Like everyone else, when such an important question arises, I turn to Google for a good definition:

Devotion is love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause.

If people were to look at your life, what would they say you are devoted to? I ask because it is impossible to hide true devotion, and it is very telling as to where our heart truly lies.

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July 1, 2019 – What if we are devoting ourselves to the wrong things? Or, what if we are never truly devoting ourselves to anything? Devotion to the right things leads to amazing results. With the church in Acts, people were being saved, people were generous as selfishness faded away, and even those outside of faith recognized something attractive in the way the believers lived.

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Apathy, a wandering spirit, and a lack of ambition are the inevitable results of a life devoid of devotion. We certainly have plenty of examples of what that looks like in the world around us. However, your biggest struggles will come when you devote yourself to the wrong things.

Devotion can be compared to creating the right combination of moisture and nutrients in the soil. It will produce growth. I actually say this as a warning because water and fertilizer don’t determine what grows, but simply that something does indeed grow. Likewise, devotion will grow anything in your life, good or bad. Be intentional about what becomes the object of your devotion.  

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Can you sin while doing good? Certainly! Can you sin by doing good? Possibly. That is an interesting question. Since we reap what we sow, what if we continually settle for good things rather than pursuing the best things?

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June 18, 2019 – Do not grow weary in doing good. Why is that even a thing? 
Is it possible that we are guilty of over busying ourselves while still missing the point of life as a believer? Relationships are the key to unlocking the abundant life of being a follower of Christ. When we stay busy, relationships are the first to suffer. They become tedious when they should be life-giving. This is true for the introvert and extrovert alike. What if everything revolved around our relationships with God and other believers? What if we created real community? Too many things compete for our attention. We exhaust ourselves in doing, when we ought to invest our time in being.

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What I am trying to suggest is, life should move at the speed of relationships. Often our mentality is to create an event or activity to connect with people. Our approach needs to change so that we’re actually living life together as believers. This is a huge cultural shift for most of us, to move fellowship off our calendars and into how we define normal daily life. Exchange the good for the best.

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When I took Hebrew in college, our professor taught us that the word “perish,” which I underlined above, also can be translated “wander.” In other words, the destiny of the wicked is to wander through life, blown about by every new idea.

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June 14, 2019 – Why does it seem that so many young people lack commitment and resilience? I am frustrated by how quickly they abandon something because it is difficult or inconvenient. They don’t know how to persevere with something of value. They are so easily swept up into anything and anyone that offers an opinion and desires to sway the masses. If you value them and speak the truth, you are dismissed as irrelevant. If you use and manipulate them, then you are a god. It just doesn’t make sense.

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Wow, I guess I had rant-mode turned up to high when I wrote that journal entry! I would love to say I have an easy answer to fix this issue, but honestly Son, I want to caution you so that you don’t allow yourself to go down this path. Your generation has a tremendous desire to right the wrongs of this world and that is to your credit, but you are also plagued with an information overload that often strays more toward personal opinion than fact. This is why it is so important to firmly plant your feet on a solid foundation. Know what you believe. Filter everything through what you know to be true. The wind will blow, but like a well-watered and healthy tree with deep roots, you don’t have to be blown or broken by it.

Okay, so I couldn’t help myself since this is Day 66, of course, I had to include a Star Wars reference.

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In a moment, an order was given and those who fought alongside them for entirety of the war, turned on them and the Jedi were caught off guard and destroyed. George Lucas may not have been trying to teach biblical principles, but he did. Now, I’m not saying that your friends are going to turn on you and try to kill you, at least I certainly hope not. What I am saying is, as long as we live on this planet, we have to deal with the reality of subtle deception and infiltration. Our walk with God is constantly in danger.

Influences come in many shapes and forms. What is entertainment one day, may quickly become a steady stream of immorality and selfisness the next. We have to be careful about what we allow into our lives. Paul wrote about this in his first letter to the Corinthians. He warned us that while we have freedom in Christ, there are some things in this world that are not profitable or beneficial to us. He implies that we’d be better off to lay aside our freedom, rather than allow ourselves to be led astray. I suppose it comes down to these questions: “How close do you want to be to God?” “Do you want to hear and respond to the Holy Spirit’s direction?” “Do you want to have peace and confidence in your decisions?” Then, do the hard things.

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It’s not a building or specific location. There is no required minimum number of people. It can look different from one gathering to another. It can be formal or relaxed, but one thing it must be, is genuine.

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June 11, 2019 – The early church devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, to fellowship, and to prayer. They shared life together. They intentionally met to pray together. They took care of one another. They worshiped and ate meals together. They leaned on one another. They were respected and appreciated by those outside the church, and the Lord added to their number daily as people came to faith in Jesus.

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The Greek word, ἐκκλησία, pronounced ek-klay-see-uh, is translated most commonly as church. A better translation might be a gathering or assembly of people. A church begins as a handful of people coming together with a common purpose. I firmly believe that if we build our gatherings around the right things, reaching new people will be a natural result. Luke said it best in Acts:

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A hidden heart is easily hardened and leads to our attempted justification of poor choices, but a humble heart can be restored through repentance.

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June 8, 2019 - Being humble when it is chosen by you is a wonderful thing. It benefits everyone. When you are humbled by circumstances or misdeeds, not so much. It is sorrowful. Most of us have experienced this side of humility far more often. The fact that pride leads to destruction seems to be one of the most ignored truths in all of scripture. Even though we have experienced it, we still allow pride to lead us down selfish paths to temporary pleasures. And yet, sin still gives birth to inescapable consequences. We have to break this cycle.

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So then, what are we to do? Son, I want to encourage you to awaken each day with a renewed sense of surrender and repentance. Pride and fall produce guilt and shame. We don’t need more of that in our lives. We can no longer choose to run and hide like Adam and Eve. It’s really kind of pointless anyway.  We can’t hide from God. Instead, we must daily turn toward God in humility, admit our wrongs, and allow him to hit the reset button and wipe away the memory of our sin.

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June 7, 2019 – Everything you do, Lord, is wonderful, and you invite me to live in that wonder. I am amazed at what my life no longer has to be. The things that once dominated my thoughts and actions and led to whole-hearted rebellion are no longer my master. I have been set free and every day is a choice to live in that freedom.

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Wouldn’t it be great to live in the constant realization of God’s goodness—that every day we would see again what freedom in Christ is all about? Unfortunately, life feels more like a roller coaster than a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain. Don’t be discouraged. David is known as a man after God’s own heart, yet he too, experienced the same feelings. He knew he was God’s chosen king and had been anointed by Samuel, yet David struggled at times to see what God was up to as he was forced to run for his life and hide in caves. The Psalms are full of both joy and despair. Listen to David’s words:

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My journal entries are much like David’s songs. One day I am disappointed or overwhelmed, and then the next day God shines hope into my life as only he can. The key is to remember God’s amazing grace in the lows, and to give thanks with a humble heart in the highs. This will keep us from being open to temptation in both the valleys and on the mountaintops.

June 6, 2019 – This week, my time alone with God has been opposed and I haven’t been doing so well. I am amazed at how a few trivial distractions result in a distance, or rather a perceived distance, from God. My mind struggles for peace and quiet. My thoughts are jumbled, I am under some stress, and I cannot even think.
 
Holy Spirit come in and fill my mind and my entire being to purge me of the effects of these last few days. Lead me to walk in you completely today.

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Some days are just a bit funky. It feels like no matter how hard you try, you just can’t find a rhythm—everything seems distracted. You start to read or pray and then your mind wanders off. I hate those days. Even worse, I hate the feelings that come with them, especially the feeling that somehow, I have managed to drift away from God. The thing is though, our perception of reality in these moments is far from reality itself. The Holy Spirit lives within us. How can we possibly drift away? Satan would love for us to believe that we’ve messed up and God has abandoned us, but that’s not the way he works. Even when we turn our back on God, he never leaves us. His embrace is always one act of repentance away. We turn, and he is there, arms open wide, to embrace us once again. How do I know that is true?

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June 1, 2019 – It’s fun to dream. I think that is part of God’s awesome creativity that he placed within us either as a part of our spirit or of his image. Dreams are an expression of hope. It is because of the belief in goodness and joy that we even dare to dream of a bright future and a meaningful life. God help me to maintain that faith every day. Also, put me in a position where you can use my dreams to bless and teach others for your Kingdom. A dream in my heart is a wonderful thing. Seeing you at work, bringing such a dream into reality, is pure, uncontainable joy.

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When you are young and single, pursuing dreams comes easy. Oh sure, you have to overcome a little fear of the unknown from time to time, but for the most part, there is nothing to hold you back. You know you have a safety net when you need it, and usually, financing an adventure is doable. The older you get, the more tied down you tend feel to being responsible and sensible, not to mention the fact that you have to bankroll your own adventures. But what if…

What if your dream of adventure was God’s actual plan? What if living your dream is His mission for your life? Nothing injects joy into your heart so much as seeing an idea, a hope, a dream, move from your mind into reality. If that statement is true, then it makes sense that nothing in your life will be more opposed by our enemy than the ideas and dreams that God has laid on your heart. I have seen many dreams in my life come and go and never become reality. Don’t let this happen to you! Write them down. Pray for them daily. Share them with someone who will encourage you.

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Today, I have enjoyed sitting outside in the sun and just absorbing the warmth. Even as I am typing these words, I feel a combination of the sunshine and a gentle breeze. I hear doves cooing and all kinds of birds singing on this beautiful day. There’s a little smell of smoke in the air as the farmers are burning off the stubble in their fields before planting. It is as if all the world is held on pause for me to soak it all in.

We need these moments. When I was in college, I would take walks down by the river or drive out toward the lake and find my way to some rock formation in the middle of the woods to climb up and just sit for what seemed like hours. Those are among my fondest of memories because they were times when I could just be with God. No pressing schedules, no tests to study for, no bothersome distractions, and no one there to need my attention in those moments. It was just time alone with God. I think too, being outside adds to the experience. The sights, the sounds, the smells, and the adventure all bring extra focus onto God. This is probably what Paul meant in Romans when he said that because of creation around us we have no excuse for not knowing God.

Whether or not being outside is your favorite thing, and regardless of convenience, I want to encourage you to incorporate moments like these in your regular routine. They may not be able to happen every week or even every month, but when they do, they can be very special, and will add to your knowledge and love of God.

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In his most remembered teachings, The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus drops the call on all his listeners to be salt and light in this world. The beatitudes, which precede these verses, talk about things we do to become better people. We change the way we think and act and our lives will be blessed, but Jesus shifts his focus in these verses about salt and light. Why do we need to change? Why do we need to receive these blessings from God? So that we can be a blessing to the world! The world is rotting in darkness and, left to itself, it will not stop decaying. God strategically placed us here to make a difference. He wants us to care for others beyond our own blessing. God’s message of love is for you, but it never stops with you. We must live and love in such a way that the world around us can’t help but open its eyes to the reality of God.

You want to know God? Great! You want to lead others to know God? Even better! You want to walk with God and lead others to walk with God so they will lead others to walk with God so they will lead others to walk with God? Awesome! Be salt and light! That’s what life is all about.

May 17, 2019 – The revelation of God in his word is amazing, and yet, there is so much that is not revealed. Who was Melchizedek? How does the sovereignty of God work alongside man’s freedom to choose? Did Adam and Eve have belly buttons? Deep stuff. Our understanding of God is limited to what he has chosen for us to know through revelation, and even that can be difficult to interpret at times. God, however, has no limitations. He is greater than the best of what we know of him. While there are definitely things I wish I understood more deeply and clearly, this aspect of God actually gives me a greater hope and stronger faith. I live according to what God has revealed and then, trust my life and all of creation to everything he has not. This is often called “blind” faith, but I don’t feel that to be an accurate description. What I see and know of God is amazing. And yet, he is even greater, even kinder, even better, even more loving and gracious, and even more powerful. He is eternally awesome! It strengthens my faith to know that I can’t see all of him.

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God would have to be awfully small if we as humans could comprehend everything about him. In fact, I’m not sure he would be worthy of our worship. Take time today to reflect on what you don’t know about God and give thanks for how awesome the mystery truly is.

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Isn’t that what it feels like at times when we try to “follow” God? I have often wished for a set of Urim and Thummim stones just to help make decisions. Why is it hard to believe that God wants to provide counsel for us through his Holy Spirit? Maybe what’s hard to believe is that you can actually learn to listen and live in close fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

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May 16, 2019 – I used this illustration yesterday with leaders in our church. It’s a variation of a game called Frostbite. Using a Connect 4 game, teams of two must work together to play the game. One person is blindfolded and the other isn’t allowed to use their hands. The game illustrates what it is like to walk with God. He sees all and knows what is best for us. He has a strategy that will accomplish more than we could on our own. The key to success is learning to listen and trust one move at a time. So often, blind to the bigger picture, we jump out ahead of God, hoping that things will work out in the end. We trust our lives more to random chance than to following God. How crazy is that!

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Our biggest problem trying to listen to the Holy Spirit is the pace at which we live. How often do we make enough margin in our lives to pray, worship, and listen? Life isn’t going to make this easy for us. Even working in ministry can find us becoming overly efficient. I understand, but then again, I don’t. It’s time to trade our version of efficiency for God’s. Spend more time listening for God’s plan and less time living in the wasted effort of trial and error. Just a thought.

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May 15, 2019 – I am troubled this morning as I think about the subtle, self-centered garbage flowing from the pens and mouths of men and women who claim to teach the truths of scripture. This attack is more brutal than a full-frontal assault. We must be vigilant. We must stand guard or else we will lose our hearts. We must take up sword, put on armor, and fight.

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Let’s face it, there’s a lot out there. You have more access to data and people’s opinions than I ever had growing up. That can make it tough to discern fact from fiction. BUT, you have to! This isn’t optional. Nothing will undercut your resolve more than a lack of confidence in what you believe. Most of the world is comfortably living in this kind of fog. First of all, they have no sense of what they believe. Secondly, they don’t know why they believe what they believe. And lastly, they don’t even know if they should have established beliefs. Your heart can’t live well like this. You need a solid foundation, which you have in your faith and confidence in the resurrection of Jesus. That increases trust in both the why and what of scripture.  We need this because when your mind is in turmoil, your heart suffers. When your heart suffers, you lose your well-spring of life, your passion and mission for living. So, study the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. Start with scripture and write out what you believe. Seek advice from a mentor, and then test everything anyway. Always be teachable and open to increasing your understanding and wisdom, while at the same time being difficult to persuade. Guard your heart, my son!

Maybe it’s just me, but I love to work in a garden. There is something deeply satisfying about seeing the literal fruit of your labor coming into being right in front of your eyes.

Gardens and garden metaphors are all throughout scripture. A garden was both the birthplace of humanity and where Jesus went to pray on the night of his betrayal. Seeds, vines, branches, fruit, sowing and reaping, all bring to mind teachings of Jesus. One of the most important things for us as believers is to GROW in our walk with God.

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May 14, 2019 – Why does something stop growing? Lack of care and nutrition, lack of sun or water, the onset of disease, the arrival of an invasive species. 
 
What makes something grow? Good soil, water, sunlight, fertilizer, constant weeding, pruning, and care, daily tending.

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We are no different than seeds and plants. It takes consistent care to ensure our growth and survival. That’s why it is so important for us to be in God’s word and to pray daily, taking time to listen to the Holy Spirit and reflect on what he is teaching us. You may remember as you were growing up, when we would go on a summer vacation, we would come home to a disaster of a garden full of weeds or eaten by deer or insects munching holes in all the leaves of the plants. That is what will happen to us if we take a vacation in our walk with God. We will be subject to every attack of the enemy and chances are, we won’t have the nutrients we need to fight for our lives.

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I have just had one of the most amazing experiences of the assurance of God in my entire life. I hope I can relate it here in a way that is meaningful to you. I began today, like most days, with reading scripture, praying, and journaling. I didn’t have much to write, so I started with the question, “Are all dreams selfish in nature?” I bounced that idea around a bit and then landed on this idea.

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I have somewhat always felt like a square peg in a world of round holes. I don’t ever seem to fit quite right. I suppose the real question is, do I need sandpaper to reshape me, or a jigsaw to reshape the world? I don’t want to withdraw from the world, but I definitely don’t want to just conform either. Lord, I need your perspective today. I need wisdom in a world filled with self-oriented philosophy.

   

So, I set my journal aside and started to move on with my day, but God quickly drew me back.

   

The world of round holes will always offer a lathe and sandpaper, but God, if this is how you made me, how can I allow myself to be reshaped by their tools? Did you make all believers this way so that we could reshape the world?

   

And then, the Holy Spirit reminded me of John’s account of the New Jerusalem.

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God sees us. He made us just the way he wants us. Let’s go change the world!

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I am constantly amazed at the hope that exists in Christ. I know that sounds like a no-brainer, but in the midst of life, when everything seems so hard, hope feels far away, like a distant light in a very dark tunnel. Sometimes all you can see is a pinprick of white in a blanket of black.

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May 13, 2019 – Life can sometimes be like working through the night to meet a deadline. The pressure doesn’t come so much from the time factor, though capitalizing on windows of opportunity is significant, but from the fact that so much is done in darkness. We are opposed. The work is difficult, and the darkness keeps us from seeing things clearly. Hope is knowing that as we press on, the light at the end of the tunnel grows stronger. No matter how oppressive the darkness can be at times, it has no power to overcome the light. Our ability to see adjusts and grows steadily. Our excitement and energy are rejuvenated because we believe that what is, is only a bridge to what will be. Oh, how great is our God and the light that he brings!

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It’s an amazing thing how the smallest light can fill the darkest of rooms as our eyes adjust. What a testimony to the genius of God in creating our eyes to work that way! Likewise, we were made to experience the hope of Jesus. Satan would love for you to believe that hope is a myth of human creation. No, Son, hope is in the person and character of God. If we truly believe that he died for us before he created us, then doubt and despair are liars. Live in confidence today and bask in the light.

May 6, 2019 – If salvation by grace through faith, is totally a gift from God, why did Jesus call us to repentance? Why did Paul call us to live holy lives? Are we free from the law or not?

Of course we are free! Jesus, through his death and resurrection, established the way for us to be made right with God. We have been set free from the bondage of sin. Just as the law was given to protect and provide for God’s people, we are called to live holy lives so that we can experience abundant life and fulfill our purpose as ambassadors for Christ. When we walk with God, we are able to share in his ministry. Then, we realize that walking in newness of life is for our good and our protection. Freedom in Christ comes when we deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Jesus. We must live in the new and let the old truly die.

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Son, I have learned that most people don’t realize the truth that freedom and responsibility go hand in hand. By that I don’t mean they are just a good pair. I mean that freedom cannot exist without responsibility, otherwise, freedom becomes twisted and degraded into selfishness of the worst kind. That is why salvation by grace through faith, should always lead to holy living.

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May 1, 2019 – Ephesians 4 (actually all of Ephesians) has me particularly fired up today. The summary outline is basically:

1. God’s grace is amazing, and Jesus has something amazing for you. 
2. So, grow in it and live in it. It’s all for a purpose. 
3. Stop doing stupid things and living according to your old life and desires. 
4. Grow up and get in the game. You have people to rescue and a battle to fight.

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Part of going deeper with God is focusing your attention on what he is calling you to develop and do. That’s why cultivating depth is never a sedentary lifestyle. Far from it! It is opening yourself up to be on mission with God.

However, here’s the thing that most people miss. When you try to live on mission with God but fail to continually grow in your friendship with the Holy Spirit, bringing him into every thought and conversation, you wind up doing things FOR God, but not WITH God. On the surface that doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but it is kind of like the difference between good, better, and best. Which of those do you really want?

Getting in the game doesn’t just mean getting off the sidelines. You need to be in on the play your team is running. You need to know where to be on the field. You need to know your exact role. And, you need to know what to do if Plan “A” doesn’t work out. Walking with God daily is the only way to effectively get out of the stands, off the sidelines, into the game, and to truly live a life worthy of your calling. For this, you have been chosen!

April 17, 2019 – I long for the days I spent in Europe because of the more relaxed approach to life. Being driven can produce results, but I’m not certain it is always healthy. I suppose like anything good, too much can become a bad thing. I’m certainly not going to become an advocate for laziness. I guess what I mean is that I desire to live with more dedicated focus in the moment. I want to give full attention to whatever is right in front of me and not be thinking of everything else that is on my plate. Productivity is overrated when it comes at the expense of any relationship, but especially my relationship with God.

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By all means, let’s overcome our tendency to live in the shallows. Often the perception of depth is that it is something antiquated or sedentary. After all, we live in a modern world and we have to keep up. Why? Since when did keeping up with the values and pace of the world ever start making sense in our walk with God?

Son, all I can say is that this may be the battle of our age. You have to decide how you will choose to live. Go deeper with God. Go deeper with people. Give them your focused attention.

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What would a King be without his Queen? Well, okay, I suppose it’s not a requirement, but God himself did acknowledge in Genesis that it was not good for man to be alone. God created Eve as an “ezer,” often translated helpmate, to rule and reign alongside Adam. All throughout scripture that same word is used in reference to the strength that God provides as our rescuer and shield. That’s an amazing picture if you think about it. So, with that said, I’ll start with a couple of cautions.

First, the search for a Queen, nor the Queen herself, can ever be your purpose in any stage of life. So many people get this wrong and the entire trajectory of their life is changed. Not to mention the fact that any woman of strength and honor is going to get really bored and annoyed with you fairly quickly. She wants to be on mission with you, not be your mission.

Secondly, every relationship in our lives affects us, but none so great as the relationship we have with a woman that we love. Even in the early stages of friendship it doesn’t take us long to realize that fact. Set your sights on the life God has for you and be open to relationships along the way. They should never slow your momentum nor change your direction. If you sense that’s what’s happening, bail out fast. The longer you wait the greater the damage and pain.

My advice to you is lean into your relationship with God. Be on mission for his glory. Treat all women with respect. Then, at just the right moment, God will bring Eve into your life.

The metaphor of Kingship shows up in both song and story. Despite the fact that we live in a world that desperately wants to avoid responsibility, somewhere deep inside our hearts resonate with the truth that we have been created for more. Jesus is the King of kings, and we are destined to reign with him when all things are made new, and even now, he is calling us toward something greater.

Becoming a true King in the Kingdom of God is both a matter of being born into the Kingdom through faith in Jesus as well as an expedition through life experiences and earned recognition as a leader. If you want to be a good King, you must realize that God never intended for you to go it alone. There are specific people you need in your “fellowship,” to borrow from Tolkien. As a young man, you need Brothers. Men who will eventually reign as Kings alongside you. Together you share a common purpose and push one another to hone your knowledge and skills. Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, these are the men you are looking for as peers, and then you need a Wizard. Someone a little older, more experienced, and wiser who also shares your purpose. He will help you navigate the treachery of your enemy in this world. And then, you need some Hobbits. People you can love and fight for and pour your life into as they grow and mature. Though they are following you now, your goal is to send them out to become Kings in their own right. Look also at David in 1 & 2 Samuel. He had his mighty men, he had Nathan, and he passed on his legacy of faith to his sons and the entire nation of Israel.

I cannot overstate how important this is in life. Your fellowship will have a lasting impact on your growth and development as a leader. Remember, you attract who you are, so be diligent and pursue the life to which God is calling you. Don’t let anything or anyone hold you back.

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April 1, 2012 – Go, make disciples of all nations! Both sides of this “great commission” are important to where God is leading the church. We should be inviting people to these things. We should be going. We should be preaching the gospel. We should be making disciples, true followers of Christ that live for him above all things. Wait a minute. This is not a journal of things the church should be doing. This is personal, so therefore, I should be inviting. I should be going. I should be preaching. I should be making disciples. And in all reality, I should be living for Christ above all other things. Yes, I can hope for and pray for and lead others to this kind of walk with God, but it all starts with me. I can’t invite others and lead them down a path I’m not on.

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I am notoriously guilty of seeing the world, the church, and others and identifying the way things ought to be. The truth is, Son, the answer is in leading, not in proclaiming. We live in a social media blog culture where speaking out and even ranting are the favored method of changing the world. Not only is it not working, it isn’t the answer that Jesus modeled for us. True disciples are not merely inspired, they are made. Like Jesus we must walk the road with people, model the life of a disciple, and actually lead them. So, changing the world must first begin by changing you.

March 30, 2019 – No matter what anyone else says and regardless of any impact on my self-esteem, I have to deal with failure. I do fail. There are moments after difficult talks where I question myself. Not so much question my motives, but the results force me to question my approach, my attitude, and reevaluate my words. Sometimes people are just complicated or stubborn, but the interaction still results in failure. My biggest fear is that I will always feel trapped in a cycle of failure that produces no progress—no growth.

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Unlike the warden in the movie Cool Hand Luke, I think I’ve finally learned something to help me overcome this cycle. After a recent “discussion,” I realized that I had been allowing my point to be more important to me than my audience. Steven Covey was correct when he suggested as one of his 7 Habits, that we seek first to understand, then to be understood. In other words, will we demonstrate genuine love, the kind of love that Jesus talked about which defies human logic?

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I encourage you, Son, to see beyond your point to the heart of the person. They could be going through just about anything at a given moment. Love them first and they will hear your heart long before they comprehend your words.

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March 29, 2019 – It is not and never has been about me. God’s calling on my life isn’t about me. It’s about me being a vessel through which God works to reach those he wants to reach. It has always been about them. Anything worthwhile, new, and different takes a great amount of intentionality. When I make the shift from being a good leader to helping others become good leaders we will grow beyond the lid of my vision and abilities. This is what it means to live for something greater than yourself.

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Now go back and read it again and put your name there in the place of Timothy’s. Far too many leaders see the pinnacle of their leadership with themselves at the top. I want to encourage you to flip the pyramid upside-down. The greatest thing we can do as a leader is to pour our life of learning and experience into others who can then far exceed anything we have ever personally achieved. That was Jesus’ model of servant-leadership as he washed the disciples’ feet. In his own words he told them that through faith they would do even greater things than he. Son, set your sites on being a conduit, not the source, nor the benefactor, but the conduit through which God can impact the world.