The Bible tells us God sent Jesus to take all of humanity’s brokenness upon Himself; to bring healing to the broken-hearted; and to restore us into a right relationship with God. What a resource for a broken world. As children of God we are not broke, but broken people being healed by Jesus, and sent into the world following the example of Christ.
As you are seeking your calling, it is in the day-to-day work that you will begin to realize your purpose, not in your purpose that you will start defining your day-to-day work.
The book of Acts describes the amazing story of Jesus’ work through the Holy Spirit in the early church. With an explosive start, problems were certain to surface. And they did. In the first example of internal dissension the Apostles displayed great leadership. The church had grown so rapidly that some of the widows were being overlooked in the regular distribution of food (Acts 6.1-7). And murmuring began that potentially could fracture the church. However, they led the church well and model for us nine things great leaders do.
When people began to list their reasons for their context being the hardest it used to annoy me. Now I believe them ‒ all of them. What’s the hardest context to be a missionary in? The one you are in. Here are three reasons why.
Hebrews 11 lists several faith heroes from the past and includes details about their lives that evidence great faith. We often refer to this chapter as the “faith” chapter. It offers leaders profound insight about faith that we must believe and embody to effectively lead. I suggest these six faith qualities every leader should embody.
Proper eyeglasses or contacts can help correct the first challenge. The second challenge requires a different kind of prescription. Greater focus begins with a couple of essential steps.
The muffled rant out in the hall prompted the fading in of a closed-eyes smile across my travel-worn face. It wasn't the words of the outburst – garbled French curses for the sake of quiet – but the images from earlier that night that animated a mind's view of what I could not see presently. I will share with you what I saw that you may smile with me but first, I hope you allow me to do my best in bringing your imagination to the Palm Beach. Should I succeed, perhaps you will have a greater appreciation from which to share my smile.
The world has enough pagans. Even plenty of really nice ones. What we need is kids who fully grasp the reality that they have nothing to offer, but who intimately know a God who has everything they need.
The best worker in any enterprise is one whom God has called and His Spirit has sent. They are there, not for a paycheck (although that is often necessary) and not for recognition (although they would not mind a pat on the back occasionally), but because “the Lord sent me.”
How do you deal with disappointment? Some of us hide it away. We deny its reality with fine words. But deep down we become numb. We become afraid to trust God again. “Surviving disappointment” becomes our background story, influencing our response to every interaction. We need to grieve disappointment in a healthy way.