Business by the Book Isaiah 55:4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Over the past two days these devotions have been devoted to variance in leadership. Today, a warning. Don’t take this matter of varying ones behavior too far. Too much in the way of variance of a person’s personality will create alienation rather than inclusion. In every manufacturing process there are certain variances that are considered allowable. If

Business by the Book Isaiah 55:4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. As we discussed yesterday, this verse is about King David but written with an eye toward the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ. To recap, in these two men we find a common trait that leaders need to instill into their own lives. That trait is variance. They both varied their personalities and the way they dealt with people routinely. David, and Jesu

Business by the Book Isaiah 55:4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. This verse is about King David but written with an eye toward the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ. In these two men we find a common trait that leaders need to instill into their own lives. That trait is variance. They both varied their personalities and the way they dealt with people routinely. David, and Jesus, could be compassionate, stern,

Business by the Book 1 Chronicles 12:27 And Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, and with him were three thousand and seven hundred; In Scripture only two people are identified with the term leader. One is Jehoiada as we read in today’s verse, and the other is David in Isaiah 55:4. The word leader is used only three times in Scripture, the word leaders is also used only three times. God uses the word sparingly, yet every book of the Bible has stories of leaders and lea

Business by the Book Isaiah 9:16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. “He’s a natural born leader.” We’ve all known someone like this. This is a person who always seems to rise to a leadership position. No matter the size of the group, the nature of the group, the structure of the group, or the purpose of the group natural born leaders will rise to the place of leadership. That is just the way it is. But this fact

Business by the Book I Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Humility is a fine line. I once saw a church bus, on its side was the name of the church and under that the title and name of the preacher. It said “The most humble Reverend Dr. Pastor So and So, Bishop.” Listen, if a person has to say that they are humble they probably are not. Especially if it is a part of their title! God’s Word has much to say ab

Business by the Book I Peter 4:9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. The story is told of a very wealthy man who was having lunch with a potential business partner in a nice restaurant. It was a busy day in the restaurant with every table being filled with influential merchants. One of the waitresses was extremely busy and hurriedly attempted to fulfill the requests of all her patrons. She was carrying a large tray filled with appetizers for a certain table. As

Business by the Book I Peter 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. Employees are not servants in the context of being indentured, but every employee can learn qualities by studying what God’s Word says to servants. One such quality is found in today’s verse. That quality is submitting oneself to a manager, supervisor, or boss regardless of their personality or quality. We live in a day and age whe

Business by the Book Matthew 24:46-47 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. Want a promotion? Do your job. Do your job when everyone notices, and perhaps more importantly do your job when no one notices. When the top managers of any organization find an employee who will work even when unsupervised they tend to promote that individual. This makes sense. Many times a ma

Business by the Book Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. The warning Christ renders here is about religious matters, but let’s take the phrase “Take heed that no man deceive you” and bring it into the realm of business. Deception is the full time job of many. It is the job of individuals to deceive you. Their words are deceptive, their marketing is deceptive, their products are deceptive and their goal is to deceive. I have o

Matthew 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” This is an ancient proverb that may have originated from the thought found in the words of Jeremiah. This Old Testament prophet said, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: (Jeremiah 5:21). Jesus said that if thos

Business by the Book Matthew 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: Of all things that a manager in a business must strive for, unity may be the most elusive. Product knowledge is easy to pass on, corporate policy can be spelled out in a handbook, and profit or loss can be easily spotted on an accounting ledger. But unity is more dif

Business by the Book Matthew 12:14-15 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence… There is a time to stand and fight and there is a time to retreat. The difficulty is knowing what time it is. Jesus knew that there was a powerful group of people which desired nothing more than to destroy Him. So, He withdrew Himself. Earlier in Matthew (10:23) He instructed His followers to re

Business by the Book Matthew 11:18-19 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. In these words of Jesus we find a very subtil yet often used ploy of an enemy. All too often individuals that oppose others will say anything to win. The Lord exposes this strategy thereby expo

Business by the Book Matthew 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: There is no better statement in Scripture highlighting the duality of authority than this one, for it shows both sides of the same coin. The man quoted was speaking to Jesus and he says clearly that he is a man who is under authority and that he had men under his authority. Every businessperson needs to be ever cognizant of this fact. Each of us has authority and each of us is under a

Business by the Book Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: Before the Lord preached what many regard as the greatest sermon ever, the Sermon on the Mount, he took time to get set. …when he was set… The Lord knew that before any great undertaking a person must be set. Their mind must be set, their plan must be set, their resources must be set, their goal must be set, every detail must be accounted

Business by the Book Matthew 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. Jesus became famous because He did things that no one else could do. Down through the ages individuals of all walks of life have been thrust into the spotlight of fame because they did so

Business by the Book Matthew 4:20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. For centuries people have wondered about the immediacy of Peter and Andrew leaving their business and following the Lord. They did not sell their business, made no arrangements for others to manage it; they may not have even properly stored their nets or other fishing gear. When invited to do so they simply left their business and followed the Lord. This may not be the best verse to use

Business by the Book Matthew 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. Commercial fishermen cast nets into the sea; that is what they do, for they are fishermen. Sales people sell, that’s what they do. Managers manage, accountants keep the financial books in order, assembly workers assemble products, and information technology experts oversee all aspects of c

Business by the Book 2 Chronicles 15:7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. One of the rewards of work is the satisfaction of a job well done. I remember the very first time I enjoyed such satisfaction. I was a young boy, maybe in fourth or fifth grade. My room was a disaster, it was horrible. Mom used to say that my socks walked themselves to the washroom and at night I simply took off my jeans and stood them up in a corne