Gratitude Changes Everything

Read this in my devotional today based out of the text in Exodus 17:1-7, "The key to overcoming a complaining attitude is identifying and choosing to be content with all that God has done for us. It begins by counting all of the blessings that we enjoy in Christ Jesus, and responding with thanksgiving and praise." 

Key Verse - "So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why are you complaining to me?” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water and grumbled against Moses.” (Exodus 17:2-3a CSB)" 

Choose to trust God with what he's provided you and where He is taking you. It is not all about us, we need to move away from a life of selfish into a life of selfLESS. Thank you Lord for all that you have blessed us with, yesterday, today, and moving forward. Help us to see what you are calling us to and the opportunities you are providing us with to lead others to you. Amen.

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A Leader's Trust

Accepting the Responsibility of a Leader's Trust

This was a great read from my leadership devotional that I wanted to share today, please take the time to read this an apply it to the way you lead.  "And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord." (2 Chronicles 20:3-4) A leader can delegate anything except responsibility. Leaders simply cannot give it away. They can model it; they can teach it; they can share it. But in the words of Harry Truman, the buck stops with the leader. When Jehoshaphat became king of Judah, he assumed a trust. He was to lead the people and manage the nation's resources. One of his greatest challenges came when an army from three countries laid plans to attack Judah. Jehoshaphat faced the same options we all face in a crisis: give up, back up, or stand up. At such times we find out the quality of our leadership: Dropouts: leaders who give up and fail to take responsibility. Cop-outs: leaders who make excuses for why they aren't responsible. Hold-outs: leaders who waiver too long to take responsibility. All-outs: leaders who own the responsibility and take action - like Jehoshaphat.

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Ordinary Acts of Obedience

This is a devotional I read about 4 years ago in Steven Furtick's book, "Sun Stand Still" and it has stuck with me, so I'm sharing it with you today. 


When you strip the biblical miracles of their spectacular special effects, a common plot point emerges: extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary acts of obedience. Consider Moses’'s first encounter with God. 

Moses is tending the family sheep out in the nondescript countryside. He happens to notice a bush that’'s caught fire. He walks over to take a look

... 

Up to this point, it’'s not exactly a riveting scene, is it? 

In reality, the illustrious burning-bush encounter that seemed so captivating in Sunday school is really... quite... ordinary. Moses is performing menial manual labor, working for his father-in-law. It'’s dusty. The sheep stink. Does it get any more mundane? 

Almost all encounters with God begin that way. You may be living under the illusion that when God ignites great things in your life, He’'ll announce it with a big bang. He might. It’'s more likely that He won’'t. So stop waiting around for the big bang. Pay attention to the subtle clues and the still, small voice. Maybe you’'ll hear it this very day. 

What we call a miracle is really just the right combination of your ordinary ingredients and God'’s extraordinary expertise. When God'’s super collides with your natural, sparks will fly. 

God may call you to serve as an unknown youth pastor of fifteen kids in a moldy basement for a youth room and with an Atari for entertainment. Ordinary. But He may also be providing you an opportunity to pour your life into one of those teenagers who will go on to preach the gospel in a thousand places you'’ll never go. 

Extraordinary. 

God may lead you to stay at home with your young children, forfeiting a second income. Ordinary. But along with diapers, dishes, and naps, you receive the gift of time - —to model discipline, instill values, and speak life into your kids. They could grow up to be Joshua's in their own generation. Extraordinary. 

If God is calling you to make a big difference today, He is likely to start in a small way - —a bush that only you will notice. Will you remove your shoes, draw close, and receive your assignment? Will you give the Lord permission to ignite your ordinary? If you will, before long your faith will start carrying you to a higher level than you ever thought you could reach. 

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Want to throw some rocks...

Christians, Jesus didn't die on the cross so that we could use Him as a means to bully and look down on others who don't know or share our beliefs. He came so that we might tell others about his Amazing Love, Compassion, Grace, Forgiveness and Eternal Life. 

When you talk about your faith, if you aren't telling others about the Love and Compassion of Christ, and showing them what that looks like, what are you really doing, and what do you honestly expect from them?

Condemnation and finger pointing will get you nowhere, expecting spiritual conviction and righteousness in someone that doesn't even have a relationship with Jesus yet is foolish. Jesus said in John 8:7, "...Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone..." 

It is not our job to judge and condemn unbelievers, but to show them the love of Christ, to be authentic and do our best to tell them who Jesus is and about His love for them.

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What To Do In The Face Of Adversity

I’m often asked by friends and acquaintances how they should respond when facing adversity, one of the first things I want to encourage folks not to do, is to declare, “all is lost” or “this is the worst possible thing that could happen to me” - because it’s not and it isn’t. Don’t compare your hurts and pains to others, your pain is your pain, I’m not arguing that, but it doesn’t mean to throw in the towel and give up, the book of James, especially the 1st chapter is somewhere you should spend a great deal of time in study and meditation, 

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” 

- James‬ ‭1:2-4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

When we go through difficult times, trust in the Lord and allow your faith to grow and strengthen. God is not going to abandon you, God is not going to forsake you, don’t convince yourself that Jesus died for everyone else, that’s a lie, he died for you, and if had been for only you, he still would’ve gone to the cross. Whatever you are facing, whatever you are going through, let steadfastness have it’s full effect and you’ll lack for nothing. 

May God bless you and strengthen you as you navigate the challenging waters of adversity.

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Achievement Over Affirmation

Choose Achievement Over Affirmation 

(Leadership Blog)

Often times we get caught up getting caught up with people and what they are doing, if we just keep our eyes on Jesus we will get to where we are supposed to go. - June 6, 2018

"Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 
- 2 Timothy 4:3 (NIV)

If you want to make an impact during your lifetime, you have to trade the praise you could receive from others for the things of value that you can accomplish.

A friend once explained something to me that illustrates this concept very well. He told me that as people catch crabs, they'll toss the crustaceans into a basket. If you have only one crab in the basket you need a lid to keep it from crawling out, but if you've got two or more, you don't. When there are several crabs, they will drag one another down so that none of them can get away.

A lot of unsuccessful people act the same way. They'll do things to keep others from getting ahead. But the good news is that if you observe someone trying to do that, you don't have to buy into their belief system. You can get out and stay out of the basket by refusing to be a crab.

From "Your Road Map for Success"

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