YOU ARE PRECIOUS MORE THAN YOU HAVE KNOWN (Guest Post)

The most beautiful pearl of life are often hidden deep in the heart

Imprisoned by the hardness and the fragility of the soul

Covered by sorrow and a fleeting pleasure

Distracted by ambitions that sometimes makes man be delirious

 

There is no way to get there, except to surrender to the will of the Father

Allowing His hand to disclose all that is hidden

To let go off everything that you think of as a treasure but actually rubbish

 

Only by following His call and living in His ways

You will find the most beautiful pearl

At that moment, you will understand who you really are

That you are more precious than you have ever known!

 

(Sella Irene – Beautiful Words)

 

Have you ever felt that there is “something” that is lacking even though you have got everything you want? Have you ever felt you should be on a particular path or have to do something that you may not know exactly what it is, but you know that you are prepared for it? Does your heart flush with desire to be an extension of God’s hand more than you have been doing? I call it all “the spiritual hunger and thirst” that coming out of our souls and spirits that wants God. This hunger and thirst for God will push us to seek God, draw nearer to God, and find His calling.

We are designed to live in God’s call, and for that God has equipped us. If we think we have developed all of our potential, we are wrong! For surely God has invested in us a much greater potential than what we already know today. But we will not find it until we give our whole lives to enter into the plan that He has set apart for us from the beginning. The psalmist paints beautifully how God knew us long before we could know Him.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully [and] wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And [that] my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, [And] skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When [as yet there were] none of them. (Psalms 139:13-16 NKJV)

There are at least two things we can get from this Psalm: WE ARE VERY PRECIOUS FOR GOD and WE ARE IN THE PLAN OF GOD.

First : WE ARE VERY PRECIOUS FOR GOD

Man is the culmination of God’s creation. Every human being is created personally, not mass production, not copy and paste. Behold, no human being is physically identical to any other human being. Timbre sounds, face details, pupil color, hair, fingerprints, and so on. Even twin brothers still have differences. It shows how creative our Creator is, and how special every one of us is!

If we are so special to God, then there is no reason for us to disrespect ourselves. Therefore one of the fundamental things we must do is to fully accept our existence. This isn’t “accepting” in the sense of tolerating and compromising our weaknesses and sins by reason of “this is what I am”. No, this isn’t like that. To fully accept our existence is: on the one hand to realize our weaknesses, but on the other hand we also appreciate our existence as God’s grace, whatever and however our condition. God knows our weaknesses and ugliness, God knows all our sins, but God still loves us.

The Lord Jesus describes His love for us as the Father’s love for Him: I have loved you just as the Father has loved Me; remain in My love [and do not doubt My love for you]…… No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. (John 15:9,13 AMP) The Father is willing to give His beloved Jesus to save mankind and Jesus willingly laid down His life to do the Father’s will, so that the man who has been separated from God by sin can again have fellowship with Him and enjoy His love. Therefore the most important thing we have to make is whether we have accepted Jesus as the only Savior and the only God in our lives. Only by accepting Jesus into our hearts will we discover the true meaning of ourselves. But the story doesn’t stop at the moment we receive salvation. Furthermore, we must live according to His way so that we may find His calling for us, that is a special work that God has prepared beforehand.

Second : WE ARE IN THE PLAN OF GOD

In His omniscience, God has known our way of life from beginning to end. He works in everything with perfect calculation and planning. He assigns everyone to be born in a particular era and year, in a particular family, to a particular nation, and gives us the uniqueness that characterizes us. All there is purpose and reason, not random and not coincidental. You and I … are in a part of God’s whole plan for the world. The people of God are called to be specifically involved in His plan according to His timing and in harmony with the uniqueness that He bestowed upon each one of us.

In this regard, Luke wrote in Acts about King David: “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; … (Acts 13:36 NIV)

In the beginning, David was no different from most of the Israelites of the time. He wasn’t a famous person. He was just one of thousands of people. The youngest child who wasn’t too calculated, even by his own parents. David had reason to feel rejected, inferior, or became a rebellious person. But David chose to build a relationship with his Creator. This continued until he became king. He chose to be close to God in his success and in his failure. The result is as written by Luke: David had served God’s purpose in HIS OWN GENERATION. Even David’s life became the standard for kings after him. “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.” (2 Chronicles 29:2 NIV)  We can find some similar verses in the Bible.

Not only King David, our Bible is full of God’s work through ordinary people God used: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Joseph, Elijah, Elisha, Gideon, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Peter, Paul, and many more. They’re members of the community with various professions and backgrounds. They weren’t perfect people. They had flaws and weaknesses just like us, but they’re willing to be processed by God. They associated with God, found and received God’s call. They wanted to dedicate themselves and committed themselves to living in the call even though they had to let go of their own dreams. The Bible records their lives weren’t in vain, useful to their own generation, and God used them to do great things beyond their existence. I am sure that they are the people who arrive at the end of their lives with satisfaction. Not because they become rich, famous, or powerful, but because their conscience bears witness that they had lived according to the God’s plan. They’re the ones who did the God’s will in their era.

PRIVILEGE OF HEAVEN

How about you and me? Have we lived in His plan? God equips all human beings with various potentials, but what distinguishes us from those outside Christ is that each of those potentials must be used according to God’s will. Not to fulfill our ambition, but to please God. Not for our pride, but for the glory of God. Not in a good way according to our thinking, but must be in accordance with the word of God. The ultimate goal isn’t for ourselves but to bring many people to Christ.

Are the above statements idealistic and theoretical? It could be, but that’s what it should be. I’m sure Christians already know about it, but we have to be honest that it’s not easy to apply it. We must endure the suffering, surrender constantly, humble ourselves, submit ourselves and learn to obey God’s decisions, and abandon the things we love but are disliked by God. For some, it can mean giving up their dreams. The road to go is heavy. Some Christians choose to avoid, some give up and retreat in the middle of the road then turn to follow their own desires. It’s a pity, because they’ve let go of the opportunity to get the priceless pearl of life up ahead.

Nowadays wherever we are on the journey with Christ, don’t get tired to deny ourselves and take up the cross. Let’s be strong to walk to the end while continuing to hold on to God’s promise. God doesn’t leave us alone. He has given the Holy Spirit as a Helper and Comforter. He will guide us to the whole truth (John 16: 13-14) so that every decision we make in this life can be in harmony with God’s decision. The more we obey and diligently walk according to the direction of the Holy Spirit then the potential that has been planted by God from the beginning will emerge and grow. Even God will add new talents along with our increasing responsibilities and in harmony with the extent to which we can be trusted by God.

One day when we look to the years we have passed, we will realize how amazing the God’s works in our lives is. Maybe we aren’t as prosperous as our brothers, don’t have positions as high as our friends, and not as successful as others in the world eyes. But “strangely” our souls and hearts abound with satisfaction and joy. A satisfaction and a joy that can’t be measured by the doses of the world because it doesn’t come from the world. It’s the true satisfaction and joy that comes from the Holy Spirit because we have been living in His calling. How precious … How honorable … In our life that is only a blink of an eye in this perishable world, we – who are actually unworthy – are given the privilege of being fellow workers in the field of God. Ultimately we aren’t “just” being saved Christians, but also bringing others to salvation through every potential of our lives. How special are you and me. That is the true meaning of ourselves and our lives.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21 NIV)

 

By: Sella Irene – Beautiful Words

Photo Credit: https://www.wallpapersin4k.org

Edit text with Pixlr app

TRUST GOD’S HEART (guest post)

As believers, prayer is like an entrance to a hopeful path, that along the way we can get answers to all the struggles. In every hope we bring to God, the happiest thing is if God gives us what we ask for. But the fact is we do not always get what we want, even if we plead with tears!!!

Many of God’s children pray for years of asking for miracles, but are instead faced with the opposite of their hope. While at the same time there are children of God with similar problems rejoicing in receiving the miraculous help from the hand of God. If we are in such a position, can we still trust God? Can we still believe that God is good while our situation seems to deteriorate? What is wrong? Do we lack of faith so we failed to obtain what we “believe in”? Do we still keep certain sins so that our answers to prayer are hindered? Before drawing a conclusion, let’s learn from some of the stories in the Bible.

 

IF NOT

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were descendants of the tribe of Judah who were brought to Babylon when king Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. In Babylon, they were part of a chosen Israelite who was educated for three years and then worked for the king. Although they received special facilities from the king’s palace, they did not defile themselves at all. They were committed to always worshiping the God of Israel. God gave them knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, which made them ten times smarter than all the magicians and astrologers in Babylon (Daniel 1:20). So the king promoted them to sit in government. Then came the time of their faith and faithfulness to God was tested.

King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue. Whoever does not bow down and worship to the statue shall be cast immediately into a fiery furnace. When the king was angry because the three of them refused to worship, then Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who in Babylon was called by the name of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, with boldly answered the king:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But IF NOT, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18 NKJV)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed that God was able to deliver them. But they also said, “IF NOT”. “If not” here was not “if God was not able” but “if God was not deliver them”. Whatever happens they will still worship God and will not bow down to the idol. The statement stakes not just losing their reputation, position, and wealth, but their lives! That’s not a fictitious belief. Their faith was pure, without falsehoods.

The result is… The furnace was heated seven times more than usual, killed three men who took up them, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked with the angel of God in the midst of the fire without the slightest burning. Even the smell of the fires was not on them, as if a serious problem that just happened did not really happen to them. What an amazing faith that has been responded by God with a miracle that escapes them from the death.

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16b NKJV)

God always responds to faith. Great things are always born from the prayers of the righteous that based on faith. Strong faith will not easily falter although “IF” God do not help. But one important thing we must ponder: Could God not help His children?? Impossible! God MUST help us because God loves us so much. It’s just His way that is not always the same as we want it to be.

 

DURING THERE IS A CHANCE

“And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.” (2 Kings 18:3 NKJV). When we read the books of Kings and Chronicles, we will find many similar sentences. Several times the Lord mentioned David’s name as a benchmark for kings who did what was right in His sight. Even in the New Testament Jesus is called the son of David: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1 NKJV). Even farther: “He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” (Acts 13:22). All these statements show how God pleased David. But… If the prayer of a man who is pleasing in the heart of God will always be granted by God??

One day the son of David with Bathsheba was sick. For many days David fasted, prayed and cried for God’s mercy so that his son was healed. The result is his son died. Whether David disappointed?

So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” And he said, “WHILE THE CHILD WAS ALIVE, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife. (2 Samuel 12:20-24a NKJV)

DURING THERE IS A CHANCE… That while his son was alive, David did not lose hope. He prayed, fasted, and believed that his son was healed and lived. But when reality differs from his will, David is not disappointed. He still worshiped God and even entertained his wife. With such extraordinary spiritual qualities, why did not God give according to his prayer? Was David “lacking of faith” so that he did not get what he was praying for? Certainly not!

Faith is not measured from “the outcome of faith”. We do not put faith in “the conviction that something we ask for we must have”, but we put faith in the person of God Almighty who can do everything, no matter whether God will do what we ask or not!!! If we put faith in “the outcome of faith” or answer to prayer, then our faith will easily waver if God does not grant what we pray.

True faith means believing in the LORD’s PERSON and not only ON THE WORKS OF HIS HAND!
If God chooses not to do what we ask, it does not mean that God is incapable and does not mean that we are lacking of faith, but because in His omniscience God knows what is better for us.

Keep hoping and praying in faith while there is still a chance. Do not give up! Keep believing and do not be disappointed whatever the outcome. There is always “a hidden blessing” behind every problem and God’s plan is always more beautiful beyond our expectations.

 

YES, NO, WAIT

The two stories above illustrate a prayer based on firm faith. Faith is not wavered by any answer of God. What about us? We know that God always answers prayers. If God answers “YES” we will get what we ask for. When God answers “No”, it means God does not grant our request. And if God has not given an answer, then we must “WAIT”. Until when? Only God knows. We must be patient and keep faith because in times of waiting all possibilities can happen. But do not worry. Though the problem persists and seems to be more complicated, God always keeps us and is in control of everything.

So what if after waiting, it turns out the answer is “no”? If God finally answers “no”, why wait so long? The answer to prayer is always related to God’s plan. We can only measure from the life we have lived and from the planning that we think is good, but God sees our whole life from beginning to end. If God allows anything to happen it means God is working His plan in our lives. Many times we could not understand of God’s ways. All we need is to believe. Believing that God is good, believing that God works together in all things to bring good to us as written in Romans 8:28.

Time and answer of prayer are God’s sovereignty. We can not force faster or slower. We can not question why one prayer is answered “yes”, the other is answered “no”, and another prayer “wait”. Whatever the answer of prayer we receive, that is the best gift from God for our future. If we truly believe in God, we must submit to His will and not impose our will.

In the struggle of the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, He set an example of prayer for all of us: “And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36 NKJV). That is a prayer based on true faith.

True faith does not just stop at “I believe that all things are possible for God”, but in an attitude of submission and surrender: “Not what I will but what God’s will.”

True faith always SUBJECT TO THE WILL OF GOD. Do not ever assume and treat God like a vending machine that once we put the coin into the machine and we simply press the button of the stuff, then immediately we get what we want. We can not force God to make Him willing to obey our will. Precisely in submission and surrender to the God’s will is reflected the real of our quality of faith.

Right now, let us ask the Holy Spirit to light our hearts. If indeed we still have sin, let’s ask God for forgiveness. Let us settle our relationship with the Father so that we may know Him better. The Father’s heart is good and always wants to help His children. Everything we need has been guaranteed by the Father. He knows everything more than what we want and need. If the answer of prayer we receive is not what we ask, then God is preparing for something more beautiful, more noble and eternal. Do not measure the goodness of the Father solely from the deeds of His hands. Do not doubt and question His answer. He is too wise to do wrong. He is too good to do evil. If we do not understand His plan, if we can not see the deeds of His hands, just TRUST HIS HEART. He loves us so much.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32 NKJV)

 

A M E N

 

 

By: Sella Irene – Beautiful Words

Photo Credit: Google Images – pixabay.com  (the text edited with pixlr app)

BECOMING A LEADER (guest post)

What is the first thing that crosses your mind when you listen to “Becoming a leader”? Is it having excessive authority, being respected by many people, surrounded with facilities and priorities? Or…….

 

BECOMING A SERVANT

There was a time when James, John and their mother come to meet Jesus (Matthew 20:20-28, Mark 10:35-45), asking for His favor to be seated on both right and left sides of Jesus in His kingdom. In the other words, they wanted to be a part of the Kingdom, having power and position. But Jesus answered, “…..whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.” (Matthew 20:25-26 NKJV)

Becoming a leader doesn’t mean to become the sovereign or ruler. It means we become a servant. Jesus had set an example by washing His disciples’ feet. “He rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet…..” (John 13:4-5)

Jesus was much respected by His disciples, He took off His robe, girded Himself with a towel as a symbol that He positioned Himself as a modest servant.

If we want to become a leader who is favored by God, we also need to take off our “Robe”, be it our pride, status, ego and all the attributes that displays our proudness, and then we learn become a humble servant.

Becoming a leader is not about physical activities but also about humility. An arrogant leader tends to do things as he wishes, look down and dont appreciate his people, and is hungry for respect. Humility talks also about the willingness to see our people can be great , or even greater than us.

Leadership is about being of service to other, not to served by others. Set an example and stop ordering them according to your own will.

As a leader, we could not demand to be served and honored for “WHO are we” and “WHAT is our position”, but let us set an example in our speech and action. Then people will look up on us, not because of their obligation, but because of their respect from the deepest of their heart.

 

BEARING THE RESPONSIBILITY

Leadership is not a position or title, but it is a trust and responsibility

The higher the position and more people to be led means that the bigger responsibility which the leader need to handle.

Moses was chosen by God to lead millions of Israelite. Moses had to face many characteristics of the people and solved the problem for them. Moses realized he would not able to handle everything on his own. Because of it, Moses listened to his father in-laws to promote a leader of one thousand people, hundred people, fifty people and also for ten people (Exodus 18:21-26).

A leader has to delegate part of his responsible to others. Not for anyone but those who are skilled and have fear of God. They need to be honest and trust-worthy. These qualified people will be given responsibility according to their ability. They won’t be given task and later be ignored, but they will receive training and supervised until they become great.

So, how should we respond when people who we lead make a mistake?

In Exodus 24:12-14, God ordered Moses to be on the top of mountain. Before leaving, Moses gave trust to Aaron and Ur to be in charge of every problem that might occur when Moses was not around. The problem arose when the Israelites could not wait for Moses to come back (Exodus 32). In the middle of chaos, Aaron made a wrong decision. He molded a gold calf. God was so mad that He saw the Israelites bowed to worship this idol. God even wanted to destroy and replaced them with Moses’ descendants, but Moses didn’t stand up for Aaron to defend himself. Moses bore all the responsibility by asking for God’s forgiveness upon Israelites. And if God wanted to, Moses would be willing to erase his name from the Book of Life. We can see how big Moses’ heart was.

Bearing a responsibility is not about completing task, it also means willing to love people who God has trusted us to lead.

As God’s children, God puts us as a leader in order to become a blessing. God wants us to be successful and excel in everything we do. But above that, God wants us to channel His love to people that we are leading. Let us start to love and appreciate them as a “person”, not an “asset” in our organization. In love, there are rebukes and discipline, but also there is warm embraces. There is a time for a consequence when they commit a mistake, but also a time to help them rise from their failure and give them second chance.

 

OWN A RIGHTEOUS CHARACTER AND HEART

Saul and David are two great figures on the Bible. Saul was appointed and anointed by God to become the King of Israel (1 Sam 9:16-17). David went through the same experience, too (1 Sam 16:12-13). But what did make the difference between them? Character and heart!

In one of the battle against Philistine, recorded on 1 Sam 13, Israelites were on the edge. Before it happened, Samuel had ordered Saul to wait for seven days until Samuel told him what to do next (1 Sam 10:8). But because Samuel had not appeared soon, the Israelites were about leaving the King Saul. King Saul was afraid to be left behind, he made sacrifices with a burnt offering and peace offering which were supposed to perform only by the priest. When Samuel came and confronted Saul, he denied, defended himself and didn’t repent to God. Then God removed his kingship and gave it to David because God saw his attitude (1 Sam 13:13-14).

Now, let us have a look at David. Although he had been anointed as king, it took couple of years to make it came true.  And during these years, David had experienced many processes. He started to become a servant and armor bearer of Saul (1 Sam 16:21-22), became a hero that defeated Goliath and was being hunted down by Saul.

Saul was full of envy and thirsty of power. The folk’s song “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousand” has made Saul felt underrated and threatened. On the other side, David believed that the throne was given by God to him. David never thought to compete against Saul. Saul didn’t obey and fought back against God, but David felt regret and repented immediately when Nathan, the prophet, rebuked him for his sins with Bathsheba. Looking over his attitude, David has found the favor of God.

Ability may get you to the top, but the true character and heart that will keep you there.

We have seen many of great leaders that started their leadership right, but they were fail in the process. Some of them could get on their feet, but many of them still stuck in their failure.

Great leaders are not them who are never failing, but people who are realize of their wrong, willing to change and strive over their failures.

The heart is the source of everything. A righteous heart can help the leader to do the right things and keep him in enduring when God is processing him. Every time he can strike against all the circumstances, then his character will be molded and transformed.

David had started his process long before Samuel anointed him. David could surpassed all the pressure and fleeing since he had firm foundation. David built his relationship with God thru his quite time with God, he worshipped God with his harp and he shepherded his small amount of sheep faithfully.

Through this writing, I encourage each of us to be a leader like David, who accepted the rebuke humbly and wanted to repent immediately. Let us build our strong faith and have an intimate relationship thru prayer and fellowshipping with Holy Spirit. May us can be faithful on small things that God has trusted, preserve during process, walk on the right tracks, and do not go aside from God’s word.

 

HAVING INTEGRITY

As Christ’s follower who is trusted to be a leader, people will not only measure of “WHAT IS” our achievements, but also assess the “HOW” we achieve it. That’s why we must have big integrity than the leaders outside of Christ.

Integrity means determined to apply value of the truth CONSISTENTLY in any situation. In this case, the value that we hold is a higher value than the morals and norms of society, which is THE GOD’S WORD. People with integrity have sincerity and honesty. He will not become specious, and don’t have hidden agendas. What they say is what they do.

“Let your Yes be simply Yes, and your No be simply No; anything more than that comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37 AMP)

Leaders with integrity will be not in “gray area” and not “stand on two boats”. Leaders with integrity will be always consistent in words, attitudes, and actions.  They resolute and will not make compromise, not ashamed to admitted their mistakes, and willing to accept advice and criticism.

Skill can be trained, the knowledge can be learned, but integrity comes from the deepest of the heart. Integrity does not come just one night, but formed due process, maturity, and awareness. That’s why leaders with integrity are “expensive”.

We are able to achieve something if we have the ability and strong will to go forward. But if we do not have INTEGRITY, then all of it will only be a stumbling block for others as well as a snare for ourselves! Because without integrity then we will justify any means in order to get what we want. In the end, sooner or later we will fall.

“He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known.” (Proverbs 10:9 NKJV)

“The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.” (Proverbs 11:3 NKJV)

Let’s be  leaders with integrity so we could glorfy God in every step of our leadership.

 

MAN BUILDING

We are called by God to not only set up an organization, but to build men who are inside.

Jesus called His twelve disciples with various backgrounds. For three and half years, Jesus has invested in each of His disciples. He put inside them the value of Kingdom, changed the way they think, built a strong mentality, and also changed their paradigm. One of His disciple (Judas) had chosen his own way, but another eleven disciples who had been transformed become full of fire apostles and willing to bear the cross to spread the Gospel.

Also we can learn about David when he was in Cave of Adullam, 1 Sam 22:2 recorded that “And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them…..”

That time, David did not have the trained and scholar soldiers with him; they didn’t come from royal family, either. They were 400 people with bitterness, in distress and were nothing but trouble to the society. But under David’s leadership, they had transformed to become strong and loyal soldiers.

A leader has granted access and authority to do many things. We can use this chance to become the channel of God to distribute His love and power to touch and change people lives. If we see people that we lead have not reached our expectation, do not lose hope. Ask God to help us so we can see them as God sees us way before: “For  consider your own call, brethren; not many  wise according to human estimates and standards, not many influential and powerful, not many of high and noble birth.”(1 Corinthians 1:26 AMP)

A leader who owns God’s heart can see through the potential inside somebody over their current problems and weaknesses.

Take this time to impart the values of life for people that we lead. When they become great leader, our organization also becomes better.

 

STAND FIRM IN THE TRUTH

God has said in 2 Tim 3:1-9 about the last days. It is not easy to be a righteous leader in the middle of this corrupted world. From the time to time, the challenges and obstacles are getting bigger. We also see that the God’s children are often offered with frontal choices, either to be righteous but have to suffer disadvantages, or compromise with sin but surrounded by advantages. The world constantly offer us a dilemma.

In Matthew 10:16, God says “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

Wisdom and harmless could not be apart, being wise (shrewd) without harmless will make us sly, and harmless without wisdom will make people can take advantages of us.

We need to build everything in our lives on the strong and rooted Rock, so we will not be waived and swayed of the world’s currents. We have to believe and stand firm in God’s Word and do not go aside from it. It is not easy, but we can do it as long as we don’t depend on our own strength.

 

LIVING LIFE WITH FEARING GOD ATTITUDE

We have been talking about leaders that have a servant’s heart, carry big responsibility, and have a good character and true heart, having integrity, build a human, and stand firm on the Truth. But it all will be not endure if we don’t have the most important thing and become a major requirement as a leader: FEAR TO GOD!

A good Christian leader must have heart that fear to God! We could be a good people just because we afraid to get the consequence if we are not obey to God. BUT if we aren’t having a heart that fear to God then the goodness will not win when facing the temptation.

There is difference between fears to God with fear of “God’s punishment”. Many people fear to God’s punishment. They fear get into the hell, they afraid will not blessed by God, they afraid get infernal, etc. But fear to the Lord is not like that way!

AFRAID TO GOD IS ALWAYS BASED ON HEART THAT REALLY KNOWS AND LOVE GOD. Because of love, then people who afraid to God will be willing to bear the Cross, willing to deny ourselves and obey to God, will do vision and mission from God and not seek its own advantages.

The fear of God will make someone stand firm in the truth path. Because of love, they will not sacrifice their precious relationship with God just for the sake of temporary world achievement.

Each level and area of leadership has its own problems. That’s why as a leader we must have capability capacity to make right decisions in all circumstances. Every decision has different consequences. The higher the position of a leader or lead more people, the taken decisions will give the wider impact and will facing the greater temptations. We need wisdom. Therefore we must live in holiness and fear to God. Because “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7 NKJV)  and “For the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6 AMP) 

On the other hand, God’s word says:

“Because they hated knowledge And did not CHOOSE the fear of the Lord, They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.” (Proverbs 1:29-31 NKJV)

Beloved leaders, let us always CHOOSE fear to God in every step of our lives. Wherever our position right now, verily God has implanted DNA from heaven so we are able to be a leader according His will. Something we have to do is always live in fear of God and doing everything with love. Let’s pray for the Holy spirit will pour God’s love in our heart. When we give ourselves to God, I believe these words will certainly be fulfilled in our lives:

“Then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.” (Jeremiah 32:39 NKJV) 

Only through communion with Holy Spirit and God-fearing life will be born leaders that have great capability, wise, and endure to go through the process to be more trusted.

The last but important, let us be a godly leader who is not expect reward. Integrity is a rare commodity in this world. It is not universally admired. Much easier for many to cut corners and compromise, put ethics aside. But promotion and monetary gain are not what a godly leader seeks. As a Christian leader, our goal is to do what is right, even if that requires sacrifice; to lead those placing their trust in us in such a way that they will, themselves, grow and develop along godly lines.

 

Amen.

 

 

By: Sella Irene – Beautiful Words

Note: The last paragraph with italic font is contribution from sis Anna Waldherr. Thank you to sister Anna, your thought sure be a blessing fur us. God bless you and warm regards from me: Sella Irene

Photo Credit: Google Images (edit with Pixlr App)