Walking On The Road With Us
Jesus is intentional about coming to people, especially to people in pain and living in fear. Jesus purposely sought out these two disciples because he longs to reveal himself to those living in fear, doubt, and hopelessness. Perhaps, as part of your ongoing Easter celebration, you also can come near to those who are hurting and show that you care.
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Beauty From the Ashes
In Isaiah 61:2-3, the prophet Isaiah envisions joy arising from the lament and speaks to us this Lenten season as we long for a better world to arise from the brokenness we see. The good news is that beauty springing forth from the ashes is the heart of the gospel, the good news that centers on the Easter reality we are looking forward to celebrating soon.
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Leaders that Lament
For many Christians around the world, the season of Lent begins with the service of Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is really a worship service of lament. Jesus’s words in John 16 include this theme of lament as well. In verse 32, Jesus is telling his friends and partners in ministry that they will abandon him. Ash Wednesday reminds us that the Easter story is preceded by abandonment. The whole season of Lent is a reminder that Jesus experienced and understands abandonment and betrayal.
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The Lingering Effects of a Bad Mentor
In yesterday’s devotion we acknowledged the possibility of dysfunctional mentoring relationships, like the one between Saul and David. Though Saul should have been empowering David, instead he acted like a jealous enemy who sought to undermine David instead of blessing him. There is a slang word for such a person: frenemy. This is the type of “friend” whose words or actions bring you down. (Whether you realize it as intentional or not). Frenemies make terrible mentors and can have lasting negative impact on leaders.
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When Mentoring Goes Wrong
In its simplest form, mentoring is supposed to be a process when a mentor with more experience and knowledge helps a mentee with less experience and knowledge. But sometimes a mentoring relationship fails to meet this basic expectation and can become a scarring experience altogether, affecting your leadership for years to come.
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Mentors and Mentees are Both Impacted
Am I being a mentor? I made the claim yesterday that the powerful mentor/mentee relationship of Elijah to Elisha is something modern leaders should emulate today.
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The Power of Mentoring: When the Mentee Surpassed the Mentor
As I was preparing a sermon recently, I was inspired by a blog by Daira Curran to remember the importance of mentoring (http://purposecity.com/insights/biblical-importance-mentor/). Here in this story of Elijah and Elisha, we get a picture of a unique relationship of mentor and mentee. If you are familiar with the story, you’ll remember that Elijah was a powerful prophet who was ultimately raptured — never tasting death! How could the mentee Elisha ever out-do that? Yet Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, which resulted in a fruitful ministry for Elisha that some would argue surpassed that of his mentor.
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Advent Reminds Us to Find Hope in God
On this last day of Advent, I want to point our attention back to Mary, who has journeyed for 9 months knowing that she is carrying the Son of God, whose reign will be eternal (Luke 1:26-38).
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Advent Reminds Us To Protect The Vulnerable
Advent is a time for us to find the courage to protect the vulnerable as Joseph did with Mary and Mary did with Jesus. Advent offers an invitation to all of us to individually and corporately protect the vulnerable.
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Ready for a Change
In yesterday’s devotion I suggested that in our world of instant-gratification, we need a season like Advent to teach us how to wait. Advent is a season of longing for a Savior to touch our lives and heal our hurting world. Today, on this first Sunday of Advent, the prophet speaks of a longing for change — the desire for God to shape our lives amidst a world that often seems like it’s out to crush and derail us from following the One who came in the flesh to show us the way home.
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Preparing for Advent: Learning to Wait
With tomorrow being the first Sunday of Advent, I want to suggest this season of intentional waiting is a perfect context for leaders to grow in this discipline.
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The 7-11 Principle: Weaving Torn Fabric Back Together
In yesterday’s devotion I continued reflecting on the 7-11 Principle that is found in Jeremiah 29. If followers of Christ are to expect God to prosper their own lives, they need to seek the prosperity of the city in which they live. But what do we mean by prosperity? What does prosperity mean in the biblical text and what might that look like as we apply it to our everyday lives?
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The 7-11 Principle: Be A Blessing In Your Everyday Life
In an earlier post about the 7-11 Principle, I reflected on Tim Keller’s point that many of us act more like plunderers of the places we live instead of being people seeking to bless the city. If we are going to live out the 7-11 Principle from Jeremiah 29, then we must understand that we don’t get the blessings of verse 11 (“plans to prosper you”) without committing to the work of verse 7 (“seek the prosperity of the city”). Leaders are to model a life that refutes the consumeristic notions of our day, whereby we focus on blessing ourselves. Instead, we should learn to strategically invest resources in order that everybody can have a “future and a hope” (verse 11).
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The 7-11 Principle: Are You a Plunderer?
In yesterday’s devotion we continued to explore the 7-11 Principle from Jeremiah 29. We saw that God’s promise of blessing to the exiles in Babylon is connected to their commitment to seek the shalom of Babylon itself. For us, this means Yahweh is assuming we are committed to bless whatever “Babylon” he has placed us in (that could be in the suburbs, downtown city-centers, or rural countryside). We must understand that our prosperity is directly linked to our commitment to seeing the prosperity of our city as a Christ-follower.
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The 7-11 Principle: Engaging Critical Issues
In a prior devotion I introduced the 7-11 Principle: the idea that the blessing promised in Jeremiah 29:11 (“For I know the plans I have for you”) cannot be separated from the prior command in verse 7 (“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city”). The exiles in Babylon were likely hearing two divergent invitations for how to live in the city where they were held captive.
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