SERVING GOD
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July 1 BULLET-PROOF DISCIPLES“...no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.” Isaiah 54:17 This verse ends a chapter on God’s protection; the next verse begins a chapter on God’s compassion and provision. The bases are covered for God’s servants. The Lord wants His children to know that we are under His protection. This does not eliminate the fact that we will from time to time endure suffering of one form or another, but it is a reminder that a loving Father watches over our every move, and is never caught off-guard by the enemy. Notice the nuances in this verse. It doesn’t promise us a conflict-free existence where weapons are never formed against us; He says “no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed.” We aren’t promised freedom from attack, but servants of the Lord are propped up by the promises of a God who says our enemy won’t win over us as long as we’re serving and trusting in Him. Hey, that’s pretty good! We even get the promise that we will be victorious against the verbal attacks waged by judgmental tongues lashing out at us: “and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.” I don’t think that means we win all arguments, especially ones we started; I think it means God makes sure we are vindicated when we are reproached for His name’s sake while we are trying to honor Him with our lives. Why does the Lord make His servants bullet-proof? “This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.” With service to God comes God’s promised protection. It’s part of the heritage He offers. He promises vindication as well, so we don’t have to worry about retaliating against those who try out their weapons on us, or use their tongue as one. He is a really big God, and He has promised all the protection His servants need. He hasn’t told us we’ll never encounter hostility aimed in our direction, but He has given us the assurance that if we will stand with God, He will make sure that when the onslaught is over, we’re still standing. No weapon, no word. Nothing prevails against God’s servant. (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 2 FEARLESS SUFFERINGFor God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. 2 Timothy 1:7-12 When our lives are plagued by fear, we can rest assured it didn’t come from God! The spirit God gives is one of power and love and self-control, not one of fear. There is a peace which is our birthright, even in the midst of our worst trials and scariest circumstances. Another part of our birthright is suffering, despite what some modern-day health-and-wealth-gospel proponents fervently promise. On more than one occasion, we are given the heads-up that when suffering arrives, it should not come as a big surprise to us. Paul knew suffering was just part of the bargain of being a disciple of Jesus. He also was very aware that what he had been given was a trust from the Lord. A faithful servant is willing to suffer. He also learns to see everything as a trust from God, including trials and suffering. Because he understands this process and the nature of the Spirit within him, the servant does not give way to fear, but instead allows the Spirit to build in his life a power, love and self-control which points like a compass back to God. It’s like a trademark. The Spirit of God is not one of fear. The powerful, loving life of self-discipline is the life which bears the mark of the Spirit’s control. That’s the life every believer gets to have, if we simply live surrendered to His Spirit. (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 3 THE KEY TO GOD’S FAITHFULNESSRemember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:8-15 Mis-handling God’s truth is a serious thing. Evidently, so is “quarreling about words.” It seems to ruin both participants and spectators. I’ve been in some theology classes where that seemed to be the theme—and outcome. On the other hand, there are “trustworthy sayings” we are to hold on to, and pass along to other believers, for their benefit. This four-line proverb packed with promises is apparently one of them. There’s a lot of theology crowded into four simple couplets which would fit on a coffee cup. The first two couplets are beautiful, solid promises: “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him”; the third couplet is a warning: “If we deny him, he also will deny us”; and then there’s the fourth one, the one I love the most: “If we are faithless, he remains faithful—" Wait. Shouldn’t that be like the others? Shouldn’t it say, “If we are faithless, he will break faith with us, too”? No! Because this is our glorious Heavenly Father, who is faithful, always, regardless of what we do! We’re not the key to His faithfulness. No one is. Our God is always faithful, and there’s no “key” to it. Pass it on! (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 4 BLOOD-STAINED HANDPRINTSAnd now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship. Acts 20:17-38 It’s been twenty centuries, but the pathos of that moment still lingers. The dedication, the determination shown by those early believers! Those were our spiritual parents—people who were willing to lay down everything, in order to follow Christ. The Ephesian elders were informed they would never see Paul’s face again—now it was up to them. Would they watch over the flock, follow the example, work hard, finish the course? The torch had been passed. And what of us? Are we willing to accept what has been passed down to us? Our spiritual ancestors are gone. Now, it’s up to us. Will we mirror their determination, and go forward with Christ? As we look at the blood-stained handprints on that torch, we know there’s really no choice. We must go on. (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 5 SIGNS AND SINS“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” Luke 12:8-9 This is not just a minor point in serving God. If we are not willing to be fully identified with Christ, we cannot be true disciples of His. If we are not willing to suffer or to pick up our cross in order to follow Him, we cannot be His servants. He’s not looking for “sympathizers;” He’s looking for disciples. In these days of rampant, belligerent and public sin, it’s very important that we not be ashamed to align ourselves with Jesus Christ, or His Word, and it is very important that we are willing to take the heat that comes with that alignment. The days for being an incognito disciple in America are about over. A servant is not ashamed of his Master. He’s not ashamed of his Master’s words; he’s not ashamed to suffer for the sake of the Master, or even to die for Him; he’s not ashamed to be identified with the Master; he’s not embarrassed or ashamed to worship the Master with utter abandon. Does this mean we’re to be obnoxious in our faith? I’m thinking of people who have gained media attention by tormenting those with unpopular sins, carrying their signs about hell’s judgment and seeming to exult in the prospect, as long as it’s somebody else and not them. The way I read it, Jesus said that without Him, we’re all lost, not just the ones whose sins look the worst on a cardboard sign. I could fill a sign or two with my own sins, but they’re under the blood. And that’s the point, for me. My Savior is Jesus—no one else! My self-righteousness isn’t going to get me very far! My only hope of avoiding the penalty of my sins is the forgiveness offered me by the Son of God, who paid the price in full, for me. But if I think I’m going to just live my life however I please, refuse to be identified with the Christ who died for me, then be welcomed into heaven by a Savior whom I treated as an embarrassment to my dying breath, I’m as mistaken as I can be! Salvation is serious business. We can’t have it both ways: We belong to Jesus, or we do not. I want the world to know I belong to Jesus, and they can, too. Everyone who wants to can avoid hell, no matter what our sign used to say. (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 6 A PLAGUE FOR JESUS"For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him." Acts 24:5-6 Serving God doesn't mean that everyone likes you! When you have done everything Paul did, and endured the kind of hardships and persecutions he endured, what must it feel like to have your service presented before the governor like this?! Paul’s enemies told numerous lies against him, but to little effect. The governor, Felix, had enough sense to realize who was telling the truth and who was not, even though the Jewish leaders did their best to butter him up. In fact, Paul’s message so penetrated Felix’s heart that he summoned Paul often to converse with him, though he never made the step of becoming a believer, himself. Back to the name-calling. “For we have found this man a plague,...” What does it feel like to have repeatedly risked your life for no other reason than to try to save strangers from eternal ruin, only to be publicly labeled a “plague”? “Plague”—a disease, something to get rid of, something inhuman, worse than no value. Am I willing to so associate myself with Christ that I would let people lie about me before governors and kings, for His sake, then calmly make my defense, all the while honoring the name of Jesus? Am I willing to be a “plague” for Jesus? And which one is it, anyway—“plague” or “missionary”? It all depends on whose side we’re on. To one, it’s the sweet smell of eternal life; to others, it’s an obnoxious plague which won’t go away to leave them in their sin. May my life be so marked by His Spirit that wherever I am, the Gospel spreads like a plague! (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 7 DUMPED BY THE WORLD“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the words that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” John 15:18-27 The mark of Jesus upon our lives separates us from a world which chose to hate and persecute Him. When we join up with Jesus, we are no longer part of the “world,” and the popularity we may formerly have enjoyed as one of its residents will often be jerked away. What’s the difference? It’s the scandal of the cross. An unresponsive world rejected the Savior who came to earth to save them. Ignorance turned to rebellion, as the sacrifice was delivered up before their very eyes. Ever since, it only takes the slightest reminder—the symbol of the cross, a fish sign, a head bowed in prayer—and the rebellion is reactivated. We remind people of Jesus! If that reminder exposes sin rather than salvation, we catch the consequences of a wrath directed toward God, but which lands on whomever bears His name. It’s all part of being a witness. And it’s all part of having to choose a side. When we pick Jesus, we may as well get used to the idea that the world won’t love us like it used to. So what? (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 8 FREE FROM FEAR"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." Revelation 12:11 The weapons which are effective against Satan are clear: The blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, a willingness to die serving the One who died for us. The blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, is most important of all—without His shed blood there is no salvation, and the accuser of the brethren prevails against us. When our sins are covered by the blood of our Savior, the accusations of the enemy must fall silent; the devil has no choice. It is the blood of Jesus which saves us, and we are His. The word of our testimony completes the circle of power represented by His blood. Salvation is available to all who will receive it, but those who ignore or reject it are yet liable to the accusations of the enemy. When we receive the gift of salvation, and we testify to what Christ has done for us and in us, the circle is completed, and Satan is shut out. Any claim he may have had to us is canceled. We move from death to life. Then there’s the last piece: “for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Satan’s tactics have always centered on lies and intimidation. When we proclaim the truth of Jesus’ lordship and we trust in His promises, the power of the lies is broken. But there is still intimidation. Satan can threaten to harm us or kill us, if we don’t succumb to his plans. This is where the last hold is severed. If we have determined in our soul that we are willing to give anything in order to follow Jesus, including our very life, we are set free from the intimidation Satan attempts to use on us linked to our instincts of self-preservation. He’s out of bullets! If he can no longer lie us into submission, because we believe only God’s truth, and it no longer works to scare us with threats of death or injury, because we’re no longer afraid of death, what does he have left?! There’s no more foothold on our life. We overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, by our testimony about that Savior, by the fact that we’re no longer afraid to die, since it only puts us even closer into His presence. When we love Jesus more than we love life, the enemy loses his grip, and we get to live free from fear. (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 9 THE ANOINTING IS WORTH ITSaul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him. And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. 1 Samuel 18:12-16 Just because you’re God’s servant doesn’t mean that everyone will like you! On the contrary, sometimes that’s precisely the reason they don’t! In this situation, the praise of the people only made the king increase in his jealousy of David, the champion who had saved the day for the Israelites. It didn’t help that everyone seemed to recognize God’s Spirit on David’s life, and though they probably didn’t mention it, publicly, His absence in Saul’s. At one time, the anointing had obviously been upon Saul’s life. He had repeatedly been given opportunities to trust God and gain favor through obedience. He had repeatedly failed those tests. Now the anointing was gone, and he knew it. The presence of this youth who defeated giants and handily succeeded in every task, with God’s help, was such a threat to the errant king that he chose to devote the rest of his life to eliminating him. The focus in Saul’s life, from here on, is going to be getting rid of David, rather than challenging Israel’s enemies, the Philistines. Yet another waste, in a life characterized by waste. Why did Saul hate David? Saul saw that God’s Spirit was upon David, and had left Saul, and Saul was threatened by what he saw in David. Hence, he was David’s enemy for the rest of his life. Had David not been under the anointing of God, Saul wouldn’t have even known who he was, much less hated him. But the anointing is worth it! Having God’s favor is worth everything—even if it seems that the whole rest of the world is mad at you! (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 10 THE GIFT OF A REBUKEAnd the LORD sent Nathan to David. 2 Samuel 12:1 On the tails of David’s scandalous actions regarding Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, including Uriah’s planned demise at David’s orders, God sends a prophet to the king of Israel. This was not a mission without peril! In fact, had Nathan gone on his own, without God’s direction, he would have never returned, and he knew it. Bringing bad news or correction to the sovereign of a nation is never going to be a welcome task, under any circumstances; it didn’t help that in David’s case, in times past, he had been known to kill the messenger, if he deemed it appropriate! David had already killed several men in this cover-up; what was one more? Not all jobs that a servant gets are easy ones. This had to rank as one of the hardest ever! God’s servant, Nathan, seems unafraid. I’m pretty sure that the “lamb” story Nathan tells David was divinely inspired. The result of the story is that David is unknowingly trapped into condemning himself, so Nathan isn’t the one doing it. Nathan tells the story, David reacts by angrily stating, “The man who has done this deserves to die,” (2 Sa 12:5) and all Nathan has to do is close the trap with four words: “You are the man!” (2 Sa 12:7) David had already pronounced judgment on himself, by that time; all Nathan was doing was pointing that out. One of the best things Nathan ever did was to bravely and graciously deliver a difficult message from God, not knowing if he would survive the day. When finished with his mission, he wisely made a quick retreat! He’ll live to be used of God another day. Interesting to me is David’s reaction, when rebuked. Instead of defending himself, or killing the messenger, he immediately owns up to it: “I have sinned against the LORD.” (2 Sa 12:13) Rather than another murder, or yet another attempted cover-up, David responds by writing Psalm 51. The man is overcome with repentance. Forgiveness and grace restore to him a clean heart. His relationship with God is renewed. As difficult as it was for all concerned, one of the best things God ever did for David was to send His messenger to David’s door with the gift of a rebuke. (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 11 COWARDS TO VOLUNTEERSIn the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:1-8 When Isaiah sees the Lord, and the seraphim touches his lips, he suddenly wants to be a volunteer. Does he understand for what he’s volunteering? The cost? The consequences? Probably not, but Isaiah had already stopped caring about anything else. Close encounters with the Almighty do that to people. When God manifests Himself, there’s always a reason. He never does it just to show off; if we want to see God’s power and handiwork, all we need to do is look around at the constant witness of nature. But those rare and intimate times, when God chooses to display a glimpse of His glory to an individual always seem to precipitate something: A miracle, a promise, a commission. The initial human response is always pretty much the same: Fear, humility, feelings of inadequacy. Then comes the promise, the rebuke or the mission. The second response of the human who encounters God is also nearly always the same: “I can’t do this, but I also can’t ever forget this moment, and I have to obey you. O.K., I’ll go!” God turns cowards to volunteers. (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 12 FEARFUL KING, FEARLESS PROPHETIn the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. And the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah... Isaiah 7:1-4 It doesn’t take long before the servant who volunteered, “Here am I! Send me!” is indeed sent. And to whom? To one of the most immoral, idolatrous kings ever to rule over Judah, a man who had led his nation into apostasy and now was bearing the consequences, in facing an allied army of invaders. The fear must have been palpable in Jerusalem, in those days, particularly in the heart of Ahaz, Judah’s godless king. His father and grandfather had been good and righteous leaders, but Ahaz had purposefully strayed from his religious moorings, and plunged his country into new depths of depravity. What will God’s message be to the quivering king? In contrast to the judgment Ahaz deserves and probably expects to hear, the message Isaiah relates from God is one of grace and comfort—“calm down, do not fear, what they threaten is not going to happen.” Tucked into the conclusion of this word of hope is a timeless truth God wants Ahaz to hear and heed: “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” (Isa 7:9) Unfortunately, the king ignores the gentle reminder that the faith of his fathers is his only hope for stability in life, and Ahaz continues to flail about in unrighteousness for the rest of his days, but at least he was told. In the time of his greatest fear, God sent him a fearless prophet. It’s too bad Ahaz didn’t make the connection between faith and courage. (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 13 REVOLUTIONARY FEARFor the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread....” Isaiah 8:11-13 At a time when few are hearing from God, Isaiah is. And one of the things Isaiah is hearing from the Lord is the warning not to follow the crowd, not to adopt the assumptions or habits of those around him, and not to fear what they fear, but instead to fear Him. God’s servant is listening to God, not the crowd. God’s servant is going God’s way, not the crowd’s way. God’s servant isn’t even afraid of the same things; he’s only afraid of God, or of displeasing Him. If we’re going to be God’s servant, it means that much of the time, we’ll not be on the same page as everyone else! We may as well get used to it. “But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” I’m thinking of the level of holy fear I’ve observed among American Christians, lately. It’s pitifully low. Fear of offending the Lord of the Universe seems to scarcely cross most people’s minds. More apparent is the fear I’ve seen (and experienced) when it comes to the possibility of ticking off a cranky church member than the fear of sinning against the Creator Himself. I think of the times when I have feared man’s anger more than God’s, and I wince. The attitude I’ve seen —and occasionally practiced—which says, “God will forgive me, but so-and-so never will,” has been used as an excuse for a lot of spiritual compromise and some outright sin. The casualness with which God is approached—when He is approached—is an indicator of the disturbing lack of respect many have for His power or wrath. God’s forgiveness is taken for granted far too much of the time, as if the free gift of salvation was also free to God. It wasn’t. The message Isaiah was getting is one I still need, today: “Don’t be afraid of anything, except offending God.” That’s the healthy fear which frees and revolutionizes my life. What could it do for our country? (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 14 ANXIETY-FREE WITNESSING“And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke 12:11-12 I’m noticing that He said, “when they bring you..., not “if.” Hmm. Although it’s obvious that, at least in America, not everyone claiming the name of Christ has been dragged before the rulers to account for our faith, things could change in a hurry. If (or should it be “when”?) they change, will we be ready? Jesus gives the calm assurance that we don’t even need to be anxious about the whole episode—all we have to do is read off the teleprompter the Holy Spirit will provide for our turn in the hot seat. Something like that. No need to be anxious? Really? Most people can’t even get through an episode of friendly fire, such as high school speech class—no, that was a bad example—or let’s say, a preacher speaking to his own congregation (Hmm, another bad example; forget the examples) without sick-bag-level nerves. And we’re supposed to be able to face off with nasty bureaucrats and not lose any sleep over it?! I guess so! How’s it going to happen? This is how it happened to those who heard Jesus say it, in person. When the time came for them to face public persecution, as so many of them did, what the public witnessed was not a trembling, cringing religious coward. What observers saw, again and again, was Jesus. The witness was crystal clear. They were not hearing the words of an uneducated fisherman or tax collector; it was as though Jesus had hopped inside that body and was now speaking once again, with unheard of authority. It wasn’t them, it was Jesus. It’s why the disciples didn’t stay up late, huddled with their attorneys, crafting their defense in preparation for the trial of their life. In fact, when God answered the prayers of the Early Church and delivered Peter from prison, the angel had to smack him just to get him awake! Had it been me, I would have been making notes on a 3x5 card for what I was going to say. There’s a time to prepare. And there’s a time to just turn your tongue over to God, and see what He has to say through you. (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) July 15 BULLDOG LEADERSHIPNow when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. Nehemiah 6:1-4 I’m a fan of Nehemiah. He has those leadership qualities I have often envied, one of them being “focus.” Faced on all sides with intense and crafty opposition, Nehemiah refuses to be distracted from his God-given task of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. His enemies pull out all the stops, but no amount of threatening or trickery can induce God’s man to give up his mission. He won’t be intimidated, he won’t be swayed, he refuses to compromise. And he succeeds! The wall is completed in 52 days, despite incredible odds. The entire book of Nehemiah is like a workshop on leadership. It abounds in lessons on that subject. One of them is that a good servant (or leader) will not be distracted or intimidated into abandoning his duties. He knows his mission, and won’t be dissuaded. Like a bulldog, once he grabs on, he won’t let go, except at the orders of his master. He won’t bite on the temptations that are designed to get him to release his hold on the goal. His enemies can’t get him to quit by threatening him, or by damaging his reputation through rumors, or by negotiating him to death (he won’t even stop to negotiate!). A good servant will not let go of his assigned mission. We all need a focus from God that gives us the courage to endure distractions, threats and temptations. When we know our goal is God-given and so is our role, like Nehemiah, we can become successfully stubborn in refusing to let go until we complete the task before us. And when, like Nehemiah, we refuse to be intimidated or distracted, we bring inspiration to our friends, fear to our enemies and glory to our God. (From Serving God, by Dave Ness) Serving God is a year-long devotional book written by Dave Ness. The theme is "What does the Bible say about serving God? To receive a copy of Serving God, contact Dave Ness at connect@PrayingForAmerica.org or through the mail at P.O. Box 1747, Longview, WA 98632 (Suggested donation $17). All scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version of the Bible (ESV). |
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