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What To Do First to Make a Profit

The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat  ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're  not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director.  Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year.  God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started inve
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Quit trying to figure it out

In the past 24 hours I've had several friends or family members contact me to tell me about crazy things close people in their lives have done.  Crazy is probably a bad word for it.  I've done crazy things myself like leap on top of a few tables and dance after I saw seventy people come to Jesus at an altar one night when I was preaching.  Yeah, I was a lih-tle excited, so much so that when I got to the restaurant afterwards I leaped up on the tables, did a happy dance and gave a shout.   That's the kind of crazy I want to be. 

I'm not talking about crazy like going down the street skipping when you are 52 years old or coloring your hair pink or buying a sports car.   The crazy I'm talking about right now are things along the lines of walking out on your family, changing your gender, beating your wife, having an affair, abusing your kids, stealing money...stuff like that.  Yeah, those are things I've been hearing and last night I found myself shaking my head saying, "what in the world is going on here with these people?" and Jesus reminded me of something he's told me before regarding stuff like this.  Don't try to figure it out because you never will.  Sin never makes sense.  In I Corinthians 14:33 it says that God is not the author of confusion.  Satan is the author of confusion and everything that makes no sense.

A friend of mine who was divorced recently asked me, "Why does my ex-husband continue to use my children as pawns against me, thinking nothing of their best interest?"  Again, it's another situation of sin not making any sense.  An ex-spouse who does that isn't in their right mind.  You can try to figure out all day why someone mistreats others, uses children as weapons, or runs off and leaves their family to "find themselves" or does some other crazy thing.  You will be going around in circles the next fifty years analyzing with no real result because the enemy is the author of confusion and when people do things like this they are walking in communion with the enemy.  In fact with many at that point they have been given over to a depraved mind (Romans 1).

Don't try to figure it out.  Only those who fear the Lord truly have sense.  Just pray about it and stand in the anointing.  Above all, stay close to Jesus so that you do not fall into trap!  There but for the grace of God go I into such craziness and depravity!  Jesus keep me close to you and in my right mind.


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Dionna said…
Great post. But what happens when someone who fears the Lord does that puzzling "big" thing? I've often wondered how Satan can get at someone who truly has devoted their heart to the Lord.
3:45 PM
Dr. Deanna DossShrodes said…
Dionna,

Thanks for reading and for your comment.

You pose an interesting question and I personally believe the answer is that when a person does these things their core problem is that they have lost the fear of the Lord. They have become complacent in their walk in some regard - something has become compromised, usually something small at first. Satan never cracks into a totally devoted heart overnight -it is the "little foxes that destroy the vine" as scripture talks about and somehow they have let a little fox in and before you know it the vine has destroyed. The Bible speaks of enduring to the end. We can start out with a devoted heart, even live for the Lord for long periods of time with a devoted heart, but through a very small compromise begin a rip in that devoted heart that will evolve into a huge tear. There but for the grace of God go I. We need to stay close to Jesus and keep our relationship up to date, and keep the fear of the Lord.

The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. If we keep the holy fear of the Lord it will keep us from unwise things.
5:17 PM
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