(on the day of Pentecost), the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the followers of Christ. Empowered by His Spirit, the early church began to live in the power of the resurrection, proclaiming boldly the eternally ordained resurrection victory of their Lord. "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it" (Acts 2:23-24).
Attitudes are contagious; make sure yours is worth catching today.
Many times we want to go our own way, oblivious to the rushing power of sin that will smash us against this hard world.
Mystery is beyond human reason
but it is not against reason.
~Os Guinness~
Before you ever have a problem, God has the answer.
We have to keep our hearts and minds open to the Word of God. We have to be willing to hear and accept what God has to say to us, even if we do not like it.
Seeking the face of God turns us in a definite direction which
cannot be confused with entertainment or superficiality.
~Jim Elliff~
Be Willing, Be Coach-able, Then move to change.
Leadership is a choice you make rather than a place you sit. In other words, leadership comes from influence and not from your position. For this reason, even when you’re not in front, you’re still leading those around you. In fact, you are even influencing those ahead of you. In this lesson, I’d like to look at four models of how followers influence those above them in the chain of command.
"When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I'll like it or not. Disagreement, at this stage, stimulates me. But once a decision has been made, the debate ends. From that point on, loyalty means executing the decision as if it were your own."
~ General Colin Powell
"Very few big executives want to be surrounded by 'yes' men. Their greatest weakness often is the fact that 'yes' men build up around the executive a wall of fiction, when what the executive wants most of all is plain facts."
~ Burton Bigelow
"To do nothing in the middle is to create more weight for the top leader to move."
~ David Branker
"Public loyalty [to your leader] results in private leverage [with your leader]."
~ Andy Stanley
“Instead of spending your time thinking about how bad things are, think about how good they will be!” Keep your eye on the goal. A second step in keeping our attitude in the proper place is to make sure we keep the important things important. Focus on solutions, not problems. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, the old saying goes. Negative circumstances don't sit idly by. They scream for our attention. When we face difficult circumstances, we tend to dwell on them. We talk about them, fret about them, and give them way too much attention. Get some positive input. The mind tends to build on itself, so when we begin to go in one direction, i.e. worry, it can be a slippery slope. One thing we must do is get our thoughts back on track with positive ideas. When circumstances have got you against the emotional wall, get with a good friend who can encourage you. Listen to a tape by Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar or another motivational speaker. Pick up a good book and give it a read. Tell yourself the good. One of the greatest internal powers we have is the power to control our thoughts. Spend time dwelling on the good things about your life or job instead of the problems. Remember that circumstances are not forever. Sometimes it seems like we are going to be up to our eyeballs in the situation forever, when in reality, this too shall pass.
13 principal traits in your management?
Know yourself and seek self-improvement.
Be technically and tactically proficient.
Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions.
Make sound and timely decisions.
Set the example.
Know your employees and look out for their well-being.
Keep your employees well informed.
Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates.
Insure that the task is understood, supervised and accomplished.
Train your employees as a team.
Employ your team in accordance with its capabilities.
Set your priorities.
Take the initiative.
“The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.”
— Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire
Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty.”
— Henri Frederic Amiel
“Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you.’”
— Mary Tyler Moore
“When you make a mistake or get ridiculed or rejected, look at mistakes as learning experiences, and ridicule as ignorance... Look at rejection as part of one performance, not as a turn down of the performer.”
— Denis Waitley
“When you face your fear, most of the time you will discover that it was not really such a big threat after all. We all need some form of deeply rooted, powerful motivation -- it empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams.”
— Les Brown
To subdue an enemy without fighting is the greatest of skills.
Sun Tzu
Satan’s condemnation brings no repentance or resolve, just regret! Satan has come to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). To steal your peace, kill your dreams, and destroy your future. Satan has deputized people to peddle his poison. Friends dredge up your past. Preachers proclaim all guilt and no grace. And parents, oh, your parents. “Why can’t you grow up?” they say. “When are you going to make me proud?” they say. But your accusers will not have the last word! Jesus has acted on your behalf. Jesus Christ has risen to your defense.
Chastening is simultaneous wrath and mercy.
~R. T. Kendall~
Sometimes all it takes to lift us up and give us perspective is intentional praise and directed thanks to God for specifics. Try it and see how your day suddenly gets so much better!
Other people's choices may AFFECT us but OUR choices will DEFINE us. Let us focus more on OUR responses to woundedness rather than the actions that wounded us.
Impressions and Perceptions are real to those all around you....
I know you may be tired, worn out even, but be sure to be loving and kind.
Our interactions with others can influence greatness in them or you can ruin someone's day...
Be the light... Be the Lord's example and show His strength in you...
You can do it...
Worship HEALS. Worship transforms our Battlegrounds into Holy Ground. Worship changes the Atmosphere. Worship changes the Outcome. Worship changes Us. Worship takes us places we don't deserve to be and gives us things we don't deserve to have. Worshippers smell like Jesus. Forgiveness creates a heart filled with Gratitude. Gratitude creates a heart filled with Worship. Worship creates a heart filled with Heaven.
Where did we get the idea we can’t change? If our bodies malfunction, we seek help. Shouldn’t we do the same with our hearts and our attitudes? Jesus can change our hearts. He wants us to have a heart like his. Can you imagine a better offer—than to be just like Jesus?
In the New Testament salvation and discipleship are so closely related as to be indivisible. They are not identical, but as with Siamese twins they are joined by a tie which can be severed only at the price of death.
Yet they are being severed in evangelical circles today. In the working creed of the average Christian salvation is held to be immediate and automatic, while discipleship is thought to be something optional which the Christian may delay indefinitely or never accept at all.
It is not uncommon to hear Christian workers urging seekers to accept Christ now and leave moral and social questions to be decided later. The notion is that obedience and discipleship are unrelated to salvation. We may be saved by believing a historic fact about Jesus Christ (that He died for our sins and rose again) and applying this to our personal situation. The whole biblical concept of Lordship and obedience is completely absent from the mind of the seeker. He needs help, and Christ is the very one, even the only one, who can furnish it, so he takes Him as his personal Savior. The idea of His Lordship is completely ignored.
A.W. Tozer
You may feel helpless in your marriage, but you never have to feel hopeless. Take hope!
Yes, do your part... love as Christ loves you. But marriage takes two. You can't control what your spouse does, but you can know what God is like. Cling to His promises.
We are praying for you. May God be your source of joy, peace, and hope; He alone is constant.
do you spend more time fighting WITH your wife or fighting FOR her?
When people are encouraged, they are more likely to be united and generous toward one another in actions and in spirit.
Shallow sentimentalism can actually make people feel worse.
Most of our lives don’t turn out like Hallmark specials. But genuine, spiritual encouragement brings out the best in people and can help all of us get through hard trials and daily living. Our purpose for ministering to people is to encourage them. If we all made that our daily purpose, to encourage at least one person, to offer real, selfless love, to care about the people we meet, then we earn the right to share our faith and make a difference in people’s lives.
William Arthur Ward said it like this,
“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I may not forget you.”
The one thing about ministering to the homeless and broken people are you have to earn there trust first. They will not be interested in your message till they know you care for them beyond words. Every one has words but true ministers of God have action to back up the words.
The inward testimony of conscience, the sealing of the conscience, the sealing of the Spirit ... far exceeds all the evidence of the senses.
~John Calvin~
Indecision is something we all experience. What should I wear? What should I do in this situation? Sometimes indecision has significant consequences, and sometimes it doesn’t.
When you’re indecisive, you try to live in two worlds. You try to appease everyone. We live and please man and push God away when if we are pleasing to God we will be pleasing to everyone and you don't have to say a word.
So many Christians point to the suffering of Jesus for the sin of the world, and then add as an afterthought His resurrection. Do you personally know the power of the resurrection? The divinity of Christ was revealed in His victory over sin and death. Have you claimed this in your own life? Without the resurrection there cannot be Victory or power.
Satan has no constructive purpose of his own: his tactics are simply to thwart God and destroy men.
~J. I. Packer~
Does it affect you to know there are many people who don’t know Christ, who are basically on their way to a certain judgment? Does it move you? Until you are moved in the depths of your soul, you are not going to move your feet.
Effectively sharing our faith must start with a God-given burden, leading us to prayer. And then we need to go out and do something.
Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.
~C. H. Spurgeon~
You may think you are getting away with your sin but it will catch up with you.
Whenever you read therefore look to see why it's therefore!
"Fans of Jesus sooner or later find themselves exhausted. Fans grow tired of trying to maintain an outer appearance that doesn’t match an inner passion.
You know you are in the right place when others try to copy you. The Holy Spirit does not copy man. The Holy Spirit is diverse in how it leads. To be led by the Holy Spirit means we to must be willing and flexible.
“The people that can’t communicate can’t change, and if you can’t change you die in your folly.
Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It's not even a good substitute.
Don’t seek feedback from fair-weather friends, competitive peers, or any person who doesn’t have your best interests at heart. Neutral doesn’t count. Get feedback from someone who is on your side…
You can change your life by changing your habits.
Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony of delusion. Just accept life as it is. Life is unique. It's fascinating. Leadership is unique. The skills that work well for one leader may not work for another. However, the fundamental skills of leadership can be adapted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community, and at home.
Be humble but not timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. But humility is a virtue; timidity is a disease. It's an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem. Humility is a God-like word. A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An awareness of the human soul and spirit.
Learn to be bold but not a bully. It takes boldness to win the day. 2Co 3:12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech—
Be Kind! We must be kind enough to tell someone the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.
I’ve observed time and again that misery truly does love company. Jealousy creates some of the most miserable people. Come out from among them.
Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever.
Thomas Jefferson
The only person to blame for the life you have today is the person you see in the mirror every morning. We all know about the “Blame Game.” Most of us have played it at one time or another. There are some people who could win a gold medal in the Olympics if the “Blame Game” was an event.
some people have been conditioned to fear change, but we must not lose sight of the fact that change is normal, and most of us will experience unpredictable changes in both our personal and professional lives.
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
The only person to blame for the life you have today is the person you see in the mirror every morning. We all know about the “Blame Game.” Most of us have played it at one time or another. There are some people who could win a gold medal in the Olympics if the “Blame Game” was an event.
some people have been conditioned to fear change, but we must not lose sight of the fact that change is normal, and most of us will experience unpredictable changes in both our personal and professional lives.
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed affects more than just you.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Any message you send must contain a piece of yourself in order to be credible. You can’t merely pass along information; you must model the message you want to deliver.
Look Inside
When the prize seems high above you
And your mirror doesn't love you
Look inside.
When the road to gold gets steeper
And your diamond's buried deeper
Look inside.
Light a candle in your mind
Untold riches you will find
When you look for treasures
Look inside.
When you're running low on laughter
And can't reach the goals you're after
Look inside.
When your body starts complaining
And the clouds of doubt keep raining
Look inside.
Close your eyes and then believe it
Trust God and you'll achieve it.
When you're seeking answers
Look inside.
The two great words of antiquity are behold and beware. Behold the possibilities and beware of the temptations.
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19
“I’ll do the judging,” says God. “Don’t insist on getting even.” You have an opportunity to teach your children a valuable lesson in forgiveness. God dispenses perfect justice. Have that same attitude Jesus showed in his life and on the cross! “I’ll take care of it,” says God!
Use the past as a learning tool. You may come across the problem again.
No one else "makes us angry." We make ourselves angry when we surrender control of our attitude. Be angry and sin not.
If we care at all about ourselves, then we must accept full responsibility for our own feelings. We must learn to guard against those feelings that have the capacity to lead our attitude down the wrong path and to strengthen those feelings that can lead us confidently into a better future.
Grace is God’s best idea. Rather than tell us to change, he creates the change! Do we clean up so God can accept us? No, he accepts us and begins cleaning us up. His dream isn’t just to get you into heaven but to get heaven into you. Can’t forgive your enemy? Can’t face tomorrow? Can’t forgive your past? Christ can. Forgiven people, forgive people.
We're the salt and the light in this dark world. The enemy will stop at nothing to try to bring us defeat and destruction, he will put obstacles and will hurl attacks in our direction. He hates the Truth - BUT God is fighting for us — so stand your ground and keep looking up!
In a world that is constantly changing and evolving, it can be tempting to simply go along with the crowd and conform to the latest trends and fashions. But as Christians, we are called to resist this pressure to conform and instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
As Christians, we are called to be people of hope. This hope comes not from our circumstances or the world around us, but from our faith in God. In today's verse, we are reminded that the God of hope is able to fill us with joy and peace as we trust in Him. We can have confidence that He is with us, even in the midst of difficulties and uncertainties.
Just as the new covenant of grace is a covenant of the Spirit; it is also a covenant of resurrection. When the grace of God is allowed to work in us, God applies the resurrection of Christ to our lives. This gracious work gives us access to the eternal life of our risen, triumphant, living Lord Jesus.
“Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s little nut that held its ground.” —unknown
Comparison makes what never mattered before the thing that matters most.
Are you comparing yourself on social media? Do other people’s lives seem easier, better, happier, and more successful compared to yours? Does it seem like everyone else gets what you want and you don’t? Where is your identity rooted?
OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else.
God wants His Spirit to permeate every area of your life: your thought life, your relationships, your work, and everything that you do.
The best way not to walk in the flesh is to walk in the Spirit and take practical steps to do that every day. As believers, we should start each day by asking God to fill us with the Holy Spirit.
Spirit-led people are spiritually minded people. Romans 8:5 tells us, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit” (NLT).
As a child of God, you’re adopted. I got my last name, Laurie, from a man named Oscar Laurie, one of my mother’s many husbands. He adopted me and treated me as his son. He’s in Heaven now, but I still feel a great love for him.
God loves you, and He welcomes you in prayer. This is important when you’re going through something that causes you to worry. Remember, you’re God’s adopted child. He welcomes you. He wants to hear from you. He wants you to think about Him. That is what it means to be spiritually minded and have the Holy Spirit dominate your mind.
Christians are to be generous because we have a generous God.
"Every day, we need God’s goodness to supply our needs and his mercy to blot out our sins." — Charles Spurgeon
"The Lord himself will personally reward those who give to the poor." — Charles Spurgeon
"Much is done for the devil in the name of God." — Charles Spurgeon
"If you are wrongly cast out from society, the Lord will be your joy." — Charles Spurgeon
"Many difficult problems can be best solved by prayer." — Charles Spurgeon
Let us rest in hope. We belong to one whose mercy endures forever." — Charles Spurgeon
"When the Lord withholds his aid, the work will cease; but not until then." — Charles Spurgeon
"If a student should learn a thousand things, and yet fail to preach the gospel acceptably, his college course will have missed its true design." — Charles Spurgeon
"The gospel is all about Christ from beginning to end." – Charles Spurgeon
"Cling to Christ, beloved. Go no further than he leads you." — Charles Spurgeon
By perseverance the snail reached the ark. Charles Spurgeon
It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. Charles Spurgeon
“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” - C.S. Lewis
Good men are promised tribulation in this world, and ministers may expect a larger share than others, that they may learn sympathy with the Lord’s suffering people, and so may be fitting shepherds of an ailing flock. Spurgeon
Though it be lawful to read other men’s holy works, yet the holy Scriptures must still have the pre-eminence, they must be firstly, chiefly, and mostly read. —Puritan Thomas Brooks, Works 4:228
The true penitent is for the mortifying of every lust that hath had a hand in crucifying of his dearest Saviour. —Thomas Brooks, Works 4:194
The abounding answers to our supplications are proof positive that prayer climbs above the regions of earth and time and touches God and His infinity. Yes, it is still true, the Lord will hear your prayer. Spurgeon
Without the interpretation of the universe by man to the glory of God the whole world would be meaningless Cornelius Van Til
"We are dependent upon God for everything. He is dependent upon us for nothing." -Steven Lawson.
It takes supernatural strength to be patient. Patient to see how God is going to work through a set of circumstances, patient with someone who is difficult or struggling. Patient with how your life unfolds, on God’s timetable and not yours. Ray Bentley
Where sin reigns, there is an absence of spiritual life. —Matthew Poole, Commentary on the Holy Bible, 3:666
“Ministry takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God.” - Warren Wiersbe
“All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them.” - J. Hudson Taylor
Not even in this world does sin pay its servants good wages. -C.H. Spurgeon -
Unbelief is infectious, the unbelief of 1 strengthens unbelief of another, just as the faith of 1 strengthens faith of another -A.W. Pink -
Dear fellow pastors: We're shepherds, and shepherds are servants of the master who owns the sheep. We're also sheep, and sheep are dependent and in need of their shepherd's care. We're among the flock, not above—we're not gurus looking down from on high, we're servants among.
We don’t have a lot of churches in America; we have a lot of really nice brick buildings on finely manicured lawns! Just because someone says they are of the Church or they are Christian, doesn’t make it so. Paul Washer
Neglect of private prayer is the locust which devours the strength of the church. Charles Spurgeon
The promises also are springs of joy. There is more in the promises to comfort than in the world to perplex.” - Thomas Watson
If you want to excel in holiness you must study the Bible. —William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour, 2:200
Simplistic, superficial, and unsubstantial counseling teaches people to rely on self or other men, while ignoring God. – Jay Adams
Restraining evil is not the same thing as promoting good. – Jay Adams
Faith in the power and promises of God inspires a noble simplicity, and casts every care upon him, who is able and has engaged to support and provide. - John Newton
"Sins are like circles in the water when a stone is thrown into it; one produces another. When anger was in Cain's heart, murder was not far off." -Philip Henry.
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