Attitude

When facing the uncertainties of life, insecurity sometimes wraps its ugly tentacles around our hearts. It whispers in our ear, “Yea, hath God said?” God is never the author of confusion. Confusion is a major weapon of the believer’s enemy. It brings relentless fear and must be defeated by the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Your tomorrow is already well-planned by your loving Heavenly Father, and His provision is there if you will only be still and know that He is God.

“Standards,” or guidelines, that provide for biblically based decision making are the subject of much dispute both within and without fundamentalism. The reasons for this are myriad, but among them is a condemning spirit by those who hold standards different than our own, the abuse of adding to what the Word of God requires, and a failure to agree on what and where a particular standard should be.

In the tenth chapter of the book of Second Kings, we find a fascinating story of how the Lord used Jehu to slay the descendants of, and those loyal to, wicked King Ahab. In the process, Jehu met a man named Jonadab—a man who shared a zeal for the Lord and the heart of Jehu for ridding the land of any residue of King Ahab’s wicked reign. Together, they slew many wicked men and were used of God to fulfill His purposes.

The servant leaders who make the greatest impact on lives are those who have a genuinely joyful spirit. Joy is both compelling and contagious. Furthermore, the joy of the Lord is strengthening to us. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

I can’t tell you how many times I have emphasized the importance of God’s timing to someone. It has struck me over and over that God has good things for us at the right time. This is very evident in the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15.

All of us go through times when things just seem “down.” It may be that some folks have become unhappy and left the church. It may be that key people have moved away from the area. It may be that there has been a crisis or problem which has dampened the spirit of the ministry. What do we do during those times?

Sometimes we overcomplicate the Christian life. We develop formulas, lists, and philosophies, all of which may be good and helpful; but there is an overriding purpose to our lives, and it’s quite simple—do all to the glory of God.

If I asked you to define Job’s life, what would you say? Probably most would define it as suffering or sorrow, but God defines Job’s life as filled. We come to the end of the book (Job 42:17) and we read this phrase, “So Job died, being old and full of days.”

In Psalm 133:1, King David wrote, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” God desires His children to dwell together in peace and unity. How accurate are the famous lines, “To live above with saints we love, that will be glory. To live below, with the saints we know, that’s a different story.”

After preaching several times a week for almost forty years, I am not sure I could honestly say that very many of those thousands of messages were completely pure in motive. Far too many times, (especially, although not exclusively, as a young man) my motive was to impress the listeners with my eloquence, humor, or knowledge.

We cannot give approval to everyone we meet. We meet people who wear clothing of which we cannot in good conscience approve, use language of which we cannot approve, and live lifestyles of which we cannot approve if we wish to be consistent with Scripture. Unfortunately, a desire to disapprove that of which God disapproves has caused us to be perceived as rejecting the individual whose behavior we cannot condone.

Have you ever read letters written back and forth between great Christian leaders who disagree? In those letters you’ll find well-articulated arguments, interesting theological positions and fascinating insights. You will also almost invariably find something else—you will find the flesh.

The Jews and the Samaritans had a long history of animosity and hatred toward each other. That is why it was not a strange thing that Jesus was treated rudely and refused when He sought accommodations in Samaria.

Most churches want to reach people; anyone who is actually trying to fulfill the Great Commission gives serious thought to strategies for doing so. Along with an aggressive outreach effort to reach people, many churches employ programs, campaigns, and various other tactics to keep guests once they have come.

The next six weeks are some of the busiest on the calendar. Between now and Christmas, life can easily swallow us up in a whirlwind of holiday preparation and activity. Yet, these busy weeks also hold some of the most sacred moments of the entire year…if we will intentionally look for them.

What makes a great administrative assistant? Is it outstanding organizational skills? Is it judgment and strength as a gatekeeper? Is it a knack for anticipating and solving problems?

When the twelve spies returned from their foray into the Promised Land, all of them gave testimony to seeing the same things. They all saw a fertile land that flowed with milk and honey and they saw the fruit that the land produced such as the grapes of Eshcol.

One of my favorite passages in the Old Testament deals with David and his band of men living in a place called Ziklag. Ziklag was a village or town that was under Philistine control. David had become weary of running from Saul and thought that it might be better to hang out in this outpost city.

Recently a young preacher from our church posted on Facebook that he was going to have the opportunity to preach on a Sunday morning while the senior pastor was on vacation. He was excited about being given the privilege of standing in the pastor’s place to feed the people of God in the most important service of the week.

I would normally never suggest that a preacher should quit. In fact, I’ve spent many years encouraging preachers. Through fellowship and friendship, books, conferences, and especially our Bible college, I’ve often tried to encourage preachers to be faithful in their service to the Lord—even during times of discouragement.