Leadership 101: Holding On To The Prophetic Word Given To You

I believe life to be a struggle. And I think its that way because that is the way God designed it. He wants us to struggle so as to encourage us to put our trust in Him. When things go smoothly, its much more difficult to admit your need for Him. But when things are falling apart, you are forced into His arms confessing your need for Him.

In leadership, there are points in your journey that God purposely puts there to reawaken the leader to his need for God. Sometimes a leader can become so reliant on their giftings that they will rely more on themselves than they do on God.

Godly leadership must always come from a heart of knowing that we are utterly dependent on God to accomplish his calling in our lives. When we take the calling that He has given to us and try to accomplish it in our own strength it will always fail.

Think about the story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar. Abraham was given a prophetic promise from God – a calling. God had given Abraham and Sarah the promise of a son and truly more than that, a promise of offspring that would be innumerable.

But after years of believing for that promise, they began to doubt. It was not a lot of doubt, but they began to doubt. And when doubt creeps in, one of the tendencies in leadership is to try to “help God out” and in our strength try to bring about the promises of God rather than waiting for God to fulfill what He has promised us.

Continue reading “Leadership 101: Holding On To The Prophetic Word Given To You”

American Idolatry: How Identity Becomes An Idol

If you are just joining us, you’ve caught us in the middle of a series we started a few weeks back called American Idolatry, where we are looking at some of the idols that are prevalent in American culture. Now these idols can obviously be found in people groups all over the world, but the one’s I’m picking out for the show seems to be especially prevalent in American culture.

Today’s topic is the idol of identity. As we know from the book of Genesis, man was created in the image of God. We were created with a certain identity. Who we are and how we relate to God is wrapped up in our identity. Being made in God’s image has tons of implications and first and foremost it identifies us as like God, but not God. We are made to be like him, but we aren’t him. We are a copy, he is the master.

One of the problems in American culture stems from one of the things that I think makes it great, the old “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” mentality. Americans are known to be individualists. We don’t need anyone else and we can prove it. The problem with this thinking is the face that we are made in the image of a Triune God. Because God is Triune, he is in perfect community within himself. We also should be in community. We Continue reading “American Idolatry: How Identity Becomes An Idol”

American Idolatry: What Does God Say About Sex?

We’ve got a great show in store for you today, first off, we are continuing our new series called American Idolatry. Today’s topic: Sex. (Click play on the player above to listen) Then in our Good News segment, we look at an article about a North Carolina county who declared itself a sanctuary for the unborn. Our Unreached People Group is the Hausa of Nigeria and in Today’s Word, we look at John 11 and the resurrection of Lazarus.

“You have made my heart beat faster, my bride. You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes, with a single strand of your necklace. How beautiful is your love my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than all kinds of spices! Your lips, my bride, drip honey…”

Song of Songs 4:9-11

Good News –

NC County Declares Itself a Sanctuary for Unborn

Unreached People Group –

Hausa of Nigeria

Today’s Word – John 11:17-44

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem,19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

 

The Spiritual Gift of Administration

In this episode, we study the spiritual gift of administration. We talk about the misconceptions of this gifting and how it’s really a gift for leadership. In our Good News segment, we talk about a couple of teens rescued by a boat named “Amen”. Our Unreached People Group is the Teli of India. Today’s Word is from John 9:1-12.

Continue reading “The Spiritual Gift of Administration”

The Gift of Miracles: Do Miracles Still Happen Today?

In this episode we look at the gift of miracles. Do miracles still take place today? Do miracle-workers exist? In our Good News Segment, we hear about a church who paid off medical debt for everyone in their state that was in desperate need. Today’s Word is from John 8, where Jesus proclaims to be God.

Continue reading “The Gift of Miracles: Do Miracles Still Happen Today?”

The Spiritual Gift of Mercy

In this episode, we study the gift of mercy, which I believe is one of the church’s most important spiritual gifts. Our Good News is about a teen who was healed through prayer. Our Unreached People Group is the Nai of India. And Today’s Word comes from John 8, where Jesus is talking to the religious leaders about who is their true father. Continue reading “The Spiritual Gift of Mercy”

Discernment: Being Able to Distinguish Between Spirits

In this episode, we continue our study on the spiritual gifts by looking at the gift of discernment. Our Good News is about a group of preschoolers surviving a tornado. This week’s Unreached People Group is the Mahratta of India and Today’s Word comes from John 8. Continue reading “Discernment: Being Able to Distinguish Between Spirits”

My Story: Called by God

In this special episode, I continue the series on my personal walk with Christ. This time I’m looking at what it’s like to be called by God and the profound impact it’s had on my life. I believe we are all called by God for a specific purpose and that calling can get us through some of the toughest times in our lives.

 

What Does It Mean to Have a “Servant’s Heart”?

What Does It Mean to Have a _Servant's Heart__

The gift of serving was the focus of this week’s Everyday Jesus podcast. If you missed that episode, you can catch up by clicking below:

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!

When discussing this subject, I was reminded that for some people, it’s very difficult to serve. Even though Jesus encourages us that true leadership is having a servant’s heart, many of us struggle with this. So what do you do if you don’t have the gift of serving? Continue reading “What Does It Mean to Have a “Servant’s Heart”?”

The Gift of Serving: Three Characteristics of a Serving Heart

The Gift of Serving_ Three Characteristics of a Serving Heart

In this episode, we look at the spiritual gift of serving. I give you three characteristics of a serving heart. In our Good News, we talk about a wave of salvations that happened at a maximum-security prison. Our Unreached People Group is the Kapu of India. Today’s Word is a continuation of our study in John 6, where Jesus declares himself to be the Continue reading “The Gift of Serving: Three Characteristics of a Serving Heart”