God Is Faithful!

"...and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free..." Revelation 1:5 HCSB

Jesus is the greatest most faithful witness that we could ever model our lives after! As a follower of Jesus, He promises to teach and equip us as His disciple ( Background of Disciple The term “disciple” comes to us in English from a Latin root. Its basic meaning is “learner” or “pupil.” taken from Holman Dictionary from LifeWay's Online Bible Library @ http://www.bible.lifeway.com/)

Mt 4:19-20 The First Disciples “Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fish for people! Immediately they left their nets and followed Him." HCSB

How many times have you heard this statement: "If you and I were on trial for being a Christian, a follower of Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict us?" Let's make a list of the evidence that is in our lives and the evidence that you would like for there to be in your life to be a faithful witness as we remember what God promises in Philippians 1:6 "I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." HCSB

I often think about witnessing as if I am on trial because as a first-generation Christian I have had so many "trials" in this old world!! Witnesses in courtrooms are sworn to tell the truth. No speculation. No opinions. No hearsay. What "evidence" would people who know us give to support our claim that we are true and faithful reflections of Jesus? Jesus, who is called "the faithful witness" paid the ultimate price on trial for you and me...what more can we do than to testify and share with others the ways that He has ultimately, radically, and miraculously changed our lives from unfaithful to faithful until He returns...let's take as many others with us as we fill the courtroom of our lives and TESTIFY for HIM!! May all who come behind us find us faithful to "The Faithful One"! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s392HyzQ79M

giving our all

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts"  -Deuteronomy 6:5, NIV

What is our direction, our purpose?   Do we follow what God wants, even if it is temporarily uncomfortable?  Can others see how Jesus is our reason for living like we do?

I love how the verse in Deuteronomy 6:5 describes how our whole person can be devoted to God.  Our love for God impacts more than just what we say, what we give, or what we think.  Our love for God can permeate into every area of our lives.

How can we express what God is doing within us?  One idea is to give God the glory, when we are complemented for our character or a success.  We can reach out to that person who is hurting and explain how Christ has brought us hope. 

The artist Lecrae writes, in his lyrics for "Background:"
"I know I'm safest when I'm in Your will, and trust Your Word
I know I'm dangerous when I trust myself, my vision blurred
And I ain't got no time to play life's foolish games
Got plenty aims, but do they really Glorify Your name?"

Today is Veteran's Day.  Please pray for those who have given their lives for our country and its people.

If you want to learn more about how to live as a woman following God today, then I recommend going to the W Conference next weekend, November 19-20, in Louisville, KY.  It will be a gathering of women trying to seek God's Word together to see how to live in devotion to God in our culture today.  How to sign up? Go to W Conference Registration

(photo above from maryjaneryan.wordpress.com)

FOLLOW . . . AND LEAD

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” James 4:10 . “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12) .

“God shows us who He is through His Word, through His Son, and through the Holy Spirit. As we read through the Scriptures, we see how He revealed Himself to so many. His commandments show us the principles of how to live but they are all based on who He is. He is the One, True God that desires to have a relationship with us. He is the God of protection and provision. His laws flow out of who He is. He desire for us to know Him and to follow Him.”

“Follow-ship becomes the great challenge. We need leaders who will follow the Leader. We need leaders who, on a daily basis, will look to Him before they look to make a name for themselves. Whether leadership is given or learned is not the key issue; the key issue is that to be effective leaders, we are to be obedient on a moment by moment basis to the leading of the Holy Sprit. We must do what Micah 6:8 reminds us to do: act justly, love faithfulness, and walk humbly with our Lord. Philippians 2:1-11 on the humility of Christ should be our model as leaders. We have to take on the same attitude of Christ and serve fairly and with humility. God is the one who rewards and lifts us up. We lift Him up as we serve faithfully.”

Oh Lord, help me to be humble and to keep my eyes fixed on you. I want you to lead through me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Excepts from Women Leading Women, chapter four, B&H Academic, Martin & Stovall.)

Spirit-filled Leaders

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18, ESV).

“There are numerous good examples of leaders in the Scriptures. Some may have been more gifted than others, some may have been more obedient, but we can learn from all of them. When I think of leaders in the Bible, several come to mind. Nehemiah, Moses, Deborah, Joseph, Daniel, Paul, and Lydia are just a few. These were great men and women who chose to follow God. They became great leaders because God had gifted them but also because they allowed God to lead them.”

“Spirit-filled leaders are those who have accepted Christ as their Savior and come before Him on a daily basis allowing Him to forgive them and cleanse them of wrong-doing. To be Spirit-filled is to empty oneself of anything except Christ. It means that we say no to things that are not of God and focus on what God tells us to do. He tells us things through His Word and nothing He tells us will contradict with Scripture. God also speaks through other people and circumstances. We constantly seek God and His wisdom to be the Sprit-filled leaders that He longs for us to be.”

“The question for us is, will we follow and be all He desires us to be?”

(excerpts from Chapter 4 – Follow the Leader by Jaye Martin, Women Leading Women, Martin & Stovall, B&H Academic, 2008).