Building More Than Furniture

Think about this, Jesus chose 12 disciples. He hand-picked these men and none of them were perfect people. Each had their faults, short comings and weaknesses. Peter was hot tempered, loud and he liked to fight. Thomas was a doubter which means he was skeptical, cynical and negative. Mathew was a tax collector. They were known for being dishonest, crooked and manipulative. Yet Jesus looked these men in the eyes and said, “You are the light of the world, you are the salt of the earth.” He spoke the blessing. He was saying in effect, ‘I'm proud of you men. You are something special. You are going to do great things. You’re even going to impact the whole world.’ He was speaking it by faith. He was calling forth their potential. The fact is in the natural they weren’t anything special. They were fisherman, carpenters, tax people and just ordinary folks. But here’s what happens when you speak the blessing. Those 12 men rose to the level of what Jesus prophesied. They became what he declared. They not only impacted their generation, but what they did is even impacting us today. When you speak the blessing, when you call forth the potential,when you look at somebody and say I don't see just what you are but what you can become, you speak words of life, faith and victory and those words can help shape their destiny. That person will rise to the level of what you are prophesying. Your faith filled words release God’s favor, ability, confidence, and creativity. You can help set them down a whole new course. Don’t ever use the excuse that you’re not going to say it until you see it. No! You’ve got to say it and then you will see it. You've got to call it forth and your words have created a power. This soap box sermon comes from life experience. My former boss Mary Ann spoke blessing words over me. I in turn speak them over my staff. As I have said before, I am blessed most of all watching and helping my staff grow. This week I’d like to introduce you to Daniel Cruz . This young man is one that God is calling forth. He is named after the famous Daniel of the Bible. You know the guy with all that integrity and wisdom, who was thrown in with the hungry lions and lived to tell about it. Our Daniel is like him in many ways. His name literally means, “God is my judge” and he strives to live a life in his relationship with God as lovingly, seriously and respectfully as he can; a man after God’s heart. Daniel has come a long way from his beginning days here. He too started off with no experience in this industry like the rest of us. Daniel was hired as a sander in the finishing department in the beginning, and later, he advanced as the assistant to the department manager. One day, after months of conversations I was having with the Lord about a person to oversee the manufacturing and production, I was talking to Daniel and all of a sudden I saw him. Meaning, I saw him, an illumination that God gives you. I blurted out “It’s you! You’re the one! You’re supposed be the one overseeing manufacturing! Do you want to do it?” He looked me in the eyes and said, “Yes.” During this season many things changed for the better under Daniel’s direction. A year later, Daniel had to take a leave of absence due to a knee injury which required a surgery that took him several months to heal from. I wish he would let me tell you the miracle God blessed him with, but I understand that it was such an intensely personal moment with just him and God that I too would cherish it so much that I would want to keep that between me and God. During that time, one of the carpenters took the lead in Daniel’s absence and brought yet more positive changes to the production process. Another one of God's moves. Another thing that was happening at this time was the collapse of the economy that affected us all. Due to this, I had to ask Daniel to wait until January to come back to work. It wasn't a good time for him coming through a difficult, painful surgery and recovery. The position he was in before his surgery now looked as though it was filled by someone else. However it was a “looked like” situation. I had the download from God to let the man standing in Daniel’s position finish what He, God, had going. Honestly friends that was so hard for me to do, but I trusted that God had a plan and I too would have to wait until he revealed it. When Daniel came back, he humbly went back to being a sander. Now, I want to state that he didn’t perform any less than 100% and when asked to hang tight until God showed us what to do next, he didn’t have any problem with that. As his journey continued on, about half a year later, he again assumed the role of production manager until this past April. He now has accepted the new position of what I’m calling The Banker. He is overseeing the daily finances, purchasing and payroll. All of which he’s doing a great job at. I would really like to express my gratitude to God for blessing me with a very unique and dedicated staff. I am so proud of Daniel and I truly believe in and trust him. He adds so much to our organization with his hard work and humor. I am honored to have him as my co-worker and friend. Blessings, Nelson J. Nelson