Christian Real Estate Professionals : Chicago, Illinois homes for sale ---- Alexander Harb (My Real Estate Referral L.L.C.)

 

How many times have you read the storys of the fathers
of the faith in the bible ~~~ apostles, kings, and prophets
all having to "go the distance" before they received what
the Lord God wanted them to recieve?

What did you think when you were reading those storys?

• I hope THAT doesn't happen to me......
• I would not be able to go through THAT......
• Why isn't life easier to get through....?
• Why does God let those things happen?

 

 

 

 

 

Those are some of the things I have heard mermered
in bible study classes in my almost 30 years as a Christian.

It is as if the worlds principle of "Have it YOUR WAY"
has permeated every fiber of the Church at large.

Do you understand how God works in disciples of the
Messiah Jesus'  lives?

When ever ANY believer (disciple of Jesus) has been
assigned BY GOD to receive a blessing, ministry or
responsibility, they are ALWAYS tested in life first.

I am NOT talking about getting a NEED met here.

 

 

I am talking about:

• Receiving hundreds of thousands, maybe MILLIONS
  of dollars right out of the blue that you had NO NEED
  of before hand.
• Becoming a Pastor, Teacher, Evangelist, or other
  church worker on the ministry's PAID staff.
• Getting a high ranking career assignment in a LARGE
  corporation in the secular world.
• And other such items happening in your life......

 

 

Here are some principles in the Word of God regarding those
with visions of leadership:

1 Timothy 3:9-11 (New American Standard Bible)

..... but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.

And part of what some of the early Fathers of the faith went through:

Hebrews 11:16-18 (New American Standard Bible)

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED."

 

So... If YOU are being tested in life, remember those things...

God is getting READY to do something AWESOME in
your life!!!

 

Revelation 2:7 (New American Standard Bible)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'

Revelation 2:11
' He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.'

Revelation 2:17
' He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'

Revelation 2:26
' He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;

Revelation 3:5
' He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Revelation 3:12
' He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

Revelation 3:21
' He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

 

 

Revelation 21:7
" He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

 

 

Here are past Sabbath Gleanings posts:

Sabbath Gleanings......... I am getting back into the swing of things slowly...

Sabbath Gleanings......... are you a person of your word??

Sabbath Gleanings.... the power of an example, for good or bad..... =-O

Sabbath Gleanings.... how to keep a brokerage or a real estate team healthy....

Sabbath Gleanings....... are you looking at the wrong thing(s)?

 

 

 

 

 

 

After writing a comment on Sara Washburns Facebook
page about Christianity yesterday, I suddenly felt more
renewed to post here in ActiveRain.

To be frank I am still getting my feet wet around here and
even though my posts are getting better statistics, I still
feel like a new born puppy learning to sniff around again.

Please be patient with me while I find my blogging legs
again. I promise my blogs will continue to get better as time
goes on. I have heard it written and said that practice makes
perfect. My blogs will NOT be perfect, but I am hoping they
will be more readable, educational and entertaining for you!

 

 

 

 

 

This weeks "Sabbath Gleanings" almost did not happen again.
I just could not find a good topic to post on, since to me there
was nothing worthwhile to blog about.

THEN I took a look at MY LIFE.

Uhoh... I said to myself..... THERE is a blog just waiting to be
written!!

I have always been transparent about when I had a need or
went through a situation in my life that I thought others
could benefit from.

BUT...... my ongoing life as a BLOG??!!??

I was AND AM STILL hesitant about letting it all hang out.

 

 

 

BUT... that STILL SMALL VOICE had other things to talk to
me about. Have you ever been so convinced YOU could NEVER
be an inspiration to others you were stopped cold in your
tracks and ended up doing absolutely NOTHING??

Well, THAT thought and principle came into my heart and
mind lately. I actually BELIEVED it to be true, since on the outside,
my life was in a shambles. I believed I could NEVER be an
inspiration to others again because my life was ruined (in my
estimation).

Little did I know The Lord had different things in store for me.

 

 

 

 

 

All the while my life was seemingly "upside down" I kept on
looking for people to minister to:

• A guy who had issues with his girlfriend and accepted
  the Lord after talking to me and praying to become a Christian.
• The guys brother opening up to me about how religion had
  been forced on him in his youth.
• Having conversations with other employees at work about
  what it meant to be a Christian.
• Seeing a new landlord and his girlfriend go through painful
  times and praying for them to get things right...... and as a
  result they are progressing in things.
  
• Getting to know a new broker to work with in the future who
  is a Christian and is someone I can trust.
• Attending a church where the leadership KNOWS the deep
  things of God and they understand MY life and what I am
  going through.

 

 

The simple message of this post is this:

Your life, if you are a Christian, is NOT about how much money you make, what car you drive, what toys you have or even if you are married or not or what social circles you move in.

It's all about living the way Jesus our Messiah lived while he was on earth so long ago. When you are born again spiritually by accepting Jesus as your LORD and Messiah and confessing and repenting of your sinful habits, you have a measure of Gods Spirit deposited inside you as a "down-payment", proving you are one of His sons or daughters.

What YOU DO with that down-payment is your gift to God and to Jesus, when our Creator tells our Messiah to take the earth from Lucifer's rule and to set up the RIGHTFUL kingdom originally set up to rule this planet.

WILL YOU cultivate that talents God has deposited in YOU?

OR are you so caught up with the THINGS you have,
that His Kingdom takes a back seat OR no seat at all?

 

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.  Luke 9:22-24

Parable of the Talents

 "For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. "To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.

"Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents."In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more."But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

"Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.

"The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.'"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

"Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.'"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

"And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.'And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.'

"But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.

'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.'

Parable of the sower:

And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow;and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.(Hard hearted people)

"Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil."But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. (Those who get persecuted because of the changes in their lives and they fall away)

 "Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. (Those who are fixated on things in their lives)

"And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. (Those who by patent enduance bring forth a crop to Gods glory)

 

Thanks to: www.flickr.com for the great photos!!

 

Here are past Sabbath Gleanings posts:

Sabbath Gleanings......... are you a person of your word??

Sabbath Gleanings.... the power of an example, for good or bad..... =-O

Sabbath Gleanings.... how to keep a brokerage or a real estate team healthy....

Sabbath Gleanings....... are you looking at the wrong thing(s)?

 

 

Hello there everyone!!

After having the home I live in get sideswiped by a tornado,
I am back. God was good to me in that even though our internet
connection got interuppted, the home was not touched and
we were all safe. We have such a wonderful Creator in and
though our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus)!!

This weeks Sabbath Gleanings is about backing up your promises
with actions.

Yeshua (Jesus) said we are to love one another. He then
describes what that love is. According to Yeshua (Jesus), to love
your neighbor means that you walk in His holy (set apart)
commandments “A new command I give you: love one another.
On that day, you will realize that I am in my Father, and you
are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands AND
obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will
be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself
to him. If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My father
will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with
him. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just
as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in His love.
This is my command: love each other” (John 13:3, 14:17, 20; 15:10, 17).

 

We are what we speak. Such as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Prov. 23:7 What we say will come back around to us; we reap what we sow from our own thoughts and speech. If we sow honorable and good seed, we will reap blessings, favor from God and man and a good harvest. If we have poor, selfish  or evil thoughts and speech, we will not reap blessings but, rather, invite poverty and destruction to come into some area of our life (physical/spiritual/relational). We bind our own souls with what we dwell on and speak in our hearts. We are accountable to God  for the words we say. He is faithful to the curses as He is to the blessings. If something has happened in our life to cause us pain (physical/spiritual/relational), this should not have any effect or hold on our future unless we allow it to. We can change our status by forgiveness through repentance (turning away), and blessing others. We make choices daily and hourly for which realm we walk in. Blessings or curses – the choice is up to us.

For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word (The teachings that Jesus gives in the Bible), and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:20-22).

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man (Mark 7:21-23).

Yeshua answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word (His teachings); and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me" (John 14:23-24).

 

What happens when promises that were spoken have not been followed through? What if the person making the vow/oath does not intend to keep it, or if after thinking about it, the person feels they cannot fulfill their vow and oath?


The Word of God is very clear that we are bound by the vows and oaths (promises) we make from our mouths. We tend to think vows are only made during serious occasions like vows in marriage or in cotracts for business. What we have not been taught is that a commitment made from our mouth to others or to God is a vow and oath.

 

Below are areas that expose these errors.

1. Empty (false) Expressions:
   
   These days, many people make vows all the time with no intention of keeping them. We say things like “I’ll call you sometime,” “We’ll get together,” “I will do this or that,” “You will have it on time,” “That’s a promise,” “We’d love to come,” etc. These expressions, if they are empty, become acceptable closing remarks rather than sincere promises.

2. Next, there is example of starting but never completing a project. Initially the intentions are there, but after a few days the enthusiasm wears off and the project is set aside, forgotten and eventually left unfinished. Other projects around the house may even be started before the first one is completed whether it’s cleaning the garage, fixing toilets, helping in the yard, fixing the railing or a simple painting project. Weeks later when asked how is it going? The response is “fine”. Months later when asked again it can bring a frustrated “I’m get to it!” and in the end the unfinished project becomes a broken vow and oath. Years can go by with projects that start up and are never completed and the resulting clutter of these projects continues to build up challenging all who live amongst it. For those who live with empty vows and oaths manifesting in unfinished projects, the environment reveals a double minded spirit, a lack of Torah (Biblical)  principles and disorder within the heart (James 1:8).

   Excuses:
   
   Then there are excuses like the birthday card with a note saying “the gift was late and will arrive in a few weeks time. It’s a great surprise, you’ll really like it!” Months pass, the mysterious gift still has not materialized and is now long forgotten.
   
   For the recipient of these excuses, special dates become seasons for relationship sabotage as they expose ungodly characteristics in the giver and produce pain in the receiver.

   Empty Promises:
   
   We who are disciples of Jesus' promises realize His words (teachings) are like principles/covenants, once spoken they are linked to God's kingdom as we are His ambassadors. If the promises are empty, and we are saying things we never (or we think He will never) intend to fulfill. We are then misrepresenting God, Jesus and the kingdom.  we are a part of. "With it (the tongue) we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so" (James 3:9-10).
   
   I have a story I can tell about broken promises from my father and the hurt it caused me and my siblings as a young children, through our teen years and into our adult lives:
   
   Our mother had died when I was 7 years old and all three kids (me, my sister and my brother) were the unknowing recipients of social security checks every month till we were 18 years old OR had graduated college OR elected not to attend college. When I was 18 I got a look at the monthly checks I was recieving because I was enrolled in community college and it was a modest sum of $400.00 or so a month. This sum was just for me. My brother and sister also had similar checks, so my dad had been getting extra money to take care of us 3 kids for over 10 years.
   
   He had told us kids one day that since our Grandmother was living in Florida and we had been visiting her for 2 months out of the year every year during the summers in between grades, he would take us to Disney World one summer. That year it did not happen. The next year we reminded him of his promise to us and he told us kids he did not have the money to do it, yet he had all year to save for it from the extra money he was getting from our social security payments. Eventually, when we would go to visit my grandmother during the summer, my dad would just drop us kids off at our grandmothers house for the summer and go drive back to New York for 2 months to have "time for himself". In the 10 years he had those extra social security payments, he never once brought us kids to Disney World.
   
   This caused us kids to not trust his promises he would make and sometimes the "facts" he would tell us unless he had followed through with his promises OR we could see the proof in front of our own eyes of what he had told us was a fact or the truth. It hurt his authority over us because we now did not trust what he told us.
   
   I am sure you read of the freedom from secrets my dad held from us until his death and the problems those secrets caused for all of my siblings and I  in another post about being set free.
   
   Empty promises to impressionable childrens hearts by the parents they look up to is a sad blue print some parents impart to the next generation. If this is the foundation we build our families on, what good is there for God to multiply?

3. We hear this continually, “I don’t have time!” Those words mean I have no time for you but I have time for me and what I want to do, for my interests and my down times are important to me. It’s all about selfishness. The word of God says to "not just look to your own interests, but others interests as well....". This excuse is ages old.
   
   When I was hurt and frustrated by things that had happened to me in church, I gave this excuse as well, to my own hurt. God’s kingdom has no time – it’s only eternity. Time was created for man. What we do with it is up to us. Time can be a blessing or a curse. Time is like money.
   
   If we walk in God’s (Jesus') ways we will be blessed and have lots of time to do the things we need to do, as we have entered into God's order (Sabbath rest - Hebrews 3-4) for our lives. If we walk outside God's principles, time becomes short; we never have enough hours in the day to do things, we may even blame others for our lack of time and eventually run out of time.There is a saying I have heard more and more... "He/she died before their time". There were STILL things to do and the person ran out of time to get it all done.
   
   Being late is another excuse we start to use to cover up our disordered lifestyle because we have not managed our time. What we do with our time will either help and prosper us or curse us and destroy us.
   
   People who are part of our lives are affected by our undependability and that puts extra accountability on top of the responsibility others already carry because of our missed deadlines, arriving late to appointments without calling ahead of time, etc.. Breaking vows and oaths has to do with not honoring or valuing others. Disrespect is a form of rebellion. Not honoring our own word dishonors our selves and reveals deception or duplicity in a heart. Dishonor of self and others is a common factor  that creates distrust among others.
   
   Caring about others welfare is important and if our word is not our bond nothing can be built on empty expressions, promises and excuses. Self- idolatry and a double minded spirit plagues people who do not honor or treat others with respect. If your word is not your bond you are unstable in all your ways (it is called being double minded), you find difficulty in following through on your word but that follow through is what heals the hurting heart (James 4:8-10).

   "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall....." (Matthew 7:24-27).

   
   
   
   
   
   Can you see the application to YOUR real estate business here ?
   
   Can you see the blessings, healing, favor and prosperity that will result in being a person that can be trusted when they make a promise and keep it?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Here are links to other Sabbath Gleanings posts:
   
   Sabbath Gleanings....... are you looking at the wrong thing(s)?
   Sabbath Gleanings.... how to keep a brokerage or a real estate team healthy....
   Sabbath Gleanings.... the power of an example, for good or bad..... =-O
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Thanks to: Franz Liszt
   and www.flickr.com for
   the great pictures!!

 

Hello everyone.....

I have been gone for this past week because the home I am living
in got sideswiped by a tornado!!!

Part of the backyard fence is gone in one section, and a tree fell
from the next door neighboirs yard and destroyed fencing in the
back of the garage in another section.

A LOT of trees in the city got either uprooted, or LARGE branches got torn
off and THROWN many feet across the roads and onto roofs of
other homes.

Thank the Lord our Creator, our home did not get hit at all !!!

I do not have batterys for my camarera, or I would have pictures
of this.

 

 

Here is a picture of part of what happened in Matteson, IL. from one of the neighbors on that fateful day. Please remember, this is just ONE tree that got stripped you
see in the picture. There were MANY more.

The whole area was without power for 2 days and most of the refridgrated food went bad. Thank goodness most of my food was frozen or dry, so I did not suffer too much that way.

 

 

I will resume the Sabbath Gleanings this week.... (SHHhhh...
I KNOW the last post was horrible, don't remind me....hehehe)

I am looking forward to seeing my brothers and sisters again
in AR.

God is good... NO ONE got hurt in the tornado incident and no
pets were lost either.

 

 

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
 and he brought them out of their distress.

 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
 the waves of the sea were hushed.

 They were glad when it grew calm,
 and he guided them to their desired haven.

Psalm 107

 

 

 Thanks to:  holgaguy ,   Ms.Elmar ,
and www.flickr.com for the great pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

Well I have not delivered the post on a Saturday and as far
as I know I have skipped a week. I am soooo human and have
so many faults.

I know you all forgive me and some of you were even praying
for me because you were wondering "what was going on with Alex."

Well, I am still here..... hehehehehe ...... no worries about that!!
And I THANK YOU for your prayers, those of you who did.....

I am going to be talking about the power of a good and a bad
example and what either of them can do in your real estate
brokerages or sales teams.

First of all the power of EITHER type of example cannot be
underestimated. If you are in leadership, and believe me if you
say you aren't ..... When you help guide a client through the
hoops towards a transaction closing, YOU ARE IN LEADERSHIP.

So, this post is for everyone in the field of real estate, not just
brokers and sales team leaders. GOTCHA LOLOlololol !!!!! 

When you are a good example, several things happen:

1. Your "Team" is strengthened in every aspect of its doings.
   Just as the various parts of the body help each other grow
   and function, so does a great working team help each person
   in the team to do their "thing"; tasks seem easier because
   the load is spread around between team members.
   
2. The good things the team does are spoken about to every
   contact that is willing to listen by people in the team and
   others who do business with your team; just take a look
   at posts in AR about great things that working together
   in a positive way brings about. I do believe there is even
   a WHOLE AR GROUP dedicated to doing things in a positive
   way!!
   
3. Your team attracts a better sort of people, not because you
   are practicing the "Law of Attraction", but because GOD is
   blessing your deeds by helping your team do MORE by
   giving more people to join your team!!

I could give MORE on this, but I will be showing the blessings of doing
what is right via bible verses specificlly targeted to answer this question
later in the blog.

The best comes last...... hehehehehehe ......

Now as opposed to a GOOD example, a bad example does just the opposite:

1. Your team is continually having problems because of infighting,
   gossip, backstabbing, and political manuverings.
2. No-one wants to genuinely help each other, unless they "get ahead
   in some way" so the whole team suffers. Tasks are harder to accomplish
   because no-one wants to work with each other AND THERE'S MORE .....
3. The word of mouth on a bad team is devastating..... vendors (Pest
   inspectors, loan officers, title companies, home inspectors, handmen,
   home stagers, sub-contractors of all kinds) hear all about OR SEE
   FIRST HAND the bad things going on in the office. Team members
   are NOT satisified with working there and they VENT to anyone
   who will listen..... INCLUDING vendors and in severe cases clients
   as well.
4. Clients coming into the office can sense the negativity and infighting.
   Because of the goings on, God does NOT bless the company and
   the business suffers. Suddenly clients just drop agents for no
   apparent reason, advertising is expensive or not effective, and the
   quality of agents coming into the office are subpar at best. In other
   words you reap what you are sowing.

OK...... by now you are asking in your heart and/or mind:

• How do I make my team GOOD?
• What do I do if the team I am in is NOT good?
• How do I see a GOOD team from a BAD one?

 

Here are posts that will answer your questions:

 

• Christianity and Real Estate... The Upside Down Kingdom..... His! #1 
  (Having a soft heart)
• Christianity and Real Estate... The Upside Down Kingdom..... His! #2
  (Depending on God for EVERYTHING in life)
• Christianity and Real Estate... The Upside Down Kingdom..... His! #3 
  (How to approach life......gently and with kindness.)
• Christianity and Real Estate... The Upside Down Kingdom..... His! #4 
  (Having thee attitude in going after the right way to live....Gods way.)
• Christianity and Real Estate... The Upside Down Kingdom..... His! #5 
  (Practicing forgivness instead of revenge...)
• Christianity and Real Estate... The Upside Down Kingdom..... His! #6 
  (Being pure in your heart...... Gods way)
• Christianity and Real Estate... Do You Want REAL PEACE?
  (How to preserve peace in your life, family and at work.)
• Christianity and Real Estate... The Upside Down Kingdom..... His! #8
  (Have you turned over a new leaf in life... God loves you!)

 

And still yet MORE posts to help you:

• Christianity and Real Estate... 'The Kingdom of God is Like....' #1
• The Kingdom of Heaven is like........#2 'Christianity and Real Estate'
• The Kingdom of Heaven is like........(#3) 'Christianity and Real Estate'
• Christianity and Real Estate... "The Kingdom of Heaven is Like..." #4
• Christianity and Real Estate.... The Kingdom of Heaven #5
• Christianity and Real Estate...the Kingdom of Heaven is like...#6

 

 

This weeks Sabbath Gleanings is taken from the situation
of the children of Israel and Moses when a bunch of
disgruntled men banded together to split the congregation:

 

"Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi,
and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the
son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men....."
(Read the whole story HERE)

Fighting against leadership can spread like wild fire through
an organization. This happens because the people in the
group trying to destroy the leadership feel so strongly
about what they are doing. They work extra hard to convice
others of thier viewpoint, without going right to the
leadership themselves and asking about the viewpoint they
have, thereby getting understanding and wisdom.

Once a person does not go to leadership and ask about how
they are seeing things when bad feelings or resentment crops
up, bitterness can develop, along with rebellion.

Aparantely, these few men felt so strongly about how they
saw things, they worked very hard to convince others to join
thier cause. This is what happened:

Korach, a Levite who was passed over for the leadership
of his tribe, challenges Moses over the position of High Priest.
No good rebellion can be"sold" as a means for personal gain,
so Korach convinces 250 higly respected men in leadership that
they must stand up for a matter of principle - that each and every
one of them has the right to the office of High Priest (which
Moses had already announced that God had designated
his brother Aharon to serve as the High Priest).

 

So...... what do you think happens to the person who rebells against
the authoritys God has intituted in an organization or church?

In a dramtic show of authority, Moses declares:

Moshe's challenges all 250 followers of Korach to bring an
offering of incense to see who God will choose to fill the
one position. This meant that every man figured he would
be the one out of 250 to not only be chosen, but to survive
the ordeal.

Moses also announces that if the earth splits and swallows up
Korach and his rebels, it is a sign that he (Moses) is acting on
God's authority. And it happened!

OUCH !!!

Envy is destructive. It prevents a person from enjoying his own
blessings. When you focus on the success of another person and
feel pain because of it, you are likely to do things that are highly
counterproductive. Envy is one of the three things that totally
destroy a person. The downfall of Korach was because of this trait.
Not only did he not get what he wanted, but he lost everything
he already possessed.

How does one overcome envy? The key is to focus on what you
have and on what you can accomplish in this world. Envy arises
when a person looks at others and compares himself to them.
The ultimate that anyone can have in this world is happiness.
When you master this trait by focusing on those things
conducive to happiness, you need never to envy another person.

 

Remembering your blessings every day and some times moment
by moment will do it. Plus thanking God for those blessings does
it; being grateful will help empower you to do good deeds for others.
I know when my day is filled with thankfulness, things seem to
go more easily for me. I do more for others and it seems to me
that others do more for me also.

The best thing to do when you are upset about something
that happens in your real estate brokerage, or in a transaction
is to see what you can learn from the situation.
Going to your boss and asking about things is a GOOD idea.

 

Psalm 103 (New International Version)

Psalm 103

Of David.

 ¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul;
       all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

 ² Praise the LORD, O my soul,
       and forget not all his benefits-

 ³ who forgives all your sins
       and heals all your diseases,

 ⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
       and crowns you with love and compassion,

 ⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
       so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

 ⁶ The LORD works righteousness
       and justice for all the oppressed.

 ⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
       his deeds to the people of Israel:

 ⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
       slow to anger, abounding in love.

 ⁹ He will not always accuse,
       nor will he harbor his anger forever;

 ¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
       or repay us according to our iniquities.

 ¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
       so great is his love for those who fear him;

 ¹² as far as the east is from the west,
       so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

 ¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
       so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

 ¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed,
       he remembers that we are dust.

 ¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass,
       he flourishes like a flower of the field;

 ¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone,
       and its place remembers it no more.

 ¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting
       the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
       and his righteousness with their children's children-

 ¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant
       and remember to obey his precepts.

 ¹⁹ The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
       and his kingdom rules over all.

 ²⁰ Praise the LORD, you his angels,
       you mighty ones who do his bidding,
       who obey his word.

 ²¹ Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
       you his servants who do his will.

 ²² Praise the LORD, all his works
       everywhere in his dominion.
       Praise the LORD, O my soul.

 

 

Thanks to www.flickr.com ,
Neal1960 ,  André Pipa
and others for the GREAT pictures!!

 

 

This is the first of my series and I am so sorry I did not get
it to you on Saturday, as I told you I would.

I AM glad I did say that scheduling permitting I would get
these posts out and I DID have scheduling issies.

Without further ado, here we go......

Here is the subject verse for this post:

"How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are
grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the
sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. "
(Numbers 14:27)

 

This after the spies had come back to report on the land which
God was giving them across the Jordan river.

The spies returned from Canaan with a HUGE cluster of grapes.
They also returned with stories of how big and tall the inhabitants of the villages were in the land. They told of walls around the villages "up to the heavens" and people who made them seem "as small as grasshopppers" in their own eyes.

God said He heard the grumbling and the complaints of the
children of Israel. He hears our complaints too. The sin of
grumbling is related to the sin of gossip. Both are forms of
evil speech; both result from a critical spirit.

Gossip destroys others, breaks up friendships and severs
relationships. Grumbling destroys your quality of life and
that of those around you.

 

The grapes should have encouraged the Israelites. The land was
indeed a good land full of bounty and prosperity, just as God had promised. The ten spies, however, saw the giant grapes differently.

To Joshua and Caleb, giant grapes were a sign of Gods goodness. To the other spies, the giant grapes were a sign of despair or horror.

Imagine you were taking your children to the zoo or to a Theme Park. Instead of watching in awe and wonder at the lions, tigers, bears, monkeys and zebras or having fun riding the rides at the park, they sulk because you did not buy them ice cream
cones. At every point in your trip to the zoo or that Theme Park you saved so long to bring them to, these children have
something bad to say, OR they want something "right now"
(french fries, sodas, ice cream, etc.) and it spoils the whole time
there for everyone because of thier attitude(s) and perceptions aboiut what THEY WANT.

As an adult, it is easy to look at those situation(s) and realize
how foolish the grumbling child is.  It's harder to realize that
our own complaints, grumbling and murmuring is just as foolish.
Adults are usually sophisticated enough to disguise their childish
attitudes and inner discontentment. We disguise them as serious
adult issues, concerns and complaints.

Upon closer investigation, many of those issues tend to be no more
than sulking over French fries, soda or ice cream.

 

 

 

The worst part is that this is not a trip to the zoo or to a theme park. This is your walk through life.  If you spend it fussing and sulking about what you do not get "now" or what you THINK is going on, you will never enjoy the good things God is continually doing for you.

You will never even notice those very good things.

The Bible teaches that God hears all our complaints and grumblings, whether it is about HIM or about what is going on in our lives. That's why the many bible teachers teach that the complainer is akin to an atheist. Those very complaints deny the existence of God as if there is no God to hear those bitter words.

The next time you have "problems" in a real estate transaction, with a client, other agents, a broker or a listing. try to see what God is letting happen and why.

He MIGHT be trying to help your faith grow. Or, he might be trying to build more patience into you, or more gentleness, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness;
and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,
perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness;
and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure,
they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-8 (New International Version)

 

 

 

 

Thanks to: www.flickr.com and
mark.os , Claudio.Ar (not too much online) ,
Joe-Nathan (JonathanLaberge.com) ,
and Tambako the Jaguar for the GREAT pictures!!

 

 

In my walk with our divine Creator and His Son, our blessed Messiah, Jesus ("Yeshua" in Hebrew) since 1980, I have been changed in so many ways it is hard to describe everything that has happened to me.

One thing that I CAN say and describe that has happened to me is I was changed from a Greek or gentile way of thinking, to a progressively Hebrew one.

Jesus was Hebrew, and what better way to understand the things He said and taught, than studying the Hebrew way of life and thought.

On Saturdays, scheduling permitting, I will be posting my thoughts on the Hebrew way of life and how it relates to being a disciple of our Messiah and being a practitioner of real estate.

I am sure it will give some eye opening ideas for a LOT of you, seeing as about 95 to 99% of the Christians in AR are gentile and not Hebrew in the perspectives they have.

 

 

 

 

I am looking forward to what the Lord will be teaching
ME though out this series also. I am not finished in my
progress towards the prize of the high calling of our Lord
Yehovah (His Hebrew and proper Name ~~~ pronounced
Jehovah) in our Messiah Jesus (Yeshua), but I do press
on, remembering where I came from and looking and
running toward where the Lord wants me.

 

I hope you all will join me...... may the Lord bless this
study in the Hebrew way of seeing and living out things
as His disciples practicing real estate ... to the
glory of our Messiah Jesus' (Yeshua's) Name(s)!!

 

 

 

 

Thanks to: www.flickr.com and KarenMarleneLarsen
for the GREAT picture of corn on a farm.

For a LONG time in my Christian life I had felt a call to the Ministry.

Then after 10 years I became a licensed Minister with the Church of God,
a Pentecostal denomination akin to the Assemblies of God.

After 15 years being licensed and seeing all the things associated
with Ministry and seeing things behind the scenes in churches, I
gave up my Ministerial license to hopefully go do the things I
KNEW were good to do.

• No more dealing with the perceptions I had.
• Growing up and dealing with long hidden family secrets that kept
  pulling me in wrong directions.
• Maturing and learning that SOME things I saw while I was a Minister
  were right and SOME were wrong.
• KNOWING we are ALL human and SOME want to change, others
  LOVE what they are doing and SOME do not KNOW they need to
  change, BUT WOULD if they knew.

 

What I am asking of all of you here in the "Christianity and Real Estate"
group (and in the other groups I have posted to) is simple:

 

Pray that the Lord would show me what HE wants me to do.

SHOULD I be in real estate?

DOES HE want me in full time Ministry?

 

 

I will be watching and listening ....... and I will let everyone know
what HE says.

 

As many of you might know, I went through a REALLY
tough time in the past 8 months.

• For 5 months I did not have income that paid my bills.
• I had to sell my car because I did not have the money
  to get it fixed.
• I lived from hand to mouth for all this time, not knowing
  where my next meal would be coming from and living
  dependent on the generosity of others.

In all this time I never went homeless. I always had a place to
sleep.

My faith went through an incredible transformation, though.

God kept whispering in my ear through all of this, saying,

 

"Trust Me."

 

In the beginning, I went into "Find a Job" mode, getting my
resume updated and making all the preparations a person
would need to secure an hourly position that would pay the
bills.

What happened next stunned me beyond my ability to
understand what was happening.

• 4 times in a row, people got jobs I was qualified for
  just because they got their resumes to the employer
  before I did.
• Once I GOT HIRED at McDonalds as an assistant
  manager, only to find out one day before my
  background check came back and I was to start,
  that the regional manager had told all the general
  managers to go on a hiring freeze, because
  of the lack of income for the franchise. I did not
  get the job.
  

After these things happened to me, I was put into a place
where I was questioning what was happening to me.

I kept asking God, "Why....".

I got no response.

 

I had done everything I needed to, but it seemed a wall to
my progress had been erected.

 

THEN it happened......... I trusted the Lord, even though
I did not understand what was going on.

I was then asked a question by a brother in the Lord
whom I had spoken to over the past year and we had
become trusted friends.

He said to me.......... "If you had to start all over again
with just what you could take with you somewhere, would
you go?"

I was stunned...... and I was at the point of becoming
evicted from the place I was living in, because the ability
to pay for it had run dry.

 

My answer to that question was YES.

 

He then told me he had a one way plane ticket for me
free of charge to anywhere in the country.

I was stunned..... again.....

So, off I went to Chicago, where I had been given a job
offer to join Rice Property Management and Realty.

The drama does NOT stop there. I THOUGHT everything
would be fine.

Little did I know my adventure in believing God for my life
would NOT stop there.

Eventually through a breakdown in communications, I
had to leave the place in Chicago I was living in and find
a place to stay in TWO days!! We all know how difficult
that sounds, right?

 

 

GOD had other ideas.

 

 

Unknown to me, another employee at a Red Lobster I
had been hired at was able to help me by making me
his room mate for only $300.00 per month!!!

NOW.. remember this...... out of ALL the Red Lobsters I
could have been hired at, I got hired at one where an
employee could let me become his room mate on ONE
DAYS notice!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God had shown me AGAIN that if I had a NEED, He would be
RIGHT there to help me!!

 

 

How many times has this happened to me in the past?

 

Christianity and Real Estate...... are you trusting in God...or in "things"?

Christianity and Real Estate --- What do PROBLEMS do...THEY HELP US!!

Christianity and Real Estate --- What problems do... They HELP us GLORIFY GOD!!

Christianity and Real Estate --- What happened as I tried to get home...

Christianity and Real Estate... God answers everyones prayers and some of mine I had previously been praying!

Christianity and Real Estate... Kicked in the Teeth by Life? Here is What to Do!

I can mention MANY more times where God has met my need(s) just because I trusted Him to do so.

 

 

Proverbs 3:5,6 say it best:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
         And do not lean on your own understanding.
    In all your ways acknowledge Him (put His ways #1) ,
         And He will make your paths straight (successful).

Psalm 52:9 sums up what I feel now:

I will praise you forever for what you have done;
       in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
       I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Psalm 62:7,8 :

My salvation and my honor depend on God;
       he is my mighty rock, my refuge. 
Trust in him at all times, O people;
       pour out your hearts to him,
       for God is our refuge.
       Selah

Psalm 91:1-3 :

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
       will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
       my God, in whom I trust."

Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
       and from the deadly pestilence.

 

 

 

Thanks to www.fiickr.com and:

nathangibbs , laffy4k , A U D E ,

caribb , and loswl for the great pictures.