Tag Archives: attitude

Stepping Out

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Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Matthew 9:38 niv

A good shepherd knows a good path and takes his charges on it. Where are the good shepherds? Are you one?

The call to make disciples is for each Christian. Each is called in some measure to lead others in a good way deeper to a love in Jesus and love for others. That means in a way we all are called to shepherding.

Shepherds take the best path for the sheep not the shepherd. Right? A shepherd is all about the sheep. He does not eat the grass. But he takes the sheep to the best grass. He raises them to be great sheep. Healthy sheep. Cooperative sheep.

They are raised in a hillside or field fit for sheep. It is most uncomfortable for the shepherd. He would rather be in a house with a couch. But he walks the field for the sheep. He sits on the rock or wet grass. He endures the rain. It is about the sheep.

In Jesus, we are servants. I ask for a servant heart. I ask for others to walk alongside and serve. We serve each other. That is the picture of a healthy congregation.

The God of small miracles walked with us this week. Soup was great. Service to others was great. Joy serving was great. Painting was great. Office was great. Puppet stage building was great. Class assistance was great. All of the these servings are great. People served each other and the community. That is a congregation. That is a kingdom of servants.

Pray for each to serve in a way that grows them and others.

Father, here are your people. So many give of time, talent, and treasure. They serve. Bless them beyond measures of mankind. Encourage their hearts and lives and families. Call them into greater service and love and reward in all they do.

Uncompromising High Spirits

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Get a reason to run and a purpose to plan. The Lord choses to bless those that make known His name with no compromise. Jettison lax approach to heavenly living. Steel yourself and do what you know is right.
Psalm 5:11-12…let those who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits. For You, Lord, will bless the [uncompromisingly] righteous

Need A Quiet Moment, Friend?

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Isaiah 8:18 Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me.
As a businessman and community leader, I spend countless hours seeking audience with people. It is a tough and thankless task.
Jesus presents us to His Father as a gift. He makes it easy to get into the very throneroom of God. Through tremendous sacrifice, He opened a path for us into the presence of the holiest God. Then He takes us by the hand and walks us up to the Creator of All and presents us.
There is nothing we can do to earn that presentation. It is a gift to us received in Him.
That simple knowledge comforts me. The ability to quiet myself and know I don’t have to earn anything consoles me. I can rest in His acceptance and favor.
Friend, there is rest for you. There is favor for you.
Father, accept my friend alongside Your Son, Jesus. What a joy to know You will receive us. The Master of All opens His inner office to allow us entrance and audience. That is huge. Thanks, Father.

Snow in the Shadows

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Snow gets in the shadows.

Ecclesiastes 4:11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

In Oklahoma and Texas, snow is a sometimes and someyears thing.  Not often.  But often enough.  It can linger for a few hours or a few days and in rare occasions for a few weeks.  Ice lingers longer.

The shadows keep the snow longer.  The sun doesn’t reach there.

Normal winter temperatures daily climb into the 40’s and 50’s and many times 60’s and 70’s.  Snow doesn’t last long in that warmth.    Except in the shadows.

In the shadows, the warmth needs to linger a little longer.

Relationships are like that.  Some cold spots tend to linger.  Each relationship finds bad spots and good spots. The daily good warmth takes longer to remove the memory and the touchiness.  Sometimes it is an icy block that takes weeks of warmth to remove.

You can speed up the process when the snow is in your shadow by moving whatever is blocking the sun and giving yourself adequate good time.  We can’t change the weather outside, but we can change the weather conditions of a relationship through investment in good moments.

You can speed up the process when you deposited snow into the shadow of a loved one by investing in warm moments with them.  Leave it to linger at risk of damage that may not heal.

Think of a few easy moments of warmth you can bring to a relationship.  The odd coincidence of snow in the shadows of a relationship is that neither of you may realize that it lingers.  You look to the front yard and clean streets and are grateful.  It is easy to leave the shadows alone, but lingering snow and ice comes up at the most inappropriate moments.

Do some good.  Do some gentle.  Do some soft.

The beauty of having the warm moments is you don’t have to talk about the snow, it just goes away.

Meet Jesus: Worth Following

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Our leadership examples today are flawed and full of gaping holes

Matthew 8:1: When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

“Make sure you are doing what God wants you to do–then do it with all your strength.” George Washington

Follow Me: Few people in life seem to be worth following. Honesty is out of style. Truth is irrelevant. Integrity wanes to the way of the world. Our leadership examples today are flawed and full of gaping holes. Jesus is worth following. Not only that, but He changes us to be worth following. His example and presence change us to be more like Him. Follow.

Follow Jesus: Jake was ready to follow this Jesus again. The morning back in the presence of God at church had impacted him. He wasn’t sure how to explain his feelings to his wife or to his old friend, Greg, or to Sally, who had invited him. He just knew he needed to get back in line and follow. Whatever that meant! He was going to find out…..

Act! Be worth following. It was his confidence, authority, and kindness that resulted in so many following. Find a place to be kind today and reach out to someone who can’t help themselves at the moment.

Pray! Father, help me to be a leader worth following. It is my example to which others look. Help me to be the Christian of integrity that You seek. Encourage my faith to be bold in those areas in which you have commissioned me. Empower me to continue to do good to those around me in You. Let people see Jesus and follow Him in me.

This devotion is #17 and final of a bigger storyline… Watch the category GSJ Story for miniseries.

Want the book, Meet Jesus In The Market?   Fill out the information below and I’ll contact you.

Meet Jesus – Authority … GSJ16

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There is no doubting His positions.

Matthew 7:24: Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26: And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.28: And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” Marie Curie

The Author: Too often we hear varied opinions that sound right. The argument is logical. The reasoning seems to flow. Yet, there is no ring of truth to what we hear. Jesus has the ring of truth. There is no doubting His positions. There is no doubting His stance. There is no doubting whether living like Him will work. It will work. His life example is a solid rock on which we can stand. He has authority because He is the author.

Shaken To Rights: The morning message shook Jake out of his thoughts into a fresh world. Immediately, his attention went to the words being spoken. How could Jesus have authority over his life? Hadn’t he ignored his relationship with Christ for many years. Yet, somehow the message was challenging his thoughts and the most hidden secrets of his soul. He did not even know this preacher lady in the pulpit. Yet, the words had a ring of truth that took him back to his first days of commitment to Christ in college. It was unsettling and settling at once. He was discomforted and placed in a comfortable position. How could this be? How could Christ take him back so quickly after so many years? Yet, that is how he felt. He felt as if Christ were standing right in front of him and holding out the hand of an old friend.

Act! Think through some of your foundational thoughts. Do they match His?

Pray! Father, it is Your authoring in my life that makes such a wonderful difference. Let me move with You. You are in me and I am in You. Your life moves within me. Let me build on the example of the rock of Jesus Christ. He is the chief cornerstone. Let me built from the starting point of Jesus example each day. Let my thoughts find their origination in Him..

This devotion is #16 of a bigger storyline… Watch the category GSJ Story for miniseries.

Want the book, Meet Jesus In The Market?   Fill out the information below and I’ll contact you.