Allen's Blog

37th in a series on how men and women in the Bible  deal with waiting, disappointment and unemployment What is This Thing that You Have Given Me? Reflections on Psalm 142 For eight years I have searched my past, I have studied the Scriptures, I have spoken with godly men and women, and I have cried out to God for wisdom and understanding. Up to 2011 when I interviewed for a job, I got it. Ministries grew, people expressed appreciation and God confirmed my calling as a Pastor even when some would seek to undermine my efforts. But for the past eight years I feel like I have been living in an alternate universe. Where things do not go according to plan and I can hardly get an interview much less a job. Am I alone in this experience?   Is everyone else successful while I slip into oblivion?   Is there a perspective that I haven’t considered? David wrote Psalm 142 about a time when he was hiding from Saul in a cave. He had been anointed by ...

   36th in a series on how men and women in the Bible  deal with waiting, disappointment and unemployment Religion and Politics: Necessary Collaboration 1 Samuel 12:1-25   Does religion affect what goes on in the market place?   Does what I believe affect the way I behave toward my coworkers?   Is it really a wise or intelligent thing to say that what I believe about the nature of the universe and whether I think I am the product of primordial ooze or made in God’s image have no effect on my ethics or morality?   I would contend that these convictions either make us the best employee/boss or one that should be avoided at all costs. Samuel, as God’s prophet was a religious man but he was also the political leader of Israel.   God worked through him to communicate laws that were for the ordering of society as well as Temple worship.   This kind of arrangement was called a Theocracy and was unique in the world at...

35th in a series on how men and women in the Bible  deal with waiting, disappointment and unemployment                                                         Give Us A King: Be Careful What You Ask For   Observations of 1 Samuel 8:1-10:1 Most often we pray foolish and selfish prayers.   We don’t know any better.   We think we know what we want and what we need.   Especially when we see others with the ‘ideal’ job, house, car, spouse, children, etc.   Envy and jealousy have no bounds.   It’s a good thing that we have a perfect, good and sovereign God who knows better than we do what is good for us. The nation of Israel at the time of Samuel was a Theocracy.   Simply put, God was their king and He administered justice and rule through His prophets.   But the system was...

34th in a series on how men and women in the Bible  deal with waiting, disappointment and unemployment Waiting…Unemployed…the Time is Right Observations from 1 Samuel 3:1-20 How long have you been unemployed or underemployed?   How have you used your time in this interim period? In Career Prospectors we talk a lot about what we do with this new free time and offer all kinds of volunteer opportunities to teach social media classes, help set up the Career Expo, attend networking meetings and more.   We want to be able to concretely answer that question about that gap in our unemployment.   I happen to be an expert in this field.   Since I brought my family back from Cameroon in 2011, I have worked on a farm, in a mental health hospital, started my own business, volunteered at Career Propectors, pastored a church, worked with an inner city ministry and now in the retail world.   I am convinced that God has called me to b...

                                                                33rd in a series on how men and women in the Bible deal with waiting, disappointment and unemployment My Employer is a Son of the Devil 1 Samuel 2:12-36 The best definition of integrity is: “Who am I when no one is looking?” In one of my first jobs out of college I worked in a retail lumber store as the Night Manager.   When the General Manager had a day off the Assistant Manager would be in charge and his behavior was radically different when the boss wasn’t around.   He sat in his office much of the day and did little to move the company forward.   It was difficult to stay motivated as a twenty-four year old and I felt little compulsion to say anything to make things right. The context of 1 Samuel 2 was a time whe...

32nd in a series on how men and women in the Bible  deal with waiting, disappointment and unemployment                                                                                                                    Hannah: A Righteous Woman in Sinful Times                                         1 Samuel 1-2:11   It seemed like a good idea at the time.   The place was right.   My wife was happy.   All seemed to be lining up.   Only in hindsight can I see my mistakes and the mistakes of the company that hired me.   In the final intervie...

31st in a series on how men and women in the Bible  deal with waiting, disappointment and unemployment Jesus: True Bearing John 8:1-11 One of the most impressive characteristics of Jesus was his bearing.   He had the ability to remain composed and self-assured in the most difficult situations.   Up to this point   in John 8, Jesus had made some audacious claims.   There was no mystery here.   He said in language that his hearers could understand that he was the long-awaited Messiah.   But it was difficult for the people to comprehend because the Scriptures had been distorted by their teachers and their socio-political situation was so dire that they had formulated their own image of what a Messiah should look like. Those that have been unemployed know what it’s like to view the world with jaded eyes.   Rejection after rejection can cause one to have a fairly pessimistic point of view.   How did Jesus...