“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ..” ~ 1 Corinthians 11:1
Our culture admires leaders. The problem is real leaders are so hard to find. Those in government seem to pursue their own agenda rather than the common good, the boss at work is just trying to keep his job, and parents seem buried in trying to make ends meet. Survival is the name of the game and leadership seems all but lost. In order to be a leader, you have to be going somewhere. A leader is someone who inspires and encourages others to go where they would not go on their own. Since our natural inclination is to survive; to maintain the status quo and preserve a version of comfort and safety that we are content with, we will typically sit stagnant unless one of those rare people pops out of the wood work to spur us toward something greater. Think of the great leaders of the past. These were people with a big, but simple, vision who were committed to pursue it and we were drawn in to follow them on the adventure. They seemed to provide what our dismal lives of survival lacked. The greatest of these leaders, without question, was Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ. He came to lead people out of the smallness of self-centered living, out of the trap of dead religious habit, beyond fear and doubt and into a vibrant faith in the Living God; on an adventure of eternal proportions. What he began 2,000 years ago continues today. When the apostle Paul began his ministry, just a few years after Jesus’ resurrection, he outlined this new life to the new church in Corinth. As he described a life devoted to investing in the best interests of others over self-protection he exhorted them to follow his example as he was following the example set forth in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. This was a life of great sacrifice, but also, a life of great reward. True leadership requires that you have a clearly defined direction, that you know those who would follow and keep in mind their best interest, and that you provide accountability mechanisms to foster their success. It also requires your own continual growth and development. No one will follow someone who tells them where to go, but is not striving to get there themselves. This, of course brings us back to our original point: You cannot lead if you are not going anywhere. Neither can you follow Christ and stay where you are. Where are you going? Who are you bringing with you? What difference will you make in the lives of those around you?
Weekly Devotional: February 14, 2010
Words to Grow On
Words to Grow On “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” ~ Matthew 8:10
I find it interesting that Jesus makes such a strong connection between authority and faith. It makes sense if you think about it. Without faith in the One with authority over you, you will not obey him. Without faith in the authority given you, you will not act; you will not lead. Without faith, you can have no authority, only fear driven reaction where there should be faith driven leadership. As Jesus encountered the centurion in Matthew 8 , he saw a man who understood that authority is like a pyramid. We like that we can have authority over the people under us, but we often forget that this is only so because someone above us has given us authority. When we realize that we are accountable to One higher than us; that we too are under authority, it can radically change the way you use yours. Free will is essentially authority given to you over your own life. There are commands that God has given us. You have the power to choose obedience or rebellion. You are also free to, depending upon your first choice, experience blessing or consequence. We have a natural tendency to use our authority to secure our own comfort and ease. Jesus commands that we exercise our authority for the common good – which will often cost us comfort and ease. Our call is to lead people out of darkness and into the light of Christ. Passive men forsake the authority given them and leave the world to suffer for want of leadership. Aggressive men abuse their authority and crush the spirits of those they are meant to strengthen. Neither option is acceptable for the man of God. We are not "to be lording it over those entrusted to us." Nor are we to abandon the sheep placed under our care. With our words, our actions, our attitudes, and our lives we are to lead others and hold them accountable just as God leads us and holds us accountable. Leadership must begin with you. That is the flip-side of authority. There are those accountable to us, but we cannot forget that we too are accountable to those in authority over us – even Christ himself. Are you following in obedience, or running in rebellion? Are you living in the blessing of the Chief Shepherd, or are you under judgment? What are you going to do about it?
Weekly Devotional: February 7, 2010
Words to Grow On
Words to Grow On “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.” ~ Romans 3:19
I had become very good at arguing myself right. I think you know what I mean. No one likes to be wrong. We want to feel and appear important, successful; cool. Being wrong doesn’t really fit into that equation. We will talk ourselves in circles until we arrive at the place we should have started. The problem is, we have failed to confess our wrong. We only appear right, but wrong is in our heart. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come and that he will “convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” In other words, his job is to make us aware of what is wrong, what is right, and the reality that we are accountable for what we choose. When Paul makes reference to “those who are under the law,” he means all of us. The law is both the Levitical regulations of the Torah, but also the teachings that were to be passed down from generation to generation. When God revealed his standard in the law, and Jesus raised the bar in the Sermon on the Mount (“You have heard it said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ but I tell you that whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart.”) we were made aware of what is right, what is wrong, and how woefully short we have fallen. In his grace, God provided forgiveness for our failure and rebellion, but we are no less accountable to him for what we do with the life he has given us. Whether we recognize him for who he is – Creator, Savior, and Lord – or not, we are accountable to him. Accountability is not a mechanism for judgment, but for success. We are accountable to him, which means that he has the right to convict, correct, and discipline us to make us right; to conform us to the image of his Son. God created you for a purpose, which was lost through sin. He re-created you in Christ Jesus “to do good works which he prepared in advance for you to do.” He has afforded you new life; an eternal life. To receive it through confession and repentance is to make yourself intentionally accountable to God. We must all remain open to the leading, conviction, and guidance of the Holy Spirit, our divine accountability partner. Only when we embrace this reality can we let go of our pride, stop defending our wrong, and become all God made us to be.
Weekly Devotional: January 24, 2010
Words to Grow On
“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” ~ Psalm 119:15-16
Men have a reputation for, among other things, tossing the instructions as step one to almost any project. Sometimes it is good to wrestle with things and figure them out as you go. You can gain a better working knowledge of things that way. However, tossing instructions and neglecting their value can also be very foolish.
It is a growing reality that most men would rather stay home and watch anything on ESPN2 than come to church. The reason for this, I believe, is that we have made “coming to church” the goal, the end result of our outreach efforts. Men remain loyal to that which they value, and it can be hard to find value in simply “attending church.” In fact, if that’s all the Christian life was about, I wouldn’t come either. King David, a manly man if ever there was one, saw things differently. When he spoke of meeting with God and spending time in his word, he used the term, “delight.”
Too often we see “spending time in prayer and the word” as a task. It is a checkmark on the to-do list. It is a burden, not a delight. David’s priority was to meditate on God’s word. Guys, that means he read it, thought about it and how it applies to his life, and put it into practice. In other words, he saw the value of reading the instructions.
How effective could we be in reaching lost men, if saved men were getting it right? We look at the “super Christians” of our age, the Billy Grahams, the Luis Palaus, the other guys who are out there getting it done, and what do they all have in common? Unusual spiritual fortitude? A larger helping of the Holy Spirit? Some unique calling to “go therefore and make disciples?” No. They are no different than you, but they delight in God’s word, they read it, and they apply it. It is more than their instruction manual or a religious habit; it is their connection with God.
Our goal is not to “get people to church.” Our goal is to connect people with Christ – a very real, intimate and personal relationship with the living God. This is what the world is missing. They were made for it and so they hunger for it, yet they cannot recognize it if they do not see it in those who claim to have it. There is ultimate benefit in a right relationship with God: there is peace, there is healing, there is purpose, there is hope, there are stronger, healthier relationships to be developed, and there is a greater impact to be made through your own life. They won’t see it if the people of God don’t live it. God’s word is more than a habit or task. "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” It is the “sword of the Spirit,” and you cannot do battle without it. Like a weapon, you take comfort in having it when you have become proficient with it. Don’t just get into the Word, let it get into you. Read it, reflect on it, and apply it. Then watch the difference it makes in and through you.
Weekly Devotional: August 30, 2009
Words to Grow On
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” ~ Philippians 3:10
Do you suffer from “Job syndrome?” By this I mean do you believe that if you avoid the big sins and do more good than bad that you can earn God’s favor and avoid suffering? The bulk of our lives are lived to avoid suffering and failure. We will go to great lengths to hide our weaknesses and deficiencies in order to fashion a nice comfortable life free from pain. This mindset can be very dangerous. Job’s friends also operated under this tragic assumption and sat in judgment on Job presuming he harbored some great sin. Likewise, we can wind up accusing others, ourselves, and even God himself if we do not correct our thinking.
What the apostle Paul wanted most was to experience the power and presence of God in and through his life. The mile markers for his journey? Suffering and death. These are not words we equate with the Christian life, but Paul did. So did Jesus. “In this world you will have trouble. Take heart! I have overcome the world.” The reason these words and abundant life go together is because the suffering we endure is temporary. The life we are called to is eternal. We begin with an economy of self. As a baby, when I am hungry, I cry until you feed me. As a child, when I want something, I take it or pitch a fit until you succumb and give it to me. Once we are adults we learn to be more subtle, but the motive is the same: “Me first.” We want what we expect. What we expect is based off of what we know and so we often use worldly standards of what is good and desirable, and what is not. When we trust Jesus and commit our lives to follow him, we need to shift our “me” economy to a kingdom economy.
In a kingdom economy the things of this world have little value. Our suffering is but a season, the fruit our lives will bear from it, however, has eternal value. In our “me” economy, fear is the currency. It drives us to do things, and we depend on the fear of others to get what we want. In a kingdom economy, faith is the currency of the realm. We press on, we endure, we strive because we trust our Lord and want what He knows is best over what we think is best. Only when we trust God and act in faith will we experience the power of His presence in our lives. Outside of this, we will only experience what we can achieve for ourselves: a nice, comfortable little life, built on sand which can collapse at the next phone call.
God brought extreme suffering into Job’s life to teach Job that the Lord is God, that through suffering we learn more about Him, and through suffering we are equipped to do greater things. Job acted as a high priest for his family out of fear. At the end of his trial, he was appointed a high priest for his friends and acted in a tried and tested faith that resulted in their redemption. What is the Lord teaching you in your season of trial? What greater thing does He want to do through you?
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