For ...ALL...New Years Resolutions
Forget motivation… You need discipline.
~ Discipline is a choice. Motivation is temporary

Be a Trusted Leader
Friday, June 30 | Romans 16:1–2

Leadership begins and ends with trust. Followers must be able to trust their leaders, and leaders must be able to trust their followers. One without the other is a lopsided relationship. Booker T. Washington said, “Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him.”

Many people trusted t… Morehe Apostle Paul as one of the prominent leaders of the early church. But his leadership was successful because he had people he could also trust. One of his most trusted companions was someone most people in the first century would not expect: a woman named Phoebe.

In that culture, women had very little say or role in leadership. Not only was there no seat at the table for women, but society knew women as little more than servants. But Paul viewed women as children of God who could and should be trusted to bring Christianity to the next generations. In Romans 16, Paul mentions Phoebe who had been a tremendous help to the apostle. Because of her, the letter to the Romans safely arrived in their hands. The length of this letter alone would have been costly to produce, let alone for it to be delivered. Paul viewed Phoebe as the right person for the job. He couldn’t have predicted it at the time, but she delivered one of the most important letters in the history of humanity.

Paul wrote that the Romans were to welcome her with open arms and in an honorable manner (v. 2a). Knowing she was a noblewoman who could be trusted, he told them to give her whatever she needed (v. 2b). She was a true gift to Paul, the Romans, and us. Like all Christian relationships, their bond was built on trust in Christ and trust in one another.

>> As we conclude our study on unlikely leaders, consider how and where God might be calling you to lead! What leadership lesson has been challenging to you? How do you think God might be stretching you to grow as a godly leader?
Pray with Us

Father, use the Scriptures we have studied and the prayers we have prayed this month to penetrate our hearts and minds with the truths You want us to know. May Your Word transform us to reflect and glorify You.
Today In The Word - Moody Bible Institute Less

Leaders Learn from Trials
Thursday, June 29 | James 1:1–5
On the Go? Listen to Today's Devotional

It has been said that you are either in a trial, exiting out of a trial, or entering into a trial...you just aren’t aware of it yet. We can either whine and complain when trials come or learn to become the men and women God wants us to be. We aren’t the first ones in history to ever face trials. Trials a… Morere part of the DNA of the church.

When you look at how the church began, it was flooded with trials, especially the early church in Jerusalem. Their pastor, James, the half-brother of Jesus, encouraged his congregation to look at trials not as torture but as an opportunity to learn and grow.

James knew that trials are not an option for the Christian. They will come in all shapes and sizes (v. 2). Like a baseball pitcher, some come in like a rocketed fastball. You hardly see them coming, and they set you back on your heels. Others are curveballs where you expect one thing, but it turns out to be completely different. James uses the word “testing” to denote a positive event intended to make our faith authentic and genuine (v. 3).

Our testing results in perseverance, or steadfastness. The Christian faith is not a sprint; it is a marathon. James wants his readers to run to spiritual maturity (v. 4). Sometimes Christians get distracted, thinking that Christianity’s goal is merely to learn more about the Bible. While knowing the Bible is extremely important, this knowledge alone does not equal spiritual maturity. A few verses later, James writes, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (v. 22). As a leader, are you willing to reflect on and learn from your trials?

>> No one wants to go through trials. But, as James teaches, these trials can help us grow in spiritual maturity. If you are going through a difficult time, ask God for wisdom (v. 5) to grow in your faith and learn from this experience.
Pray with Us

Thank You for trials that test and mature our faith and ground us in truth. Build our faith to remain strong, even when we don’t understand what You’re doing or why. In every way, let our life glorify You.
Today In The Word - Moody Bible Institute Less

2YDo

Tuesday, June 27
Be a Peacemaker
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.
Romans 12:10
In 2012, the New York City Police Department handled some four hundred hostage negotiations. Another year they handled a negotiation that lasted fifty hours and employed seventeen crisis negotiators. Talking a suspect “down” requires great skill and fo… Morecus. The immediate goal is the safety of the hostages and the suspect by defusing the situation using patience and empathy.1
Recommended Reading:
Psalm 34:13-14
Hostage situations are not the only things that need defusing. Relationships can be tense and potentially explosive as well, requiring the skills of someone who can calm the situation. Paul provides a template for how to bring calm into a tense situation: “Be kindly affectionate . . . giving preference to one another. . . . If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:10, 18). A tense moment calls for calm and the lowering of temperatures. We can do that for one another if we have love, affection, and humility toward every person.
“If it is possible” today, be the calming presence if you encounter a tense situation. Be a peacemaker wherever you go (Matthew 5:9).
Humility binds Christians together in peace.
Thomas Watson
1 “Police Negotiation Techniques From the NYPD Crisis Negotiations Team,” Program on Negotiation Harvard Law School, November 16, 2020.
David Jeremiah Daily Devotional Less

Authentic Leadership
Thursday, June 22 | Luke 10:38–42
Pick any year, and you can easily name a corporate scandal, whether Enron, the Volkswagen emissions, or, more recently, the corruption of the cryptocurrency FTX Trading company. It’s no wonder we find it difficult to trust leaders! By contrast, authentic leadership encourages leaders to be self-aware, transparent, and lead from the heart. For t… Morehe next three days, we will read the same text considering three different types of leadership. First, we’ll understand what it means to lead with authenticity by learning from Mary.

In Luke 10, Jesus visited the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It was rare for a rabbi to allow women to sit at his feet, but Jesus was different, and so was Mary. She soaked up Jesus’ teaching like a sponge and had a hunger for learning. Mary was confident in who she was but also aware of her surroundings.

Authentic leaders are transparent; they allow others to see their emotions. Mary exhibited these qualities. After her brother Lazarus died and Jesus showed up late to the funeral, Mary openly and honestly let Jesus know how hurt she was. When He saw Mary’s authentic self, Jesus was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled” and later wept (see also John 11:33–35).

Mary was focused on the bigger picture. She did not get caught up in the details like her sister, Martha. In our text, Jesus tells Martha that Mary has “chosen what is better” (v. 42). Having an authentic relationship with the Lord is the most crucial part of one’s life. Mary was willing to share her emotions with others. Some may view Mary as lazy or overly dramatic, but she was a woman whom the Lord used to teach others about Himself and His kingdom.

>> Being an authentic leader takes vulnerability. How can you be more transparent with the people in your life, especially those under your leadership? Explore ways to share what is in your heart with others.
Pray with Us
Lord, we want to lead with honesty and vulnerability, but how do we do this appropriately? Please teach us to be transparent in a way that honors You and give us grace when we make mistakes. Less

Servants Who Lead
Friday, June 23 | Luke 10:38–42
The phrase “servant leadership” was coined by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s. While working at AT&T, Greenleaf recognized that individuals and organizations ought to be known as servants who lead instead of leaders who happen to serve. He said the best test to determine if one is a true servant leader is asking, “Do those served grow as persons?… More Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?” In Luke 10, Jesus visits the home of Mary and Martha. Today, we turn our attention to Martha.
It is easy to read this passage and shake our heads in disappointment at Martha who, rather than sitting and listening to Jesus, was bustling around preparing dinner. We may think, “Oh, Martha, Martha, Martha. You’re not focusing on what truly matters. Always trying to impress...” But before we criticize Martha for her Southern-Bethany hospitality, take a closer look at where Luke places this account. Notice that it comes directly after Jesus’ Good Samaritan parable of going above and beyond to help one’s neighbor. Is Luke simply playing mind games with his readers? No.
Martha was fulfilling the lesson of the Good Samaritan (vv. 25–37). Like the Good Samaritan, she saw a need and was doing everything she could to meet it. The problem was that her efforts to make everything perfect outdid the need to serve, and the text says she was “distracted” (v. 40). Could she have simplified her preparations? Was her focus on the right thing? Servant leaders don’t serve just to complete a task. Instead, they serve, so that they and others will grow and become more like Christ.

>> What part of servant leadership challenges you? Do you struggle to see the needs of others? Or, in serving, do you focus more on perfection than meeting the actual need? Challenge yourself to find a way to serve someone selflessly today.
Pray with Us
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Help us when we need to buckle down on a task and to know when we should set it aside to meet another’s needs. Less

If we do not understand and trust God’s faithfulness, we will not trust the rest of his character either.
Chip Ingram

The Lowest Seat - David Jeremiah Devotional
But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.
1 Samuel 18:16
“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Those words have been misattributed to the pop artist Andy Warhol who gained fame during the 1960s. During that decade especially, people gained and lost notoriety quickly. In fact, many sought… More fame, hoping it would last.
Recommended Reading:
Luke 14:1, 7-11
God often blesses people with success even when they aren’t seeking it. Men like Joseph, David, and Daniel were blessed and promoted by God because of their faithfulness. And each of them maintained a sense of humility in spite of their success. When Jesus was invited to a banquet, He observed some guests maneuvering to get the seats of honor at the table—and told a parable about a banquet in response. The point of the parable was this: If you promote and exalt yourself, the host may embarrass you by asking you to give up your seat for another. Better to take the lowest seat and be the one that the host invites to move higher (Luke 14:1, 7-11).
If God grants you prominence, give Him thanks! But don’t seek it. Instead, seek faithfulness and humility, and let God bless you in His time and way.
The surest mark of true conversion is humility.
J. C. Ryle Less

God tasked Solomon with building the temple. In 586 BC, Babylon destroyed the temple and brought the beauty of God's temple to chaos and defeat. (We do that! We...allow Babylon to come into our lives and bring chaos and defeat!) 70 years later God tasked Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple and Nehemiah to rebuild the walls. They were discouraged because people had taken over the land and they had to… More displace them before they could rebuild. God's Word to Zerubbabel was, "Not by (your) power, and not by (your) might, but by My Spirit says the Lord of Hosts." That is because God is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals, who restores, and who makes new. When we choose to be delivered from our Babylon, we will be healed, not by our power, or our might, but by His Spirit, Jehovah Rapha. Amen!!!! Less