Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. —Luke 22:26 Robert K. Greenleaf coined the term servant leadership, saying that it “begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.” And although Greenleaf coined the term, Jesus coined the concept and explained it to his glory-seeking disciples: Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, ‘In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called “friends of the people.” But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.’  —Luke 22: 24-26 Jesus did not measure greatness by the number of people who served him but by the number of people he served. The effectiveness of a servant leader is not measured by rank or position, rather it’s measured by the legacy the leader leaves behind. All leaders should ask themselves, “Does my leadership cause personal and professional growth in others?” Servant leaders submit themselves to others voluntarily and not under compulsion. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, cast out demons, and chastised the Pharisees when he deemed it necessary. He was a strong leader. Servant leaders give selflessly without expecting anything in return. Servant leaders seek to know the following of those they lead: What are your aspirations? What are your key motivations? How can I help you get from here to there? Because servant leadership embraces self-giving without self-glory, it is an ideal leadership style. Let’s look at a few of the benefits and cautions of this style. Benefits of Servant Leadership It’s Not About Just One Person: Many leaders focus on their best interests rather than on the needs of the many. However, servant leaders make decisions that are in the best interest of the organization as a whole rather than just one or two people. It Improves the Work Culture: Many of us have worked for different companies during our careers, and we can attest that some work cultures are more pleasing than others. When the person at the top is a servant leader, it affects the atmosphere and the people who work there in a positive manner. It Promotes Customer Retention: Customers often do not know what’s going on behind the scenes in an organization, but they can feel the effects of poor leadership. When employees are unhappy, they pass that on to the customers they serve. In the same way, when employees are happy and love what they do, customers naturally want to do business with them. It Promotes Innovation: Nothing is more disheartening than to feel that your ideas don’t count. For this reason, servant leaders keep an open mind when their subordinates suggest new ways of doing things. They don’t agree just for the sake of agreeing, but they genuinely consider and embrace those things that would enhance the organization as a whole. It Keeps the Ego in Check: In a traditional leadership role, the person in charge makes all the decisions, communicates what needs to be done, and then takes credit for the completed project. On the other hand, servant leaders give credit where credit is due to help others reach higher standards of performance. Whenever you feel like elevating yourself, remember the example of Jesus. Philippians 2:6-7 tells us that Jesus was “in very nature, God, [yet] did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” His mission was not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

Born To Lead Day 3 Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? —Job 38:36 We’ve all experienced that moment in time when we were certain of something that we could not logically be sure of. We just “had a feeling” that something was not right or that something was going to happen. That’s intuition—a gut feeling when “something” inside puts you on alert. Intuition and discernment often work hand in hand, but they are not the same. While intuition refers to a gut feeling or a hunch, discernment helps you wisely recognize and use your intuition when you need it. When looked at this way, we see that intuition isn’t just a reliance on flighty emotions but is grounded in intelligence. Intuition can cause unnecessary fear or worry, and discernment can help you reel in those emotions and not let them incapacitate you. How to Develop Your Intuition • Recognize it. Be on alert to recognize when you are having an intuitive moment. If you find yourself thinking about someone more than usual, and they call you up shortly thereafter, it was likely your intuition at work. • Silence your inner critic. Many times, we try to rationalize away our intuitive thoughts, thinking we should be more logical and rely on facts. The next time you have an intuition about something, don’t analyze it or argue with yourself about it. Give in to it and see what happens. Realizing you were correct will enable you to have more faith in the process the next time. • Embrace your creativity. Creative activities such as painting, drawing, writing, and crafts allow your mind to flow freely. They can put you in a mindset that allows you to be more open to new ideas and insights. • Take notes. Carry a small journal or notebook (or use your electronic notes on your cell phone) to record your thoughts, gut feelings, and hunches. Sometimes, we have such reactions throughout the day, but then we forget about them. Writing them down will allow you to review them at your leisure and remember fleeting, but important, feelings that occurred throughout the day. • Get physical. Go for a walk or a run or even take a shower. Often, taking a break from the daily grind frees our minds to mull over problems and come up with solutions. • Evaluate your dreams. Often our dreams are windows into our subconscious. Dreams help us process information and deal with stress or unacknowledged desires. They can reveal deep and symbolic messages that escape our attention when we are awake. • Evaluate the past. There have, no doubt, been many times in the past where you had an intuition and didn’t act on it. You kicked yourself for not listening to yourself. Recall those times and allow them to bolster your confidence in the future. • Pray. Most important of all, when we need to make a decision, we often have a choice we are leaning toward. However, we second-guess ourselves by going back and forth, unable to decide. In responding to Job, the suffering patriarch, God declares, through a rhetorical question, that he is the source of intuition. “Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?” Don’t dismiss the concept of intuition as something mystical or magical. It is God-given. Simply ask the Holy Spirit to lead you as to when to rely on it. Christians should be cautioned that not all our inner thoughts and feelings should be heeded, for they can lead us astray. “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” That “feeling” or “something” must be submitted to the Holy Spirit’s discernment for our next step. He is the fountain of wisdom and understanding that Jesus sent specifically to teach and guide us.

Born to Lead Day 2 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. —Philippians 4:12-13 Resilience and persistence often work hand and hand. While resilience refers to bouncing back after enduring a crisis, persistence refers to the ability to steadfastly pursue an objective despite opposition, delays, or other disadvantages. Both resilience and persistence are important because one must not only recover from a setback but have the endurance to continue and not give up. Persistence naturally requires being resilient, as you can’t persist if you never get back up. On the other hand, it is important not to take persistence to the extreme. It may seem reasonable to keep going when the odds are stacked against us, but there are times when we just need to learn to let go. Strategies for Handling Adversity When adversity rears its head, it is wise to follow some predetermined guidelines as to how you will cope. Here are some strategies that have helped me to overcome many problems. • Maintain a good attitude. “How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble!” Job proclaims in Job 14:1. Trouble is inevitable, but it is also a tool that produces spiritual, emotional, and psychological strength. When we resist the temptation to feel that our trials are unfair and resist the pressure to respond in a negative way, we develop the “mental muscle” needed to overcome whatever obstacles arise. We learn to analyze the situation, ask for divine assistance, and anticipate a positive outcome. • Believe in the God who resides within you. Often in the face of adversity, our self-esteem takes a hit. Don’t allow any circumstances to make you feel less worthy. Your challenges do not define you. Adversity is just an experience; it is not your identity. Whatever happens, you are strong enough to regain control over your life. You simply need to remember that with God you can do all things. • Rely on your support network. Everyone can get down occasionally. During these times, you can rely on your support network to cheer you on and encourage you to get back up again. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Rely on colleagues, friends, or loved ones to help get you through hard times. Challenges are easier to handle when we have someone to talk to. The people in our support group can remind us of who we are when adversity tempts us to forget. Nurture your support group and do not forget that support goes both ways. Be there for others during their trying times. • Don’t be overly critical of yourself. Beware of allowing your mistakes or any setback to define who you are. You are not a failure if you lose your job or get passed over for a high-profile role. You still have worth and value, and you just need to get back up and prove it. Every defeat gives you the chance to learn from your mistakes, if any, and be wiser in the future. • Don’t be afraid to accept responsibility. Sometimes adversity seems to come inexplicably out of the blue; other times, it comes as a result of our own actions. If you find that you have made unwise decisions, don’t let this incapacitate you. Accept responsibility for your part in creating the problem and learn from your mistakes. Prepare a game plan to take those necessary next steps. • Don’t neglect self-care. Ironically, the key to resilience is first learning how to stop rather than forge ahead. It is essential to take care of your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Eating right, getting enough sleep, and exercising are critical. Most importantly, the time spent in the empowering presence of God and his Word will reap big dividends. We often underestimate our ability to recover from challenging situations, but most people are far more resilient than they give themselves credit for. Many of us have already made significant accomplishments that required resilience. Often, it’s just a matter of looking back and evaluating past successes. Success in one area breeds confidence in other areas. It is often fear that holds us back from being either resilient or persistent; however, most situations aren’t as bad as we think they are. They are certainly not too hard for our omnipotent God.

The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” —Genesis 11:6-7 After the great flood of Noah’s day, God ordered the survivors to scatter across the earth and repopulate. But they had different plans. They decided to settle in one place and to build a tower that reached into the heavens—making a name for themselves. Because the project was being done in complete disobedience to God’s command, he confused their language and they had to abandon their efforts. Lesson learned: If you can’t communicate, you can’t build anything—a marriage, an organization, or a team. Good leadership and good communication go hand in hand. Being communicative is being forthcoming in sharing or exchanging information. Communicating requires one to be skilled enough to clearly express ideas and information with a variety of people including superiors, subordinates, customers, or one’s peers. One of the most critical elements of being communicative is authenticity. It’s important to just be yourself. Another factor in being communicative is being visible. Don’t hide behind emails, notes, or instant messages. Show up in person as often as you can. Allow people to get to know you on a deeper level. You will find them more responsive to your plans and requests when they can connect them to a human being. We often think of communicating as only speaking; however, listening is a vital part of the process. When you are a good listener, others learn to trust and respect you, for only by listening can you gain an understanding of someone else’s perspective. Regardless of your role as a leader—whether you lead a team, run a company, are an author or influencer, or are an entrepreneur—communication skills are vital to your success. We should never stop sharpening our skills so that the message we send is the exact message that is received. Try these tips to take your communication to the next level: • Be direct and simple. Don’t hide behind vague or complicated words. Simplify your message so that anyone who listens can easily grasp it. The apostle Paul was a highly educated man, but he wisely refrained from preaching above the heads of his audience. “My message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) • Communicate frequently. Communicate as often as you can and through as many different mediums as you can. People often learn and consume information in different ways, so it’s a good idea to give them options. • Encourage feedback. Always be willing to hear another perspective. When you give a directive or offer an idea, pause and allow the other person to respond. Remember the 80/20 rule: Listen 80 percent of the time and speak 20 percent of the time. • Walk your talk. If your words and actions are inconsistent, you will lose credibility. Always remember that even when you are not speaking, you are communicating. Nothing will cause people to mistrust you more than not being a person of your word or displaying a lack of integrity in some way. • Be a storyteller. Stories serve as great visual illustrations, and they’re likely to be shared with others. They breathe life into your goals or vision, so learning how to be a good storyteller will enhance your communication. It helps others vividly grasp the message. Jesus knew the power of a story. We learn in Mark 4:33-34 that, “Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables.”

Don't Quit In The Dip Day 5 Serving Others Proverbs 11:25 teaches us, “Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” We think it’s like young kids in line for the water fountain, where one kid is so thirsty that he’s fighting to get to the front to get a drink to refresh himself. That’s how we approach life a lot of the time. We think to ourselves, I’m thirsty! I’ve got to focus on me. I’ve got to get to the front of the line so I can get a drink. But Proverbs tells us God works differently. God says, if you refresh others, I will personally guarantee your own refreshment. When I have felt seasons of depression try to creep in, my natural tendency was to stay home, close the blinds, and focus on me. But I found that depression broke off when I made up my mind to serve someone every day. I came alive when I got out of the selfie-syndrome dip and chose to prefer others. On the night of the last supper. Jesus and his disciples had gathered together for one final meal. They were celebrating Passover. But this one would be different. Shortly after this meal, Jesus would go to the cross and die to pay for the sins of mankind. The disciples were oblivious. Usually, there would be someone there to wash everyone’s feet. But there wasn’t that night. All of the disciples walked in and made their way to the table. They all would have passed the water basin on the way to their seat at the table. But none of them volunteered to wash feet. Jesus gives communion to them and explains how the bread represents his body that will be broken for them and the cup represents his blood that will be shed for them. Immediately, they ask Jesus, which of them is the greatest. Seriously? With all the emotion in Jesus telling them he must die, and they want to ask him which of them is the greatest. When you’re more concerned with your seat at the table, you will miss what Jesus is trying to teach you. Jesus would get up from the table and wash the feet of each disciple. They couldn’t believe it. Jesus had a seat at the table, but he was willing to get up from the table to serve others. And then tells them, and us, to do the same. Let’s not focus on our seat at the table. Let’s focus on getting up from the table to serve others as Jesus has directed us to. Maybe it’s time for you to get up from the table and get involved in serving at a church. Or for some of you, maybe it’s time to lead a small group for other people to be able to come to Jesus. What about signing up to serve in some capacity with your city or to go on a missions trip? See people the way Jesus sees them and find a way to serve them in your city. Jesus served us and was giving us a pattern. He said, “What I have done for you, I want you to do for others.” Serve others. Add value, period. And you watch as you begin to experience true fulfillment in loving people to Jesus.

Day 4 Don't Quit In The Dip Uprooting Bitterness The Bible describes bitterness as a bitter root. Have you ever looked at your backyard and seen some weeds growing? You think to yourself, I should deal with that, but you don’t. The weeds are so small anyway, but after you procrastinate for a week, it seems like they’ve grown to be six feet tall. What started off as something that could have been easily dealt with has now become Jack and the beanstalk in your backyard. The longer you let a weed grow, the harder it is to get rid of. If you’ve ever tried to pull out a big root, you know it’s backbreaking work, and many times you end up breaking it off and you think you’re good. You think, Phew! Glad that’s over. I’m done with it! Outta sight, outta mind. But, if you don’t get the entire root, there’s a whole lot more going on beneath the surface that you can’t see—and when it grows back, you’ll have to dig up more than you were anticipating because now you have a jungle of overgrowth to tackle as its roots have spread. If you don’t completely uproot bitterness now, those roots will go down so deep they will latch on and interweave their way into every relationship you have. Bitterness will affect your view of everything you see. And it will keep you from the destiny God has for you to walk in. Offended people never make it to their destiny. It’s a trap! Why give somebody or a particular situation that much power over your life? It’s been three years. It’s messed with you for ten years. It’s kept you from enjoying life for twenty years. It’s stolen your joy for thirty-two years. It’s kept you from so much in life, and now you feel like you can’t move on. Why not determine today not to allow it to rob you of one more day of your life? Better yet, refuse to get offended ever again. It’s not saying what they did was okay. It wasn’t. That’s why it hurt. With God’s help, you can do this. Most of us have a hard time forgiving because we don’t want to give them anything. I want to share with you a picture God gave me to help me think differently about forgiveness. I’m on top of a tall skyscraper in San Francisco. I have a long, thick rope tied around my waist. At the other end of the rope is a piano that has just been pushed off the side of the building. It’s only a matter of seconds before all the slack is gone and the piano pulls me over the edge. I really want to hold on to the piano, but I’ll die if I do. See, most of us have a hard time forgiving others because, in our minds, we don’t want to give them anything, but forgiveness is not about giving them something. It’s releasing something. It’s me, untying the rope from around my waist, choosing life over death, because if I don’t, that piano will pull me over the edge. That might be where you are. That bitterness is pulling you over the edge. It’s killing you. It’s hindering you. It’s keeping you from living the life Jesus came to bring. You might say, “But they don’t deserve it!” Well, neither did we, but I’m really grateful God didn’t wait till we deserved it. You can’t focus on living when you’re just trying not to be pulled over the edge. So, untie the rope and release it. Release the offense. Release your pain. Release feelings of revenge and experience the freedom that comes through complete forgiveness. Hebrews 12:15 offers us this command: “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Overcoming Fear There’s a lot that people are afraid of in life. Terrorism. Heights. Spiders. Confined spaces. Public speaking. Being alone. Fear is the unpleasant, powerful, and often debilitating emotion we feel when we sense or anticipate danger. When we are in a dip, fear is not a faithful friend; it’s a ferocious foe. And for some of us, fear is the name of the pit we live in. I know. I’ve been there. I was deep in the dip of fear for a long time, and I couldn’t see a way out. As a kid, I worried about everything. By second grade, I had developed a stomach ulcer. You’d think I’d just grow out of it. But you don’t grow out of fear. Fear is a spirit. If anything, you just grow older and switch fears. For me it led to panic attacks. Chest pains. Emergency hospital visits. Stomach pains that got progressively worse, to the point where I’d be doubled over, on the ground, in the fetal position for hours. There was nothing that could bring relief. It led to something called Ulcerative Colitis dropping down to a hundred and twenty-five pounds. When I say it dominated my life, I’m saying that it controlled me. It dictated the direction of my life...for my first twenty-five years. I’m thankful to report that God healed me, and I haven’t had a pain in seventeen years. Let me tell you the key to breaking out of the dip of fear. I broke fear not by trying to get more bold. It was getting more of God’s love. Focusing on and experiencing more of God’s love. Fear cannot stay where God’s love resides. I began to focus on the love of God. Sing songs about His love. Read scriptures about His love. And after a while that spirit of fear broke off my life and it can break off of yours too. Depression and fear do not have to be a life sentence. You can climb out of the dip of fear and walk in God’s freedom.

The Simplicity Of Prayer What do you do when you don’t know what to do? What do you do when the dream inside of you is not matching the reality that’s in front of you? It’s going to sound cliché and elementary, but oftentimes we overcomplicate things. We’re willing to try the newest strategy, follow the latest teaching, hop on the trendiest spiritual bandwagon, but we roll our eyes at the basics. So, what do we do when the dream inside of us doesn’t match the reality in front of us? Pray. So many people feel awkward praying. Most people, when asked to pray publicly, would rather die. They say, “I’m not good at praying.” What does that even mean? Can you talk? Great! That’s all prayer is: talking with God. Why are we so intimidated by prayer? I’ll tell you why. It’s performance anxiety. We get scared because either we are trying to impress people when we pray, or we attempt to sound like someone else when we pray. God is not impressed when we are trying to impress. But He is impressed with honesty, transparency and faith. Prayer is simply talking to God. If you are doing that, whether privately or publicly, you can never go wrong. How’s your prayer life? What time could you set aside every day to talk with God?

DON'T QUIT IN THE DIP What do you do when you don’t know what to do? The place where people give up is what I call, “The Dip.” When you’re in the dip, you can see where you want to be, but no matter how hard you try, it seems you can’t get there. You begin to lose hope and doubt you’ll ever reach it. The dip is where your dream is just out of reach and you feel stuck. We all have a dream, but there is always a dip before you get there. Sadly, most people give up in the dip. But successful people don’t quit in the dip and they’re the ones who see their dream fulfilled. None of us have the perfectly filtered life we present on social media, right? Every person, even the ones who seem to have everything together, has at least one area in life that isn’t what they want it to be. It’s frustration. It’s hopelessness. It’s where anxiety and fear have crept in. It’s where giving up not only seems reasonable, it seems like your only option. The dip can be your health. Maybe it’s your career. You know there’s more in you to express, but there seems to be some invisible ceiling keeping you from reaching your potential or landing that dream job. So, you lower your expectations and trade in your hi-def dream for a low-res version of reality. What about your marriage? You’re giving your all, but things are not getting better and you’re even contemplating divorce. It could be that you’re single and looking for a spouse, but you just can’t find Mr. or Mrs. Right and you’re tempted to settle for Mr. or Mrs. Right Now instead. The dip is also where you might stand, wondering, If God has a wonderful plan for my life, why is He so slow to reveal it? Does He even see me here in this place? It feels like you have one piece of a ten-thousand-piece puzzle and don’t know where to begin. But let me encourage you. When we are ready to quit in the dip, we have a God who is just getting started! God doesn’t see as we see! We see impossible, but He sees possibility. We see financial ruin, but He sees a path to blessing. We see the diagnosis, but He sees the way to healing. God sees the end from the beginning, when all we see is our past and our present. We see a dip, but He sees another opportunity to show up and work through us and show us just how amazing He really is! I’m praying we all begin to see from God’s perspective and use God’s strength to reawaken motivation when we’re tempted to throw in the towel. Where have you given up? Where are you considering giving up?

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COMPETITION In the Gospels, it appears that Peter and John did a lot of competing with each other. Both came from families whose business was fishing. Both were part of the original twelve disciples, and along with James, both were members of the inner circle of three to whom Jesus would give special time, teachings, and experiences. When people have this much in common, they regularly become competitors. John had already established that he was the fastest one. He might have taken issue with Jesus saying that Simon’s new name would be Peter, which means “rock,” and that the church would be built on his testimony. But Peter, too, may have been annoyed that John was “the beloved one.” Jesus was aware of this “sibling” rivalry. When Peter pointed to John, wondering if he was going to be treated fairly and equally, Jesus said, “I’ll do whatever I want with him. Why do you care?!” All of us have unique challenges and unique blessings in our life. Some of us have a knack for numbers, others with sales. Some of us have great parents, and others have great wives. Some of us are very wealthy, and others are very healthy. We need to accept these God-given differences and make the most of what we have. Competing with other believers is as fruitless as a dog chasing his tail. We need to be satisfied with the life we have and run in the lane God has placed us in, not look at people in different lanes to tell us whether we are winning or not. They have their race and you have yours. PRAYER Lord, I’m thankful for the life You have given me. I’m sorry for allowing the lives of others to rob me of contentment. That won’t happen today. Amen. GET MOVING 1. Identify someone in your life who you tend to compete with or envy. 2. Look for an opportunity today to encourage that person to their face.

STRONGER IN THE WAITING These words from the apostle Paul took place later in his life, at a time when lesser men would have thrown in the towel, thinking their best days were behind them. But a man like Paul lives with hope, expecting and preparing for a great moment that could be right around the corner. Paul was a force in the early movement of the church. But suddenly he found himself in chains, having lost the ability to travel and preach. Life had seemingly come to a screeching halt. But that didn’t stop him from influencing others toward faith. Spending years being transferred from jail to jail, he found himself as a sort of freak show for ruling Roman authorities. They paraded him in front of a large crowd of elites at the amphitheater that still stands in Caesarea. After years of waiting, Paul was given an audience with King Agrippa, one of the most powerful men in that region of the world. Joining the king were an army of commanders and the most prominent citizens of the city. Paul had gone from a prison cell to standing before the elite of the elite while still sporting chains. He knew that if he could influence them for Christ, he could influence all of culture. I’ve been to the amphitheater where this audience was given. Every time I set foot there, this scene floods my mind. It never fails to inspire me. After spending years wasting away in a prison cell, Paul was still ready for his moment. While in chains, he took the stage and boldly shared his experiences, gave proof for the resurrection of Jesus, and pleaded for everyone in attendance to be like him in faith (minus the chains wrapped around his hands and feet). In his waiting, Paul could have become soft. He could have become timid. He could have given up hope. But that’s not what true men of God do. In his waiting, Paul became stronger, bolder, and more assured of the importance of his message. So when his moment came, Paul didn’t shrink back from it. He grabbed it confidently. We never know when it will be our time to step up and step out. We never know what great moments are right around the corner. We never know how our difficulties now will afford us future opportunities to be a blessing. Paul endured an unjust arrest, abuse, and years spent in prisons, waiting for a moment like this. He got on stage and absolutely crushed it. I’ve accomplished a lot in my life, but I firmly believe it means nothing compared to what lies ahead. The greats in the Bible are always looking and prepping for the future, not reflecting on and mourning over the present and past. Your life isn’t over after exiting the C- suite. Your future doesn’t have to be crushed after bankruptcy. There is a lot of life still ahead after a divorce. The accomplishments from when you were younger are only things that set you up for opportunities when you are older. Pain and difficulty are part of life. But you and I can choose to believe they are preparing us for the future. No matter how difficult today feels, cling to the hope that your best days and your best opportunities are yet to come. Keep your eyes open looking for them, your muscles strong and ready to move when any opportunity comes your way. In your waiting, don’t grow weak. Strengthen yourself for the day that is coming. PRAYER Father, I am inspired by the boldness of Paul and how he became stronger in his waiting. I want to become stronger too. Even when it feels like You are not working, I trust that You are. Even when it feels like everything is going wrong, I trust You are preparing me for something better. You are good and I choose to trust You. Amen. GET MOVING 1. Everyone is waiting for something— a new job offer, a child, reconciliation with a parent, a better marriage. Whatever it is, waiting alone is harder than waiting with others. Right now, text a trusted friend and ask them to pray for you in an area where you feel yourself growing weaker in your waiting. Bonus points if you ask them to write out the prayer as a text and send it back to you. Read their words and find strength. 2. Getting older isn’t an excuse for growing weaker. Paul spent years in a prison cell but got stronger in his faith. Oftentimes, what we see and experience in the physical world is a reflection of spiritual truth. So drop down right now and do ten push-ups. Seriously. Feel your muscles get stronger from that exercise and let it propel you to keep your strength in all areas of your life.

HOW TO GET STUFF DONE This passage isn’t implying that a man can’t do anything without Christ. Atheists do a lot of things without Christ. But without Him, we can’t do anything of significance that is beyond our own power. No branch can support a piece of fruit unless it is tied to a trunk. Likewise, I cannot do things that are eternally significant if I am not tied to Jesus. Balancing a household budget and working 50 hours a week are things an atheist can do. But bringing life to parched souls, impacting future generations, or seeing someone be healed from a prayer you prayed is possible only through the power of Jesus. I’ve heard people say, “God doesn’t call us to be fruitful; He calls us to be faithful.” I guess they haven’t gotten around to reading what Jesus actually said. If we aren’t bearing fruit, then we aren’t faithful because being faithful is being close to the vine of Christ. And being close to the vine of Christ will bring true change and impact. Just as all trees experience winter, every branch will go through seasons of barrenness. The church I lead hasn’t always grown. My finances don’t always improve. My friendships have sometimes been listless. Our lives can’t always be up and to the right. But if our season of faithful barrenness is stretching on for long periods of time without appropriate fruit, let’s stop fooling ourselves. We likely aren’t operating close to Christ. We are doing our own thing on our own power and with our own religiosity, and as Scripture says, that will lead to nothing. But when we abide in Christ, opportunities for powerful impact are endless. PRAYER Jesus, I want Your power that eclipses mine. Today, help me to produce something luscious, juicy, and satisfying. Amen. GET MOVING 1. Identify something fruitful that you want God to do through you. 2. Spend five minutes sometime today talking (and listening) to God about how He wants that fruitful thing to happen.

THE LOST ART OF FRIENDSHIP When we are younger, friendships seem to just happen. My childhood friends were those who lived down the street. We bonded over building treehouses and playing pickup football games. In high school, I made friends through formal sports, building relationships with the guys on my team. In college, it was the guys I roomed with. For some reason, as we age, it becomes harder to develop and maintain friendships, but these relationships are actually more important than ever. God, Himself lives in community as a triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. King David, likewise has strong friendships with the prophet Nathan, Jonathan, and his “mighty men” as he made his march to greatness. Jesus’ twelve disciples weren’t just underlings but actual life-giving friends who walked with Him for the whole of His ministry on earth. We don’t have many models for friendships like these in the modern world because we live in a time of acquaintances. Acquaintances are easy to come by. They are the ones we meet at work but never keep up with after a job change. Acquaintances are our next-door neighbors we wave to but know very little about. But what about a friend who sticks closer than a brother? Do you have someone you could call to cover your mortgage for a month? Do you have someone you could confess an extramarital affair to? Do you have someone you would take a fun vacation with? If there is one discipline I could magically bestow on you, it wouldn’t be the ability to read and comprehend the Bible daily. It wouldn’t be the yearning to spend time every day on your knees in prayer. It would be the ability to choose and develop the right friendships. The brothers close to us will bring us laughter, wisdom, support, and meaning. We have to go back to the deep friendships of our childhoods. We may not have the pastimes we once had, and it’s doubtful that any of us will be building treehouses together anytime soon. But we have new things to build: honest relationships, bonds of accountability, commitments to encourage and occasionally admonish one another. If Jesus Himself needed brothers to live life with, then we do too, and what a blessing it is to live like Jesus in that way. PRAYER God, I feel lonely. Please bring men into my life with whom I can develop friendships. I also want to thank You for my friendship(s) with ________________________________. Please bless them as they have blessed me. Life is too important to live it alone. Amen. GET MOVING 1. Text a friend or a potential friend a simple message that says, “I was just thinking of you. I hope all is well with you. I appreciate you for _______________.” 2. If you are friend-starved, identify a way to get around other men to have some fun, whether that means joining a Bible study or an intramural sports team. This is a key starting point for a friendship.

FIGHTER, FINISHER, FAITHFUL To have a life of impact, I need to be three things: a fighter, a finisher, and faithful. This sound advice was written by Paul near the end of his life, in a letter to his young protégé. Paul elevated these three attributes as being honorable, achievable, and necessary. Church people are okay with “keeping the faith,” but they scratch their heads at “fighting” and “finishing.” Fighting sounds too violent for the enlightened, soft American who has never been punched in the mouth. Finishing is a noble concept but not something we’re actually skilled at doing. We prefer the entrepreneurial buzz of starting something new to the labor of finishing strong— because finishing is a fight. A new relationship brings a buzz, but a long-term marriage is a bloody fight. Our new American morality is always easy, but the ancient ways of God are difficult, unpopular, and capable of resulting in a body blow. “Keeping the faith” sounds serene and easy enough, but only because we don’t understand it. Most of us believe faith is a mental checklist of things we agree on. But faith is not just a doctrine or creed. It’s not just giving mental assent. It’s not choosing to believe stupid things that science says aren’t true. Faith is choosing to move. It means taking a step forward without a guarantee that it’s going to work out the way you want. It means doing the things you know your God would approve of, even if other people question you. Paul never stopped moving. He never stopped improving. He never stopped chasing his goal of becoming more like Christ and introducing as many people as possible to Him. In reality, “keeping the faith” is just as backbreaking as fighting or finishing. It’s hard to fight, finish, and keep the faith. That’s why so few people do it. This time last year, a ministry hero of mine was publicly disgraced. I have no idea what his relationship with Christ is right now. What I do know is that he stopped fighting against his sinful urges. He didn’t finish strong for the thousands of people who looked up to him. He didn’t keep the faith of honestly admitting to his struggles and finding help. Decades in the same post and no warm farewell, no final words, no future contact with the next generation of leaders. So sad and so sobering. All because he stopped fighting, didn’t finish, and wasn’t faithful. Some types of sharks have to keep swimming to stay alive. Once they stop moving, they begin to suffocate. That’s also true for followers of Jesus. We have to keep moving to stay alive. We have to want more in our relationship with Christ. We have to want more for our future. We have to want to be different, or we will be like everyone else who falters. Life is a fight, and only the faithful will finish strong. PRAYER Father, I want to fight for the things that You care about. I want to finish the race that You’ve set before me. I want to keep the faith, continuing to move and grow no matter my age or stage of life. Thank You for the call and the challenge of this. Amen.

Join us in a study on how to Refresh by David Villa

Just as a cold glass of water after finishing summer yard work refreshes and revitalizes us, manna provides us with the strength to keep going. This provides us with what we often refer to as a fresh wind. Many people know about the 80/20 principle; 80% of the value of your work comes from 20% of your time and effort. Sometimes it’s 70/30 or 90/10, but the general point is that a majority of your results come from a small minority of your time. Fewer people understand that 80/20 is iterative. The 20% breaks down into its own 80/20, and so on. The first iteration would predict that 4% of your time yields 64% of the results. The challenge is to figure out where to use your time! What is that 4%? Much leadership work is with people. Which people should you spend time with and why? How much energy should you allocate for strategic study and preparation? You could go to 50 respected leaders and get 20 different answers. There’s no clear formula. Christian leaders, however, are fortunate enough to have direction from the Holy Spirit. In this age of expanding choices and amplified noise, we need direction to make the highest value choices for our time, attention, and energy. Make time today to listen for divine direction. Get the big picture. You might find it helpful to step back and see how your role and current journey fits into the bigger picture of God’s plan. Reset your expectations. Set realistic timelines, and let God do what only He can do. Don’t let the fresh wind escape your sails. Instead, utilize it to guide you, the vessel, towards a brighter future. Remember, when God is on your side, who or what could possibly form against you?

The Loudest Voice in Your Life Is it possible that what we perceive to be relational, emotional, and spiritual problems are actually hearing problems—ears that have been deafened to the voice of God? And it’s that inability to hear His voice that causes us to lose our voice and lose our way. Let me make a bold statement: Learning how to hear the voice of God is the solution to a thousand problems! It’s also the key to discovering our destiny and fulfilling our potential. His voice is love. His voice is power. His voice is healing. His voice is wisdom. His voice is joy. If your life is off-key, maybe it’s because you’ve been deafened by the negative self-talk that doesn’t let God get a Word in edgewise! Maybe you’ve listened to the voice of criticism so long you can’t believe anything else about yourself. Or maybe it’s the Enemy’s voice of condemnation that speaks lies about who you really are. If you don’t silence those competing voices, they’ll eventually deafen you. You won’t be able to sing God’s song because you won’t be able to hear His voice. Is God’s voice the loudest voice in your life? That’s the question. If the answer is no, that’s the problem. We live in a culture where everyone wants to have his or her voice heard but has so little to say. And that’s because we do so little listening, especially to God. The best way to get people to listen to us is for us to listen to God. Why? Because we’ll have something to say that is worth hearing. Ultimately, all of us need to find our voice. And by voice I mean the unique message God wants to speak through our lives. But finding our voice starts with hearing His voice. Let me issue a warning, though. If you aren’t willing to listen to everything God has to say, you eventually won’t hear anything He has to say. If you want to hear His comforting voice, you have to listen to His convicting voice. And it’s often what we want to hear least that we need to hear most. Trust me, though, you want to hear what He has to say. Are you ready? When was the last time you heard God’s voice? What did He say or ask? How did you respond?

Come Closer God has an outside voice, and He’s not afraid to use it. But when God wants to be heard, when what He has to say is too important to miss, He often speaks in a whisper just above the absolute threshold of hearing. My dictionary defines whisper as “speaking very softly using one’s breath without one’s vocal cords.” The use of breath instead of vocal cords is significant. Isn’t that how God created Adam? He whispered into the dust and named it Adam. Adam was once a whisper. So were you. So was everything else. Whispering is typically employed for the sake of secrecy. No form of communication is more intimate. So why does God so often speak in whispers? When someone speaks in a whisper, you have to get very close to hear. In fact, you have to put your ear near the person’s mouth. We lean toward a whisper, and that’s what God wants. The goal of hearing the heavenly Father’s voice isn’t just hearing His voice; it’s intimacy with Him. He speaks in a whisper because He wants to be as close to us as is divinely possible! He loves us, likes us, that much. When our children were young, I’d sometimes speak in a whisper so they would inch closer to me. That’s when I’d grab them and hug them. God plays the same trick on us. We want to hear what He has to say, but He wants us to know how much He loves us. Aren’t you grateful for a gentle God? The Almighty could intimidate us with His outside voice, but He woos us with a whisper. And His whisper is the very breath of life. There’s an old adage that those who dance are thought mad by those who hear not the music. That is certainly true of those who walk to the beat of God’s drum. When you take your cues from the Holy Spirit, you’ll do some things that will make people think you’re crazy. So be it. Obey the whisper and see what God does. Because nothing has the potential to change your life like the whisper of God. Nothing will determine your destiny more than your ability to hear His still small voice. That’s how God-sized dreams are birthed. That’s how miracles happen. When was the last time you invited the Holy Spirit to speak to you? Are you actively inviting God to speak to you?

A Hiding Place Have you ever tried to quiet a loud room? Attempting to yell above the crowd usually doesn’t work, does it? It’s far more effective to shush the crowd with a shhh. That’s the method God employs. His whisper quiets us, calms us, stills us. That’s why chronic noise may be the greatest impediment to our spiritual growth. When our lives get loud, with noise filling every frequency, we lose our sense of being. We run the risk of turning into human doings rather than human beings. And when our schedules get busy, we lose our sense of balance, which is a function of the inner ear. Can I go out on a limb? Your life is too loud. Your schedule is too busy. That’s how and why and when we forget that God is God. And it takes very little to distract us. The solution? Stillness. Or more specifically, His still small voice. Silence is anything but passive waiting. It’s proactive listening. And each day God’s voice gets a little louder in our lives until He’s all we can hear. If you want to hear the heart of God, silence is key. If you want the Spirit of God to fill you, be still. The psalmists referred to God as their refuge, their fortress, and their ever-present help in time of need. But my favorite descriptor might be the “hiding place.” Did you know that God is singing songs of deliverance all around you all the time? You can’t hear them because they’re outside your range of hearing, but you’re surrounded by a sonic shield. Those songs of deliverance are powerful enough to break any bondage, overcome any addiction, and solve any problem. I’m not sure what problem you need to solve or what issue you need to resolve, but my prayer is that you’ll learn to discern God’s voice. When you do, His songs of deliverance can set you free! Quit hiding from God. Hide yourself in Him. What is one “noise” you could cut out from your day or your schedule this week so you might be able to hear God’s whispers to you more clearly?

When I first toured the Capitol more than two decades ago, our guide revealed a secret that wasn’t really a secret: the whispering spot. He stood on one side of Statuary Hall while our tour group stood on the other side. Then he spoke in a whisper, and sure enough, we could hear the echo of his voice all the way across the room as if he were mere inches away. When I look through the Bible, I see whispering spots everywhere. For Jacob, it was Bethel. For Moses, it was a burning bush. For Samuel, it was the tabernacle at Shiloh. For David, it was the cave of Adullam. For Elijah, it was Mount Carmel. For Daniel, it was an upstairs window facing Jerusalem. For Jonah, it was the belly of a whale. When I survey Scripture, I see God showing up in strange places, at strange times, in strange ways. And I don’t think anything has changed. God still turns appointments into divine appointments. He still uploads desires, opens doors, and inspires dreams. He still speaks through promptings and people and pain. And just as he did for Moses, He can turn any patch of ground into holy ground. Listening doesn’t happen by default; it happens by design. You have to seek solitude, seek silence. You have to ruthlessly eliminate distractions. And you have to turn some voices down or tune them out altogether. It might be as innocent as talk radio or as innocuous as social media. Why not turn off the radio and talk to God during your commute? Or fast from social media for a season? Or take a silent retreat? I don’t want to overspiritualize the importance of a whispering spot, but I don’t want to underspiritualize it either. Even if you take spirituality out of the equation, you need a space or place to get some peace and quiet. If you live in a city, as I do, it’s not easy. And if you’re a parent of little children, it might be ten minutes during naptime. Your whispering spot will be as unique as you are, but you need to find a time and place to hear the still, small voice of God. Do you have a “whispering spot” in your life right now? If not, where might that spot be? If you do, how has God whispered to you there?

What God Wants Us to Hear the Most You aren’t the mistakes you’ve made. You aren’t the labels that have been put on you. And you aren’t the lies the Enemy has tried to sell you. You are who God says you are. You are a child of God. You are the apple of God’s eye. You are sought after. You are more than a conqueror. You are a new creation in Christ. You are the righteousness of Christ. All our identity issues are fundamental misunderstandings of who God is. Guilt issues are a misunderstanding of God’s grace. Control issues are a misunderstanding of God’s sovereignty. Anger issues are a misunderstanding of God’s mercy. Pride issues are a misunderstanding of God’s greatness. Trust issues are a misunderstanding of God’s goodness. If you struggle with any of those issues, it’s time to let God be the loudest voice in your life! God doesn’t love us because of who we are. God loves us because of who He is. When we succeed, God says, “I love you.” When we fail, God says, “I love you.” When we have faith, God says, “I love you.” When we doubt, God says, “I love you.” Love is His answer to everything. Why? Because He is love. There is nothing you can do to make Him love you any more or any less. God loves you perfectly. He loves you eternally. God wants us to hear what He’s saying, and we must heed His voice. But much more than that, He wants us to hear His heart. So He whispers softer and softer so that we have to get closer and closer. And when we finally get close enough, He envelops us in His arms and tells us that He loves us. We’ve been deafened by the voice of conformity, the voice of criticism, and the voice of condemnation, and the side effects include loneliness, shame, and anxiety. The good news? You not only bear God’s image but you know His voice. It’s His voice that knit you together in your mother’s womb. It’s His voice that ordained all your days before one of them came to be. It’s His voice that began a good work and His voice that will carry it to completion. Where is God leading you? How is God talking to you? If you can’t hear His voice, consider spending more time in His Word on a regular basis

Just as refreshing a fire requires the feeding of kindling to the flames, we too must feed ourselves in order to refresh and revitalize our minds, bodies, and spirits. This requires fresh manna—fresh provision, new thoughts, new ideas, new business, and this can be found only within the Word of God. Manna is daily. God provided manna for the children of Israel during the forty years that they wandered in the wilderness. It appeared each morning alongside the morning dew, where the Israelites would gather it, and the manna nourished them for the day. Those who tried to hoard the manna for the next day woke up to a putrid, worm-infested mess, with exceptions to the sixth day, in which the Israelites gathered enough manna to last through the Sabbath. God provided manna to meet their physical needs but also to remind them that they needed more than bread for life. They needed God. Psalm 23 promises that because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. Just as Israel counted on the daily manna in order to survive and push on during their journey, God wants me to depend on Him daily. His provisions show up when I need them and not before. When I try to secure today what I think I’ll need tomorrow, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because God wants me to trust Him each day for that day’s need. I was created to rely on Him. Manna can be unusual. The word itself loosely translates to “what is it?”I’m not sure what the Hebrews expected when Moses told them that they would see God’s glory in the morning, but they didn’t expect what they found. Sometimes we don’t recognize God’s provisions either. It doesn’t look like what we expected. But it is always there, if we’re willing to look for it. And it is always enough.

Once we have refreshed our vision for the road ahead, we must also rekindle or refresh our fire. To refresh your fire is to strengthen what remains to ensure that your foundation remains sturdy and will be able to sustain you for the long haul. Through the process of tempering, steel and other metals are put into intense heat where they are purified and strengthened. As the heat is applied, the impurities come to the surface and are removed leaving a pure metal. Interestingly, the hardness of the metal is reduced through the fire; however, its flexibility under pressure, or ductility, is increased. This causes the overall strength and versatility to rise. It will bend in the face of adversity, but it will not break. There are times in our lives when we go through fires and pressures that are anything but comfortable. Whether it is a physical ailment, financial hardship, relational challenge, or spiritual dryness, these times test the very core of our personhood. The fire brings the impurities to the surface, but each of us must choose to remove them from our life. The fire breaks down our own hardness, but there is strength in learning to be flexible. Although these “fires” are not desirable, when we submit our life to the will of the Holy Spirit, they begin to expose the impurities in our life, reduce our “hardness,” and give us strength and flexibility for the purpose that God has for our life. We too will bend in the face of adversity, but we will not break. Maybe your fire has been stoked or smothered. Maybe your coals are still red hot, or maybe they are starting to cool down. Wherever you are in your journey, it isn’t too late to add kindling, and revitalize the fire inside of you. Don’t give up. Instead, strengthen what remains, and watch your fire grow.

Just as we previously discussed, starting fresh doesn’t mean that you have to rid yourself of everything. It doesn’t mean that every aspect of your life is unusable.Sometimes refreshing starts with simply having a refreshed perspective on the world around you.Maybe you just need a fresh vision!A fresh vision can provide: Clarity Planning Blueprints Future Success Wisdom Too often we find ourselves stuck in a rut. We walk to one end searching for a way out only to find that we must turn around. We don’t have the vision of how we could climb out of this rut. We don’t have the vision needed to understand why we got stuck in the rut in the first place!Without a change, we are bound to repeat the process.It’s time to climb out of the rut that we’re in, and this starts with refreshing our vision and refocusing it on God.A rut can be representative of a repetitive lifestyle that doesn’t offer us a challenge, so it doesn’t interest us anymore. We become complacent. Usually this is a sign that it’s time to grow and expand your vision. If you are in a rut, it may be a sign that you are ready for a bigger challenge! That challenge could come from expanding or deepening your vision.Wipe off the windshield so that you can see where you were heading and why you were heading there.As you go through the journey that you’re currently on, it’s important to clear your vision of distraction, obstacles, and objections. We must be strategic with what we’re placing in our hearts and in our minds.And, once we’ve refreshed our minds and cleared our vision, then we will be better prepared for the rest of our journey.And, finally, we can climb out of our rut.I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.Habakkuk 2:1‭-‬3

Refresh – To give new strength or energy to; reinvigorate. When was the last time that you started fresh, or felt the need to refresh yourself?We hear this concept a lot. “It’s time to wipe the slate clean.” “It’s time to start fresh.” “Time to start over.” Time for new beginnings, which sometimes means the closing of doors and opening of others.Having to refresh can be viewed as a positive or a negative, depending on the circumstances that lead to the fresh start. A fresh start can be indicative of a new home, a failed business, going back to school, dropping out of college, going broke, or becoming wealthy. It’s all a fresh start, but as people, we don’t always view fresh starts as inherently good. Why? Because starting fresh often means starting with nothing. It means changing and transforming into something new, and new can be scary sometimes. But just because we’re starting fresh doesn’t mean that we have to give up everything. In fact, it is better to build a new home upon a solid foundation than it is to build on shaky grounds. The truth is that you and I can gain a fresh start without throwing everything away. In fact, often God utilizes our greatest strengths while we work on overcoming our weaknesses. He did it with David. He did it with Moses. He did it with Paul. He gave them the opportunity for a fresh start, but He did not strip them entirely of who they were. Their lives changed drastically, but they were still true to themselves. He knew the plans that He had for them would change their lives forever, and although I’m sure they were nervous, they chose the fresh start that God had laid before them. They chose to refresh, and they did great things as a result. Sometimes God gives us opportunities to restart. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of it. It could be the restart that leads to a happier, better you. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.Isaiah 43:18‭-‬19

Going Deeper In Prayer To be successful at anything, there must be a burning desire. Whether your goal is to practice medicine or to dominate a certain sport, without love for what you want to do, the flame will go out and it will be just too challenging… and overall, draining. You must also keep in mind that desire does not appear out of nowhere. You are initially intrigued by something. A mild curiosity, if you will. But it is strong enough that you want to know more. Let’s say, for example, you are somewhat interested in marketing like I was. You admire all the digital marketing strategies out there. But gradually your interest goes beyond just watching YouTube tutorials and browsing through books about marketing. Eventually, you want to be involved personally. So you move from a PC to a Mac and apply for a bunch of different courses. As you grow, your passion and curiosity continue to grow as well. After years of dedication to your craft, you learn the ropes and end up launching your own agency or becoming an executive at a high-profile company. Frankly, developing a passion for God goes through the same steps. For many people, faith in God is more of an unexplored curiosity, a type of emotional safety net to help you get through difficult times, rather than a passion that consumes you. But it’s time we change that. We were never meant to plateau with God. We are meant to go from glory to glory to glory to Heaven. We must begin diving deeper. Not only when we are at a conference or a retreat, on a mission trip, or in the middle of a hype sermon. And the way to go have an intimate relationship with Him requires a whole lot of prayer. Prayer is more than just a task to cross off your list. It's more than just a requirement. One of the greatest blessings and privileges we have as Christians is the ability to pray. God gives us the gift of his availability for communication at all hours of the day or night. His ability to hear what's on your heart and respond in ways you can't fathom. The purpose of prayer is not to be a last-ditch effort when all else has failed. It's supposed to be your compass and the most significant talk you have all day. God wants to be in your life every day, all day, not just on Sunday. Do you know what happens if you incorporate prayer into your daily life rather than only on Sundays?Fire. Fire always comes after steadfast, diligent prayer! The apostles had been in prayer for several days before Pentecost when the fire was cast onto them. Every significant revival started with a core group of Christians praying. To remain alive, your physical body needs to breathe. Your spiritual body is no different. It has to pray to stay alive. How long could you survive if you decided to stop breathing? Jesus is looking for followers who pray. You cannot stay on fire for God without prayer. At every level of the spiritual fire, prayer is crucial. Never forget that the door to your prayer room also serves as the entrance to God's throne. One of the main ways to maintain the fire is prayer. Pray to Him. Fellowship with Him. And watch your soul get ignited once more. Prayer God, Purify me of all impurities and cleanse my heart from the inside out. May seeking first the Kingdom of God and all your righteousness be my top focus and greatest passion in life. My deepest and most fervent wish is to spend my entire life in the Lord's house, where I can gaze upon your splendor and be in your company. Grant me a true, everlasting fire for you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Fellowship Some Christians today view fellowship as optional. Many don't consider belonging to a Christian community as essential to living a Christian life. So many people in the church view fellowship with other believers through a “take it or leave it” mentality. Even Sunday morning worship services are all too often looked at as a “nice to have” or something we “should do if time allows”. This approach to fellowship and community is completely out of step with biblical Christian living. Across the New Testament, it is crystal clear how critical Christian community is to every aspect of our lives as Christians! We as Christians must work to surround ourselves with a community of believers which in turn helps us foster a genuine passion for God during our daily lives. The idea of "power in numbers" has a certain reality to it. When we spend time with other believers, we feel more confident in our faith and more aware of God's presence in our lives. The act of believers coming together, holding one another responsible, and serving as a form of living testimony to one another has a special power. Nothing is more lovely than how the gospel is portrayed in the positive relationships we have as a body of believers. We will undoubtedly experience hurt in this body, but we will also have the chance to forgive. We can experience what it was like for Jesus to be hurt by the people he loved yet continue to love them despite it. The hardest aspect of community is also the aspect that most resembles His life and ministry. It’s time to recognize your God-ordained need for people, and then seek to build relationships with the people God has placed in your life. If you want a sustaining fire for Jesus, you need a network of believers that push you to the cross daily. Who can you reach out to today? Who can you grab a cup of coffee with to fellowship? Who can you simply send a text over to?PrayerThank You, Father, for not referring to me as Your servant but rather as Your friend. Lord, please help me to strengthen my friendships. I need an upgrade in terms of community because my life's season has shifted. I am grateful for the relationships I have had throughout the years, but I yearn to walk with a godly friend toward the life that Jesus has called us to. Keep me away from disparaging remarks about others, dishonest statements, arrogance, and depravity. Please pardon me for these vices and help me to become more like You by daily practicing integrity. So that I can expand my circle of friends and become a draw for godly individuals and bring You glory and much joy, please grant me favor and make me a magnet for them. In Jesus’ Name Amen

Repentance To return to God, we must turn away from competing lovers. Just being real here - some days I have no time for prayer but amazingly find hours to scroll on a social app. If you feel something has crowded into your private space with God, show it to the door this week. Turn it off. Once and for all. One thing many Christians miss when trying to get their fire for God back is their need to repent. Get alone with God. Get quiet and wait for Him. Worship Him. Talk to Him. Bare your soul to Him. Even though we might not have killed someone or held up a bank, what about those "small things" that are so simple to excuse? Have we ever been in line at the grocery store and counted the calories in the basket of the overweight woman in front of us? Have we unintentionally indulged in gossip at work? Have we "innocently flirted" with someone that is not our spouse? Repentance is so freeing. Being transformed into God’s image and sustaining a fire for Him involves turning away from the ties of this world and the sins that so readily corrupt us. Many Christians in our generation don’t take sin nearly seriously enough. And that's a major factor in why the church resembles the outside world so much. True repentance is not something we value. The amount of sin you decide to allow into your life directly relates to how passionately you love God and follow Him. If you are habitually sinning, you will not, and cannot, have a genuine passion for Jesus Christ because that sin is an area of darkness that will prevent you from basking in the full light of Christ. A heart that is passionate for God is a heart that is open to the Holy Spirit’s prompting toward repentance because only a pure heart can cultivate a genuine passion for God. Prayer Thank you, Lord, for making me one of your friends and for revealing to me the facets of your kingdom. I want to get to know you better, so please rid me of any sin in my life. To avoid giving in to my flesh's desires, please help me concentrate on the things of your Spirit.So that I can produce fruit for your kingdom, please help me to remain in your love. I'll continue to worship you in spirit and in truth while keeping my heart near to you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

His Word When you initially trusted Jesus with your life, do you remember the fervor you felt for the Lord? Do you still recall the thrill and passion you experienced? But then reality crept in. School. Work. Relationships. Our devotion to God can become ordinary and less fervent simply because life happens. But more than anything, Satan adores apathy in Christians. It's time to change your faith if it's become mundane. God’s will is not for you to be on fire for Him sometimes. But always. Side note: Being on fire doesn’t always mean we will feel on fire. A fire for God is not an emotional high. A fire for God is choosing to obey Him and follow Him, even when our feelings may not be in sync in the current moment. As we focus on getting our fire back for God permanently, we need to commit to spending daily time with God. The first step in developing a genuine fire for Him is making the choice to devote some of our day to learning more about God. And we learn about Him by spending time in the Bible. So turn off all distractions. Use the Bible app to listen to scripture and follow awesome reading plans, journal and jot down your favorite scriptures, highlight verses in your paper bible… however you do it, whatever it looks like, in order to sustain your fire for God, you have to spend time with God in His word. The Bible is not just an oversized book. It is a letter of love. It is addressed to the bride from the bridegroom! We don't have this business-like, transactional relationship with Christ! We have a close, loving relationship that is personal. So review His letter to you once more. 1 John is a good place to start. It serves as a reminder of the extent to which the Father personally loves you. But let’s be real. You can’t hit a target if you don’t know where you’re aiming. Make a plan for what your quiet time with God will look like every day. And remember, some days we will fall short, and that’s where the Gospel will come into play. We are able to mess up and get right back on track because of what Jesus did on the cross for us. A fire for God is found in consistently learning about Him and reflecting on how much He loves us. PrayerI thank you, Lord since you are my God and my Savior. You are my everlasting joy, and whenever I am in your presence, I am filled with happiness.I desire to constantly be in your presence so that I may benefit from the renewal that comes through your Spirit. Being in your presence brings about a life-changing shift. Show me the way of life, and I'll walk it for the rest of my days. May I always follow your guidance as I spend time with you and never lose my way in life. While I'm in your presence, feed my spirit and give me access to all of your knowledge and wisdom. Give me the courage to seek you out every day and fill my heart with your loving words.In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

The Gospel Many of us wish we could constantly be fired up for God. We want a stronger desire to follow Him, we long to submit to Him, and we really do want to share Him with others. But life’s roadblocks can get in the way. The question is... Despite all of those roadblocks, how can your devotion to God be stronger? How do you ensure that it endures regardless of external circumstances? Perhaps you can recall when you first became a Christian and how eager you were to attend church and read your Bible. But somewhere along the way, it became all too easy to fall into a "groove" with schedules filled with Christian activities, leading us to just hit "cruise control" throughout our journey. And as heartbreaking as it is to admit - that is exactly what a lukewarm believer is described as. A lukewarm Christian is typically one who has retreated so gradually that they are unaware of their own complacency. Or a person who is still attempting to figure out how to have it all - the things of this world, and a relationship with Christ. We introduce a destructive level of misunderstanding in both situations. We start living for ourselves when we allow ourselves to become lukewarm. We also spread a false understanding of God's grace. If you’re reading this, you’re probably pleading like David did, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation”. But despite your pleading, it feels impossible to see a clear path from where you are to those times of passion in God's presence. Because friends… It really is possible to maintain a flame for God. Our devotion to God doesn't have to be limited to fleeting moments after attending a powerful sermon, gathering, or performance. When we start relying on external things to fuel us up rather than God himself… that’s where we find ourselves in trouble. The first step is to take a fresh look at the Gospel. Paul tells us in Romans that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes… Meaning that the Gospel is just as much for believers as it is for unbelievers. The present tense describes the continual process of believing. The gospel saves us not just at the time of conversion, but it continues to save us throughout our entire lives. If you've lost your enthusiasm for Jesus, you need to be in awe of the Gospel again. To recap the Gospel in just a few words…God created us to be with Him. (Genesis 1-2) Our sins separate us from God. (Genesis 3)Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. (Genesis 4 – Malachi 4) Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke) Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. (John) Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever. (Acts – Revelation) Sit with that message for a second.No run of good days will get us nearer to God, and no run of terrible days will condemn us. Because of the love that Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit have for us, he willingly offered his life for us. Make every effort to embed this profoundly transformative Gospel message in your heart and thoughts. Prayer God, Today, I ask for passion. I ask for a greater desire to follow You and carry out Your will in my life. Please make the Gospel the forefront of my thoughts. I cherish you. Help me to love you more and more each day. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

SUPERNATURAL HISTORY “While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” LUKE 2:6-7 (ESV) In the Gospel of Luke, no sooner has the author introduced himself as a detail-oriented historian (Luke 1:1-4) than we are immediately ushered into an environment filled with supernatural occurrences (v 11-17). The story of Jesus’ birth is filled with angels, predictions, and miracles (1:26 – 2:21)—and when Luke reports these events, he offers them not as imaginative stories or poetical speculations but as they are: real history. When we read that Mary laid her firstborn son—the very Son of God—in a manger, it’s because she did. When we read that the child she gave birth to was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:31-35), it’s because He was. Rather than being superfluous, these supernatural elements are an intrinsic part of the Gospel’s account. Some have concluded that Jesus’ birth narrative appears so dramatically supernatural as to be implausible. They don’t believe it themselves or teach it to anybody else. They have decided that the story would be more acceptable to everybody if we simply removed anything miraculous. But that cannot be done. The story of the gospel is supernatural in its entirety, and not just at its beginning, because it is the story of the Creator of the universe entering into time, revealing Himself as Savior and King. Surely it would be more bizarre if the almighty God did not enter and exit the world in entirely supernatural ways that made mere mortals scratch their heads in amazement! Indeed, in each of the supernatural incidents Luke recorded, some faithful people had reflected on the Scriptures and were keenly anticipating that God would break into their environment in a way that had never happened before and would never happen again. When God came, these were the people who were ready for God to come and do what only He could do; these were the people who responded in faith. Christianity is ultimately meaningless apart from the almighty, miraculous intervention of God in time. God has come to meet us, but not at the top of the towers we have created on the strength of our ideas and investigation into what is plausible. He came to meet us in a cattle shed in Bethlehem. He came to meet us on a Roman cross at Calvary. He works in ways that we cannot explain and cannot predict. As you reflect on God’s word during this Advent season, consider His divine work, which has already been accomplished, and the ways He continues to move today. In doing so, your heart will once again be stirred by the wonder of the triune God’s supernatural love for you. Your eyes will be prepared to see surprising ways that God is at work in and around you—ways that you cannot explain and had not predicted but love to enjoy and praise Him for. How is God calling me to think differently? How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love? What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

REJOICE WITH THE ANGELS “Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.” LUKE 2:4-5 (ESV) Jesus’ birthplace had a rich biblical history before it was ever visited by angels. It was Bethlehem that had once been stirred at the return of a woman who had left with her husband and two sons. Her name was Naomi. She and her family had gone in search of bread, from “the town of bread” (the meaning of “Bethlehem”), because of famine. While away, she’d lost her husband and both her sons. After this triple bereavement, she returned to the town with one of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, who gave her name to the Old Testament book that tells their story. This grieving foreigner would one day become a part of the lineage of the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-6). It was also in the fields surrounding Bethlehem that a shepherd boy, David, looked after his father’s sheep. Bethlehem was the place where Samuel arrived in obedience to God’s word to find a replacement for King Saul. He asked Jesse to bring his sons out because one of them would be the king. They all came. None of them were chosen. The prophet then asked if there were any others, and the one who just looked after the sheep was brought in—and soon became the shepherd king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:1-12). Then, 1,000 years later, a man named Joseph returned to his ancestral home of Bethlehem to be registered for a census with his betrothed, Mary. In this now-familiar and ordinary yet historically significant place, it was time for the arrival of the promised and long-anticipated Messiah. For some 600 years previously, the prophet Micah had recorded these words: But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. (Micah 5:2, ESV) Once again, in Bethlehem, presumably in those same surrounding fields where David had once watched over his father’s sheep, there would be a stirring as the skies filled up with angelic visitation and echoed salvation’s songs. As you approach this familiar territory during the Christmas season, may your heart be stirred afresh in the presence of God’s Son, our Messiah. May His Spirit move you to consider with awe the centuries-long complexity of the preparation for that moment when your King lay in a manger. And may He cause you to rejoice with the angels in God’s great salvation, knowing that our great God uses the small and ordinary things in life—even a little town like Bethlehem—to accomplish His great and glorious purposes. How is God calling me to think differently? How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love? What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

KNOWING WITH CERTAINTY “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed who was with child.” LUKE 2:1-5 (ESV) In our day and age, it is trendy to seek the truth but taboo to say we have found it. Our culture would have us believe that while it’s ok to have a concept or an idea, we shouldn’t say we have certainty. Luke was different. He wasn’t satisfied with anything less than knowing with certainty—for himself and others. Indeed, it was a key part of his very purpose in writing his Gospel (Luke 1:3-4). In his account of Jesus’ birth, Luke provides us with political, social, geographical, and historical observations that may seem quite mundane. But they all matter. We are being shown that within the sociological context and in obedience to the political structures of his time, Joseph, along with Mary, made a geographical journey to his ancestral home. All of this took place in real, historical time.While people back then didn’t have Google or social media, someone easily could have gone to the record of public registration and looked up Joseph’s name. The Gospel writer was not providing a philosophy, an idea, or even a religion. He was delivering an honest account of actual events—events which centered upon the child who was in Mary’s womb and who would be born in the city of David, his great ancestor whose triumphs and reign were a mere shadow of the victories this baby would one day win for His people. Luke, with every word and every detail, made it very clear that Jesus’ story doesn’t exist in a vacuum. First- and second-century historians were in no doubt concerning Jesus’ historicity. Tacitus, a Roman historian who was writing in the early second century, had no interest in supporting the claims of Christ but was absolutely convinced that Jesus was not mythological.[1] Josephus, a Jewish historian, writing in AD 93, affirmed the fact that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus were proclaimed by His followers.[2] The New Testament doesn’t call any of us into the realm of blind faith or to leap into the dark. No, it invites us to take a step into the light of absolute truth. In this supernatural space where God took on human flesh, you and I can be certain about the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth. And in that certainty of what took place in those days, you will discover hope, peace, joy, and purpose for your day today. How is God calling me to think differently? How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love? What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?