The Message of Leadership Devotional Day 30

The Message of Leadership • Devotional  Day 30

https://bible.com/reading-plans/513/day/30?segment=0

TWO BLIND MEN

"Money is the barometer of a society's virtue."

-Ayn Rand

What do all men have in common? One thing is the love of money and dependence on it. This vice affects the rich as well as the poor. The rich are burdened by how to keep wealth and the poor are haunted by how to get wealth. To both groups, money can be a curse that plagues them all their lives and affects the way they see things.

How do we balance our spiritual lives with the needs of the material world? A rich man can be poor spiritually and a poor man can be rich in his inner being. What drives you? I know very few wealthy men who are truly “rich” and yet I know many poor folk who truly are independently wealthy in their soul.

I sat behind Ray Charles on a flight to California one day and was amazed to see how he traveled all alone and managed quite well, not just for a sightless person, but for any person at all. Sitting next to me was a very intelligent businessman who was not managing so well. He appeared to have it all materially, but seemed to be missing the spiritual insight to recognize his personal need of a Savior. Two blind men; one physically blind and the other spiritually sightless. Which would you rather be?

We live in a world of contrasts. I have noticed that money can cause a sort of blindness that is difficult to overcome for any man. It makes us self-reliant and creates an illusion of being self-sustaining. A wise leader knows that adequate funding does not make us successful any more than having eyes enables us to see. Blindness has many forms. How is your sight?

Essential Insight 30: Don’t let your love of money blind you to what is truly important or valuable. Money is only a tool—it doesn’t make you rich.

First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

Proverbs 30:8‭-‬9 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.30.8-9.NLT

The Message of Leadership Devotional Day 29

The Message of Leadership Devotional Day 29

https://bible.com/reading-plans/513/day/29?segment=0

CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE

"The value of marriage is not that adults produce children but that children produce adults."

-Peter De Vries

Sometimes there are tricks of the trade that others are willing to pass on to save a little time and energy along the way. But when it comes to leading others, there aren’t any shortcuts. Take the example of raising your children. Discipline is a vital ingredient in the recipe of parenting. We all need to learn to bend to authority. That was man’s basic failure in the Garden of Eden, and we continue to make the same mistake today.

Cross-grain investors on Wall Street have made a fortune out of seeing which way the masses are moving and doing just the opposite. A leader often has the same opportunity by cutting across the grain of conventional wisdom. The masses say that discipline of our children will break their spirit, but the wise leader knows this is not the case. Discipline will make your child into the adult you want them to be.

It is not easy to say “no” to those under our authority, especially if we care about them. But their short-term gratification is not worth the long-term disappointment of a ruined life and a hardened heart.

Some of the worst failures I have seen in parenting have been committed by successful leaders who would never treat their employees so carelessly. Only God can help you do what is right and pass on a blessing to your children that will last a lifetime. Trying to take any shortcuts in this process of training will only prove to be frustrating. Dead ends often look like shortcuts, but you can’t get where you want to be by taking them.

Essential Insight 29: An effective leader knows how to manage those under his authority and has the will to do what is right for them.

To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.

Proverbs 29:15 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.29.15.NLT

Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.

Proverbs 29:17 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.29.17.NLT

A servant pampered from childhood will become a rebel.

Proverbs 29:21 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.29.21.NLT

Many seek the ruler’s favor, but justice comes from the Lord.

Proverbs 29:26 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.29.26.NLT

Don't Waste Your Pain by Godman Akinlabi Devotional

Don't Waste Your Pain by Godman Akinlabi • Devotional 

https://bible.com/reading-plans/21231/day/4?segment=0

Not a Victim, but a Victor! 

If you have ever committed a crime or some glaring sin, like David, who is probably the most popular murderer and adulterer in the Bible, it is probably an experience that you want to forget. The hard truth though, is that covering up that experience is a waste. While it takes courage to air your laundry, remember that your laundry is now clean! It has been washed by the blood of the lamb. You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. If the devil tries to tell you otherwise, remind him of where he’s going to have his final painful experience, in the lake of fire. 

Many times, we want to appear perfect before our peers or friends. First, you are fooling no one. Nobody is perfect. Second, if your friends cannot accept your past, present, and future, you are hanging with the wrong crowd. The very experiences that you have resented and regretted most in life, the ones that you have wanted to hide and forget, are the experiences God wants to use to help others. If God healed you in the face of a medical death sentence, then you are in the best position to help other people develop their faith in the area of divine healing. If your marriage was on the brink of disaster and God repaired your union, God can use you to help restore others. If you are a single parent, you can strengthen other single parents and show them how to live in the grace, strength, and joy of the Lord. Whatever it is that may have caused you pain, don’t cower in shame or self-pity; open your heart to God and let Him heal and strengthen you. God can use your mistakes to help others. Once you honestly admit your faults, failures and fears, and receive God’s forgiveness, you move from being a victim to a victor. The truth is that ministry is not about your strength; it is about God showing up strong in your weakness. 

Tell your testimonies with confidence. Your past does not define you; God does. He says your path shines brighter and brighter unto a perfect day. Your past is merely a landmark on your path of significance. A landmark is a feature that is easily recognizable even from a distance. People look out for landmarks when they want to get to their desired destinations, as landmarks help to ensure that they do not lose their way. If God has blessed you with certain landmark experiences, consider them blessings and investments into your destiny. God is ensuring that you will not lose your way and that your life will be a testament for others to follow. Don’t waste your pain!

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

1 Peter 5:10 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/1pe.5.10.NLT

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:3‭-‬5 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.1.3-5.NLT

The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.

Psalms 32:8 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.32.8.NLT

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

James 1:2‭-‬6 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.2-6.NLT

The Message of Leadership • Devotional Day 27

The Message of Leadership • Devotional 

https://bible.com/reading-plans/513/day/27?segment=0

LOVE HURTS

"Why love if losing hurts so much? I have no answers anymore; only the life I have lived. The pain now is part of the happiness then."

-Anthony Hopkins in Shadowlands

Any young lover who has failed in love will immediately agree that love can hurt. But after the wound has healed a little, they will also be the first to try to love again because of the joy it brings.

I remember my first love. It was immature, painful, wonderful, and hopeless all at the same time. When it failed, I could have just given up on love or learned from it and looked harder for a better, more satisfying relationship next time.

I chose the latter and I’m so glad I did. Several years later I found the love of my life, and we now have been married for twenty-five years. It has not always been easy. In fact there have been moments when I am sure my wife has wondered how she could be so unhappy. But those thoughts were only momentary and the shared joys have been immense and overflowing.

I’m no saint to live with. And my sweet wife has consistently blessed me by loving me through thick and thin. Her honest advice may hurt some times, but I can always depend on it. She has given me everything she has to give, and together we have two amazing children as the culmination of our union of love and commitment.

Love hurts—but it is well worth the pain and sacrifice. Nothing has given me more to live for than the love I have found with my wife and family. These are the ones closest to me, and no matter what happens, I can trust them with my life. Look for love, live for love, and you will find it. But in order to keep love, you must give it away.

Essential Insight 27: Give yourself to those you love; trust them to be faithful and accept their input into your life as you would any other act of love.

An open rebuke is better than hidden love! Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. A person who is full refuses honey, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry. A person who strays from home is like a bird that strays from its nest. The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.

Proverbs 27:5‭-‬9 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.27.5-9.NLT