JULY 23 – PROSPEROUS OR POWERLESS?

 Remembering that you know, you will ultimately be measured by whether you have obeyed; how you have responded to God’s will. So, no person is a slave in the end. You are free in Christ Jesus, whether you are master or slave in this life. (Ephesians 6:8)

                  Those who see themselves as slaves to another person feel the heavy weight of powerlessness. Most people, under the authority of another who treats them as slave, will struggle. The fear of failing to please the master will lead to stress that ultimately affects every part of life and every relationship. People cannot prosper if they feel they are powerless and enslaved. Have you created an environment of empowerment and encouragement for your people that will enable your group to prosper? Or, do your people suffer in an atmosphere of stress and fear where they feel powerless?

                  Paul reminds the believers at Ephesus that there is no fear of man nor of this world when you are in Christ Jesus. The joy of relationship with God is that all your hope is in Him. Your work as a free child of God is simply to do what He asks you to do. That is the work for each of your people, too. To lead them well is to encourage them to pursue the life God has planned for each one – even if that vision leads them away from you.

                   Trust the Lord. Trust your people to His care. Let them prosper in His power.

JULY 22 – EMPOWERED OR ENSLAVED?

 If you are a servant, obey your earthly master, whether that master is kind or evil. You have only one goal; to honor Jesus Christ. So, don’t serve to gain that master’s approval. Work as God’s servant, doing everything He asks with everything in you. Do it all without resentment – for Jesus; not for any man. (Ephesians 6:5-7)

                  People are valued because they are made in the image of God, and they are highly valued by Him. Slaves are valued for what they do; how much they produce. The Lord God works in and through men and women, giving each one an opportunity to flourish in the work He gives them to do. His only requirement; the basis for His estimate of their value – that they do what He asks with all their heart. That’s how each person becomes fully human.

                   Do you regard your people as mere slaves? Are they quickly evaluated on some basis measuring their contribution to the financial bottom line, and then rated and valued accordingly? Or, do you value and esteem each person as a unique creation of your God? Do you look for the reason God has brought each person to you, and do you pray to discern the proper role for each one in your community.

                   If productivity is the highest priority, people are enslaved. Where people come first they will be empowered and they will flourish.

JULY 21 - …AND RIGHT FOCUS

 And when the religious leaders saw Jesus was spending time with the worst people; very bad folks, they asked the people following Him, “why?” Jesus heard the question, and told them, “Because they are the people who need me.” (Matthew 9:11-12)

                  It is a lot of fun to invest in the best. They catch on quickly, make you look good as they perform well, and they are likely to be people whose company you enjoy. But, those best people may not be the ones who need you today. God may be asking you to invest in the hard cases for a while. Will you do that? Can you even allow that He may use one of your worst people, or one of the least from your perspective – to teach you something?

                   Jesus said He did only what the Father told Him to do (John 5:19). This decision assured He would always focus on the right person, and He would see them as they are – what they need. Those bad people needed to know they had a place at God’s table. The religious leaders needed to recognize their value as well. Jesus focused His love and care on the powerless. He encouraged the powerful to use their power well; most often this included instructions to be caring and generous to the weak.

                   With the many demands on your time and focus, be sure that you too are doing only what God leads, so you will always have the right person as your focus too.

JULY 20 – RIGHT PLACE…

 Jesus was becoming known. The news was spreading abroad, so that great numbers of people were coming to see Him and to be healed. But, He frequently went away to the deserted areas to pray – alone. (Luke 5:15-16)

                   Do you ever walk away from the crowd? Do you stop in the middle of apparent success because you need to be somewhere else? Because God is calling you to pause?

                   Jesus was not ruled by a schedule. Often, at critical times, He would go the opposite direction from where reason alone may have taken Him. God’s direction may send you to a quiet place to pray and reflect at what seems to be an inopportune time. He may want you to spend time in a different place or with other people, so that He can speak to you through what you see and hear there. It may be that your people need for you to be absent at a critical time, so that they will be more able to allow God to help them grow. Whatever the reason, whatever God’s call, don’t ignore His call and pursue what appears to be best simply because reason and judgment dictate that path.

                   Go to the right place, where the Lord is leading you, in preparation for what He will do in and through your life.

JULY 19 - … AND COMMUNITIES PAY

 And Moses saw the people had lost all reason. They were acting like animals. Aaron had failed to lead them, and so let them become an embarrassment to themselves. (Exodus 32:25)

                  Yes, individual leaders will pay a dear price for their failure to use well the authority they are given. But, that’s only half of the story. Whole communities pay for the failures of their leaders. Do you ever think about how much your people’s futures depend upon you leading them in a way that is obedient to the Lord’s vision for them?

                   The writer of Proverbs explained this dynamic very clearly (Proverbs 29:18). He said, when a leader loses his way and fails to lead his people toward a Godly vision, his people begin to act like slaves; they lose their humanity in the stress. They become anxious and engage in behavior that leads to their individual and group shame and failure. He said (Proverbs 29:19) such a servant will not respond to even wise counsel, but he must be disciplined and ruled by fear of consequences alone. So, rather than pursuing life in peace and joy, the whole community descends into fear and dread. A culture of shame, guilt, and self-preservation results.

                   Your people need your leadership. Use the opportunity God has given you to help them find their way to His prosperity.

JULY 18 – INDIVIDUALS PAY…

 But, when King Uzziah became great and powerful, he became conceited and proud. This led to his destruction, as he entered the temple and sinned against God by lighting the incense on the altar of incense. (2 Chronicles 26:16)

                   Do you ever over-rule the rules? Often, those who achieve great success and become powerful start to think of themselves as being exceptional. The ethical constraints may then come to be viewed as necessary only to control others who aren’t quite so exceptional. This is a dangerous place to be. God opposes this kind of pride (Proverbs 3:34, et al).

    Uzziah not only did wrong by taking on the role of the priests, but when eighty of the priests came to him to correct him, he became angry with them for challenging his authority. Immediately, leprosy began to appear on his forehead. His rule was over. His great and powerful history was reduced to a legacy of having disobeyed God and having to die a humiliating death as a leper. Pride inevitably will lead to the loss of power and influence.

    God’s leaders must resist the temptation to become arrogant. The opportunity to finish well is forfeited when power and authority lead to - even well-meaning – even benevolent - arrogance.

JULY 17 - … RESPECTING THEM TOO

 So, I encourage you to fear the Lord, God, to serve only Him, and to put away every other pursuit. But, if that doesn’t make sense to you, choose to serve who or what you will, but for me; for my family, we serve the Lord God. (Joshua 24:14-15)

                   Have you ever considered that genuine respect for another person includes that you must allow them to be wrong? If so, you may have also realized that your role is never to ‘fix’ that person, fight their battles, nor otherwise to take God’s place in their life. Your appropriate role is limited to what the Holy Spirit leads you to say or do.

                   Joshua must have recognized these truths. In this, his final address to his people, he made clear to them the truth as he understood and lived it personally. Joshua’s Lord defeated all the gods worshipped by the Egyptians. He had driven out all those who had been conquered there in the new land. The evidence was compelling, but still – Joshua respected the people he led enough to acknowledge their authority to make their own decisions. To the end, the great warrior and leader refused to feel entitled to treat them as subjects.

                   Be creative, charming, and persuasive; even be passionate as God leads you to encourage your people. But, be respect them always. It’s their call.