APRIL 13 – YOUR STORY

 It is only because God loved you, and because He makes it possible that you may escape a life of meaningless pursuits that will end in misery and death. His love is a gift! You did not earn it by following rules, nor doing good deeds. You unwrapped it by putting all your hope in Him; letting the Lord teach you how He will use this gift called grace for Him. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

                Your story matters! The people you influence will not care to hear about your vision, your values, or your God until they understand how God has changed your life. They may listen politely, but unless you give them evidence of God’s power – they will not hear your message over their televisions, their friends, and their own, personal ambitions. It will just be words.

                It is the message of the gospel – God’s transforming power changing the lives of men and women – that awakens peoples’ imagination (John 12:32). Telling your story, explaining what God did, and is doing, in your life focuses attention on Him. Sharing that you have learned He can be trusted brings them hope. Admitting you did nothing to earn God’s love; that He gave you your new life with real purpose, encourages others to listen for God’s call to them.

               Be generous. Tell your story. Lead your people toward their meeting with Jesus.

APRIL 12 – VALUE

 What seemed criminal may have been entirely because he should be yours eternally. Not a slave any more – a person, valued brother, and one who is now so special to me. He’ll be so much more valuable now as he lives in the Lord. (Philemon 15-16)

               Think of your subordinates, whether volunteer or paid. Think of the vendors and reps, and the customers. What is their value to you? Do you value their productivity, performance, usefulness, the profitability they bring? If so, understand this – that basis of valuation is the one used to value a slave.

                Paul appealed to Philemon, the owner of runaway slave, Onesimus in this personal letter. He called on Philemon to recognize the value Onesimus had as a man who was created and loved by God. There is no doubt Paul has spent time helping Onesimus understand Philemon’s value as a brother. How else could he return, trusting the Lord for his safety, and risking his freedom, and his life to help Philemon grow with him. Paul has explained to each of them that they, along with other men and women, are made in God’s image. That is the one source of their true value.

                 See your people in a new way. Recognize the image of God that they bear, and then begin to value them for their potential to live in Christ with you as brothers and sisters.

APRIL 11 – A REASONABLE GIFT

 So, I encourage – even plead with you, to do this one thing.  Do it because God has so extravagantly shown you His grace and mercy. Do it even though you will need His continued mercy to accomplish it. Present your body before the Lord constantly, as if it were a living sacrifice. Let Him do with it what He wills. That is the only acceptable gift that you can give to our Lord. (Romans 12:1)

               Paul sees his life as a daily, even moment-to-moment balance. He wants to obey God as the Lord purposely uses him in His work with other people. This envisions much more than simply following. He is calling for the reader to view every circumstance as an altar where he or she will wait with anticipation for God to animate them, while willing that He control every action. Paul’s reference to an acceptable sacrifice also challenges them to be consumed by God’s work in them, as He continues to bring them to purity and holiness. Sacrifices to God must be pure.

               If you follow Paul’s advice, there will be no work, no relationships, no places where God’s word will not be your answer. Nor will there be situations where you will take back the reins of control over your actions because they are secular or recreational pursuits. Can you make that commitment? Will you make that decision?

               Let your will today be that God will enable you to become the living sacrifice Paul describes.

APRIL 10 – CREATED FOR WORK

 We are the masterfully created work of the Lord; created in Christ Jesus to be prepared and used for good works. God ordained the way we would travel before we existed, thinking of us and preparing for us to walk that path. (Ephesians 2:10)

               You are a masterpiece created by God; fashioned to be a tool in His hand, and you possess a unique purpose. The Lord intends to use you, His own creation, to do more creating that only you were designed to finish. The leader God will use must understand this relationship, both to do his or her own work and to lead the other people.

                If you are a tool in God’s hand, you can be humble and submissive even though your work will evidence great skill and artistry. Your entire story will be one of finding those whom the Lord wants to unite in and through the work of Jesus. In this work, your focus will be on the fine details of another person’s needs; giving yourself completely for their benefit in love.

                This describes the attitude and the work of Jesus. You see that Peter and the other apostles lived in this understanding. Can you see yourself as God’s useful masterpiece today? Will you give yourself completely to the fine details of your people’s lives?

APRIL 9 – STRUGGLING TO CHANGE

 Then the man said, “Your name won’t be only Jacob now, but Israel; because you struggled with God and men and you held on for God’s blessing. (Genesis 32:28)

                Jacob was exceptionally clever. By his wits, his hard work, and his perseverance, he had gained many of the marks of success. But, his history was also marked by the way he had deceived and schemed to take from others – especially his brother, Esau. Then, on the night before finally facing Esau again, he faced not only that struggle, but also had reached the end of himself, where now he sought God.

                He endured a long, exhausting night of struggle, but Jacob held on. He emerged weakened, injured, and exhausted. And – he was changed. No longer just the sly, crafty man who was afraid of those he had deceived, Israel become his new name because he had wrestled with God. He endured the long night of struggle without giving up. Having met God face-to-face, he was now ready to return to the place where he would live out God’s plan for his life.

                Recognize today that this is the struggle each person must engage if they are to live in God’s plan. From that honest, transparent, face-to-face battle with God comes God’s transformation. With God’s transforming power comes a future. Have your struggle to change today.

APRIL 8 – KNOW YOUR PEOPLE

 But Jesus didn’t give full trust to them, because of their words, because He knew people. Nor did He need anyone else to tell Him about each one, because He knew them at a heart level; who they were at their core (John 2:24-25)

                How could Jesus know? Is it possible for you to really know your people? Or, is that out of your reach; something only God can do? Well, yes. Yes, this level of knowing other people is out of your reach, but also, yes – it is possible for you to really know your people this way.

               Jesus explained how this is possible. He said that even He could do nothing, except as the Father gave Him understanding (John 5:19, et al). This is because God knows people’s hearts. He knows their nature. He can tell you if they have truly changed (1 Samuel 16:7). So, the Father can be trusted to give you this understanding as you listen to and observe people at all levels of your organization. As you relate to God through His Spirit in you, He also will give you the actions and the words that will bring hope and belief to those same people He has called you to serve. You must engage with them directly, face-to-face, but as you do so - never lose sight of God’s face.

                Commit to the work of relating to your people, as you relate to the Lord. This will give you the understanding to lead your people well.

APRIL 7 – EXPECTATIONS

 If you walk in the path I have shown you, and value the commands I give you and do what I say, then… (Leviticus 26:3)

                God speaks clearly about the results He expects. The answer is always the same. He requires that you walk in the way He has prepared, you recognize the words He speaks to be Truth, and you spend your Life following Him; obeying what He asks. This is the Lord’s clear expectation for each man and woman He creates.

                In a very similar way, an effective leader will communicate his or her expectations in a clear, complete, and appropriate way to each, individual member of his or her community. There can be no accountability unless you provide each person with a definition of the role that individual will play and the responsibilities that come with the role. Have you done the hard work of asking God to help you see His individualized plans for your responsibility to lead each of your people? Have you modeled and taught them to give clear-cut expectations to those whom they influence? The job of a leader is to build other leaders who also learn how to follow God’s plan.

               Ask God today to give you clarity of thought and the voice to communicate His will to the people you lead.