Fuller

Where Are Those Green Pastures?

When I travelled to Israel some years ago I went looking for the green pastures (and the girls with bonnets) that I envisioned from the Christian bookstore posters I had seen growing up. But the time of year that I went to Israel was quite dry, as it often is, so the wilderness was rocky and arid. I had to be reminded that the work of a shepherd was most often not an easy one. Not only did he (or she) have to fight off wild animals looking to feed on the sheep, but the topography of the land might not be advantageous to easily keeping them alive. A good shepherd not only had the heart to provide abundant pastures to feed on, he had the skills to find enough food to keep the sheep alive. God is portrayed in Psalm 23 as a generous shepherd whose sheep have had their fill to eat. They can lie down because they’re full. They’re resting because they’ve feasted abundantly on what the shepherd provided.

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Sheep in a field by a lake

Life Without Lack

Believing that God offers a life that lacks nothing might be theologically simple for some, but for everybody there comes a time when our daily lives clearly don’t feel like a life of abundance. We get a cancer diagnosis. We lose our sobriety. The investment doesn’t work out. A relationship sours. Depression comes back. Our leadership is criticized. A rumor spreads. An unjust rule hinders us. When life seems to crumble, where is this “life without lack” that Psalm 23 offers?

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close up on corner of woman's smiling face

Great Reasons to Praise God

Each week millions of Christians throughout the world gather together in order to offer praise to God. Moreover, we praise God in our private devotions and, in many cases, throughout the day as we celebrate God’s goodness to us. I figure that I have spent almost a half year of my waking life speaking or singing praise to God.

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person laughing in snow

Should Christians Tell Silly Stories?

When we carefully study both the context and the language of Ephesians 5:4, we see that Paul is not saying Christians should never tell a joke or a funny story. This is not a blanket prohibition of all humor and laughter. Rather, we are being cautioned about language that is obscene and impure. We are to avoid words that degrade what God has created for good, including our sexuality. (Many off-color words and jokes effectively cheapen the human body or various bodily activities.)

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top down view of corner of dock, person looking out on lake

Finding a Better Freedom

Once we realized that God would not condemn us to Hell for using coarse language, once we sensed that God’s grace covered us fully, we began to take more seriously verses like Ephesians 5:4. We began to discover a new freedom, not the freedom to say whatever we liked, but rather the freedom not to say things because they didn’t please the Lord. We found new freedom to see how our words could build people up, offer respect and kindness to others, and reflect the fact that we have been created in God’s image.

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hands shown working on Mac laptop

What Should Christians Think About Cussin’?

We might do well to examine our words, both their purity and their impact. We want every part of us, including our speech, to be an expression of our holiness as God’s special people. Moreover, we want our words to build people up, to encourage and inspire others.

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article image for The Love of God in the Age of #MeToo

The Love of God in the Age of #MeToo

The cross of Christ calls all of us, including those who have power in our workplaces, to a life of self-sacrifice and holy love. The more we are shaped by God’s love in Christ, and the more we understand the cultures in which we live and work, the more we will be able to imitate God’s love in all of our relationships, including those in the workplace, and the more we will establish workplace cultures and systems than convey love and respect to all people.

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Friends in close proximity to one another, enjoying each other's presence.

Being Present

God is a present help to the downtrodden, the broken-hearted, and even to those of us who are in discomfort. Often our troubles make us feel isolated, and sometimes the only remedy is the power of God’s presence. Even if he doesn’t do anything, we were built with an internal longing for God’s nearness unto us.

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Artwork: Saul and David by Rembrandt van Rijn (circa 1650)

Leadership Prayers: Psalm 140

There are different kinds of enemies and different sorts of violence they seek to perpetrate. In the world of work and leadership, there are personal and impersonal enemies. As an example of the former, some people see others as obstacles in their ascent to or retention of power, and therefore seek to undermine the others’ roles and work. As an example of the latter, market forces can create competitive situations where one organization effectively seeks to destroy another in the quest for customers and market share.

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Worship and Justice

God’s justice includes more than punishment of the wicked. It also includes treating people rightly, caring for the poor, and seeking freedom for the oppressed. Remember the call of God through the prophet Micah. What God requires of us is “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Worship in prayer and song must be matched by worship in justice and mercy.

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child's perspective watching an adult walking away with another child on a boardwalk

Don’t Even THINK of Doing That!

An inventive paraphrase of Ephesians 5:3 might read, “Don’t even THINK of engaging in sexual immorality.” The NIV renders the beginning of this verse: “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or any kind of impurity, or of greed.” The original might be translated more literally “But, sexual immorality and all impurity or greed should not be named among you.” Such things simply don’t belong in Christian community. Period. Don’t even think of doing them!

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newlywed couple on kayak

What Does the Cross of Christ Have to Do with Sex?

In Ephesians 5:1, we are told to imitate God by walking in the way of love. The example of such divine love is the self-giving sacrifice of Christ (Ephesians 5:2). Then we come to verse 3: “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality.” This juxtaposition suggests that walking in the way of love is inconsistent with engaging in impure sexual behavior. If you love someone, you will not engage in sexual immorality with that person.
Why is this so? Surely one of the essential characteristics of sexual immorality is the consuming focus on one’s own desires and pleasures. Sex becomes primarily a means for one’s own gratification rather than a way to love another person in a self-giving, sacrificial way. If I use another person sexually for my own pleasure, without caring about what’s best for that person, then I am not walking in the way of Christ-like love. This is true whether I act on my desires or merely look at another person lustfully, something Jesus calls “committing adultery in one’s heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).

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monochrome person standing alone in hotel lobby

Are Christians Too Preoccupied with Sex?

God’s love isn’t just an idea or a wishful dream. It is something that touches our everyday existence, every part of life. Moreover, God’s love took shape in and through a human body, a body sacrificed on the cross. Thus, the connection of divine love and a human body almost invites a conversation about sexuality.

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people sitting on airplane

Walking in Love . . . in the Way of the Cross

As we love people in imitation of God, as we seek to walk in the way of the cross, not only are people served, but also God is worshiped. Think of it. Your love for others does double duty. It cares for people and it glorifies God. It meets human need and it honors God.

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Different covered leaves on a string

Seasons Change

Your encouragement of me as a writer and thinker has been kind and generous. Thank you so much for our conversations, your gentle words of challenge, and your constancy in showing up each month to engage with the devotions I have written. I am grateful. As you’ve probably guessed, I want to tell you the time has come for me to move on. I feel a tender prompting in my soul to step away from Life for Leaders as a writer, and spend time as a reader of the words shared by other writers. The decision is mine, alone. For me, this season is complete. It has been a gift and honor to share this space with you.

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