“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Have you ever heard words on a page described in such a way? How can words that are up to 6,000 years old be so powerful?
The Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible, working through each author in every word. That’s what makes it so powerful. You may read another old book and be moved by the words and emotions, but only in the Bible do you have the author living inside you to teach you, convict you, and show you the ways of God.
That makes the Word of God a very powerful weapon indeed.
And why is it so powerful? Because it has power. Real power. The kind of power that can change your life and the lives of others.
So here comes the big question: Are you using this very powerful weapon?
A Christian leader should be steeped in the word. The Word of God should just ooze out of them no matter what they’re doing. Our whole life should be a testimony to the Word of God and be an example of living it’s message.
So here’s the thing: you can’t be a testimony to the word or an example of its message if you’re not reading it. You can’t just sit at church, hear a sermon, and soak this stuff up. You have to be in the word all the time.
Having a daily Bible time is a smart idea, and I’m going to bet that you find yourself bored throughout the course of the day, so use that extra time to pick up your Bible and read. Carry one with you. I prefer a pocket New Testament when I’m on the go, and they serve as a handy evangelism tool when you’re talking to somebody about Jesus.
These are the words of life that we’re talking about here, and the way that the writer of Hebrews talks about it, we shouldn’t be taking it so lightly.
Christian Leadership Principle: The Word of God is very powerful, and has real power. A Christian leader should be in the word as much as possible, learning and living it.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: 2 Timothy 3:10-17
Prayer: Father, help me to fall in love with Your word. Help me to love it and live it, soaking it up. Teach me from it. Help me to teach others. Thank You for Your Word and the power it has in my life. In Christ’s name, amen.
Showing posts with label Hebrews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hebrews. Show all posts
Friday, May 21, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Day 49: Hebrews 3:13
“But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
Sin is a seriously slippery slope. Unless we watch ourselves, we can begin to harden our hearts to it, so that soon sin becomes habitual.
Why is it like that? We sin to please ourselves. We do things we shouldn’t but that feel good, we lie to sidestep the consequences of our actions, we are selfish because it’s gratifying to ourselves and easier than loving others.
And it’s habit forming. We may sin once and think we got away with it, promising ourselves that we’ll never do that again. The next time that temptation rears its ugly little head, it’s that much easier because last time we didn’t get caught.
Sin is deceitful. Is promises us something in the moment, without thought to short-term, long-term, or eternal consequences.
The author of Hebrews tells us here that we need to be exhorting one another daily to keep from this. What is exhorting? Basically, it’s encouraging other people with words and pleading with them not to sin, or to come clean from their sin.
This is one of the benefits of being in community, or a church. We have people around us that care enough about us to be worried about our life and if sin has crept in.
We need to have the love and courage to do this for the people around us, and not get offended when they do the same for us.
Christianity today calls this accountability. It’s a good idea to find someone that doesn’t mind asking you the hard questions about your life, and who has the courage to say the right thing to you when you step out of line. The flip side of this is that you do the same for them. If you are in the right accountability relationship, this can be one of the most gratifying friendships that you have.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Sin can harden our heart, but God puts us into community so that we can encourage and exhort one another to come clean of our sin.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Galatians 6:1-10
Prayer: Father, don’t let sin harden my heart. Put people into my life that care enough to hold me accountable, and help me be that person to someone else. In Christ’s name, amen.
Sin is a seriously slippery slope. Unless we watch ourselves, we can begin to harden our hearts to it, so that soon sin becomes habitual.
Why is it like that? We sin to please ourselves. We do things we shouldn’t but that feel good, we lie to sidestep the consequences of our actions, we are selfish because it’s gratifying to ourselves and easier than loving others.
And it’s habit forming. We may sin once and think we got away with it, promising ourselves that we’ll never do that again. The next time that temptation rears its ugly little head, it’s that much easier because last time we didn’t get caught.
Sin is deceitful. Is promises us something in the moment, without thought to short-term, long-term, or eternal consequences.
The author of Hebrews tells us here that we need to be exhorting one another daily to keep from this. What is exhorting? Basically, it’s encouraging other people with words and pleading with them not to sin, or to come clean from their sin.
This is one of the benefits of being in community, or a church. We have people around us that care enough about us to be worried about our life and if sin has crept in.
We need to have the love and courage to do this for the people around us, and not get offended when they do the same for us.
Christianity today calls this accountability. It’s a good idea to find someone that doesn’t mind asking you the hard questions about your life, and who has the courage to say the right thing to you when you step out of line. The flip side of this is that you do the same for them. If you are in the right accountability relationship, this can be one of the most gratifying friendships that you have.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Sin can harden our heart, but God puts us into community so that we can encourage and exhort one another to come clean of our sin.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Galatians 6:1-10
Prayer: Father, don’t let sin harden my heart. Put people into my life that care enough to hold me accountable, and help me be that person to someone else. In Christ’s name, amen.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Day 33: Hebrews 2:17
“Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
There is something very important about Jesus in these verses. Well, a couple of things. First, Jesus was just like us, except that He didn’t sin. That’s why He can relate to us, and we can relate to Him. He knows what we are going through, because He went through it. He faced every temptation we face. He faced every heartache that we face. He knew every joy that we know. But Jesus did it all without sin, which makes Him the perfect sacrificial lamb of God.
We can learn a lot from what Jesus did while He was on earth. One of the things that we as leaders need to learn is that we need to be of the people. There are many “leaders” who think that they don’t need to mingle with “the little people” who work for them or follow them. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
To become what Jesus needed to become, He lived with us. In fact, Jesus even lived homeless, relying on the goodness of people to take Him and His disciples in at night, or sleeping under the stars when it was required. The point is, Jesus didn’t insulate himself in some nice mansion and keep Himself apart from the people. He lived with them, among them, as one of them.
As leaders, especially a successful one, our tendency is to drag ourselves away from the people, to see ourselves as better than the people, and to think of them as not worth our time. We have to look to Jesus to be our example and model in how we deal with people. The truth is, we are no different than anybody else, God has just given us a leader’s stewardship for a time.
If we follow Jesus’ example, we become better leaders. Why? Because we can lead, and others follow better, when our lives are intertwined with the lives of those we lead.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Like Jesus, we aren’t to separate ourselves from other people. We aren’t to think of ourselves more highly, or believe that spending time with others is beneath us. We are good leaders because we understand people and share in their lives.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: John 11:28-37
Prayer: Lord, help me be humble and to identify with others around me. Help me be a better leader by being like Your Son Jesus, who lived among and with other people. In Christ’s name, amen.
There is something very important about Jesus in these verses. Well, a couple of things. First, Jesus was just like us, except that He didn’t sin. That’s why He can relate to us, and we can relate to Him. He knows what we are going through, because He went through it. He faced every temptation we face. He faced every heartache that we face. He knew every joy that we know. But Jesus did it all without sin, which makes Him the perfect sacrificial lamb of God.
We can learn a lot from what Jesus did while He was on earth. One of the things that we as leaders need to learn is that we need to be of the people. There are many “leaders” who think that they don’t need to mingle with “the little people” who work for them or follow them. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
To become what Jesus needed to become, He lived with us. In fact, Jesus even lived homeless, relying on the goodness of people to take Him and His disciples in at night, or sleeping under the stars when it was required. The point is, Jesus didn’t insulate himself in some nice mansion and keep Himself apart from the people. He lived with them, among them, as one of them.
As leaders, especially a successful one, our tendency is to drag ourselves away from the people, to see ourselves as better than the people, and to think of them as not worth our time. We have to look to Jesus to be our example and model in how we deal with people. The truth is, we are no different than anybody else, God has just given us a leader’s stewardship for a time.
If we follow Jesus’ example, we become better leaders. Why? Because we can lead, and others follow better, when our lives are intertwined with the lives of those we lead.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Like Jesus, we aren’t to separate ourselves from other people. We aren’t to think of ourselves more highly, or believe that spending time with others is beneath us. We are good leaders because we understand people and share in their lives.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: John 11:28-37
Prayer: Lord, help me be humble and to identify with others around me. Help me be a better leader by being like Your Son Jesus, who lived among and with other people. In Christ’s name, amen.
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