Want to become a good leader? Become a good listener! Here are two stories of what happens when we do not take time to listen. The first is from a young woman hurt by a manager who constantly cut her off: "We expected he would wait and give us answers to serious questions about work. Many times he walked off when we were in mid-sentence, having heard nothing." The next is from a church youth director who was fired: "After serving the Lord there for two years, I was called into an elders' meeting. They took out a list of all the things I had done wrong in the past two years. Most of what they said was true, for I was brand new in this work. Then they called for my resignation. What did I learn? (a) Not once did anyone care enough to coach or shepherd me. (b) I had no idea or warning that I was doing anything wrong. (c) The church leaders never built a relationship with their staff."
Why is it hard for leaders to listen? Because leaders love to talk, and as they gain more authority they think they have less reason to listen. Leaders by their very nature tend to be removed from the front lines of battle. To win, they must constantly listen to those who are in the trenches and rely on that information to wise decisions. Before Ezekiel was qualified to prophesy or lead God's people, he wrote: "I sat among them for seven days - overwhelmed. At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me" (Ezekiel 3:15 - 16).
Monday, September 12, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
STRIVE TO BE SEXUALLY PURE
"Avoid sexual immorality." 1 Thessalonians 4:3 - 4
Be grateful that God made you a sexual being. Sex was not a mistake He made when He ran out of ideas. When Adam first saw Eve he did not say "I will bet she has got a wonderful personality!" No, he said, "This is...flesh of my flesh" (Gen 2:23). But when we do not understand God's original intent for sex, bad stuff happens. God does not want to destroy our ability to experience our sexuality. No, He wants to teach us how to enjoy it.
Saying "I am reserving sex for marriage" tends to raise eyebrows and get you excluded from the guest list of a lot of parties. So be it! When there is physical intimacy without true commitment, count on it; somebody is going to get hurt. You need to resolve in your heart to read God's Word and follow His directives on the subject. And you need to do it now, before you get into situations where you are tempted to compromise your character, because then you have waited too late.
We all struggle at times with our sexuality, particularly in today's culture. Sex is such a deep part of us. And guilt about sex has a way of making us feel separated from God like nothing else. So in order to determine your values and set some ground rules, you need to vow before God, "I am not going to allow my impulses to dictate to me, or sin to separate me from You. I choose to keep Your standards, to rely on Your Spirit to give me strength day by day. And if I do sin to seek Your forgiveness, get back up and move closer to You." Count on it - that is a prayer God will answer!
Be grateful that God made you a sexual being. Sex was not a mistake He made when He ran out of ideas. When Adam first saw Eve he did not say "I will bet she has got a wonderful personality!" No, he said, "This is...flesh of my flesh" (Gen 2:23). But when we do not understand God's original intent for sex, bad stuff happens. God does not want to destroy our ability to experience our sexuality. No, He wants to teach us how to enjoy it.
Saying "I am reserving sex for marriage" tends to raise eyebrows and get you excluded from the guest list of a lot of parties. So be it! When there is physical intimacy without true commitment, count on it; somebody is going to get hurt. You need to resolve in your heart to read God's Word and follow His directives on the subject. And you need to do it now, before you get into situations where you are tempted to compromise your character, because then you have waited too late.
We all struggle at times with our sexuality, particularly in today's culture. Sex is such a deep part of us. And guilt about sex has a way of making us feel separated from God like nothing else. So in order to determine your values and set some ground rules, you need to vow before God, "I am not going to allow my impulses to dictate to me, or sin to separate me from You. I choose to keep Your standards, to rely on Your Spirit to give me strength day by day. And if I do sin to seek Your forgiveness, get back up and move closer to You." Count on it - that is a prayer God will answer!
Monday, September 5, 2011
SURRENDER IT!
"Trust in the Lord." Proverbs 3:5
Ever notice how much energy it takes to keep a tight grip on something? Come on, you know what you are holding on to, don't you? You are in turmoil because you cannot control the people or circumstances in your life. Hey, release your grip. Go ahead: surrender it to God. You will be amazed at how much more energy you will have, and how much easier life will be. Once you make the choice to surrender it to God, your hardest days become your easiest. A. W. Tozer wrote: "Father, my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from you my terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that you may enter and dwell there without a rival." You say, "Surrender what?"
Ever notice how much energy it takes to keep a tight grip on something? Come on, you know what you are holding on to, don't you? You are in turmoil because you cannot control the people or circumstances in your life. Hey, release your grip. Go ahead: surrender it to God. You will be amazed at how much more energy you will have, and how much easier life will be. Once you make the choice to surrender it to God, your hardest days become your easiest. A. W. Tozer wrote: "Father, my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from you my terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that you may enter and dwell there without a rival." You say, "Surrender what?"
- Your Position! Place it all before your God. Find your security, your identity and your contentment in Him.
- Your Plans! Plan wisely, but be ready for God to rearrange things and take you along paths that may be uncomfortable for you.
- Your Relationships! Nothing this side of Heaven is permanent, including relationships. Enjoy the time you have with your loved ones, but avoid the temptation to cling.
- Your Anxieties! If your emotions are wrapped around some issue involving a possession, a job, a particular expectation or a relationship, you are not fully relying on God. No, you are still clinging to lesser things. Stop. Let it go! You are delaying the surprise God has waiting for you.
Friday, September 2, 2011
LET GO AND LET GOD
"If you love someone...You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him." 1 Corinthians 13:7
To let go does not mean to stop caring, it just means I cannot do it for someone else. To let go is not to cut myself off, it is the realization that I do not control them. To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences. To let go is to admit my powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands. To let go is not to try and change or blame another, I can only change myself. To let go is not to care for, but to care about; not to fix, but to be supportive; not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being. To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to effect their own outcomes. To let go is not to be protective, it is to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to deny, but to accept. To let go is not to nag, scold or argue, but to search out my own shortcomings and correct them. To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish each moment. To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone, but to try to become what I dream I can be. To let go is not regret the past, but to grow and live for the future. To let go is to fear less and love more. To let go - is to let God!
To let go does not mean to stop caring, it just means I cannot do it for someone else. To let go is not to cut myself off, it is the realization that I do not control them. To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences. To let go is to admit my powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands. To let go is not to try and change or blame another, I can only change myself. To let go is not to care for, but to care about; not to fix, but to be supportive; not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being. To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to effect their own outcomes. To let go is not to be protective, it is to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to deny, but to accept. To let go is not to nag, scold or argue, but to search out my own shortcomings and correct them. To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish each moment. To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone, but to try to become what I dream I can be. To let go is not regret the past, but to grow and live for the future. To let go is to fear less and love more. To let go - is to let God!
Monday, August 29, 2011
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
"Having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." John 17:4
If Satan cannot buy you with what is illegitimate, he will attempt to bury you with what is legitimate. Either way, his objective is to drive a wedge between you and God. When Christ came to the end of His earthly ministry, though only 33 years old He could say: "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." Jesus could have gotten much more involved with the 12 disciples, or taken advice from some program committee and chosen 24 disciples to double His outreach. He could have traveled to Rome, the seat of power at the time. Or to Athens, where He could touch great minds in order to extend His influence and reputation. But He chose only 12 disciples. He mentored them slowly and intimately, and never traveled far from the place of His birth.
Some might say that if you are going to revolutionize the world you need to carry your cause to as many parts of it as possible. But Jesus deliberately limited His itinerary. He kept is simple. At the end, just before breathing His last He said, "It is finished." Jesus was ready to die - because there was nothing left for Him to do. His work had been completed, from the training of the disciples to providing redemption for us. And you will detect no hint of resignation or regret in any of His last words. Mission accomplished! How long are you going to keep promising yourself that you will draw closer to God, that you will put His Kingdom first? If you ever plan to do it, do it now!
If Satan cannot buy you with what is illegitimate, he will attempt to bury you with what is legitimate. Either way, his objective is to drive a wedge between you and God. When Christ came to the end of His earthly ministry, though only 33 years old He could say: "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." Jesus could have gotten much more involved with the 12 disciples, or taken advice from some program committee and chosen 24 disciples to double His outreach. He could have traveled to Rome, the seat of power at the time. Or to Athens, where He could touch great minds in order to extend His influence and reputation. But He chose only 12 disciples. He mentored them slowly and intimately, and never traveled far from the place of His birth.
Some might say that if you are going to revolutionize the world you need to carry your cause to as many parts of it as possible. But Jesus deliberately limited His itinerary. He kept is simple. At the end, just before breathing His last He said, "It is finished." Jesus was ready to die - because there was nothing left for Him to do. His work had been completed, from the training of the disciples to providing redemption for us. And you will detect no hint of resignation or regret in any of His last words. Mission accomplished! How long are you going to keep promising yourself that you will draw closer to God, that you will put His Kingdom first? If you ever plan to do it, do it now!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
MAN IN THE MIRROR
“A hearer of the word and not a doer” James 1:23
Your Bible is a mirror that shows you what you really look like in God’s eyes: “If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was” James 1:23 – 24. This word “man” is the Greek word for a male, so we are talking about the way men use the mirror. They glance just long enough to get the basics done – then they are gone. But not women. They are so intent on knowing how they look that they carry a mirror in their purse. They can find out any time of the day how they look. The point here is not the difference in the way men and women use a mirror, but the difference between taking a quick glance at yourself and hanging out in front of the mirror until you have fully seen who you are in God’s eyes.
As we read God’s Word the Holy Spirit holds up a mirror before us. He wants us to see ourselves so that we can make whatever adjustments are necessary. James continues: “One who looks intently at the perfect law, the Word of God, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” James 1:25. In what area of your life do you desire a greater measure of God’s blessing? Take care of the “doing” and God will take care of the “blessing”.
Paul writes, “We all…beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image” 2 Co 3:18. A mirror is a reflector. And the more time you spend in God’s Word, the more you will begin to reflect your Heavenly Father’s likeness.
Now, this is no overnight change, and it does not happen by just grabbing a Bible verse here and there, or skimming through a passage. No, it calls for soaking yourself in the Scriptures until the Holy Spirit connects with your spirit and produces the nature and ways of Christ in you. Jesus said, “If you have ever left dishes in a sink until the food has dried on, you know those dishes need to “abide” in some hot, soapy water so that all the junk can be removed. We need to soak our minds in God’s Word until the junk that James calls “all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness” James 1:21 begins to melt away. This is not just gross sin, but hardened inner attitudes that keep us from growing in grace.
Our new nature has been “programmed” to want to obey God in much the same way that a calculator is programmed to compute numbers. All you have to do is feed a calculator the right information to get the right response. Your new nature has been set up to give you the right response when you feed it with the Word of God. That is why your enemy will do anything to keep you from spending time in God’s Word. Do not let him do it!
Monday, August 22, 2011
FULFILLING YOUR GOD-GIVEN ASSIGNMENT
"I gave them a mission in the world." John 17:18
Every day you live you are in the process of becoming. What you become, however, depends on what you give yourself to. So consider these 7 steps:
Every day you live you are in the process of becoming. What you become, however, depends on what you give yourself to. So consider these 7 steps:
- By making a commitment to grow daily, it will not be long before you begin to see real change.
- Value the process more than the product. Certain events may be helpful in making your decision, but it is going through the process that matures you into what God wants you to be.
- Do not wait for inspiration. Sometimes you can run on excitement, but most times only commitment will carry you through.
- If you are willing to pay now you will enjoy the rewards later, and those rewards always taster sweeter.
- Do not limit God. By focusing on your limitations you magnify them. The God who lives within you is able to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think" (Eph 3:20).
- Learn to master your time. Since you cannot recover lost time, make every moment count. What difference does a few minutes make? A lot! If you save 5 minutes each day by streamlining your morning routine, 10 by eliminating things you do to keep from starting your day, 5 by avoiding talkers or other distractions, and 10 by taking a shorter lunch break - you will gain an additional 125 hours a year. That is 40-hour work weeks to use for anything you want. And you can double that by watching 30 minutes less of television each day.
- Life is filled with decisive moments when you have to trade one thing for another. Always trade up, not down. Want to fulfill your God-given assignment? Follow these steps!
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