Deeper Still

Press the arrow to listen to “I’m Letting Go” by Francesca Battistelli as you read today’s devotion about leading in new ways.

Scripture
With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.” Isaiah 35:3-4

Observation
God can make a new road, but it is possible that no on will walk on it. New ways bring fresh fears to those who are used to old paths.

God makes new roads and it takes leaders to fill them with pedestrians. In Isaiah 35 there is a remarkable prophecy of a new way that God was preparing to open in the desert. Jesus fulfilled the prophecy and made the new way. It was John the Baptist who encouraged the first travelers to walk on it.

God is constantly making new ways but he needs leaders to lead pedestrians on them. The trail blazing has already been done by the Lord. It is up to leaders to infuse confidence into others to use them. This takes a special skill of mixing leadership with encouragement.

It takes more than leadership to bring change. In fact, leadership can be too courageous and cause followers to freeze in fear.  Leadership is not always waving the flag at the front of the parade, but slipping behind others, inspiring them along the way.

Application
God has called me to strengthen and encourage with words that are like rebar to reinforce the soul. Hands are tired and knees are weak because the work and way has been hard. The message of hope is that road conditions have changed. Old hazards have been removed. It is safe to travel.

Prayer
Father, help me to counsel as I lead. And most of all, give me the words that make a lingering difference in the lives of others. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Mercy Me sing “You Reign” while reading today’s devotion about living with imperfections.

Scripture
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed. Isaiah 26:16

Observation
There are many disturbing things in the city of God. The church is not a perfect place because people are in it. The local church is an odd blend of high ideals and broken lives. We are right to have high expectations because God has given us a grand vision and the power to accomplish it. But we are nothing more than clay models made from the dust of the ground and so we don’t live up to expectations.

When we are disturbed about problems in Zion, it is tempting to take matters into our own hands. In some broken down part of the city we begin to throw up a speedy wall to shore up the city. But our haste and lack of planning is visible by how out of place our human efforts look in the overall city plan.

Application
Instead, we are to build on the cornerstone. When a mason lays a new wall he first puts in a starting block. Every block and course emanates from that first brick. A new section cannot be thrown up on its own. Instead it must start with the cornerstone. Jesus is building is church and what looks right and lasts is built on him. In panic or good intentions, we are not to throw up temporary solutions. Instead, we are to find where Jesus is building and align everything we do with that.

Prayer
Father, today, show me where Jesus is building his church and let all I add on be right on the string line of his purposes. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Chris Tomlin’s worship song “Jesus Messiah” while reading today’s devotion on endurance.

Scripture
…Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us….Hebrews 12:1

Observation
My wife bragged to me the other day that she has entered the domain of the hypermilage drivers by scoring 48 miles per gallon in her Honda Civic. We went on a long drive together and she carefully tapped the numbers into her calculator. I scored a humiliating 34 miles per gallon. Why? Because I drove with impatience while she drove with endurance. I wanted to get there cool and fast. She is quite content to roll down the windows and drive in the slow lane. Leslie is an endurance rider and I am not.

The race of life we are to run, but only with endurance. There is a sense that we are to meter our days with the end in mind. Instead of gazing only at the goal, we are to drive like a rally driver who takes all of the winding, dusty road into account. What matters is first to complete the race not to compete the race.

When I was 25 and just out of the staring blocks, I ran my first six months of full-time pastoral ministry as if Jesus were coming by nightfall and I were Billy Graham. I got to the end of that season fatigued. I ran with only the end mind and not the middle bit.

It was in about year 13 of full-time ministry, and I was plain pooped and thought I needed a vacation immediately. A wizened old saint taught me that rest does not always come by stopping, but in how we slow for the curves along the way. Rest is not always found in the word “stop” but also in the word “slow”.  There are micro-vacations along the way that meter our energy at sustainable levels.

Application
Now at year 22 of full-time pastoral ministry I need to keep the word “endurance” in mind. There is a pace for my race that may not get me there first and fast but right to last.

Prayer
Father, I ask that the word “endurance” will become one of my life words. I can see that faith is all about pushing through hardships not just to get to heaven but to bring heaven down to earth. Let my deliberate steps make a difference. Amen.

Press the arrow to be awed by the Indescrible Lord of all!

Scripture
Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25 (The Message)

Observation
This morning as I lay in bed, wishing that the darkness would stick around a little while longer, I thought to myself, “In a few moments I will take my first footsteps into the day. Eventually those steps will lead me back to this bed.” So I added the prayer, “Lord, let the loop of life I circle today make a difference.”

This day I want to make steps between bedtimes that make a difference. I want to meet the right people and say the right things. I want to be “inventive” in this business of encouragement. I take that to mean, observing others long enough to discover what it takes to cheer them up.

Application

The Big Day is coming up fast. No it is not this Sunday with the 7,000 people who will swirl around me. The Big Day is when Jesus returns to meet us all. I wonder how many I will meet today really do believe that the greatest day they will live is yet to be? I wonder how many think that the best is behind them and there is misery or, even worse, monotony ahead? Somehow, directly or indirectly I want to inspire them to believe that the best is yet to come.

Prayer
Father, I ask this day that you will navigate my life through the crowd to the individuals who need you most. And when those grand moments come, give me the words and actions that will make a difference. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Newsboys sing “He Reigns” as you read today’s devotion about the love of God.

Scripture
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
But the more I called to him,
the farther he moved from me….
I myself taught Israel how to walk,
leading him along by the hand.
But he doesn’t know or even care
that it was I who took care of him.
“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel?
How can I let you go?
My heart is torn within me,
and my compassion overflows.
Hebrews 11:1-3; 8

Observation
The heart of God is so great that it takes entire nations of millions of individuals to absorb his capacity for love and relationship. It is almost strange to read this description of God’s emotions toward the entire nation of Israel. He refers to millions as if they were just one person, a son whom he loves.

This shows us the greatness of God, that it takes entire nations to satisfy his desire for fellowship.

This shows us the limitlessness of the love of God, for there is so much love in him that he can give all he has to all there are and yet have more to give.

This shows us the greater marvel of God, for though he is powerful he is so very personal. A God who can speak of millions as if he were talking to his own son, is the same God who can locate me in the crowd and love me personally. He knows my name and how to speak it in such a way that I want to come to him.

Application
Sometimes I am too selfish in my relationship with the Lord. I need to give room in my heart for millions to be as close to him as I feel him near to me.  All the while, I must keep a confidence that he loves me with personal precision.

Prayer
Father, the enormity of your heart is beyond words, it must be experienced. Love nations through me and find me in the middle of my nation loving you. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Audio Adrenaline sing “Hands and Feet” while you read today’s devotion on mutual respect.

Scripture
Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. Titus 3:1-2

Observation
Being human is a challenge. We live, work and play with those made in the image of God who are loved by a heavenly Father while we are made of dust and leave our fingerprints everywhere. Humans are not house flies to be brushed aside or stones to be kicked away. Sons of Adam and daughters of Eve have will last and be loved forever.

Each person matters enough to God to be called “my child”. So as we are doing life we do so with incredibly precious people.

Because we will last and are loved forever, we are called to deeply respect one another. We need to look for evidence of Christ in others. We need to identify the anointing of others. We need to listen carefully, speak thoughtfully and move circumspectly. If we are to cherish each other as sons and daughters of God, there must be deep respect for each human and the work that person is given to do.

Application
Our lives are not to run over others but to compliment them. That’s where the challenge comes. The only hope we have to work well together is to show “every consideration for all men.” We need to work in life with appreciation, awe and respect for the unique work and particular style of each human life. That respect is love in action.

Prayer
Father, heighten today my respect of others and bring my life to adjust to the call you have placed on their lives. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Kari Jobe sing “Revelation Song” while you read today’s devotion on how to get respect.

Scripture
These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Titus 2:15

Observation
At the age of 26 I met my first city council member. Just out of acne, I was leading my first church.  Barely old enough to drive, I went to city hall to present plans for the construction of our new church building. Behind the desk was a politician as crusty as his weathered face. He took one look at me and said, “When did they let you out of high school?” The trouble with ministry is that when you are young, you are considered too young; and when you are old you are considered over the hill. There is no middle ground.

Titus was a pastor of island people known for their indifference toward authority. Paul warned him about it. How could the young preacher gain the attention of a people who brushed him aside?

Paul’s message was simple: Respect is earned but it must also be expected. Titus was to let no one disregard him. He was to allow no one to look down on him or stand over him in judgement.

But how exactly was this fresh-faced pastor supposed to manage that? The answer was to be in the words that Titus would speak.

Titus had to be conscious of his authority. He was speaking not because he wanted to talk but because God had something to say. He was sent by Jesus himself, with hands laid on him by the elders. His authority did not come from wizened age or decades of political connections in the community. Titus was a new face in town who came fresh from the throne room of God. With little rapport or reputation he had more authority than all because God had called him to speak.

Titus had to speak the right kinds of words. First came the words to “exhort”. In the Greek, the words literally mean, “those that come along side.” Titus would have to speak words that would keep walking with people, encouraging them long after he had spoken them, encouraging them forward. Some of Titus’ respect would come because his words would walk with people long after he spoke them.  Second, came “reproving” words. These were not the words that would walk with people, but words that would get in their way. Words of challenge would charge like a defensive tackle and level them. Some of Titus’ respect would come because he would speak words outside of himself that would get in the ways of wrong doing.

If Titus would speak out of his authority he would have respect. I remember an old counselor, who exuded respect every person she counseled, no matter how bungled their life, told me, “I always expect respect. I never let anyone disregard me.” Hers was never an arrogant demand, but an authority rooted in God’s call and expressed in deep love. I must do the same.

Application
If I will use my words well I too will have the respect I need to do what God has asked. I need to speak words that keep walking with people through the problems of life. I need to speak words that become speed bumps in their journey. If I respect the authority that has sent me others will respect the words I speak.

Prayer
Father, give to me the opportunity to speak, and when I do so let it be something worth listening to.

Press the arrow to listen to “Jesus Is Above All” by Hillsong London as you read today’s devotion about prophetic ears.

Scripture

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing
Unless He reveals His secret counsel
To His servants the prophets.
lion has roared! Who will not fear?
The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy? Amos 3:7-8

Observation
Amos lived in a shoe-box sized town but he had a widescreen view of the world. There was less to the town of Tekoa than met the eye. It was a place of grubby shepherds and smelly sheep. The freeway of life by passed it without an exit.

Amos, however, knew the world around him. Current events in far-flung cities were familiar to him. Even more, Amos knew God’s word in high definition vision. He could see through the headlines to see what God was up to.

Application
How did he do it? More importantly, how can we hear God as he did? His secret was this: while he worked he listened. Though he was just a shepherd and pruner of trees, he did not let his odd-job life keep him from seeing the big picture. He had confidence that God could speak to a man who was not the son of a prophet. He listened because he knew God speaks even to shepherds. And because he spoke what God told him, he was told even more.

I must work and listen. If God is to act he will speak to those who are listening and speaking for him. In the mundane events of life, I must listen for eternal things. Greater things are ahead for all of us, and before they come the prophets will hear them first. I want to be among them.

Prayer
Father, today, as I tend the sheep help me to hear what you are up to. And show me what to do with what I hear. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Glenn Packiam Everlasting God as you read today’s devotion on leadership.

Scripture
Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 2 Timothy 2:7

Observation
Ministry 101 class is in session. Professor Paul takes chalk and writes four points on the blackboard. Today my call is to write these sentences not just in a notebook, but on my life.

1. Ministry is hard, so suck it in and in the process you will find a band of battle brothers. (Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:3)

2. Don’t get caught up in money-making schemes; trust the Commander and his commands. (No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:4)

3. There are leadership rules that are not obvious until broken; so learn them fast, follow them diligently and succeed. (Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. 2 Timothy 2:5)

4. When God rewards hard service with good things you have permission to enjoy. (The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. 2 Timothy 2:6)

Prayer
Father, as I look through the list, it’s the third one that I need the most help with. There are so many leadership lessons to learn, then to remember and most of all to apply. Yet I know that godly leadership is not about memorizing principles from gurus, but in being led by the Holy Spirit. So Spirit of God, please be my mentor today. Give me wisdom, knowledge and understanding. It is your job to remind me and mine to obey. Today I listen and walking slowly to hear from you. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Delirious sing History Maker as you read today’s devotion about priorities.

Scripture
…I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6

Observation
Fire tends to go out. The crackling light in the dark chills into lumps of soot. There is a fire in me and it tends to burn out. God started it, but I must be reminded to tend it. The very work I do for him is what extinguishes it.

The problem of fire is that while the flames moves the fuel does not. The dry wood in the airflow soon burns out. Other parts could burn but the fire cannot move them. There is a tendency in any ministry to start with grand plans and then suffocate the fire in the details. The devil distracts us not by taking us away from our work but by burying us alive under it. The great danger in ministry is being busy doing the wrong things. There may be smoke, but that is no promise of fire.

Fires needed to be tended. Flipping, poking and feeding make the fire burn brightly. If I chew through a job description I will soon burn out. Each day and even each hour I need to adjust my fire again.

Application
Each morning I awaken to a cold stove. The laughing fire of the night before is now just sad ashes. Fires must be built again with fresh kindling and the coals snoozing under the ashes. I need to ask again and again, What did God last ask me to do? What am I gifted to be? What will take the kingdom of God forward today? What can I do this day of significance? What relationship will spark new life?

Prayer
Father, it would be an embarrassment for a torch runner to arrive at a packed stadium with a flame snuffed out. All my running can put my flame out. Keep my flame alive. What I fear will extinguish me is the fuel around me. There is enough of it to suffocate the fire. So today, give me skill to arrange my fire well. Set me on fire and gather the cold in to feel me burn. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to the story behind Paul Baloche’s “Open the Eyes of My Heart” as you read today’s devotion about vision.

Scripture
Then Elisha said, “Listen to the word of the LORD; thus says the LORD, ‘Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’” The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Then he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.” 2 Kings 7:1-2

Observation
In a board meeting, in a city so hungry that mothers were eating their own children, Elisha had a vision of price wars in the food market within 24 hours. Elisha was the only leader in the city who could see hope on the horizon.

The king was so deluded that he blamed God’s prophet for the siege of the city. The king’s right hand man could not envision anything other than defeat. Elisha alone could see that within 24 hours merchants would be slashing the price of flour in the stores.

Application
I want to be a man like Elisha, who can discern good things God is up to, through the walls of despair, before they come to pass. It is touching in this story that two lepers are the first to see the good answer of the Lord. It is saddening to see that the king’s right hand man saw it but never tasted it because he doubted. May my eyes see what God is up to in the future so I can make effective decisions in the present.

Prayer
Lord, would you please open my eyes like Elisha to see the hope that you are up to. Help me to understand good things you are planning so that I may be ready when they come. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Chris Tomlin sing “Amazing Grace” (with images from the movie) as you read today’s devotion about humility in ministry.

Scripture
It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 1:15-17

Observation
A pastor is successful not because of himself but in spite of himself and all because of God. But there is a temptation to pivot our success on our good points. Paul knew he could not. Each day he would have had flash backs of the angry tirades of his youth against the very Christians he would serve that day. The church planter had started his career as a church slasher.

In Paul’s mind, his background, or rather lack of it, made God stunningly obvious in all that he did. He couldn’t take the credit, because Jesus called him to serve the church at the very moment he was galloping off to destroy it. There would be no more pride for him of who he knew of and what he knew about. Instead, not just humbled but humiliated, Paul would remember the rest of his life that the only thing he had to offer was Jesus.

Application
I was reflecting the other day over successful church planters I’ve known. As I scrolled through the names, none of them were seminary graduates. Few had stellar backgrounds from godly families. It seemed to me that the successful ones had nothing to offer, they knew they had nothing to offer and were quite comfortable with that.

Application
I had business cards designed yesterday. I didn’t put my academic degrees on there, but some do. I think Paul’s business card would have read, “Saulus Paulus, Chief Sinner”. In that way, everyone would know that everything else was Jesus.

Prayer
Father, the only thing I have to offer today is Jesus. Help me not to forget that. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to “Kindness” by Chris Tomlin as you read today’s devotion on well-seasoned words.

Scripture
Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. Colossians 4:6

Observation
Ungarnished popcorn won’t travel far. But sprinkle it with salt and butter and it will go by the handful. Seasoning is everything not just with food but also with our words.

Paul made a promise for us: If we take time to craft our words well, God will teach us what to say next. Our seasoning is grace. We could prattle off definition of grace: love we don’t deserve. But what does grace sound like in a speech bubble?

It is focused on others and not on itself.
It forgives slights and slices.
It is unquenchably cheerful.
It feels what others hurt and heals.
It understands and then is understood.
It finds a spark and blows on it.
It uses the punctuation of thankfulness.
It gives what is not deserved.

The bottom line is this: those who have experienced grace, speak graciously.

Gracious people are used by God because he can trust them with the script he writes into daily conversation. When we take time to season our words with grace God will give us what to say next.

Application
All too often, my words leave the kitchen of my heart preparation without the sprinkling of grace. Anyone can be well behaved in public words, but what about those to the people closest to us?  I need to travel with salt and use it liberally.

Prayer
Father, help me to remember to keep seasoning every bite. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Desperation Band play “Amazed” while reading today’s devotion on victory through worship.

Scripture
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. Colossians 3:1-5

Observation
Worship is the secret of living a life in victory over sin, because it is as we look into Christ that we see the new and improved model of ourselves.

We are hidden in Christ who is in God. There is something new under plastic wrap, boxed in styrofoam of what we will become. When we worship we don’t have to imagine what it would be like to live a life resentment free, lust free, greed free, or corruption free. We don’t have to imagine it because we can see this the new as now in Christ.

The trumpeting victory call is that I don’t have to wait until tomorrow for all things new, I can live tomorrow today. Worship is a telescope that zooms the future into the present so I can start living like heaven today. In worship we are to be looking not just at Christ but also at ourselves. Christ we worship and of ourselves we wonder at the miracle of new creation.

Life at ground level is often discouraging because our greatest enemy is not the devil but ourselves. Worship lifts us up to see better things. Worship gives us permission to play dead to live a new life. We do not need to capitulate to evil as if sin were inevitable. There are better things ahead.

Application
Self-worship is as depressing as meditating on a junk yard. Those who worship Christ have the opportunity of change for they can see themselves in him and live with a better goal in mind.

Prayer
Father, today as I worship Christ give me a glimpse of what I will yet be. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong sing “Inside Out” while reading today’s devotion on serving.

Scripture
Of this church I was made a minister…. Colossians 1:25

Observation
A pastor should pull in the driveway of his church and open the door with amazement that he has been given such a privilege. And what is this great honor so undeserved? A pastor is invited to serve the fiance of Jesus. Sermon by sermon, prayer by prayer, counsel by counsel, a pastor is readying the bride of Christ for her wedding. His honor is just to serve.

Application
Today I am given an honor I do not deserve, for I will soon pull into a driveway and walk into a church door. This serving is a gift.I must truly love the church for this is the future wife of Christ.  Ministry can become habit forming; something done from rote instinctive impulses. Greetings, meetings and sermons can become routine. I must remember the Groom, who is anxiously waiting in heaven. I must remember the bride, who often forgets how little time she has left to get ready. I must never get used to gift of ministry. God could have done this without me,  but he chose me.

Prayer
Father, help me to let Christ love the church through me today. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong sing “Higher” (I Beleive in You) as you read today’s devotion about worry-free living.

Scripture
Be anxious for nothing….

Observation
“Fear not.” There is such a reassuring cadence in those words. We heard echo in our mother’s voice soothing down the hallway in the middle of a dark night. We hear those words today through the voice of God. “Fear not” is one of the Father’s favorite things to say. He sprinkles this command liberally throughout the whole of the Bible.

The Father wants us to live fearlessly. It is almost like someone inviting Sir Isaac Newton to live in weightlessness of space. There is a freedom from the grim gravity that grips so many down.

Paul found the secret. He knew how to live well poor or rich. The secret was to look beyond the means and to see the source. Behind it all is Christ and in him there is always enough. With or without things we always have him and he is more than enough. Poverty causes us to desire him more; prosperity reminds us that he is the giver of all.

Application
When I chose to be satisfied with Christ alone I am weightless in a weighed down world. Some are weighed down with worry and others with wealthy, but I can be worry free. This begins with a choice, for that is the only option to respond to a command. Paul did not encourage us to not be anxious; he commanded us not to worry. Fearlessness is the result of obedience.

Prayer
Father, I trust you, totally, thorough, completely. You are my all in all. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Kari Jobe sing “Pure” while reading today’s devotion.

Scripture
He said to him, “I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water ‘” But he lied to him. 1 Kings 13:18

Observation
The old prophet heard of a young prophet preaching in his territory, and he was threatened. So he invited the young prophet to his home for dinner. It would be a long and leisurely conversation with the aim of slowing the young man down.

The king had not heard the word of the Lord, because the old prophet had not spoken. So God sent in someone from the outside to speak. The old prophet was so accustomed to mixing his words with God’s word that it was not trouble for him to tell the young novice truth as lie. The result for the young prophet was tragic. He became a one sermon wonder.

One of the traps awaiting a young leader is an old leader whose life has been filled with compromise. Iron may sharpen iron, but dead wood only dulls.  The old man’s half-heartedness cost the young man his life.

Application
Not all leaders weather well. I remember once being invited by an old pastor with whitened hair to preach on Sunday and to share lunch with his wife that afternoon. While we prayed together before the service, I kept having the thought the man was an adulterer. I shook off the thought thinking, “But he’s a kindly old man with decades of fruitful service.” Over lunch he sighed and said, “Ministry is necessary only because of the fall of Adam. Were it not for him, every man would be a priest of his own home. But because of his fall I must take care of the families of others.” I was young but disturbed. Something seemed askew in what he said.  I wasn’t in ministry because of failure but with hope of success. I made a note to myself that I did not want to become pessimistic about ministry like him when I grew old. A year later the city paper paraded the old preacher’s story; not only was he an adulterer, but one twice over with two mistresses. He was trying to slow me down to his pace to comfort his own compromise.

There are half-hearted men along life’s way who are threatened by whole-hearted devotion to Christ. A young leader must learn to keep on walking to where God has him next to be. There are reasons why God gives commands, even when they are odd enough to cause us to walk home without dinner. If that young man had gone home hungry, God might have filled him with a message that could have become the 40th book of the Old Testament.

Prayer
Father, help me to deflect the discouragement of cynical leaders who have let their failures become their high water marks. Keep me walking on. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Kari Jobe sing “Though I Am Not Worthy”

Scripture
[Be] of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; Philippians 2:2-3

Observation
Paul had high expectations: that his multi-cultural church would have one purpose. His church was full of Jews as well as Gentiles, Romans as well as Greeks and Macedonians, slave as well as free, and military as well as civilian. This was Philippi, a Roman colony in Greece filled with retired army officers. Yet Paul called for one purpose.

How can a leader of any group hope for one mind among many?

The secret is found in the next sentence.

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.

He called these people to a new level of maturity. He did not ask them to be selfless but to recognize that at the core they were selfish. He did not ask them to stop be conceited, but to recognize that at the core they were self-centered. Once they would recognize their selfishness and conceit they could then make a second choice: not to respond to it.

Each of us is to one degree or another selfish and conceited. We like things our way and think of ourselves if not better than others, then at least not worse than most. Maturity comes not when all selfishness and conceit is purged from me, but when I choose to see it and not respond to it.

Paul showed another way: humility. Selfishness and conceit exist only when look at ourselves in the mirror; humility comes when we look others in the eye. Each human being we meet is crafted in the image of God out of the dust of the earth. We are surrounded by divines who struggle, like we do, with the dust of their character. This calls on one had for profound respect of others, to listen, to value, and to engage. On the other hand, it calls for great tolerance as we see the faults in others that are also in us.

Application
The bottom line is that we really need each other and we need to set up each other for success.

Prayer
Father, I make the choice today to see each person I meet as more important than myself. Amen.

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Scripture
The soft grass is our bed; fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house, and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters. Song of Songs 1:16-17

Observation
As I read this verse, I imagine a young woman with flowing hair lying on a forest glade, stroking the locks of her lover as the wind blows through the branches above them. They are so lost in love that they do not see that they are homeless. Because they have each other, it does not matter that they have nothing at all.

A mortgage will change all of that! Before long she will want a house and everything to go in it. He will get lost in his career and so long as he has tools in the garage he is happy.  The life they dreamed of living together is now pulling them apart.

It is so important to remember first love in a marriage and in our relationship with the Lord so that we can find the source of true happiness. Contentment is not found in what we have but in who has us. If we are loved then grass can be our bed, cedar branches the beams of our house and fir trees the rafters. When we are loved we can make do.

Application
After 25 years of marriage life gets complicated. There was a day when simply holding my girl friend’s hand made me feel like a wealthy man. That experience is still there if I will be content enough to find it. And even more so, in my relationship with the Lord, there were times I was quite happy to put all my belongings in a suitcase and go where he asked simply because I was loved. That relationship is also still there, if I will be content enough to find it.

Prayer
Father, help me not to miss out on the riches that are around me in the warm hand of my wife in my own or in a song of worship to you. Amen.

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Scripture
He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. Ecclesiastes 10:8

Observation
Being clever is a risky thing. There are some who can think ahead, slip in from around from the side and work behind the scenes. They seem to move ahead, sometimes quickly. But there are consequences. The most immediate is that the clever man must keep ahead not just of the pack but of himself. The price of being clever once is that one must be more clever again, and again and again. That can be exhausting. Then like a rubber band that has stretched to its farthest limit, life can snap back to the beginning. Cleverness has its consequences.

The pit dug is a secret trap for an enemy. A wall broken through is a robber’s way to gain entry. These metaphors are images of the clever man ensnaring and snatching to get his way ahead. There are pits and fangs ahead.

So what is the opposite of cleverness? The most convenient word is “candor”. Candor is not speaking one’s mind, but speaking the truth without hidden agendas. The man of candor has a refreshing plainness about him. There is discretion, there is a sense of timing, but when the time is appropriate the heart is as clear as the facts.

Application

I want to be a man of candor. When I reflect through life, the leaders I’ve respected the most have been men like that. It is the safest way to stay out of the pits or to ward of snake bite.

Prayer
Father, show me how to be a man of candor. Amen.