(…or should I say on the right knee).

I have for far too long heard it preached at me and said to me to start my day off in God’s Word. However, I am not always a morning person. In fact, sleeping is a favorite, if not my very favorite, past-time for me.

I usually start out the day with the best of intentions. I will set the alarm clock 30 minutes to 1 hour early to have time with God. But when 6:30 or 7:00 roll around I find myself battling my alarm clock like it is an evil dragon and I am a prince rescuing a damsel in distress. At the last possible second I roll out of my fortress of solitude, get in the shower, and start my day.

Well, this week I got to work and started my day off by reading from the gospel of Matthew. I got through about 7 chapters before I had to buckle down and start my work. Now, there was nothing inherently new about the verses I read. To be honest, I had probably ready these verses many times. However, the Holy Spirit revealed many new truths through these ancient words that encouraged my heart and uplifted my spirits. (If you have time read through the genealogy of Jesus, there’s some amazing stories that are the background for the list in Matthew 1).

You probably would think I would find myself behind the entire day because of the 30-40 minutes I spent reading this Scripture…me too. Contrary to my premonitions, I found this day to be one of the most productive days I have had in a long time. It makes sense that if you give God your “first fruits” (the first part of your day) that He will bless that and your day will be productive [Proverbs 3:8-10; Romans 11:16].

Now, this is not to say that I believe there is a magical formula for having a good day. I am not what the TV preachers would call a “Name It and Claim It” type of dude. But I am a “Take My God Literally When He Promises Stuff” kinda dude.

I guess that’s what Jesus had in His mind as it is recorded in Mark 1:35: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” If the greatest man who ever lived needed to get up early and seek the Lord, then a poor wretch like me needs to do the same. It’s the least I can do.

A final thought to meditate on: The great reformer Martin Luther once said,

“I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first 3 hours in prayer.”

Just a thought….

-Russon

Check it out here!

-Jody

As part of our Connections Ministry here at Oak Leaf, I give a lot of oversight as to how we develop leaders.

What should they be learning? Who is mentoring them? Where are they drawing their strength from? Who are they raising up to take their place? And the list goes on and on.

But in all of that, what I have come to realize over the years is that everyone is a leader. If God has called you out of a sinful life then he has made you an heir to His throne.

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
Romans 8:16 &17 NASB
Okay, so if you are an heir to the throne of God, wouldn’t that almost necessitate that you are called to lead others to Him? It says we are “fellow” heirs with Christ. Now that’s huge – I mean, we are associated with the Messiah! That’s no small boat to be put in.

I bet many of you do not look at yourselves that way. Let’s take a look at this for a moment.

• Fathers and mothers – you know they are leaders. If you are a parent, you are called to lead your children to their own relationships with God.
• The work place – you lead by example, by the morals you live by and work ethics.
• Serving in a group at church (whether in a leadership position or not) – you lead by putting your best foot forward because you know what it means to “lead people from where they are to where God wants them to be.”
• People married to a non-believer – you lead not by nagging but by living a life that’s honoring to God.

Everywhere you are, you are in a constant leadership role. People are watching you because of who you are.

So what are you learning? Who do you have as a mentor? Where do you draw your spiritual strength from? Because whether you hold the title of leader or not, if you are a Follower of Jesus you have no choice but to lead.

Do you accept this choice to lead or are you still running from it?

-Jody

Having been a leader for a little while, there is something by which I now judge other leaders. That is their integrity.

Integrity, if you were to look it up, is to be whole or unimpaired, not to be compromised. Looking at it from the perspective of a leader it means, “Do you do the same things in the dark as you do in the light?” Or in the words of Blackaby, author of a book called Spiritual Leadership, “Integrity means being consistent in one’s behavior under every circumstance, including those unguarded moments.”

Wow, I bet many of us would have a hard time answering that honestly. I would have to say there are some things that I still struggle with that I would not want others to know about.

Here’s one of the hardest but most rewarding things, though, if you are a Spiritual Leader. God will very strongly let you know what it is that you are to be working on. He makes you very aware of what it is that you wouldn’t want others to know about. And once He does that, because you work for Him, He wants those things gone. Which means for you, the spiritual leader, that your mind does not take a break when you are alone. These are the unguarded moments.

Ungaurded moments…I hate them sometimes but then sometimes I love them. They tell me where I am at with God. If I have not been spending the time with Him it is a hard fight. When I am near to Him it’s a cake-walk.

So in saying that, I guess we have to say that for the Spiritual Leader there is no way to have great integrity unless you stand on God, not yourself.

In the dark? No problem, because God is all about being the light!

“He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.” Proverbs 2:7

-Jody

During the summer my 5- and 7-year-olds have “summer work” to complete. I know; I’m one of “those Moms.”

My-7-year old, Dillon, had to write five fact-based sentences on a story he’d just read. In one of his sentences he spelled “God” out as “g-o-d.” So I circled it as incorrect, and told him the first letter of the word should be capitalized.

His response was, “Oh right, He is the biggest noun there is. He is a person, a place, and a thing.”

Just wanted to say a big “Thank You” to all the leads and volunteers in The City at KidVenture. We parents appreciate your help with teaching our kids about God and I now know that Dillon can hear; he just must choose to tune me out sometimes.

-Shelly