The Identity of Leadership

There are many ways to identify ourselves. We can identify who we are by our roles, titles or positions. We can identify who we are by what we have or what we do. And, we can identify ourselves by who we are associated with.

As Christians who are leaders, we would be wise to identify with the qualities of Biblical leadership. If we are not rooted first there, we will be forever trying to re-invent ourselves with each new season. There are many things that make up the Biblical model for one used by God. This week let's look at the model of BROKENNESS.

Broken is not a word that we usually ascribe to leadership. Rather we use words like: strong, capable, gifted, talented, adequate for the task. All of those descriptions are valid and good, but as Christian women who desire to lead we must first realize that God desires for us to be broken and dependent on Him. When in that place we will then be filled with His power and gifting. It was always meant to be, His life flowing through ours and His plan to be accomplished through us. Leadership? Yes, as we fall under the authority of His power, we are then equipped to live different lives that reflect His ability through human, dependent upon God, lives.

There are three key points worth reflecting on today:
1. We have a desperate need for God
2. We can not do it ( lead) on our own
3. Brokenness is an on-going process

Desperate Need for God
1 Corinthians 1:5-9, 17-20
"For in him you have been enriched in every way, in all your speaking and in all your knowledge. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, is faithful."

"...not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us w ho are being saved it is the power of God, For it is written:
" I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?"

I am in my own season of brokenness. These seasons come for many reasons...health, finances, relationship problems, employment problems, crazy in-laws, and messy details. Brokenness comes when our life is interrupted, our hearts are hurt, we face loss, or we are rejected once again. Broken people fill our streets, our malls and our churches. Broken people, like you and me, are everywhere. And, though broken seems bad, it is actually good, because it causes us to depend on God. I usually wrestle with broken places and broken pieces, but this time though the process is still painful...I am not wrestling quite as much as normal. I am learning a new normal.

My current season revolves around health issues. I am so tired of health issues and the constant back and forth of dealing with medications, side effects and daily activities revolving around health...it is tiring and has broken me down emotionally. In this place, I am tempted to feel like giving up....too tired...too much...too broken to even think of leading. But....in this place I am also encouraged that in my weakness, God's strength can be manifest. This is radical thinking.

The Bible is filled with such radical thinking. After all, in the world we live in, broken is not good, it's bad. Broken needs to be fixed. Broken is far from beautiful. Dependency is weakness, and weak is not the American dream. Yet, we are also told not to be conformed to the reasoning of the world we live in.

If you are strong today, thank God, humble yourself before Him...and choose a broken posture of laying out your life like a broken flask before Him. As He receives the offering of YOU and YOUR strength, He will work His beauty of broken bread made to give life...through you.

If you are weak today, thank God that this season is causing you to depend on Him. Choose to lay down your weak places, your disappointment and all that you are carrying before Him. Choose to be a broken flask, poured out, and filled again with the presence and power of God.

Yes, brokenness, as crazy as it seems, is a pathway to Biblical leadership.


You are in Need of God

• You are enriched in Him in every way
• You are not lacking in any spiritual gift
• He is the one who gives the gift and will keep you strong
• God who has called you is faithful
• Not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross be empty of power
• God makes foolish the wisdom of this world
• Foolishness of God is wiser than man's strength and wisdom
• God chose the foolish, God chose the weak

You Can't Do it On Your Own

• Brokenness is a conscious awareness that you need God in all things.
• A broken person has come to the end of herself, or at least what she knows to be the end of herself at this moment in time
• Brokenness is a friend, and pride is an enemy
• You can not fulfill God's assignments on your own.

Now, what will you do with this?
Think about what Scripture is saying. You might be smart, have degrees, and pedigrees ( ha) and a zillion other things that qualify you. But, if you are not broken before God, as a life dependent on Him...then you have missed the point, and so have I.

Today's Prayer
Lord, I really want to depend on you. I want to learn a different way. I want to find hope and help where I am weak. And, most of all I thank you that when I am weak, you are strong. Be my strength, and may I always boast in YOU.

A Leader Who Desires God's Heart

Leadership can be a real "head-trip". That's why when some people are given too much authority or power they misuse it. This can be seen as women who have to rule the roost in their homes, all the way up to women who are bossy and brash in their dealings with others.

Much of this attitude is done in the name of "authority", and our current title....mom, coordinator of event, bible study leader, supervisor of the dept, director of.....
But as Christian women who lead, we must take a look at how often we use our authority in the wrong way. God has not given us authority to be brash, bossy, uncaring, or rude. God has not given us authority to be above others, snotty or belittling. God has not given us authority to be popular, envied or looked upon as someone special.

But God has given us authority for the purpose of honoring Him and serving Him in whatever He has called us to. He has given us the authority to live in His Presence, in His Power, and in His Way, in our dealings with everyone in our lives...no matter what our position of leadership is. God's rule of authority always points back to LOVE.

Truth for the Leaders Heart:
Ephesians 4:1-6 NIrV
" I am a prisoner because of the Lord, So I am asking you to live a life worthy of what God chose you for. Don't be proud at all. BE completely gentle. BE patient. Put up with one another in love. The Holy Spirit makes you one in every way. So try your best to remain as one. Let peace keep you together. There is one body. There is one Spirit. You were appointed to one hope when you were chosen. There is one Lord. There is one faith and one baptism. There is one God and Father of all. He is over everything. He is through everything. He is in everything."

Paul identified himself prisoner BECAUSE of the Lord. He strongly identified his call, authority and position in life...good or bad...to the Lord who he believed was sovereign over his life and circumstances.

Because of this identify as His, no matter what life brought...He desired to live a life worthy of what God chose Him for and encourages us to do the same.

He gives us some steps:

• Don't be proud..at ALL
• Be completely gentle
• Be patient
• Put up with one another in love
• Do your best to keep unity

Why? Because there is one God over all. He is the authority, power, presence, that is at work in us today. This is the way Jesus is...caring, patient, etc...and it is the way He wants to work through us too.

How do we have God's Heart as Leader? We submit to our identification as "HIS", and humble ourselves first before our Mighty God, and then make a stand in our own heart and beliefs to line up to what Humility is...gentle, patience, putting up with people.

If we are not characterized by a growing attitude in this area, we just might be using our authority in leadership in the wrong way. A leader after God's heart, is a woman who is imperfect, but who is intentionally lining her life up to the truths in God's Word.

Join me on the journey. Let's Live Up! surrendering to God changing us. God desires to teach us to walk in him, rather than our normal walk in self. It's a wild ride, buckle in!

Today's Prayer
Less of me and more of thee. Change me Jesus. May I walk, serve, and live under your authority.

Design 4 Living Conference
May 29-30 2009
Wild Faith!

Northern California Conference!
Cornerstone Fellowship, Livermore, California

Special Guests: Anita Renfroe, Leslie Vernick, Dr. Catherine Hart Weber, Georgia Schaffer, Rick Johnson " The Man Whisperer", and Debbie Alsdorf.

Worship with Justin Brier and the Design4Living Team
Special Music: Christian Artist, Tara Leigh Cobble.

Tickets Go on sale Monday March 9th. www.cornerstoneweb.org
More information to be posted on Cornerstoneweb.org, and design4living.org, next week!

A spiritual growth conference for women of all ages.

Teaching for Life Change

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15

In small groups, in church settings, home settings and often in mentoring roles...women in leadership are often called upon to teach. It is amazing how even just a 10 minute devotional can help re-direct someone, encourage, instruct, or give them something to ponder and pray about.

Just yesterday I attended the women's ministry monthly prayer meeting in my own church. Before we began to pray the leader spent just a few minutes talking to us about our hearts being ready for intercession. In that short 5 minutes she had a goal of what she wanted to communicate and communicated it effectively. In turn that led all of us to a place of wanting our hearts to be right with God before we began praying for others. It was powerful. And, this woman does not probably think she is a "teacher." But she was, she is, and probably in your leadership position so are you.

First things First.
When handling God's Word, we must be convinced that it is a powerful tool for life change.According to 2 Timothy 3:16, the word of God is inspired by God and useful for:
Teaching, rebuking, correcting and training us in righteousness. As it trains us it thoroughly equips us for every good work. And, as we share it with others, it is useful for these very same reasons.

Now consider the people you lead, whether it be your children, or the women in your small group, or a larger study setting....Each of these people, are God's people whom He loves, cares for and desires to work in and through. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that:
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." God has created each of us for himself, and has created each person you lead for His work and plan too.

Now catch that vision, that when you are holding out God's word to others it is equipping them to be able to live out God's good purpose in their lives. Being a leader is serious and exciting business when we think of it this way. From a nugget of truth, to a full message, God is using us to make a difference in someones life by holding out the truth of God's word.

Now make it count, when given the opportunity or call to lead, make that time count, use it wisely. We often don't stop the run away trains in our groups because we don't want to offend. But, what if you were convinced that it offended the heart of God to allow all the idle chatter when the time was supposed to be centered on His word? Take a look at this verse that follows 2 Timothy 2: 15, " Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene." 2 Timothy 2:16

Oswald Chambers says that we must learn to express truth in a way that makes a difference.
"Strive to re-express a truth of God to yourself clearly and understandably, and God will use that same explanation when you share it with someone else. You must struggle, experiment, and rehearse your words to express God's truth clearly. Then the time will come when that very expression will become God's strength to someone else. Try to state to yourself what you believe to be the absolute Truth of God and you will be allowing God the opportunity to pass it on through you to someone else." ( My Utmost for His Highest , Dec. 15th devotional)

The Goal: Transformation Not Just Information
Whenever you are teaching God's word remember that the goal is not to dish out information. People can be filled with all kinds of biblical information and have no real life transformation. God's goal is that His word will transform our lives so that we would no longer live according to the patterns, plans or ideals of this culture we live in ( Romans 12:1-2) And, we see in Timothy that He gave us his word in order that we would know how to live, and that we would be TRAINED in righteousness. This must be the primary goal when communicating truth.

How Do I Present a Truth for Life Change?
Unpack it for practical use!
Personally I use a three point guideline, that I set up for myself when speaking to women.
My goal is always life transformation, life change, relational change, not head knowledge. I set out to accomplish this by trying to follow these three things when preparing:

1. Recognize... This is this the head connecting with the information.What does God's word say and why? This is helping the listener to connect with and acknowledge the truth.
   
2. Rely...This is the heart part. Any one can hear the word and recognize it, that is the surface of things. Life change comes when we learn to lean into the truth for application. The question that I always ask myself when in God's Word...How can I apply this to my daily life? When teaching others...how can I help them understand this in a way that helps them apply to their every day life?
   
3. Remember...This is reminding myself of the truth so that I don't read it and never digest it's powerful life changing principles. How can I make this stick so that I don't forget it in my daily life? And, when teaching others, what can I say or what visual can I use that will help make this message stick? Jesus used practical stories known as parables. What can I do to make His timeless truth stick today?
   

When giving a message I always have a goal. The aim is to help women to recognize truth, learn to rely on truth, and walk away remembering truth. I want to accomplish this by the end of my talk, whether it be 5 minutes or 50 minutes. In other words, I want the truth, not my words, to make a difference in their lives. I want them to experience the abundance of life change that Jesus offers us all and the freedom that comes when TRUTH sets us free.

Often, out of pride, we think we have to give out a lot of information for something to be deep or spiritual. That simply is not true. It would benefit a person more to learn to live in 10 key verses, in a way that alters their life choices, more than it would benefit them to know 100 verses by memory while not living in out the truth in one of them. Seek to learn to live out a few verses in your own life, and then be obedient to lead others to the same life application of truth.

How to read God's Word for Life Change

• Have a scheduled time : your time is your time, don't let anyone give you a limit or number, or a place it has to be. Just be sure to include the study and reading of God's word in your life agenda. "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " Matthew 4:4
  
• Ask God to meet you in the Bible, and to draw you into deeper relationship with Him through His Word. "Direct me in the path of your command, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statues and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." Psalm 119:35-37
  
• Read with a repentant spirit and ask God to wash over you with his Word, cleansing you with it. And, why to you wash something? Because it's dirty. In the same way, we need God's word to wash us from the dirt we pick up throughout the day, every day. " Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.." Ephesians 5:25-26
  
• Read with a readiness to surrender to Him, " How can a young man keep his life pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands." Psalm 119:9-10
  
• Take a small section and immerse yourself in it. " I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Psalm 119:11
  
• Take this same section and learn to apply it to your life. " Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." Psalm 119:18
  
• Practice living in this section of truth. "This has been my practice: I obey your precepts." Psalm 119:56
  
• Learn to express what you are learning from this section of truth. " I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." Psalm 119:32
• Hold out this truth to others in a way that is practical and purposeful.

"The author or speaker from whom you learn the most is not the one who teaches you something you didn't know before, but the one who helps you take a truth with which you have quietly struggled, give it expression, and speak it clearly and boldly." Oswald Chambers

This Week's Prayer
Lord, Your word is truth. Help us to recognize this and remember it each day. As truth and as our soul food may we not neglect it out of business. May we also not approach it out of duty, but may we approach it out of delight, that we might have our souls filled, and may be instructed how to live in your Spirit, pleasing to you. As we read your word, Lord cleanse us. As we study your word, Lord convict us. As we teach your word, Lord use us. May we stay true to you and only you. Jesus fill us, use us, and make a difference for your eternal goal through us.

Being a Leader of Compassion

" The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. " James 5:11

Every woman is a leader. From the home, to the workplace, to the church and community. All women are the center of influence for someone.

Leadership in any form is tricky. There are things to tend to, issues to resolve ( even if it's just a sibling fight..) and much to get done. Leadership is all about the details, isn't it?

Leaders are in the front of the line with a trail following behind. Sometimes that trail is co-workers, often it's volunteer team members, and in the home it's usually kids, animals and the like. Whether you are a mother or the President of an association, as a leader it would benefit you and those you are leading, to concentrate this week on one single word: Compassion.

Bob Briner and Ray Pritchard in their book, The Leadership Lessons of Jesus, speak of compassion making a difference:
"Enduring leadership, the kind that makes a positive, long-range difference, is always characterized by compassion. A compassionate leader cares about people, both as individuals and as a group."

Websters Dictionary defines compassion as: Active sympathetic concern for the suffering of another. And, suffering is defined as mental or physical pain. In a single word injury.

I can relate to suffering. I have had my share of it. But in my selfishness I found that I would rather stay far from the memory of it than get actively involved in it again...even if getting involved means helping someone else through their place of pain. I spent many years wanting to distance myself from returning again to anything that caused me pain or reminded me of the painful places I had lived in.

But then I met a woman that I could not refuse. Her pain resonated within me. Yes it reminded me of places I had been and didn't want to revisit, but it also gave me pause to consider that maybe I had gone through my pain to lend a helping hand to someone in theirs. I realized how selfish I could be when left to my own brand of ministry, or my own way of doing things. I gave pause to the word compassion, and also gave pause to the word suffering. Suddenly I realized that the call to Justice was more than helping the hurting in foreign lands, it was also present right in my own backyard.

The woman that I didn't want to give my heart or time to was in my corner of the world. I didn't have to board a plane, raise funds, or get shots...I just had to say "yes, Lord."

There is a mission field in our homes, in our schools, in our local churches, work places and community. All around us people are walking as those wounded from the pain of real-life. And, as we all know...it's getting more real each day. Jobs lost, houses foreclosed, taxes raised, natural disasters, diseases that we never saw coming. Pain is all around us, and the need is great.

How can justice apply to the people who have so much? Apply it to their hearts. People can have riches, roofs, food and all the trimmings of the good life and still be seriously injured, and facing devastating loses of the heart. These same people are turned away by others as being too much trouble and often feel like second class citizens in their own churches and communities. It's time to ask God to make us leaders after his own heart of compassion.

Does this mean that we say "yes" to every hurting soul that crossed our path? Certainly we must always remember that we are not God. Jesus is the Messiah, the healer and deliverer, not us. We are but one life, and we can not take on every single person. But, we can trust that God will bring into our path people who need tenderness, care, concern, and a helping hand. God will bring into our lives people who need His love. We may not be able to give them everything they need, but we can give what we can.

But what if I have already given so much that I am about to break? That my friend is something called compassion fatigue, and it's very real. When we don't know how to say "no" and we feel that the responsibility of every life rests on us, we can get burnt out, worn out and so tired that we are not good for anyone. God doesn't call us to be burned out, he calls us to be poured out.

A poured out life is one that is first filled. It is a life that is surrendered. It is a life that is sensitive to the leading and direction of God within her. It is a life that says "yes" when yes is what God is calling her to whisper to Him first. God himself then begins to do the work of pouring through this surrendered vessel. Poured out, not burned out. Filled up but not used up. Loved first than loving others next. Open. Available.

• Sympathetic, but never using sympathy as an excuse for compromise.
• Sensitive, but faithfully steering others to truth.
• Lending a hand, but more importantly giving a heart.

Look at what God's Word says:

• "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another." Zec 7:9
• "Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion," Psalm 103:4
• " The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. " Psalm 116:5
• "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" Matthew 9:36
• "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort," 2 Cr 1:3

Compassion: the active concern for the suffering of another. This is what the picture of Christ's love is to us. He is actively concerned over us, our hurts and our sufferings. If we are seeking to be more conformed into His image than compassion is a good heart prayer, don't you think?

Suggested Resource: He is My Life: Living to Love Others As Jesus Did.
Find this study resource at design4living.org, or at you local bookstore.

This Week's Prayer
Father,
You are the Father of compassion. I so want to have concern for others in a way that is pleasing to you. I don't want to be so filled with self that I can not see the hurt in another's life.Forgive me Lord for all the times I just didn't want to care. Forgive me for doing my own thing, at the expense of not answering your call to lead well. Jesus make me more like you. Have your way in me. Develop me as a leader after your own heart.

Being A Leader that Makes Soul Deposits

All of us know about deposits. We deposit money into the bank, and this deposit enables us to sustain life...pay our bills, buy our food, clothe ourselves. We all need deposits, don't we?

But, this week let's think of a different kind of deposit. SOUL Deposits.


As a leader God gives you the wonderful opportunity to deposit into another person's life. And, like our bank deposit, when the soul has received a deposit of TRUTH and CARE, it is sustained and enabled to receive from God and grow in faith. This is not something to be taken lightly because this deposit brings a life change, a heart change, and a ripple effect which in turn impacts many others.

When you, as a leader, deposit into another person's life, you are not just impacting them, you are affecting all people that their lives touch. So, the next time you think your serving doesn't matter, think again. It does! All women lead in some way. From being a friend, wife, mother, grandmother or aunt....to being a vocational leader such as a nurse, counselor, teacher...to being a ministry leader such as a small group leader, mentor, teacher, hostess, greeter or a multitude of other acts of service...all women lead. And, all women can deposit something significant into the lives of others.

Think of the people you serve, in your home, your small group, at your church, in the workplace. These are people that God has placed in your life for you to make soul deposits into. A soul deposit is not just throwing a Bible verse at them, but a soul deposit is being Christ to them...in whatever way is necessary at the time.

I have a friend who makes many of these deposits. She spends time mentoring younger women, and has even gone into the labor room with one of them...coaching her through the birth of her child. She teaches women how to read their bibles, how to respond to life with faith, and even how to cook a meal! In many ways she is a modern day example of the Apostle Paul mentoring Timothy.

There is one thing I have noticed about this friend...in many ways she is self-less. She is an open vessel that is willing to make a deposit into others lives. In all the years I have known her, I have never heard her whine or complain about the time spent. From the spiritual to the practical, I think she knows that all things are counting towards eternity.

You see, the truth is, when we make deposits into another's life, we are also making a deposit into eternity. We are becoming rich, as we give out of what we have...being willing to say "yes" to God.

God is the God of Deposits.
Take a look at the following verses, and you can see that God is all about depositing into us for the purpose of eternity!

1 Cor 1:22
"He annointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
1 Cor 5:5
"Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
Eph 1:14
"Having believed you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession."

Mentor Moment:
What did Paul teach Timothy about this deposit?

2 Timothy 1:13
"What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Gaurd the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us."

First we are to GAURD the deposit that Christ has deposited into us.
How are you doing that?

Next: ask yourself this....
Am I making a good deposit into someone's life?
What does that look like?
How can the example of Christ's deposit help spur me on to make a deposit into others?

One last thing...often we grow weary of making these deposits. We are people and we get tired and worn out. Our bank account gets near empty. That is why we need to receive daily from the deposit that God himself has placed within us. That is also why we need to identify the things that make deposits into our Soul Tank.

What fills you?
What do you need to keep in your life? What do you need to make sure you allow time for?

For me...Music fills my tank. Many things do, but music is one of the things that quickly fills me. Often when I am empty, listening to music is like gulping water from the Lord's rock. There are many tangible things that fill us. Some women say nature opens them up again, others like to create, and others like to be in community with women....I have a friend who takes the top down of her convertible and with hair blowing in the wind, gets re-energized again.

Just be sure that you always remember that God's Word, and Jesus Himself, are the first places to run to when you need a deposit of the soul. Because, you can drink from many wells, but if you don't drink from Him, you will always be running on empty. Only Jesus Christ quenches our thirst, fills our tank, and gives us everlasting grace to then deposit into another.

Prayer
Father, I come to you as a leader and humble myself before you. I am asking you to show me what in my life is empty and where I need to go to your for fresh deposit. Then Lord, I am actively seeking you on how you would like me to deposit into others during this season of my life. I believe you will show me. Less of me, and more of You Jesus. That is my prayer.

Small Group Leader Ah-Ha Moment !

A woman called me this morning. She is a small group leader and her friends are also small group leaders. They facilitate the discussion during bible study at their church. This morning's call was a leader's "ah-ha" moment. And as simplistic as it sounds, it's very important to repeat and for all of us who lead, to remember.

Here it is: She realized that leading a table group was not something, in her week, to be taken lightly. Leading others is REAL and very important eternal work. What was said, imparted and implanted in these women. at her table, was a valuable deposit that would last forever. A soul deposit.

She went on to tell me how too she forgets about the soul deposit, and often she is more worried about what "to wear" to bible study class . Her focus is on self as she drives to the meeting, and her focus is on self when she measures if the women were responsive to "her."

By the end of the day, it was either good or bad, based on how she felt the group went. This morning, in her moment of clarity, she realized the significance of leading a small group. And, yes, that it wasn't about her. Her part was just to "show up" and show up prepared to be God's vessel. In her case that would mean arriving with the bible study done and questions prepared to facilitate the group as unto the Lord.

Her concern over clothes or other's reactions to her leading style were not to be of worry or concern to her any more. Being a leader is not about how we look, or how we act, it's about who we are. So being a leader is all about the heart. It's not about popularity. It's about living out of our POSITION in Christ.

There you have it...one woman's ah-ha moment after several years of leading in her best outfit!
Let's Repeat It:

• Being a leader is not about how we look, or how we act, it's about who we are.
• Being a leader is showing up to make a soul deposit in an other's life.
• Being a leader is not about me, and if it is, I need to go back to the drawing board and ask God to make it very clear to me what leadership is all about.

Prayer
Lord, Make us leaders who value the importance of the eternal work that you are doing, behind the scenes, in the hearts, in the renewing minds, of the people we serve. Make us leaders who want to decrease , in self, and increase in YOU.

This Blog is Changing

Originally the WILD blogspot was going to be designated to Women in Leadership.
But, after finding out that I loved doing a devotional blog, I ended up blogging every day, except Sundays. All the blogs are geared toward spiritual growth, but not all have been specific to leadership tools, growth and the things I originally intended.

So...I have begun a devotional blog...this one has been moved to my web page. www.design4living.org/blog. Or just go to the website and you will see devotional blog on the top navigation bar. There I will continue the daily devotional blog. You can easily bookmark the devotional blog and read it each day or go to RSS feed to have it come directly to you. It will be easier to dialogue back and forth on the new blog.

Once a week on this page I will be posting something specifically geared to women in leadership development.

Help me spread the word! We have many women coming to this site. Keep coming if you are in leadership and tell your leadership teams. Switch to the other if you are looking for devotional truths for the day...and spread the word about the design4living devo blog!

Thanks! Let's rise up to be ALL that God died for us to be, In Him!

Debbie

What if we took a breath and remembered where it came from?

I had a fitful sleep. I woke a few times trying to catch my breath, thought I was dreaming. Who knows? Maybe I was. But, I have a new addition to growing up and it's asthma. It's been fine for about 2 months now, but the new addition to my world decided to visit last night and this morning. You just don't know how great it is to breathe until you can't. It's not much fun waking up on a Saturday morning with a change in plans because you just can't breathe!

We take things for granted...like breathing.

Today's Question: What if...we took a breath and remembered where that breath came from?

Today's Verse

Acts 17:25,28

"He himself gives to all life and breath and all things...For in Him we live and move and exist." NAS

Processing the Verse

• He Gives Us Life
• He Gives us Our Breath
• He Gives us All things
• I live because of Him
• I move because of Him
• I exist because of Him
• Period.

Processing the Question...What if..I took a breath and remembered where it came from.

I go about life not thinking of the reality that I am held together because of the God who created me. I move about, my little world, feeling strong and in control of my little life, until I can't move, can't breathe, or can't seem to get something together. It's time to wake up each morning to being thankful for things like: Breathing and Moving About.

Today's Prayer

Lord, I am thankful for things like my inhaler and medicines that open up airways. But, I am sorry that I get going so quickly through life that I forget who gives me all of life, including the ability to breathe. I thank you today for holding me together, giving me life, giving me breath, and everything else. I exist in you, because of you, and for you. I never want to forget that. So, it's Saturday....what did you have in mind for our day?

What if I Called to Jesus each time I had a need?

Today's Question?
We all call people. Especially now with cell phones, people have become so accessible. Anytime day or night...driving, working, eating, whatever and whenever...we can all text or call at will. Have a problem...get in touch with a friend.

But, What if..we "called" Jesus each time we had a need?

Today's Truth
2 Samuel 22:4
I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

Psalm 4:3
Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him.

Psalm 116:17
I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.

Jer 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

Processing the Truth

• When we call out to God, we are taught in Scripture, that He does Hear.
• When we call out to God, though we see immediate results, we are taught He answers.
• When we call out to God, he not only answers, he shows us things that we did not know, so we gain wisdom.
• Calling out to God is sometimes hard, it's a thank offering...this is true when we are stressed, hurting, confused...it is then that our calling to God out of obedience is like worship, because we are offering ourselves and our hearts and our cares to Him...a thank offering. Thank You Jesus that you hear me, even though I don't hear you today. Thank You Jesus that you answer even when I don't realize you are answering. Thank You Jesus that you hold me together even when I feel like I am falling apart.

Processing the Question...What if I called out to Jesus.....when in need....

• Based on Scripture, and the example laid out, why don't I do this?
• Is it because I haven't developed the habit of calling him?
• Is it because I depend on people too much?
• Is it because I forget?

Today's Prayer
Lord, Please remind me to call out to you. Show me how this really is a thank-offering. Develop me in this habit of going to the throne rather than to the phone.

What if I believed I was COMPLETE in Christ?

"You complete me" is something that we have heard said about a couple completing each other. Two halves making a whole because of a connection that added value to the original. We usually think of this phrase in terms of love.

Today's Question
But, what if....we believed we were Complete in Christ?

Today's Verses
Colossians 2:10 NAS
and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

2 Corinthians 3:5 NIV
Not that we are competent in ourselves, to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent..."

2 Corinthians 13:11 NAS
Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Processing the Verse
Complete: Having all necessary parts
Entire, Full, Whole, Perfect

The above is the dictionary definition of our word, "complete".
Isn't it interesting that complete can actually mean perfect, or perfected.
And, more interesting that we are not perfected in ourselves, but in Christ.
Try as we might, we will only wear ourselves out trying to perfect ourselves.

Today let's Thank God that we are Complete, having everything we need to fulfill his calling on our lives.

• Wives: You have all that is necessary to love your husband in a way that will be meaningful to him and pleasing to God. Come to Christ daily for your complete filling of all that you need for this calling. Ask God to love this man through you.
  

• Mommies: You are complete in Christ. You have already been given all you need to be the Mother that your child/children are in need of. Come to Christ daily and be filled. God has a plan for each life created, you are in partnership with God in the development of human lives...High Calling, don't you think?
  

• In the Workplace: You have all that you need to get along with people, live in integrity and be a light. You are also made complete for the task as you trust Christ in you. God lead you right where you are, trust Him to give you success in your line of work and to work through you. Be diligent.
  

• In Ministry: You can not go another day without claiming your competence and completion in Christ! You can not change a life, you are not the Messiah, only Jesus is the Difference Maker! Come daily and be filled with his power, making you complete, whole, and ready for whatever ministry He calls you to this day. All of life is ministry, so we need to be filled and ready to walk out our completion in Christ, in His power today.
  

Now Processing the Question

• What if Christ wasn't just a complement to our lives, but a completion of all we were made to be?
• What if because of the presence of His Spirit in us, we were now complete to do all and be all that He has planned for us to do?
• What if we were secure because Christ was our completion and we were made more than enough in Him?
• What if a change REALLY took place at the most fundamental level, in us, the places that we can not see, when His Spirit came to make a home in us?
• What if Christ, making himself real in us, completed us to the point of being valuable for his work, as ordinary women?

Today's Prayer
Father,
Thank you for your work on the Cross. A sacrifice that often seems so textbook to me. Make it a real-life part of my belief system. I don't know how to embrace or believe the significance of this on my own. Work your truth in me. And, by faith I thank you that I am complete in You and I am enough, competent, adequate, sufficient, for all that you have called me to do, because YOU COMPLETE ME, YOU are my COMPETENCE!

What if we believed we were enough?

Today's Question
What if...I believed I was "enough"?

Today's verse
2 Corinthians 3:4-6 "Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God, Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life."

Processing the Verse:
My confidence is not to come from who I am, in myself.
Confidence is mine in Christ, because he makes me competent
I am not to claim to have my own competence
I am to claim the truth that what I do have comes from God, and is given from His Spirit.
I can have life-giving confidence in Christ.

Competent: in the Greek is hikanos, which means:
good, worthy, sufficient, adequate or enough

So I can say:
I am not good in and of myself
I am not worthy in and of myself
I am not sufficient in and of myself
I am not adequate in and of myself
I am not enough in and of myself

But...I am enough, am worthy, sufficient, adequate and good for God's purposes because of Christ Jesus! " our competence comes from God" that means....our enough-ness comes from God!

Now Processing the Question
What if...I believed I was enough?

• How would I view myself differently?
• If I viewed myself differently would I live a different kind of life?
  
• What risks would I take that I don't take now?
• Would I be less afraid and more daring to follow Christ?
• Would I trust Him to do things through me that I never dared dream before?
• Would I learn to quit putting myself down?
• Could my life be transformed if my mind was solidly renewed in the truth that I am enough in Him?

I don't know who reads this blog, but I want you to know that it is a joy to imagine an army of women being set free right along side of me. My sisters in the Faith...Live Free Today! And, then let's wake up and live free again tomorrow!

Today's Prayer
Lord, As a woman I seem to be plagued with those two words "not enough". As soon as I beat them down they come popping up again, like weeds in my mind, trying to trick me into trying everything and anything new to improve who I am, so that I will be better. Being enough becomes a god within itself as a woman today, and I know that you don't want me to have anything or any gods before you. Lord help me to believe the truth that says...I am enough in you. And, that trying to be more, chronically doubting that I am OK, is an insecurity that is a final victory for Satan. Jesus set me free, one day at a time, and as those not enough images and thought pop up, teach me to beat them down with truth.

What if we lived a holy life?

Today's Question
What if...I took seriously the fact that God has called me to live a holy life?

Processing the Question

• What does holy look like in real life?
• Am I willing to change or give up things in order to live this kind of life?
• What in my life keeps me self focused and stuck?
  
• Do I think that holy living is old fashioned?
• Do I believe that purity of life is necessary?
• Is holy living being "too spiritual" for any earthly good?

Today's Truth
1 Thessalonians 4:7-8
"For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit."

Colossians 3:5
"Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature...you used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now, you must rid yourselves of such things."



Today's Prayer
Lord, I don't often think about holy living. I am just living, and wanting to please you, but not really paying much attention to it being pure. Purity of life style would encompass so many areas. Show me what you want me to see in this today. And, lead me to ask myself the hard questions if necessary. I look to you to show me how my life is NOT lined up to this instruction out of 1 Thes., and welcome you letting me know what has to go for my life to be pure and holy unto you.

What if...?

Happy February!
Do you have goals for this new month? Things you want to accomplish?Truths you want to digest? Cares you want to learn to give to God? Habits you want to break?

This month I am going to be asking some questions.

Today's Question:
What if....I believed that God really held me in His hand?

Processing the Question:

• Would I worry less and enjoy life more?
• Would I feel at peace?
• Would I finally have security despite life's happenings?
• Would I live differently here and now?
• Would I hope differently for things to come?
• Would I nestle into his care and start loving and living for Him?

Today's Truth:
John 10:28-29
"My sheep listen to my voice: I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Job 12:10
"In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."

Today's Prayer:
Father, I thank you that Truth says, I am in your hand. My life and breath are in your hand, and that because I am yours, I will not perish because nobody can take me from you. Your word says you are greater than all, this truth should completely change my life. Make that truth my reality, that You Jesus are greater than all, and I am in your hand. Today I set my mind on this truth. Penetrate me with the knowledge of this truth in a way that changes my life.

Saturday's Quote

Calling all women who want something to hold on to for focus today!

Couldn't resist, today I had to use a comment made by my friend Sheree Byington on facebook. It was number #25 in her list of 25 random things about me. I think it is profound! ( well...and a little wild!)

"I choose daily not to be defined by life's circumstances."


It is full of meaning...and can really get you thinking about what DOES define you.
So, today...think about it! ( by the way...picture on today's blog is the beautiful Sheree!)

Father,
You define me. Truth says you do. But my heart and head often tell me that others things identify who I am. Help me Lord not to cave into wrong identities and wrong perceptions of what is or isn't important in my life. Today I choose You, and choose not to cave to disappointment, discouragement, or my problems.

Three Things to Start the Day

It feels good to do good works, get a "well done" and feel the flush of human pride.
It doesn't feel so good to find out that the things that give me the flush of human pride and accomplishment might be the very things that keep me from experiencing God at a deeper level.

In Revelation 2, speaking to the church in Ephesus, a harsh rebuke follows what seems to be a glowing account of their good works for the Lord.

"I know what you are doing. You work long and hard. I know you can't put up with those who are evil. You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not. You have found out that they are liars. You have been faithful and have put up with a log of trouble because of me. You have not given up. But here is something I hold against you. You don't have as much love as you had at first. Remember how far you have fallen! Turn away from your sins. Do the things you did a first." Revelation 2:2-4

I think of the words..."you work long and hard" as a compliment. But coupled with the fact that the relationship with Christ has suffered and the love towards Christ has cooled...causes a response from the Lord that holds out words like: I hold this against you....fallen...not as much love...turn away from sins...do the things.....

Yikes! We all can find ourselves in this category, doing good things, life things, seemingly spiritual things with a love tank towards God and man that is EMPTY.

What's a girl to do?
Three things...

• 1. Turn...to repent( used in most versions of this verse) is to turn from something, towards something else.
• 2. Be Filled...with the holy spirit and the new nature rather than operating solely in our flesh
• 3. Live Differently...Go back to basics and live unto the Lord learning to love the Lord, growing in relationship with him.

These three things cause us to face self-denial, because these three things cause us to Turn from self. Let's look at them in light of the words of Christ in Luke:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

Denying "us" begins with the Turn, the shift, the about face!
1. Turn from self
2. Be filled with Christ
3. Follow a New Path

Lace up your faith shoes ladies...and start following! I'm on the path with you!

Today's Prayer
Lord, I am used to following my own heart, own desires, own thoughts...anything "me" is natural. But, when I am living in the "natural" and normal for "me", I am missing the things of the Spirit. Teach me Lord, Change me....I want less of me and more of thee. Show me how to follow you in a way that would be pleasing to your heart.

Deny Myself?

Wanna be a fly on the wall of a recent conversation?
Come on, all women love to snoop and get the real dirt...here you go...
A view into my mind the other day....and my conversation with the Lord.

Deny Myself? That is your answer Lord? Seriously? I am supposed to deny myself? In this situation if I don't fight for myself I will be walked on big time. I don't get what I want, when I want it...and am pretty frustrated with things in general, and now you tell me to deny myself? Please! C'mon Lord, give me a break here. I am asking for your help and all you can say is...deny yourself Debbie?

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

Ok, Ok....I see it's clear in your word that denial of "me" must be the way to you. And the way to you is the daily and hourly coming to you...which is advancing towards you, and then I have to lay myself down every single day, and follow. Help me to unpack that and understand it for practical living Lord.

• come: to advance towards and press into
• deny: to refrain from satisfying one's desires or needs, practice self-denial
• follow: to accompany, to pay attention to, to join on a journey

Today's example looks like this:
It's a new day and so God bids me to come to Him...again. This means that I am to begin advancing towards him through acknowledgement, prayer, and communication. I am to press into him for all that I need..."Lord, today I need you to lead me, guide me, fill me, that I may live as yours in all my situational stuff"

Then I am to actually lay myself aside. An example would be....practice self-denial through determining to think of others first today, or by giving up my favorite food today, or by not watching my favorite t.v. show today and instead reading during that time or serving someone during that time....you get the idea. Self denial also comes in the form of not demanding my rights from others or God...that is a hard one, isn't it? We demand that our husbands treat us a certain way, or that a friend responds as we would want her to, etc...etc...
Quit demanding, Stop controlling and trust God, that is practicing self-denial.

Next I am to follow. This is the action step of actually stepping into Christ as I journey through the day. Paying attention all day, to his still small voice and nudges, leadings, etc....

So...

• Here I am Lord
• I lay myself down Lord
• I am paying attention Lord.

Denying our self is not a simplistic 3 step process. This is something that we have to pay attention to on a daily basis and it is learned, because it is not natural to us. Each of us has something different to lay down each day. Just be true to who God is calling you to be, line up with his word, and He will lead you down the path to growing deeper and closer to Him.

Follow Today. Just Today. Try it!
Daily Prayer
Father, I come to you as selfish as I can be, and ask that you continue developing me into the woman of God that you have designed me to be. I WANT TO lay my self and life aside each day. I need you to show me how to do that, what it looks like, where you are calling me to do that. It's not easy, natural or fun. And, I love to have fun. So, Jesus, give me a vision of the delight of being pleasing to you, for that is better than fun and more fulfilling than having my own way.

Living for more than Me

From the time we belt out that first cry until this very day, we live to preserve, protect and in many ways promote SELF. It is our human nature. But, with the death of Jesus on the cross a new way to live became possible for those who would believe in Him. By spiritual birthright and our new identity in Christ, we now can live according to our Spiritual Nature rather than our human nature. This new way is available to us today and it's freeing.....He died so that we should NO LONGER life for us, but instead Live for Him.

2 Corinthians 5:15
"And he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him."

Hmm....don't know how? Well girl you are in good company. That is what being WILD is all about. WILD women are not perfect, they are in process...growing developing, daily stepping towards the goal, and learning what it means to walk in Jesus rather than walk in SELF.

Today think about what Paul said in this verse. Let it speak to you. Allow God's spirit to point out some SELF life that can be surrendered over. Remember, one step at at time. Do not expect spiritual perfection from yourself. But, do insist on a growing surrender to the path of maturity. Remember when Scripture speaks of perfection, it is speaking of maturity. That is alot different than the perfection that our culture has trained us to try to achieve.

Take a breath. Read the verse. Think. Read again. Pray. Ask for understanding. Thank God for Who He came to be in your life.

Life fully in Jesus today, just today, we are learning to live one day, one victory at a time. Now that is WILD...Women in Life-Long Development.

Loving you in Jesus!

Today's Prayer
Father, Thank you so much that you came to give me a new and different life. Amazing. I want to see it, know it, live in it, rather than just talk about it. Teach me Jesus how to live for you and not for SELF. I no longer want to live just for me. I want to grow up and be the WILD woman for Jesus that you have created me to be. Jesus, I need you.

Who? Why? Where?

Who am I? A woman created by God, for God's purpose
Why am I? Created to love God and be His light in this world
Where am I going? From this life to the next life, I am destined for Heaven.

We are all dying. We just don't know when.
From the day we were born, the timer, so to speak, of our days went into motion.
God, the author and finisher, determined the times set for each of us.

It is amazing to me how unprepared I am for the most important destination of my life. Yet, when I prepare to take a vacation to somewhere I have never been, I gather maps and brochures and do the research long before I ever get in the car or board a plane. I wonder why I don't spend as much energy preparing for my ultimate destination, Heaven.

Sure there aren't brochures or travel agents, but we have God's word and the testimony of those who have gone before me. Still, heaven seems distant, far off, and not a reality. Yet, we are told that heaven and the promise of eternity is to be our greatest reality and our source of patience and courage.

Take a look:
"Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross...who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-2

• The witnesses are those, in the faith, who have gone on before us, and now are in God's presence.
• The race marked out for us is life's pilgrimage towards Heaven.
• The way to persevere is to fix our eyes on Heaven, on Jesus, on things above
• This fixation fixes us so that we do not lose heart.

Sadly, most of us don't have this fixation, atleast not all the time.

All of us have a hunger for things above, but sometimes we don't realize that the restless or empty place within is really a stirring for more of God's Presence in our life. We hunger but are not skilled in how to fill the hunger pangs. We've grown lethargic and have become so earthly-minded that we're of no heavenly good.

It's time to re-learn the skill of fixing our eyes on things above.

The word fix in the English language means to mend or to fasten. But in the Greek the verb skope, which is to fix, simply means the intensity of a gaze or a determined searching.

Heaven and the things above were meant to be our fixation or our Fix! It's to be our longing like being in love, where just the thought of it gives us courage. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, it fixes us.

Let's simplify this:
To fix our eyes on Jesus simply means to have a determined upward gaze and search for more of Him in the middle of our real-life happenings.

This fixing will take intentional work at first.
It might even take an alarm to remind us....Oh, the alarm went off, it's time to fix my attention upward again today.

Whatever it takes, let's make that our aim. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, that we will have strength and courage to run our individual life's race, and as we fix our eyes upward may that fixing, fix us!

Today's Prayer
Father, it's so easy for me to get lost in everything around me. I have so much to do, and places to go. I get caught in the whirlwind of my own life. In that place I often don't even think of looking up. Remind me. Teach me. Lead me. Change me. I want my fixation to be on you, on my eternal destiny. I want Heaven to be my reality. I want to Live Like It's Real, because it is.

Finding Purpose In Him

From the time we are young we are curious about three things:
1. Who am I?
2. Why am I ?
3. Where am I going?

And, as we grow to be women most of us are still wondering Who am I? Why am I here, What is my purpose? and Where am I going in the future? ("What will I be when I grow up?")We can graduate with degrees, be successful in our field of employment, and have babies who need us...but still, if we don't know at CORE level who we are and why we are, we will remain forever lost in the pursuit or search for significance, which seems to keep us lost in SELF.

Colossians 1:16
"Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him"

You and I are not the result of two love or lust struck parents. Though God's re-creation plan involves people...the creation itself happens as a result of the miracle of God. So, at your very beginning you are a miracle of creation, and your life continues to be a miracle of God...as you breathe each day and your heart keeps beating...all because it is God's plan for you to be one of the people on the planet...For Such A Time As This. You are not random. You are part of a bigger story and a bigger plan.

This bigger plan reality is the first step in laying the foundation for Who You Are.

In the beginning of this GRAND STORY, God created many animals and all kinds of creatures. And, after the animal planet was formed, God said "Let us make man in our likeness." The story goes on...
"So God created man in his own likeness. He created him in the likeness of God. He created them as male and female. He said to them have children and increase in numbers...God saw everything he had made. And it was very good." Genesis 1:27,28,31

First and foremost, God creates human life, and says, it is very good. People, you and me, are his plan. He didn't create us as a random after thought, but created people to inhabit the earth, work the earth, and have relationship with God. But, almost from the very beginning, people....first woman and first man....had the rebellion of wanting to do things their own way, and not listen to God's instructions. So, from the very beginning, people like you and me, were insistant that they knew a better way...

If we got our start in Him...and if we get our breath and life from him....shouldn't we learn to listen to him and find our purpose in him?

Today sit with the elementary truth of creation. Think of a bigger story than one you wrote, or your parents wrote. Realize that you are part of the story of 2009. Thank God that He created you, and that He sees his work as a good thing. Ask Him to begin showing you how to connect with the beauty, miracle and truth of your life as part of God's plan.
Ask God to help you with the three questions:
Who, Why and Where?
And, let the TRUTH be your answer:

"Everything (that means me) got started in him( that means God) and finds its purpose( that means fulfillment) in him."

Be filled with the Truth that you are a miracle of divine proportions! Breathe in and thank God for breath. Stop and feel your heart beating and thank God that you are ticking away because his purpose isn't over for you quite yet...there is more story...go out today and live it!

Father,
May we stand firm, at our core, in the truth that we find all we need in you because you created us and you plan to fulfill a purpose, unique to us, through us. Help us to see the daily miracle of life, not in a hospital nursery, but in the reflection of our own face...young or old, in the mirror. Use us according to the bigger story and shape us according to the God-sized picture!

Swing Open the Door of Your Heart!

Today a quote from Oswald Chambers:
"Unless you learn to open the door of your life completely and let God in from your first waking moment of each new day, you will be working on the wrong level throughout the day. But if you will swing the door of your life fully open and "pray to your Father who is in the secret place," every public thing in your life will be marked with the lasting imprint of the presence of God."

I want God's lasting imprint and presence to characterize my days. So, today I am reminded to swing open the door of my heart.

Swing it Open Girls! Swing it Open!

Father,
Opening the door of my life each day to you is something that I must learn because waking up and just living for "me" is my natural habit. Teach me Lord. Remind me. Leave the imprint of Jesus wherever you send me out each day. Oh Lord, I desire to be your vessel, your woman, your set-apart girl. Jesus make that so as you teach me to follow you.

Free to Be a New Woman

There's much talk about being set free from personal weaknesses, habits, addictions and the like. And, thank God, his power is the strength in which we can do all things. But, lets go back to the very BASIC idea of us being set free.

Colossians 1:11-14 New Readers Version
"We want you to be very strong in keeping with his glorious power. We want you to be patient. Never give up. Be joyful as you give thanks to the Father. He has made you fit to share with all his people. He has saved us from the kingdom of darkness. He has brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. Because of what the Son has done, we have been set free. Because of him, all our sins have been forgiven."

In the most fundamental and foundational sense we have been set free from having to live our lives any longer in the identity of SELF, the sin of SELF , or the flesh that seeks the things opposite of the Spirit of God. Our trouble isn't in the power to set us free. Our trouble is in not recognizing that it has already happened. And, when we don't realize that it has happened on the Cross, all else is just a spinning wheel of trying to attain a better human condition.

God sent Jesus to deliver us from sin and self, and ultimately death. Jesus came that we could be born again in the Spirit, live in God's original design for mankind, and to live in who this new creation in Christ Jesus is. In other words We have been set free in the Spirit sense, and we are to learn to walk in these new Spirit shoes, holding on to our Born-Again passport of identity of belonging to a different country. And, it's these Spirit shoes that we walk in on regular dirty streets in the imperfect world we live in.

But, for many of us being set free has nothing to do with being set apart, it's just being given some relief from a problem.
Yes, everyone wants relief. That's a no brainer.

But...let's think about things below the surface.

• Freedom in Christ is about a supernatural act of God that changed our identity.
• When you accepted Christ you were set free from self, and forgiven of your sins.
• At this point in time, Scripture says you became a New Creation.

Think about what this is saying:

• The old creation, human flesh only creation....died, as you came to Christ.
• The new woman, born again, new and alive in the Spirit...was created.
  
• You have been given a new power in which to live in, and a new identity to find confidence in. And your earthly body has now become his temple, a vessel in which he works through.
• All of this gives you a new identity, which gives you a new purpose, and an explanation for living.
  

How? The Holy Spirit sealed you and made a home in you.
Why? Because you now belong to God and are being set apart for His purpose on earth for you.

• We look in the mirror and see the same woman.
• We get faced with temptation and have the same feelings.
• We don't understand on a practical level what this means to be set apart and different at the core. But truth is truth, and this is what God's word says:

2 Cornithians 5:17 New Readers Version
"Any one who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come! It is all from God. He brought us back to himself through Christ's death on the cross."

Now in the Amplified Version:
"Therefore if any person is ingrafted in Christ, the Messiah, he is a new creature altogether, a new creation; the old previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold the fresh and new has come!

The Message:
"The old life is gone, the new life burgeons! Look at it!"

Paul prayed that they would know. Let's begin praying that we would know too.

Today's Prayer
Father,
New Life? My life so often does not feel like there is anything new about it. I often feel trapped in not being able to "get it", not being able to understand what you have for me. And, so I live afraid of not doing this spiritual life "right". Fear has many faces. But one of the faces of fear is the worry that I am not "free" enough, not walking in the Spirit shoes the right way. This fear is not of you. But, to pray to you and ask for wisdom to know how to put those shoes you so freely bought for me on...that is a different kind of freedom. The freedom of learning to embrace the journey, the process. Develop me Jesus, and may I live a life that pleases you.