Christian Living

Sometimes I think multi-level and multi-directional thinking is a strength. It helps me quickly assess what needs to be done and to delegate. More often, however, I’m learning that it is a weakness.

“Standards,” or guidelines, that provide for biblically based decision making are the subject of much dispute both within and without fundamentalism. The reasons for this are myriad, but among them is a condemning spirit by those who hold standards different than our own, the abuse of adding to what the Word of God requires, and a failure to agree on what and where a particular standard should be.

My family thinks I’m a neat freak. I think I’m just orderly. (Well, maybe it is a little over the top to look forward to a day off so I can clean out my closet.) But in all seriousness, whatever your personality type or personal level of clutter comfort, disorganization and excess clutter will waste your time and focus. And worse, it is the enemy of availability.

In the tenth chapter of the book of Second Kings, we find a fascinating story of how the Lord used Jehu to slay the descendants of, and those loyal to, wicked King Ahab. In the process, Jehu met a man named Jonadab—a man who shared a zeal for the Lord and the heart of Jehu for ridding the land of any residue of King Ahab’s wicked reign. Together, they slew many wicked men and were used of God to fulfill His purposes.

Perhaps you’ve heard the suggested praise/correction ratio of 10/1. And perhaps, like me, you’ve found it easy to forget to be regular on the praise side of the ratio. Last summer at our annual staff training, my friend, Ken McCoy, was reminding our staff leaders to regularly praise team members. He shared a simple idea with us that he used when his children were small.

As Christians, our focus should not be on the many negatives that this broken world offers (and there are plenty if that is what you are looking for). The psalmist aptly states, “And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee” (Psalms 39:7). This Christmas let’s reflect on where our hope should be placed.

The story is told of a struggling community who called an open town meeting to discuss their financial straits. Included in the group of a couple dozen people at the meeting was a stranger. No one knew him, and no one paid him any attention. In fact, once when he tried to speak up, he was interrupted as the townspeople continued to hash out possible solutions. Soon the stranger left.

I remember as a teen hearing a preacher preach that we should never ask God “why?” I wish I could say that I clearly remember the text and context of the message he preached, but I don’t. One thing I can say is that I remember his drilling that central point home in my mind.

Did He choose leave Heaven’s glory, choose to become man through the virgin birth just so there would be a Christmas Day? Did He decide to come to earth to give us a holiday? A season of overspending and celebration? Did He want the human race to have a few days off work, have some fun in early winter?

It’s strange that the very time of year we celebrate “peace on earth” is one of the most frazzled and hectic. But Christmastime or not, many of us grind through our days with a heart empty of peace. The world is filled with overload of all kinds. But God’s children have been offered the peace that passes understanding.

In case you haven’t already noticed, December is a busy month. Whether or not you are a pastor, your schedule is surely more filled this month than is comfortable. As a pastor, December is literally the most challenging month of the year for me. There are three specifics I pray for (and ask others to pray for on my behalf) this month:

There’s nothing like a hospital room to condense your thoughts into the truly important. Something about the tubes, monitors, hoses, gloves, gowns, and even the smell all serve to rivet your mind on the eternal. During a recent visit to a hospital bedside, I read Psalm 34 with the family gathered in the room. As I read, several key truths—truths that really matter when you’re in the hospital—spoke to me:

America’s Thanksgiving tradition is a time to focus on God and His blessings on us and on our nation. In a year that has provided America with hardships and economic challenges, perhaps it is even more important to focus on God this Thanksgiving and on the good things He has provided in the midst of our difficulties.

I recently read a classic little book called How to Read a Book. That may sound like an odd title; after all, how could somebody read a book unless they already knew how to read a book? And if they didn’t know how to read, how could they even read it at all? But How to Read a Book turned out to be one of the most important books I have ever read.

Did you ever have to eat your words? Pull a stuck foot out of your mouth? It’s too bad that the part of us that most often gets us into trouble is the part that is most often the quickest to respond—the tongue. No wonder James 1:19 admonishes, “…let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

The lament of Romans 7:24 is the cry of no less than the great Apostle Paul, who groans, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” He says that his situation makes him “wretched,” and sadly many Christians live in this condition day after day, and even year after year.

The indispensable aspect of spiritual leadership is guidance from the Holy Spirit. I often remind myself, our staff, and our church leaders to “obey every prompting of the Holy Spirit.” But it’s hard to obey His promptings if you don’t hear them.

Have you noticed how vulgar and profane we have become as a society of enlightened people? It seems that the more “civilized” a nation becomes, the more uncivilized its language becomes. People do not feel the slightest hesitation in using the most perverse language in public.

Driving in Cambodia is a challenge, but you don’t have to be here long to pick up little “tricks of the trade.” One of the techniques which I employ often is something which I call the “I’m with him” approach. Let me explain it.

The servant leaders who make the greatest impact on lives are those who have a genuinely joyful spirit. Joy is both compelling and contagious. Furthermore, the joy of the Lord is strengthening to us. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”