Hi, I’m Titch Wild, Station Manager and Breakfast Show presenter on Link FM. This morning God showed up in an amazing way. I would like you to read my morning devotion from Ron Hutchcraft Ministries followed by the Business Proverb from Steve Marr which I do every morning on the show and see how they tie in with each other. Then I will fill you in on one more God moment at the end. Happy reading, you won’t be sorry!
"Daddy’s Smile." By Ron Hutchcraft……
I remember my son’s first football game in high school. He was all decked out in his football armor and looking appropriately intimidating like you’re supposed to look. And he came on the field with the rest of the team, but as macho as he was (or was trying to be), as soon as he came out he just glanced up at the stands, and I knew why. He wanted to be sure his Father was there watching him.
And there weren’t too many there, but I was able to make it that day. And when that happened, I was reminded of another day when he was much younger. We were out working in the yard together on a very hot day. And he was clipping and I was mowing, and I kind of just flashed a smile in his direction. A few minutes later, he came up, yelled over the lawn mower and said, "Daddy, please do that again." I said, "Do what again?" He said, "The smile. It’s your smile that keeps me going, Dad." Well, actually, you and I are a lot like that.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Deuteronomy chapter 28, and God is actually giving the Jewish nation instructions as they’re about to enter the Promised Land. And listen to what He says about how their life is going to go and what it depends on. I’ll be reading from verse 1 to start with, "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commandments I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on the earth." All right, that sounds good. Now, listen to verse 15, "However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all His commands, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you."
Now, you can see here that everything that matters in life depends totally on the blessing of God, or I guess we could call it the smile of God. Is God smiling when He looks at the way you’re living? You see, His blessing depends on obediently carrying out that part of my life as the Bible says to. Now, this passage shows that in many areas. It talks, for example, about their enemies. It says, "The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction, but they will flee from you in seven." That’s if you’re obeying Him. If you don’t, here’s what it says, "The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies." He says that "you’ll leave as seven, though you came as one." Same army – opposite result.
Listen to what it says about financial stability. If you’re obeying the Lord; if He blesses you, you will lend to many nations, but will borrow from none." And later on in the chapter it says, "The alien in your land will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head; you will be the tail." It goes on to talk about how your daily work will go; the kind of results you’re going to get from your work. And in each case, these people put in the same effort, but they get opposite results. And the determining factor is the smile of God. Not the effort, but the blessing; the difference between fruit and frustration.
Now, maybe there’s an area of your life right now that’s particularly frustrating, and you’ve tried everything. You’ve worked harder, you’ve planned, you’ve used every trick you know. Could it be you’re missing God’s blessing on it? Is there in that part of your life something He can’t bless: an attitude, a secret sin, a relationship, a method you are using to go about getting it, an untruth maybe? So often the answer to frustration is not greater effort, it’s greater obedience.
Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision, said, "Lord, we ask not that You bless what we do, but that we do what You bless." You see, after all is said and done, all that really matters; all that keeps us going is Daddy’s smile.
The morning Business proverb……….
In your business, do you strive to build capital to become debt free or do you borrow to the hilt?
Moses instructed, "He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail" (Deuteronomy 28:44 NASB).
WRITTEN BY STEVE MARR
Many businesses borrow from necessity. But borrowing places the lender in charge of the borrower. Business leaders like to be in charge and make key decisions, but when money is borrowed, many of the decisions will come from the bank. Banks require much when granting loans, like balance sheet requirements or approving new spending initiatives. Consider the total cost of borrowing before taking on business debt.
Thanks for spending the time reading the Devotion and Business Proverb. Every morning I try and find a song that ties in with the devotion and slot it in. While I was reading briefing the devotion, “God is Smiling” by Delirious? came to mind. I figured that’s what I will play immediately after the devotion today. HOWEVER when I arrived in the studio the play out software we use had already lined up “God is Smiling” by Delirious? This software generates play lists entirely on its own, so I thought. God was smiling. Is He smiling upon you today? I truly hope so.
