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Leadership

Everyone either wants to be a leader or wants someone to lead them to “their” promised land.

Proverbs 30:29-31 states, "There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk” and the 4^th one is in verse 31, “And a king whose troops are with him”.

So, what is the way to determine a good leader? Leaders shouldn't pull people. They should inspire people to follow them. They should give people a reason to follow them.

You hear a lot today about people blindly following someone. That is one thing that God does not want you to do for Him. God wants you to follow Him because He gives you a good reason.

God could force us to follow and obey, but He says no, He wants us to give Him our obedience and trust that He has our best interests in mind.

Jesus proves that to us by taking the punishment for our sins in the most grueling way on the cross. While on the cross, Jesus was mocked, betrayed, forsaken, humiliated and so much more. Jesus could have easily said, "Enough!" and thought us out of existence, but instead He took it all because He loved us. Then when Jesus came back to life, He did not go out on a revenge tour. Jesus went to those who should have stood beside Him and told them that He forgave them and endued them with His power.

Jesus did not force them, but instead, invited them to be with Him. Jesus also told the truth. He said, in John 16:33, that you would face issues and tribulations, but that you would overcome because He has overcome. Jesus tells it like it is.

He wants to inspire confidence in us so that we will choose to follow Him, and lastly, He does not stand in the background and watch to see if we will flounder around. He says in 2 Chronicles 20:15 that He is the one who will fight for us. All we have to do is let Him.

That is what a leader does, and then it is up to the people to decide whether that leader is worth following. Does the leader do what they said they would do?

On earth we are to emulate Jesus as much as possible. If you want to see revival, then imitate Jesus. Don’t try to make people follow you. Give them a reason to. Lead by example. Yes, you will fail sometimes, and when you do, own up to it and say that you were wrong. Live what you say, even when it is to your detriment, and people will follow you.

If you want people to aspire to what you have to say, stop trying to pull them, and inspire them not just with words, but actions that back up those words in love.

Being a good leader is not determined by how many people you have following you, because it is easy to build a mob. A good leader is determined by whether or not people follow them out of their own free will. People will follow that leader because the leader has their best interest in mind and has proven it.

Jesus is that kind of leader, and we as Christians need to emulate that. What if only 1 or 2 are following you? Well, that is better than 0. Imagine if every true believer has 1 or 2 people following them, it wouldn’t be long till more were following Jesus than not.

Remember Jesus loves you, I love you, and you are awesome!

5 minute date A lot of people fall in love, and that is easy. The hard part is staying in love. Here is a great way to keep love going for a lifetime. I call it the 5 Minute Daily Date.

I do a lot of marriage counseling, and this is my go-to first step. Here is how it works (the simplified version).

I ask couples to do something for 3 weeks. At the end of every day, before they go to bed, spend 5 minutes telling the other person why they love each other.

The first night it goes well, but the key for the next night is to think of something different to say to them. This makes nights 2 through 5 difficult.

The point of this exercise is that it forces us to actually think about the person we are in love with, why we are in love with them, and why we still want to be in love with them throughout our day. Knowing you have this 5-minute date at the end of the day will force you to look at those you love in a different and better way, even when things aren’t going so well.

This is why it must be at the end of the day right before bed, because if you just do it in the morning, you are then free to forget about the person during the day. If you are in love with that person, you should want to think about them more often.

There is also another benefit of doing it before bed. How you go to sleep is key. God says in Ephesians 4:26 to not let the sun go down on your anger. Let’s face it, we will all have bad days, and we will not be feeling the love, so to speak. God is not saying you will resolve the conflict. It may still be there, but despite the conflict, you will choose to not go to bed angry. If you go to bed angry, the devil can play with your mind while you sleep. It won’t be peaceful, and the situation can actually get worse as the devil plays with your mind as you sleep. If you go to bed saying loving things, then God can give you peace and rest and work on the resolution to the conflict in ways that you may not have thought of.

How you go to sleep will have a great effect on your rest and thus on the next day.

Once one gets past the 5-day mark, it gets easier because you have gotten through the tough part. You are teaching yourself, that no matter what happens, you love that person, and now you are consciously looking for the good in that person. You are looking for something loving to say to them. Now the relationship is more alive because they are in your thoughts all through the day. in a good way.

After 21 days, it will become a habit, a good habit, that will bring great benefit to your relationship.

One more thing, most people say a prayer before going to bed. When you pray, do you think of something nice to say to Jesus? Do you think Jesus would like to hear something heartfelt from you? I am sure He would. Now, just imagine if we did that daily. What to do you think Jesus will say and do for you in return? Just imagine! Remember it is all about a relationship and keeping the relationship alive.

Try the 5-minute date with the one you love and with Jesus and see if both relationships don’t go to another level. What do you have to lose? If nothing happens. you are exactly right where you are now. However, if something does happen, imagine how good it can be, and then realize it can be even better than you imagine!

Also, remember this is only my go-to first step, there are others, but this one really sets the tone for a love that will continue to grow and not get stale.

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, where we celebrate love. The thing is, what is love? Everyone wants it, but no one seems to really get it, because no one really knows what love is. There are so many definitions out there, and because of that, it is hard to find. Jesus knew that we desire love above everything else, so He wrote exactly what love is, so that you could recognize it and go after it.

I Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love suffers long and is kind"; (Love is in it for the long haul and always looks for the best in the other person.); "love does not envy" (Love only focuses on the one who is loved, not comparing it to anything else.); "love does not parade itself, is not puffed up" (Love does not focus on yourself, it is humble.); "does not behave rudely" (Love never puts the other person down.); "does not seek its own" (When the other person hurts us, we seek to help that person. When the one we love is wrong, our desire is to help them.); "is not provoked" (Love does not let the other person steal their joy of the relationship.); "thinks no evil" (Even when 100% in the right, it does not push its advantage home. It seeks to heal the other person.); "does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth" (It seeks to find the whole story and know the truth before acting in any way toward the other. Love does not jump to conclusions quickly.); "bears all things" (Love is there no matter what the situation.); "believes all things" (Love always looks to a better future.); "hopes all things" (Works with the other to make the future better.); "endures all things" (Things will go wrong, but love will be there in those dark times to say I am there for you, just because it is you.).

That is God’s definition of love. I think that sounds really good. Imagine if the world would actually practice that kind of love. Yet, some people say the Bible is irrelevant.

As you look at the definition, what do you notice? It is all about the other person, not about yourself. Imagine if we all practiced this type of love.

You might say, but what is in it for me? Think about it. If we all practiced love for others, and they did the same, then you would receive this kind of love in return from everyone. Now, wouldn’t that be great?

I Corinthains 13:8 says, "Love Never Fails".

This is love, and this love will not fail.

This is also the definition of God, because God says He is love in I John Chapter 4. Think about it. God is all powerful. He does not have to put up with us. Think about humanity as a whole. Then just think about your life. God does all of this, and puts up with a lot from us, and yet God says over and over and over again, He loves you and wants to be with you, despite what you do.

Are you looking for love? Start with Jesus. Then practice this type of love. You won’t be perfect at it, no human is, but this will lead you to the love you want, the love you deserve. As you practice this type of love, you will be able to see the counterfeits, and know when someone is not loving you, so that you can avoid heartbreak. That is priceless advice, and Jesus gives it to you for free.

Remember Jesus love you, I love you, and you are awesome!

PS – Check back next week for a follow up!

In life, people tend to put their hope in many different things. Children put their hope in "Santa Claus" to bring them gifts at Christmas, and they put their hope in the "Tooth Fairy" to put money under their pillow in exchange for their tooth. Adults also tend to put their hope in things of this world, which don't always give them the result that they want. This weekend is Groundhog Day. Here in Punxsutawney, and many other areas, people tend to put their hope in Punxsutawney Phil, the resident Groundhog. They long for an early spring, and hope that he will deliver the notice that it's right around the corner

This hope in things and people of this world is representative of a big reason that prevents Jesus from moving among us the way that He desires to do so. Our amazing ability to try to fit in with this world, many times gets in the way of our real reason for living in this world with Jesus, and it distracts us from carrying out the mission that God gave us. We are to go into all the world and share the Gospel, and the Bible clearly explains that we cannot serve two masters. So, when we allow the distractions of this world to guide our actions and thoughts, we are in real danger. We need to allow God to be the only guide and master for our life, and our hope only needs to be in Him, because He is everything and He is all that we will ever need.

When we come to Jesus, we are no longer part of this world. We are part of Jesus’ world, and we have a future in heaven. God wants us to share that with as many people as possible. We may live in this world, but we have the power and backing of God Almighty at our disposal. We do not have to be limited by the restrictions and rules of this world. We can do all things through Christ that gives us strength. Philippians 4:13

Yet for some reason, we still try to fit into this world, even though it's not our permanent home.

Punxsutawney Phil is also called the seer of seers. That is also translated King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I can tell you that Punxsutawney Phil is not the seer of seers, only Jesus is!

When we put our faith in God, and then say that we put our hope in something or someone else, such as Punxsutawney Phil, what are we saying to Jesus?

What we are saying is a slap in the face to Him. We should only put our faith and hope in Jesus. Jesus is looking for people, like those we read about in the Book of Acts, who will stand for Jesus and not compromise. Remember that the Book of Acts is not a history book, but a how to book of how the church is to act and operate in this world.

When we follow God's Word, putting all of our faith and hope in Him, then Jesus will show up in His glory and power to defend us and lift us up so that everyone can see how great our God is.

If we want to have the amazing life Jesus promised us, we cannot have one foot in heaven and the other on this planet. We have to go all in with Jesus, and really live this verse, John 17:16 - "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world".

Don’t try to live in this world. This world is not our future. We are only here to show others that something better, something amazing, is out there. Take a stand for Jesus. Put your faith and hope in Jesus and see the Book of Acts show up in your life. See God move in your life like He has always wanted to, and He will, because He can’t wait to show His glory through you. We just have to give Him a reason to do so.

Punxsutawney Phil usually lets everyone down, because he is never right. He is just a groundhog. However, when we go all in with Jesus, He will never let us down. For those in Punxsutawney, I am looking forward to the day when this town is known for the glory of God rather than some groundhog.

Yes, the groundhog brings in business, but nothing like the way Jesus can!

Remember Jesus loves you, I love you, and you are awesome!

Shorts with PD (Blog)

What Makes A Great Leader?

The 5-Minute Daily Date Challenge

What Really is Love?

Where is Your Hope?