Bishop's Blog

Shalom All,

When I was preaching a couple of Sundays ago as we started our new weekend series, Spiritual Gifts, the Lord spoke something that was simple, yet profound.

On Sunday, as I was ministering, I began to talk about how sometimes we “say” that we give to other people, but we really didn’t because we hold that over their heads or even subconciously expect some type of tangible repayment from what we “gave” them.

A gift is something that we give without any expectations of repayment. That’s what makes it a gift. When you give something and use it as leverage over a person in the future, you didn’t really give anything at all. Instead, you loaned it. If you expect that person to do something similar to what you did for them, you didn’t really give it, you loaned it. To be clear, I’m not saying that something is wrong about loaning something, but there’s a greater promised blessing in being a “giver” not one who “loans” in Acts 20:35

Now, there are times in life where we’re not giving at all, instead we’re making investments. When you make an investment, you expect a return, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The point of this post is…know if you’re giving, loaning, or making an investment so that you can have the right expectation from the other person. You can get frustrated, angry, and dissappointed with people because you thought you gave something, but you really loaned it. You thought you loaned, but you really gave it. You thought you invested, but you really gave it. 

Shalom,

This is a reposting of a great blog post that I read today by Michael Lukaszewski (www.michaellukaszewski.com) who writes blogs for church leaders ad church planters. I love the message of the blog post and thought that we’d also share it here.

-Bishop

Why Get it For Free When You Can Pay For It by Michael

Do you remember the song “Father Abraham.”  It went like this…

Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham.

Not only was Abraham the father of a great nation, he also had a right arm, left arm, right foot and left foot. (You’re welcome for putting that melody into your head.)

In Genesis 23, we read about the death of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. They was living in the land of the Hittites at the time, so Abraham approached them about buying a tomb. The Hittites, knowing Abraham’s importance, offered to give him a choice burial ground for free. Abraham denied, but the Hittites insisted.

But instead of taking the burial ground for free, Abraham got more intense, eventually settling on the price of 400 shekels of silver.

Abraham insisted on paying full price for something he was being offered for free.

That’s backwards from the way most of us conduct business, trying to negotiate the lowest prices and the best deals. Instead of paying a fair price, most want the lowest price.

But price isn’t the real issue. The real issue is value.

I’ve seen this principle in my own life. I don’t value many of the things I get for free. But when I pay the full and fair price for something, it comes with a different weight.

It’s good to get free advice from a friend…it’s another thing to pay for professional counsel.

It’s fine to take a free class on the internet…it’s another thing to pay for an education.

Abraham didn’t want a deal…he wanted to honor his wife.

Over the years, I’ve had people ask for free coaching, free consulting, and free resources. People have played the ministry card. Or the church planter card.

I think that dishonors the seriousness of what you do.

If you truly want to honor someone or something, maybe it takes an investment.

Shalom All,

I’ve seen this several times and don’t know who the author is, but I think it’s a very DIRECT & REAL way of getting a message across to some single women.

I will warn you that it’s a bit edgy; however, let me get this out of the way upfront, if you’re offended by the post below, then you should avail yourself to another blog.

“To all the women out there who are in a hurry to have a boyfriend or get married, a piece of biblical advice: “Ruth patiently waited for her mate Boaz”. So, while you are waiting for YOUR Boaz, don’t settle for any of his relatives: Broke-AZ, Po-AZ, Lyin-AZ, Cheatn-AZ, Dumb-AZ, Drunk-AZ, Cheap-AZ, Lockedup-AZ, Goodfornothing-AZ, Lazy-AZ, and especially his third cousin Beatinyour-AZ. Wait on your Boaz and make sure he respects YOAZ!”

Hello Dr. Foreman. I hope this finds you well. I actually wrote everything I wanted to say, but my internet decided to refresh itself and it all erased! But, I will try again. I have this friend at school. She has been with this guy for over a year now. It’s been awhile since I have expressed to her that I don’t think he is good for her, but she hasn’t listened. I mean, the stories I hear from her are what I see in Tyler Perry Movies, except without the happy ending. I have told her for months now that she needs to put herself first, instead of the guy that is destroying her. Today, she revealed to me that she has fallen into depression, and thinks about dying, and even attempted to jump from a balcony, but her “boyfriend” stopped her. Instead of asking her what’s going on, all he said to her was that if she did that again, he would break up with her. After that, he took her to her house for her to be alone with herself, but that is not half the story. When she told me, it really did break my heart, but it also made me so angry. It’s almost like I hear the same story from her, and I tell her over and over again, but she still doesn’t see the problem. It has me wondering what she will do every time she is alone. I have tried to make her realize her self-worth, but he has sucked the life out of her and has her blaming herself for all his actions. I have told her everything I have had to say. She has been seeing a counselor, but I don’t know how much that is helping, if any. It’s funny how misconstrued the word “love” is, because she tells me she loves him and that he loves her, but I know that God is love and love is God, and He would not allow no such thing. I have prayed for her, and will continue to due so. However, I have been hesitant to talk to her about God, since she is Muslim, so I don’t want to offend her or disrespect her religion. I am writing this to see if you have any advice on how I should go about this situation.  

I know I have a lot of run-on sentences, but thank you for taking the time to listen, and I hope to hear from you soon. 

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Shalom!

I’m so glad that you sent this question in because I believe many people have friends that are in similar situations and they aren’t sure what to do. Now is the PERFECT time to talk with her about the fact that Jesus loves her. People are often open to God when they walk through valleys in life. Here’s how I’d suggest handling this situation:

1. Pray that God would give you the words to say to her. Sometimes it’s not that our words have to be “deep” or even profound. Sometimes simple is the best. God will put the words in your mouth to say to her.
    
2. Use this as a time to share a testimony of something that Jesus has done for you. Your job isn’t to convert her to Christianity nor to convict her. That’s God’s job. Your job is to just tell her the good news that Jesus died for her sin and that He died so that she can have abundant life and leave the rest up to God.
    
3. Be kind to her & encourage her.  Maybe even give her the Relationship Revolution series, which can speak directly to her situation.

Your concern shows your love and compassion for her. The worse moment can easily become the best moment for God to come in and change her life, just like He’s changed yours.

Praying for this situation,

Bishop

Blessings and good morning Bishop!

Can you tell me when the next session of KLU begins?

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Shalom!

The next session starts on Sunday, February 3rd at 9 AM. All of the details are in the monthly Communique. We look forward to seeing you there!

Shalom Bishop…here is the link to the mod market restaurant that I spoke to you about on W.N.L. just another great place individuals participating in the fast can go eat. http://www.modmarket.com/todays-menu