The Day of the Lord is Coming

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“I will utterly consume everything

From the face of the land,”

Says the Lord;

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“I will consume man and beast;

I will consume the birds of the heavens,

The fish of the sea,

And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked.

I will cut off man from the face of the land,”

Says the Lord.

-Zephaniah 1:2-3 (NKJV)

Consider yourself warned.  God will have a day of reckoning.  he prophets spoke of it.  In particular, Zephaniah spoke explicitly about it.  It would be the type of day that no one would want to see in their lifetime.

Think you have had a bad day? That's nothing like what will happen when this day comes about.  The Lord will not be slow to anger on that day.  He will set forth His wrath like it has never been unleashed before.

Take care of business, brothers and sisters.  Know that how you manage your business affairs is part of how you reflect God in your daily life to others, especially those who are not of the faith.

• Are you viewed as shrewd and crafty, ready to cut costs at the expense of the livelihood of your employees and vendors?

• Do you readily examine the bottom line or the heart of the matter when making decisions?

• Do you pray over your business decisions and seek godly counsel from other Christian business men and women?

Consider how you handle your business.  Others are watching you.  Others take into account that you say that you are a Christian.  God is watching.  God will not always be waiting.  One day, and we we do not know when, God is going to call us on what we have done and what we haven't done as His children.

Remain Positive

He who walks with wise men will be wise,

But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

-Proverbs 13:20

Why suffer needlessly? It's senseless.  It's foolish.  It's totally unwise.

In midst of all of this foolishness that may come your way, I suggest that you remain positive.  Norman Vincent Peale wrote The Power o f Positive Thinking many years ago and it still generates fans to this day.  Keep yourself positive.

How?

Keep a positive perspective on things.  Be an optimist.  Winston Churchill once stated: "The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." Maintain a positive perspective.

Stick with positive people.  Don't fall in with the wrong crowd at the copy machine or water cooler.  Keep yourself surrounded by people who will build you up and lift your spirits.

Stay positive.  We all know that bad things still happen to good people.  That's still a reality.  Let's maintain our own positivity in the midst of the storms of this life.  hink about the folks who survived Hurrican Sandy and who were so thankful to God for sparing their lives and the lives of their loved ones.  That's how to stay positive in the storm and beyond.

Making a Name for Yourself

 

Most of us have dreams of having our names in lights.  We dream of seeing our names plastered on some billboard near the Hollywood sign or in pixelated images overlooking the Strip in Las Vegas.  Stardom has a certain appeal that keeps our heads in the clouds.

Beyond dreaming is doing.  You have to do certain things to get to the point where you earn that type of name recognition.  You might not be able to point out James Patterson in a shopping mall or the grocery store, but you most probably know him for his best-selling Alex Cross novels.  That's name recognition.

How do people recognize your name?

What do people attribute to or associate with your name?

Is there more that you can do to build a better brand out of your name?

Make a name for yourself in your industry.  Become a recognized expert in your field within your city or region.  Do not let opportunities to share and show your expertise pass you by simply because they all do not pay in per diem or client fees.  Some of your biggest dividends may be the fact that people begin to recognize your name, even if it isn't in lights.