Some people are not able to enjoy the present or prepare for tomorrow because they are still living in the past. Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe has put it like this: "Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?' You do not move ahead by constantly looking in a rear view mirror. The past is a rudder to guide you, not an anchor to drag you down. We must learn from the past but not live in the past." Or as Thomas Holdcroft once put it, "The past is a guide post, not a hitching post."
Why do we find it so easy to live in the past? The past is an easy place to live because there are no surprises there. It takes no faith to live in the past. The Hebrew writer reminds us that “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6)
When does a moment, a space in time become “the past?” One second is present and in the same second one second has become a part of our past forever, set in stone never to be changed. It is what it is and will never be anything different. Some of those seconds represent successes and some represent failures. Whatever they were they will always be. We can do nothing to change them, but we do control what we do with them. They can be a dark room where we live in pain, wallow in pity, retreat to the room of regret, or they can be launching pads for the future. We choose whether our pain will paralyze us or propel us. We choose whether our successes will become secrets to future victories or the ropes that tie us to ground like a helium balloon straining against it ropes to soar to places unknown.
One of the most often quoted passages of Scripture in these daily devotional thoughts is Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV). “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Paul is simply saying, “Yesterday I did not reach all my goals, perfect my life, or obtain everything I hoped for, but I won’t let that hold me back. I have to shake all that off and move ahead.” (Lewis paraphrase) I enjoy the game of golf. I think I like it because it is so much like life. It is 90% mental and 10% physical. The percentages are just random numbers I chose. There is nothing scientific about their selection, but what I do know is that a major factor in the success of any golfer is their mental state, their mindset. Physical conditioning can help and improve your game, but you can be in the best shape physically and in a bad mental state. The physical cannot overcome the power of the mental attitude. But the mental attitude can overcome physical limitations or lack of conditioning. When you make a bad shot, miss the fairway, miss the green, miss an easy putt you have to shake it off and move on to the next hole. If you let the mistake, the wrong choice of club, the wrong read of the putt get into your head you are defeated. You often see a professional golfer after hitting a bad shot stop immediately and swing at the air. He is at that moment putting the bad swing behind him and swinging the club in the way he should have fixing that image in his mind instead of the bad swing that resulted in a wayward shot missing the target.
There are many wonderful things in our pasts as well. It is okay, even advisable to go there and experience the gratitude the memories bring to our hearts. or to fix the image of “that swing” in our minds to use it on the next shot. Just remember that the past is a rudder to guide us not an anchor to hold us back.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for memory. If You wanted me to ignore my past completely You would not have given me the gift of memory. Help me to use the gift of memory to guide me to accomplish great things for You today not to stop me from taking the steps of faith I need to take. Help me to bless someone else today. In the name of Jesus. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Lead By Washing Feet
Hans Finzel wrote a book called “The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make.” The number one mistake, according to Finzel, is what he calls “The Top-down Attitude.” He says this is “the military model of barking orders to weak underlings.” He calls it the “leadership sin of top-down autocratic arrogance.”
The best example of servant leadership is Jesus Christ. “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” John 13:1 (NIV) He then proceeded to wash their feet. The first key to effective leadership that John gives us is to love those we serve. It almost seems that we are taught in the world to do the opposite. How can you “order” people around that you love? That’s the way too many view leadership... “ordering people around” or “overpowering people” to get them to do what you want.
Jesus led by serving. Now, some have tried to make a doctrine out of washing feet. This is the only time the Bible tells us about Jesus washing the disciples feet. It is okay if we want to wash each others feet to symbolize our love for those we serve with, but it is not necessary. The principle Jesus was teaching was “servant leadership.” We lead with the influence of love not strength and power.
Power in fact can be dangerous. It can even be the end of those who don’t understand the difference in power and authority. My friend, Dr. Richard Exley, wrote in one of his earliest works, “Perils of Power,” speaking of several great ministers who had fallen into sinful ways, “Are these evil men, charlatans? Hardly. They are good men, godly men, who suddenly found themselves the stewards of tremendous power.” The Biblical example Exley gives is King Saul, Israel’s first king. Remember how when he was first anointed that they had to find him as he hid “among the stuff?” (1 Samuel 10:22) He was the epitomy of humility. But from that, after being presented with the power of leadership, he became a paranoid and jealous man who tried to kill anyone who seemed to be in line to replace him.
What is the difference in power and authority? James Hunter writes in his book “The Servant,” “Leadership is ultimately rooted in our will. Not forcing our will on others, but demonstrating our will to serve.”
There is a big difference in leading through power and leading through authority. We all have those whether employees, those who work under us as managers, our children, etc. that we can force to do what we want them to do just because we have the power to make them. There are very few people who like to be forced to do anything. Eventually this kind of “power driven leadership” destroys relationships.
Authority is different than power. Power is something you have and force on people. Authority is something you gain –– it’s given to you by the people you lead. How do you get authority from those you lead? Through service and sacrifice. When people see that you have their best interests at heart, when they see you are willing to sacrifice and serve them they will be willing to follow. That’s servant leadership, that’s authority.
The most classic example of a modern servant leader was Sam Walton. He despised corporate fat cats. He could, and would, handle the cash register as well as stock the shelves in any of his Wal-Mart stores. He drove an old, rusty, dented pickup not to prove a point but because it still had plenty of good mileage left in it. He told his staff on more than one occasion that "if American management is going to say to their workers that we’’re all in this together, they’’re going to have to stop this foolishness of paying themselves $3 million and $4 million bonuses every year and riding around every where in limos and corporate jets like they’’re so much better than everybody else."
So, the greatest privilege we have in life, the most powerful thing we can do is to serve others. It’s what Jesus did and it’s what He wants from us. So... go wash some feet today! I think you know what I really mean.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us today to be like You, to love like You, to lead like You. Help us be submitted to those we serve because they love us and we love them. And bless us with people who serve us because they know by our example that we love them and it is safe for them to love us. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
The best example of servant leadership is Jesus Christ. “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” John 13:1 (NIV) He then proceeded to wash their feet. The first key to effective leadership that John gives us is to love those we serve. It almost seems that we are taught in the world to do the opposite. How can you “order” people around that you love? That’s the way too many view leadership... “ordering people around” or “overpowering people” to get them to do what you want.
Jesus led by serving. Now, some have tried to make a doctrine out of washing feet. This is the only time the Bible tells us about Jesus washing the disciples feet. It is okay if we want to wash each others feet to symbolize our love for those we serve with, but it is not necessary. The principle Jesus was teaching was “servant leadership.” We lead with the influence of love not strength and power.
Power in fact can be dangerous. It can even be the end of those who don’t understand the difference in power and authority. My friend, Dr. Richard Exley, wrote in one of his earliest works, “Perils of Power,” speaking of several great ministers who had fallen into sinful ways, “Are these evil men, charlatans? Hardly. They are good men, godly men, who suddenly found themselves the stewards of tremendous power.” The Biblical example Exley gives is King Saul, Israel’s first king. Remember how when he was first anointed that they had to find him as he hid “among the stuff?” (1 Samuel 10:22) He was the epitomy of humility. But from that, after being presented with the power of leadership, he became a paranoid and jealous man who tried to kill anyone who seemed to be in line to replace him.
What is the difference in power and authority? James Hunter writes in his book “The Servant,” “Leadership is ultimately rooted in our will. Not forcing our will on others, but demonstrating our will to serve.”
There is a big difference in leading through power and leading through authority. We all have those whether employees, those who work under us as managers, our children, etc. that we can force to do what we want them to do just because we have the power to make them. There are very few people who like to be forced to do anything. Eventually this kind of “power driven leadership” destroys relationships.
Authority is different than power. Power is something you have and force on people. Authority is something you gain –– it’s given to you by the people you lead. How do you get authority from those you lead? Through service and sacrifice. When people see that you have their best interests at heart, when they see you are willing to sacrifice and serve them they will be willing to follow. That’s servant leadership, that’s authority.
The most classic example of a modern servant leader was Sam Walton. He despised corporate fat cats. He could, and would, handle the cash register as well as stock the shelves in any of his Wal-Mart stores. He drove an old, rusty, dented pickup not to prove a point but because it still had plenty of good mileage left in it. He told his staff on more than one occasion that "if American management is going to say to their workers that we’’re all in this together, they’’re going to have to stop this foolishness of paying themselves $3 million and $4 million bonuses every year and riding around every where in limos and corporate jets like they’’re so much better than everybody else."
So, the greatest privilege we have in life, the most powerful thing we can do is to serve others. It’s what Jesus did and it’s what He wants from us. So... go wash some feet today! I think you know what I really mean.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us today to be like You, to love like You, to lead like You. Help us be submitted to those we serve because they love us and we love them. And bless us with people who serve us because they know by our example that we love them and it is safe for them to love us. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
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