence of God we become a little more free.

The Ten Commandments of Working in a Hostile Environment - TD Jakes

2008-11-28T19:04:00.004-05:00

1. Know that you are anointed for the job or position you now hold. God uses ordinary circumstances as a training ground to perfect our character.
2. Don’t expect to be appreciated. God values humility and servanthood, not pride and entitlement.
3. Embrace opportunities for change. May we reach the stage of maturity when we are no longer surprised by change.
4. Do the job well while remembering the vision. The secret to performing your duties well where you are is to maintain a vision of where you’re headed.
5. Don’t let the environment get inside you. To counter bad attitudes, behavior, and gossip, maintain a regular diet of prayer and Bible study.
6. Increase your capacity to work with difficult personalities. Too often we only try to fit in and connect with others similar to us.
7. Where you are is not where you are going. Be peaceful while progressive. . . .
8. Achieve optimal results with minimal confusion. We spend too much time trying to compensate for our weaknesses rather than capitalizing on our strengths.
9. Do not pledge allegiance to cliques and groups. The enemy tempts us with the security of the group and the approval of others.
10. Keep your song near you. Spend time in God’s presence. Study His Word, offer up prayer, and look deep inside yourself to call up your song—praise and worship Him.

Remember: Don't miss BOLD this December. We are planning to have a host of special guest speakers, so plan on beig blessed and refreshed. BOLD on Tuesdays, 12:45 at St. Barts in the small chapel, NYC's orignal marketplace ministry.

An Honor, A Curse, A Whip, & An Answer

2008-11-26T07:16:00.003-05:00

Pro 26:1 Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool.

Pro 26:2 Like a sparrow in {its} flitting, like a swallow in {its} flying, So a curse without cause does not alight.
Pro 26:3 A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the back of fools.
Pro 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. Pro 26:5 Answer a fool as his folly {deserves,} that he not be wise in his own eyes.

This morning’s proverb (chapter 26) reminds me of this title above: an honor, a curse, a whip, and an answer.

Honor is rarely an accident. It doesn’t just happen to a person. It represents the effects of actions, decisions and efforts on the part of a person toward a purpose and goal greater than themselves.

In the same way is a curse: it TOO represents the effects of actions, decisions and efforts on the part of a person toward a purpose, but in contrast with a promise, the greater purpose is lacking.

The whip & bridle in verse three point to the assiduous nature of our lifestyle: whenever are we not moving forward fast enough, life has a way of producing a ‘whip’ to remind us to keep moving ahead; the bridle for the donkey reflects upon the importance of the words of our mouth; and the rod for the fool. The current market is proving there were a great number of fools in the stock market. We must be attentive to the areas and places of our lives that are taking a beating: this is the rod of correction. Making mistakes are not always sin, they are part of life and learning; not learning from them is where we sin against ourselves, each other and God.

The last area is the answers that we are receiving from life: God leads us forward with questions. Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” God to Moses, “What’s in your hand?” Samuel to Saul, “What is the bleating of sheep I hear in my ear?”

Never approach a question presupposing you have an answer in mind. Matthew 7:7 tells us to ask, seek & knock.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My next door neighbor Rose has cancer…

2008-11-24T11:24:00.009-05:00

She's known this for years. Lately, she told me she hasn't gone out of the house; but that isn't stopping her from reaching people all the time. Yet her living room is always aglow with visitors that are dropping in to see Rose. I do expect that she will go out later this month to see her son sworn in to the borough Council.

Rose is more than a cancer survivor, she is a life survivor, even though she was told about 5 years ago that she had liver and bone cancer. That began her journey of treatments, medications, being ill, losing her hair about 4 times, and a myriad of twists and turns.

Two weeks ago the doctors took her off chemo. They even suggested that she go into hospice care. Rose laughed.

Carol and I went to visit Rose on Saturday, and she had a living room filled with people; her daughter, maid of honor from 60 years ago, their kids and two of her sisters. It was a celebration of a life. Rose looked better than she had in weeks. The people that she loved are coming back. They are making sure to see Rose before the holidays.

We sat there eating delicious Italian pastries from Brooklyn, home made wine from the back porch of her Jersey Shore home and talking about the goodness of life, and the goodness of God.

What has struck me about Rose is her fight. Doctors may have told her one thing, but there is only one doctor she looks to: “My Lord,” as she says.

In a day when everyone is too busy to do anything, there is nothing that keeps people from stopping in on Rose of Bradley Beach. She has two of her sisters living in her building, a cousin and there would be more, if there were any other apartments. Whenever an apartment opened up, one of Rose’s relatives would find out and move in. But the truth is that the house only represents Rose’s heart. She made everyone always so welcome in her life, that they learned that the only way to live together was to love together.

When Jesus was about to leave and he told the ‘boys:’

"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.”
"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, {there} you may be also."[John13:36-7, 14:1-4].

Rose’s house may be limited by the number of apartments, but not her heart.

Please keep Rose and her family in prayer and all those that are fighting the fight of faith.

Also, remember to come out to BOLD on Tuesdays, 12:45 at St. Barts in the small chapel.

The strategy of thanks

2008-11-24T06:31:00.002-05:00

Did you know that it is the Holy Spirit’s job to help you and me with our prayers. Yup. That’s part of his job description. It’s His job to help us arrive at the destination that we are seeking. What is this destination all about? See, God already has a kingdom. He isn’t trying to figure out how to fix what’s broken. That is why Jesus told the disciples to pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Thanksgiving is really a powerful demonstration that we recognize and are grateful for what we have received already.

One of my favorite Scriptures is Proverbs 27:7 The full soul loathes an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

"Gratitude confirms relationship," Pastor AR Bernard once told me. God already has a kingdom, but what good is God having a kingdom, if He doesn’t have that kingdom inside of you and me?

Always remember that the kingdom of God is an inside job.

Want some help with your thanksgiving? Ask the expert: the Holy Spirit. Here are a couple of HS tips on prayer during this season.

Rom 8:26

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people. I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come. Eph 1:16-21

At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or I might command locusts to devour your crops, or I might send plagues among you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land. 2Ch 7:13-14

Happy Thanksgiving to the God Who Loves us unconditionally, every day!

Marketplace 2.0

2008-11-19T18:19:00.004-05:00

The Wall Street Journal quotes GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner as saying that a bankruptcy filing would likely lead force GM to "liquidate the company because you wouldn't have any revenue." And he stated that GM has "concluded it should put virtually all effort into avoiding" bankruptcy and hasn't worked out a detailed contingency plan. Ford CEO Alan Mulally held the same position, that his company has discounted a bankruptcy option and thinks that "it is not a viable" option.

OK so without all the posturing and grand standing here are facts that YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK:

GM and Ford were bankrupt not based upon their cash positions, revenues or sales; they were bankrupt by virtue of the abased character of their management who have not only failed their shareholders but every citizen of this republic. Wagnoner and Mulally did not come for a bailout, they are engaged in an enormous corporate blackmail scheme.

Especially GM's Wagoner, who thinks that he can just take bankruptcy off the table. Hopefully their Directors and Officers Liability insurance has lapsed, since they guys think they can just dump their mess on the tax payer.

The American corporate leadership model has been set back 100 years to the robber barrons. This is serious, and we need some serious leadership to call these boys to task. This menagerie of corporate entitlement is literally threatening the fabric of life from Main Street to Manilla.

My prayer is that a godly standard would arise in the wake of this horrific behavior.

1857 Prayer Revival in America

2008-11-19T06:49:00.002-05:00

A quiet, zealous forty-six-year-old businessman in New York was appointed on July 1,1857 , as a missionary in downtown New York at the Dutch Church. Jeremiah Lamphier had been converted in 1842 in Broadway Tabernacle, Finney's church that was built in 1836.

Lamphier felt led by God to start a noon-time weekly prayer meeting in which business people could meet for prayer. Anyone could attend, for a few minutes or for the entire hour. Prayers were to be comparatively brief. Lamphier's group met on the third floor of the old North Dutch Reformed Church on Fulton Street in New York. Lamphier printed some handbills announcing the prayer meetings with the title, "How Often Should I Pray?" He left these in some offices and warehouses. He also put one on the door of the church on the street side.

The first day, September 23, 1857, Lamphier prayed alone for half an hour. But by the end of the hour, six men from at least four denominational backgrounds joined him. The next Wednesday there were twenty. On October 7 there were nearly forty. The meeting was so blessed that they decided to meet daily. One week later there were over one hundred present, including many unsaved who were convicted by the Holy Spirit of their sin.

Within one month pastors who had attended the noon prayer meetings in Fulton Street started morning prayer meetings in their own churches. Soon the places where the meetings were held were overcrowded. Men and women, young and old of all denominations met and prayed together without distinctions. The meetings abounded with love for Christ, love for fellow Christians, love for prayer, and love of witnessing. Those in attendance felt an awesome sense of God's presence. They prayed for specific people, expected answers, and obtained answers.

This took place just a few blocks north of the NYSE. It made a huge impact not only upon NYC but the world and this nation. It preceded the Great Civil War, in which 600,000 men were killed on the battlefields of America: and according to one report, 20 percent of all southern soldiers came to faith in Christ during that horrific period.

Vote for Kurt Warner as BOLD Believer of the Month

2008-11-17T11:45:00.005-05:00

In Arizona, Kurt Warner is looking like a miracle worker

The above is a recent headline about Kurt Warner's most recent game. I am nominating Kurt Warner as the BOLD Believer of the Month.

I don’t know about you, but I learn best from other people: other people’s successes and other people’s failures. One of those other people is Kurt Warner. At 37 years old, Kurt Warner is teaching me a lot.

Most players in the NFL start their career in their early 20's (21-24) and the average career length for an NFL player is only 3.5 years. So most players are going to be retired by age 30. The actual average age is 26.68. So imagine: a senior citizen making his third comeback? He may not be the original Pop Warner, but ol’ Kurt Warner, the QB for the Arizona Cardinals, just completed 32 of 44 passes for 395 yards Sunday, which just so happened to be his franchise-record fourth straight 300+ yard game.

The Arizona Cardinals left the field with an impressive 7-3 record, and for the first time since 1977 – with the real hope of clinching its first division title since 1975.

I am not sure how many people know that Kurt Warner (and his wife) are great people of faith. Kurt knows just what it is like to have a hope and dream seem years away and then suddenly become a reality. So the next time you look at Kurt Warner, just don’t look at the chain links, or the score. Look at Kurt’s life and how his life demonstrates faith. Look at how many scriptures apply to his life:

Proverbs 18:16 A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1994.

Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Warner is best known for his highly successful stint with the St. Louis Rams from 1998-2003, where he won two NFL MVP awards in 1999 and 2001, as well as the Super Bowl MVP award in Super Bowl XXXIV.

James 2:20 Faith without works is dead. Warner knows what it means to work. Behind Steve Young, Warner is ranked second all-time in career passing rating with a 94.5. He also holds the distinction of being the most statistically accurate quarterback in NFL history, with a career completion percentage of 65.7%

Proverbs 24:16 “For a just [man] falls seven times, and rises up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” He got a job working the night shift at a local Hy-Vee grocery store in addition to assistant-coaching at Northern Iowa.

Maybe when the season ends we can invite Kurt to our BOLD Meeting?

BOLD invites you to join us every Tuesday afternoon 12:45 to 1:15 at St.Barts (50th & Park) as God meets us through prayer and fellowship. BOLD Ministry is a New York City Marketplace Ministry outreach to the business community from Wall Street to Park Avenue.

A Lucid Link of Wisdom from a Hot Dog Salesman

2008-11-15T03:01:00.003-05:00

I found this post very lucidlink and actionable on BNET.com by a guy named Tony Gattari.

A man who lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs was hard of hearing, so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes, so he read no newspapers. But he sold good hot dogs. He put up signs on the highway advertising them. He stood on the side of the road and cried, "Buy a hot dog, Mister?" And people bought his hot dogs. He increased his meat and bun orders. He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade.

He finally got his son to come home from university to help out. But then something happened. "Father, haven't you been listening to the radio?” his son said. "Haven't you been reading the newspaper? There’s a world recession and war has erupted in the Middle East. People are losing their jobs”

Whereupon the father thought,”Well my son's been to university, he reads the papers and listens to the radio, and he ought to know".

So the father cut down his meat and bun orders, took down his signs and no longer bothered to stand out on the highway to sell his hot dogs. His sales fell overnight.

"You're right, son" the father said to the boy. "We certainly are in the middle of a big recession"

Every day we receive news that is less than uplifting. We all know people who can hardly wait for the future so they can look back at regret.

Negative thinking and living does many detrimental things in our life. It
1. Creates doubt at critical decision times.
2. Is contagious.
3. Blows everything out of proportion.
4. Limits our potential.
5. Keeps us from enjoying life.
6. Hinders others from making a positive response.

Tony Gattari, Founder and Chief Energy Officer (CEO), www.achieversgroup.com.au

KLOVE Interview of BOLD Ministry and the Outreach to the New York Stock Exchange

2008-11-10T09:41:00.005-05:00

On November 7, 2008, KLOVE interviewed Anthony DiMaio about the NYSE outreach and what impact the current economic crisis is having on people. You can listen to it by clicking here.

Salt & Light

2008-11-07T07:07:00.006-05:00

Some early morning study, brought me to some details that make me think. There were at least 8 qualities which distinguished the early church. They weren't centers of art or literature; they weren't places of scholarship; and they weren't vortexes of political action or change. Here are the eight qualities or characteristics that distinguished the early church; they were places of extraordinary:
1. Power (Acts 4:33)
2. Grace (Acts 4:33)
3. Fear (of God - Acts 5:5,11)
4. Gatherings or Multitudes (Acts 6:7)
5. Wonders (Acts 6:8)
6. Miracles (Acts 6:8)
7. Persecutions (Acts 8:1)
8. Joy (Acts 8:8, 15:3)

What this brief list provides is a filter or template by which we might consider what the eight characteristics of our churches are.

Jesus taught us that the church is called to have at least two characteristics which don't require the first eight, but probably will produce the eight characteristics of the Acts Church. He said that we are to be salt and light.

Salt can represent a lot of things, but simply put, the salt of our life should be the spiritual difference that Christ palpably makes as a result of knowing him.

I think that when people are salt and light they are demonstrating two things: a difference and a direction. When our lives stop making a difference in the lives of those that surround us, we have to consider where is Christ working to make a difference in my life. The second thing we are called to be (not do) is be light. Light is simply Jesus' way of saying, when people come into contact with you, your life should provide some direction to their life. Our lives need to point to Jesus.

When we are no longer salty and light, we have taken back our life from Christ and are living it on our own with our own agendas. When we are making a difference, and providing direction, the other eight qualities will follow.

BOLD invites you to join us every Tuesday afternoon 12:45 to 1:15 at St.Barts (50th & Park) as God meets us through prayer and fellowship. BOLD Ministry is a New York City Marketplace outreach to the business community from Wall Street to Park Avenue.

Prayer for the Nation

2008-11-03T10:13:00.002-05:00

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'

The Art of Transition

2008-10-27T07:57:00.010-04:00

Just look at the headlines this Monday Morning:
Troubled papers are canceling their A.P. service – Subscribing to the Associated Press news service, at a cost of around $1 million a year, is an expense fewer and fewer newspapers can afford. [Source: The New York Times]

Private equity fund buys TV Guide for one dollar – The 55-year-old magazine lost $20 million last year. To unload their lemon, Macrovision sweetened the deal with a $9.5 million loan. [Source: Advertising Age]

Facebook may launch a music store – If rumors are right, the social-networking site is considering its own music service. Sounds like a me-too move after the launch of MySpace Music last month, but it may have legs since Facebook just edged out MySpace in unique visitors worldwide.

Anything worth doing is worth knowing WHY. If you are facing significant uncertainty -> WHY is your #1 question you need to answer.

Transition is a process which occurs when one cycle is ending and another cycle is beginning. It is comprised of two components: a) The New and b.) The Old.

The problem arises that WHEN (not if, for transitions must invade our lives) the New arrives, if the Old doesn't die, they both perish.

The ‘trick’ to a successful transition is to recognize the event for what it is: a birth and a death. Start taking the right steps toward the new direction, and always try to keep moving forward.

Transitions Always Involve 3 Major Demands:
▲ A learning new language
▲ A learning new set of skills/tools
▲ A experiencing new territory or location

Other Take-aways from the Transition Map:
1. Movement is always required.
2. Transitions don't follow straight path.
3. Transitions always took longer than expected.
4. The Process often requires going deeper before going higher.
5. Confrontation was part of the package.
6. Lots of desert and empty spaces.
7. Expect “epiphanial” encounters.
8. Stop looking for shortcuts. Pain is typically a big part of the process. Pain has its purpose: it is there to remind you of important lessons learned.
9. Learning new lessons will became new tools for the new paradigm.
10. Expect to pass along your lessons, otherwise known as wisdom, to the next generation. The most valuable wisdom in life is discovered in a Transition.

There is one other take away: when the Hebrews were trekking across the desert, they did it together. Together is an important safety feature when in transition.

BOLD invites you to join us every Tuesday afternoon 12:45 to 1:15 at St.Barts (50th & Park) as God meets us through prayer and fellowship. BOLD Ministry, since 1989, has been impacting New York City with the power and the Spirit of the Gospel. We are committed to the transformation of our city, state and nation through the power of prayer and word of truth.

Life Lessons from Ruth, Part I

2008-10-25T06:04:00.002-04:00

I ran across this post that I saved some time ago and thought it would be really relevant to today and the times we are facing.

1. Overcoming adversity: James 1:2-4
“The sermon of your life in tough times ministers to people more powerfully than the most eloquent speaker.” -Bill Bright
2. Find God’s path & follow it: Philippians 4:19
“Enjoy the adventure of receiving God’s guidance. Taste it, revel in it, appreciate the fact that the journey is often a lot more exciting than arriving at the destination.” -Bill Hybels
3. Great love leads to great miracles:
“How do you spell love? When you reach the point where the happiness, security, and development of another person is as much of a driving force to you as your own happiness, security, and development, then you have a mature love. True love is spelled G-I-V-E. It is not based on what you can get, but rooted inwhat you can give to the other person.” -Josh McDowell
4. Family: Romans 12:9-10
“Calm and peaceful, the home should be the one place where people are certain they will be welcomed, received, protected, and loved.” -Ed Young
5. Faith: Hebrews 11:1
“Just as our faith strengthens our prayer life, so do our prayers deepen our faith. Let us pray often starting today, for a eeper, more powerful faith.” -Shirley Dobson
“Nothing is more disastrous than to study faith, analyze faith, make noble resolves of faith, but never actually to make the leap of faith.” -Vance Havner
6. Trust: II Corinthians 5:7
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” -Corrie ten Boom
7. Humility: II Chronicles 7:14
“If you know who you are in Christ, your personal ego is not an issue.” -Beth Moore
“Humility expresses a genuine dependency on God and others.” -Charles Stanley
8. Trusting God leads to peace: Isaiah 32:17
“There may be no trumpet sound or loud applause when we make a right decision, just a calm sense of resolution and peace.” -Gloria Gaither
“Comparison is the root of all feelings of inferiority.” -James Dobson
9. Wisdom: James 5:19-20
“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” -C.S. Lewis
10. Worship: John 7:37
“Inside the human heart is an undeniable, spiritual instinct to commune with its Creator.” -Jim Cymbala
11. Respect & love parents & elders: Proverbs 10:12
“When we Christians are too busy to care for each other, we’re simply too busy for our own good…and for God’s.” -Marie T. Freeman
“I choose gentleness. Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.” -Max Lucado
12. Hard work: Colossians 3:23
“Ordinary work, which is what most of us do most of the time, is ordained by God every bit as much as is the extraordinary.” -Elisabeth Elliot
13. God’s protection:
“Prayer is our pathway not only to divine protection, but also to a personal, intimate relationship with God.” -Shirley Dobson
“As sure as God puts his children in the furnace, he will be in the furnace with them.” -C.H. Spurgeon
14. Kindness: I Corinthians 13:4
“If we have the true love of God in our hearts, we will show it in our lives. We will not have to go up and down the earth proclaiming it. We will show it in everything we say or do.” -D.L. Moody
15. Character: Proverbs 27:19; I Corinthians 15:33
“Image is what people think we are; integrity is what we really are.” -John Maxwell
“Character is what you are in the dark.” -D.L. Moody

16. God’s purpose: Romans 8:28; Proverbs 16:3
“Only God’s chosen task for you will ultimately satisfy. Do not wait until it is too late to realize the privilege of serving Him in His chosen position for you.” -Beth Moore
“God custom-designed you with your unique combination of personality, temperament, talents, and background, and He wants to harness and use these in His mission to reach this messed-up world.” -Bill Hybels
17. Strength: Isaiah 40:31
“There are two things we are called to do: we are to depend on His strength and be obedient to His Word. If we can’t handle being dependent and obedient, we will never become the kind of people who have a heart for God.” -Stuart Briscoe
18. Let God help make decisions: Isaiah 64:8; Psalm 143:10
”God is voting for us all the time. The devil is voting against us all the time. The way we vote carries the election.” -Corrie ten Boom
19. Bitterness: Hebrews 10:23
“Bitterness is the greatest barrier to friendship with God.” -Rick Warren
20. Don’t give up: Galatians 6:9
“In the Bible, patience is not a passive acceptance of circumstances. It is a courageous perseverance in the face of suffering and difficulty.” -Warren Wiersbe
“Failure is one of life’s most powerful teachers. How we handle our failures determines whether we’re going to simply ‘get by’ in life or ‘press on’.” -Beth Moore
21. God’s presence: John 16:32
“If you want to hear God’s voice clearly and you are uncertain, then remain in His presence until He changes that uncertainty. Often, much can happen during this waiting for the Lord. Sometimes, He changes pride in to humility, doubt into faith and peace.” -Corrie ten Boom
22. Service: Psalm 100:2
“If you want to discover your spiritual gifts, start obeying God. As you serve Him, you will find that He has given you the gifts that are necessary to follow through in obedience.” -Anne Graham Lotz
23. Prayer: Philippians 4:6
“All we have to do is to acknowledge our need, move from self-sufficiency to dependence, and ask God to become our hiding place.” -Bill Hybels
24. Courage: I Corinthians 16:13
“Faith not only can help you through a crisis, it can help you to approach life after the hard times with a whole new perspective. It can help you adopt an outlook of hope and courage through faith to face reality.” -John Maxwell
25. Hope: Jeremiah 29:11-12
“I wish I could make it all new again; I can’t. But God can. ‘He restores my soul,’ wrote the shepherd. God doesn’t reform; he restores. He doesn’t camouflage the old; he restores the new. The Master Builder will pull out the original plan and restore it.” -Max Lucado
26. God’s timetable: Isaiah 40:31
“God is in no hurry. Compared to the works of mankind, He is extremely deliberate. God is not a slave to the human clock.” -Charles Swindoll
27. Loyalty: Proverbs 17:17
“Any time you make a commitment to something, it will be tested.” -John Maxwell
28. Faithfulness: James 1:12
“God’s love for His children is unconditional, no strings attached. But, God’s blessings on our lives do come with a condition—obedience. If we are to receive the fullness of God’s blessings, we must obey Him and keep His commandment.” -Jim Gallery
29. God’s Salvation: Romans 10:9-10
“Our salvation comes to us so easily because it cost God so much.” -Oswald Chambers
30. God’s plan: Proverbs 16:9
“When the dream of our heart is one that God has planted there, a strange happiness flows into us. At that moment, all of the spiritual resources of the universe are released to help us. Our praying is then at one with the will of God and becomes a channel for the Creator’s purposes for us and our world.” -Catherine Marshall

BOLD Featured on CBN Wall Street Report

2008-10-17T10:31:00.004-04:00

October 17, BOLD Ministry was one of the featured ministries on CBN's report covering the Wall Street Crisis. To view the video report click here.

We Need to Get It

2008-09-30T06:18:00.003-04:00

From so many reports, much of the American public doesn't think that this is a financial problem for them. Well it is not. But if they want to go to the bank and write a check, their bank may not be there. But it's not their problem. If they want to invest in some John Deere equipment or trade futures, John Deere may have not be able to finance the purchase or the futures markets may have margin rules requiring each trade to be asset backed. But it is not the problem of the American public. If you want to buy a car, you will have a choice of the big 3: Honda, Toyota or Nissan. And maybe Hyundai... which will have bought Cadillac for $1.

If Ireland is taking this kind of action:

DUBLIN -- The Irish government Tuesday announced a surprise decision to safeguard the Irish banking system for two years, guaranteeing all deposits, covered bonds, senior debt and dated subordinated debt of the four main banks.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the guarantee will cover €400 billion ($577.64 billion) of the €500 billion of bank assets involved. That is more than Ireland's gross domestic product of €190 billion.

Then what should America do? Ask the Saudi's? We have this kind of thinking "It's not my job' going around and the fact remains that it is your job. This is a pandemic of delusion which started when God asked Cain, "Where is your brother?"

Clipped Wisdom

2008-09-29T07:54:00.006-04:00

Have you ever clipped an article because it just spoke to you? I have one that I just can seem to find the heart to file because it keeps speaking to me.

Don Clowers wrote an article that I cut out and have saved for at least 10 years. It still holds wisdom, and relevance for today.

The name of the article is "Getting Up from Failure." In the article he makes 3 major points:

First: God's Plan Initially Failed
Second: Failure Is Sometimes Necessary for Success
Third: Key to Getting Back Up, Focus on your plan and purpose, not your mistake

I might want to interject a couple more.
Failure is never pleasant.
Everyone does it.
Most don't learn from it?
Those willing to learn become those we call "successful."

Matthew 14 A Case Study of God in the Midst of the Storm

2008-09-28T19:49:00.003-04:00

This week, Pastor Pete Scazzero spoke about Jesus' presence in the midst of the storm. His disciples were just following their Master's instructions by getting into the boat and sailing to the far shore [in the middle of the night].

They hit this crazy squall which is about to capsize their boat, when they see Jesus walking along on the water adjacent to the boat. One thing leads to another and the next thing Jesus is sitting in their boat and the squall stopped squalling.

My take-aways from this account are facts:
1. God is in the storm.
2. God is greater than the storm.
3. God will lead us through the storm.

This week on Wall Street there will be a lot of squalls. The difference will come by our awareness of these three facts: God is there, He's bigger than the biggest storm and by getting Him in our boat He will lead us through the storm.

If you are available to come out for BOLD this week on Tuesday, 12:45pm - 1:30pm @ St. Bart's on Park Avenue, we will be seeking God, praying for His will, His Kingdom and spending time in his presence.

Prophetic Word from Stephen Bliss

2008-09-25T08:51:00.000-04:00

You are at the crossroads. Call out to me.
Let your voices be heard as one, arising to my throne.
Raise your weapon of worship.

Clear the airwaves. Let truth be heard coming up from the valleys.
Come up. Rise where I am. Do not be silent. Call out my names.
Call forth my blessings upon the land.

Do not bring judgment upon yourself. Listen to the voices I have sent before you. Prosper in life. Multiply where I set you. Subdue the area
about you.

Do not allow your light to be extinguished. Allow me to burn brightly through you.

Lincoln's Leadership Lessons - from Forbes Mag 7-6-06

2008-09-23T11:59:00.001-04:00

Lincoln didn’t have much political experience and it was a surprise he was nominated by his party. Identifying leadership in someone, whether it’s a new executive hire or a presidential candidate, isn’t always easy. How do you see what may not be obvious?

The résumé tells you one thing, but it doesn’t tell you everything. If you look beneath the résumé, you would have seen even during those years [before Lincoln was elected] he had an enormous array of emotional strength that was more important than his résumé. He had the ability to acknowledge his errors, learn from mistakes and shoulder the responsibility for the failure of others. If you’re looking to evaluate talent as a leader some of those emotional strengths are equally important to actual success.

Today’s leaders and politicians don’t say they model themselves after Lincoln’s leadership style. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Wilson Truman are often mentioned, but not Lincoln. Why is that?

Leaders of the 21st century are more familiar with the challenges of Truman, Roosevelt and Kennedy. The Civil War and Lincoln seem so distant. As I’ve read about various presidents, they read about Lincoln more than anyone else. When Roosevelt was in the middle of the coal strike–he got some books about Lincoln and how he was able to negotiate. When Truman was about to fire MacArthur, he went to the Library of Congress to see how Lincoln had handled such difficult times.

Yankee Stadium Excerpt from the Wall Street Journal

2008-09-23T06:55:00.000-04:00

John Peterman (aka J. Peterman) had a far different Yankee Stadium experience than the rest of us. In 1963, he had a tryout with the team. What struck him as he stood at home plate and took batting practice was the very palpable atmosphere of one of America's greatest venues, even when it was empty.

"The dirt seemed even more red than I remembered, the grass bright green in contrast. The stands surrounding the field like a wall seemed to rise up for a mile. The sky was very far away. The ghosts of Ruth and Gehrig were very close. And the place echoed. Every crack of the bat reverberated."

Maris batted before Mr. Peterman and knocked eight or 10 pitches into the right field bleachers. "Maris and I both hit left-handed," says Mr. Peterman, who went on to play three seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. "All similarity ended there."

Sudden Fear

2008-09-15T11:45:00.000-04:00

The headlines this morning could not have been written by Tom Clancy or even Jim Kramer a few months ago, even a few weeks ago:Lehman Files for Bankruptcy, AIG Totters & Merrill Lynch Acquired by Bank of America.

This was not your father's kind of Monday morning. Sunday night there was a lot of panic around on the cable news channel. The futures markets had plunged to dangerously low levels. All the news channels and commentators could smell the fear. The live TV cameras showed Lehman workers exiting its world headquarters with boxes under their arms. The thought even occurred to me that could this be the beginning of The End?

There is a phrase in Scripture that only occurs twice: 'sudden fear,' in Job 22:10 and in Proverbs 3:25. The verse in Proverbs states: "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh."

We were definitely experiencing sudden fear, but Scripture states that we are not to give into sudden fear. This is not a suggestion; it's a command!

FACT: 1 Some of the commands of God, which are always for our benefit, speak to not just behavior, but to our emotions. There is an emotional decorum that God requires from us because it is necessary for us to continue in our purpose and His plan.
FACT: 2 A small point about whom God judges: it's the wicked. The wicked, based upon the translation of the word means, 'lawless ones.' Those who live outside of the commands and guidelines of God are lawless. Those that live within God's provision, grace, are like Abraham, the people of the promise.
FACT 3 There is another little recognized fact: when God is in the process of judging (judgment), He is usually concomitantly engaged in the fulfillment of a promise. In Genesis, the Lord comes down to judge Sodom and Gomorrah, but on His way, He decides to stop in for lunch with His friend Abraham. I find it fascinating that at the same time that the Lord is planning on wiping out Sodom, He is also about fulfilling the promise He gave to Abraham. Did Abraham fear that he was going to get wiped out with Sodom? No! So then why should we?

The key to keeping on the right side of the Lord is to obey not only what He says, but by trusting Who He is.

The Scripture teaches us how to handle fear with the verses that follow in Proverbs 3:25-6: Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

I think ultimately the fathers of our nation knew what they were doing when they decided to put "In God we trust" on our currency. From God's perspective, trust translates into worship. So you want to worship God today, right now, try trusting what He says and Who He is.

A New Spiritual Season

2008-09-09T10:19:00.000-04:00

We start BOLD today, Tuesday. Since our last meeting some things have changed. We know who will be running for President and Vice-President; we know that Hanna was a storm; and that Freddy and Fannie are two very expensive problem children. What has not changed is the reason we come out on Tuesday afternoons. When we tear ourselves away from our desks, phones, blackberries and in boxes, we are redirecting our attention to someone and to something. The Someone is God, and the Something is prayer. Whenever the Someone and the something come together, the some ways of our lives come together. I like what Chuck Pierce writes in his book Worship Warrior: "When the Lord launches a new thing, He builds new relationships with us. In fact, such freshness of relationship is the cornerstone of each new season and each spiritual breakthrough." And frankly, with every new season comes a new set of situations and conditions that will require God to breakthrough for us. We don't know what they will be but we can know that the key to our spiritual breakthrough will depend upon the depth and the quality of our relationship with Christ. Deo a Mano. Funny thing about Vision: whatever we focus on we attract. Whatever we behold, we become. On Tuesdays we come to behold God and his faithfulness. The result is a transformation that takes place from the inside out.