D-E-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N

This last month I was one of the many millions who watched the USA Women’s soccer team defeat Brazil in the Women’s World Cup in Germany. It was the knock out round…win move on, losers, go home! USA, ranked number one in the world, was down a player, due to a red card. Playing a man down the game was tied and sent into two fifteen minute overtime halves. Within two minutes, Brazil scores! For the next twenty eight minutes I saw a team so determined that you could sense something was on the horizon. With less than one minute left and on the verge of going home, the USA scored! My house was in an uproar as we joined in with millions shouting and screaming to what we just witnessed! As overtime ended and headed into penalty kicks, the USA came out on top and moved on to the next round! It is times like these that inspire people to do great things! What an inspiration to millions of people as they watched a group of women with so much determination to scream out the motto: NEVER GIVE UP!

As I sat back and played the game in my mind the word determination kept coming to the forefront. Determination! A powerful word that I sometimes think is overlooked in our culture. Some may look at another and say, “He is successful because he was lucky.” We may come across a person who has been serving the Lord for fifty years and say, “Wow! Lord bless her.” Whether you are a business owner or a follower of Christ, determination plays an important part. If there is a time wheN we need Christian business owners with determined hearts to succeed, and a determined mind to have the answer to the questions we face concerning our faith…its now!

A little history.de•ter•mi•na•tion [dih-tur-muh-ney-shuh n] - n 1.the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose. 2. ascertainment, as after observation or investigation: determination of a ship's latitude. 3. the information ascertained; solution. 4. the settlement of a dispute, question, etc., as by authoritative decision. 5. the decision or settlement arrived at or pronounced. 6. the quality of being resolute; firmness of purpose. 9. fixed direction or tendency toward some object or end. 10. Logic . a. the act of rendering a notion more precise by the addition of differentiating characteristics. b. the definition of a concept in terms of its constituent elements.

Origin
In the 14th century the French used it to explain that a decision had been made or a sentence had been given. By the 15th century the word was used to describe the ending of a law suit. When the age of discovery began to expand the minds of man, the word was used to describe a “fixed direction toward a goal” as new lands were being discovered. Through the centuries the word has come to explain our emotion of being resolute. So when one says “I am determined….”, they are coming to decision with a fixed purpose towards an obvious end. (DICTIONARY.COM)

Determination in business

“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.”
- Tommy Lasorda

Walt Disney works were stolen. Thank God! We may never had Mickey!
Henry Ford had no college education, yet loved building things with his hands always thinking he can do it better!
Thomas Edison went through 3000 versions of a light bulb until he came up with a successful one!
Berry Gordy worked on the assembly line at Ford Motor company. Lost his record store, yet became a legend in the record industry….Motown Records.
Mary Kay Ash, was told she would never make it in a man’s world. Her husband died of a heart attack the week before she was to open up her company. She broke the glass ceiling and is now studied at various business
schools across America.

The list can go on! Men and women who made it not only on their skills, but their determination not to let failure overtake their dreams! Each person above had their moments where they could have said, “NO MORE! I’m done!” Each of them I’m sure faced trials and obstacles that got in the way to their success. Yet it was the determination in their bones that kept pressing them forward! Determination fuels the never give up spirit! A former student of mine one day shared with me that she would love to be a princess at Disneyland. Throughout high school, she worked hard at auditions for plays and musicals. She had a few rejections, yet she never gave up. One day an audition opeedn up at Disney. Today she is one of the princess at Disney World! Your success will be dependent on your determination. In my wife’s business I have heard so many times women who say they are going to accomplish a certain goal, yet fall short, not because they could not do it, but because they did not have the determination to press through the obstacles. So my dear Christian brothers and sisters in the Lord, who own a business…be determined to succeed! God deserves your best!

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
-Philippians 3:13-14

Determination of faith

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
-Peter (1 Peter 3:15)

I assign a project to my students that take them to the streets interviewing people. They ask various worldview questions and receive some interesting answers. In the eleven years I have been doing this I am amazed when adults give an answer…”I never thought of that?” “I don’t know.” Simple questions on how they view life after death? How do they see the world created? If there is a challenge I could give you today, it’s to know what you believe! Be determined to find the answer and effectively share it. In talking with a friend about religion, we started talking about evolution which then turned to the validity of Scripture. After forty five minutes of dialogue, I was told, “It’s easy for you because you studied the subject. You’re a pastor! That’s what you went to school for.” Yet my response was simple, “I still needed to research to find out what I was teaching was true and why? It does not matter what profession we are in. It’s our responsibility to find the answers.” Learn how to answer the Four Basic Questions: How do you see life after death? How do you see human beings? How do you see life after death? How do you determine right from wrong? Study. Read. Learn how to think critically. Build your confidence! In preparation for school this year I have read “The Case for a Creator” and “The Case for the Real Jesus”. Both of these books are part of our curriculum because I want my students to have an answer for what they believe. I train and equip my students to be world changers in the marketplace. That their God given gift is a tool to open the door to share Gods hope through Christ! Be determined to have an answer for what you believe in! Believe me when people find out that you are a believer in Christ, and you build a relationship with them, they will be watching and the door of opportunity will arise for them to ask you, “Why”? Be determined to find the answers for what you believe in! Be determined to press on in your faith when it seems like God is hundred miles away! There is no plan B!



Determination in business + Determination in our Faith = successful Evantrepreneur!

His call. His gift to you. Your purpose. Irrevocable!