BECOMING LIKE GOD

THOUGHT:
It should not surprise us that we are meant to become like God because in the beginning we were made in His likeness. We were created in the image of God. Sin changed all that. We have fallen so far from grace. But now God is bringing us back through Jesus Christ.

Becoming like God will obviously involve change, and sometimes that change is painful or difficult. Some of us have more changing to do than others. But don’t forget, humans have been far away from God for a long time, and that distance (away from God) has caused all the harm and pain we humans experience. There is no true pleasure in living far away from God.

God has made instant access available through Jesus. Relationship with God is not like confession once a month, where you save up all your sins to say sorry, waiting for the priest to pardon you and give you confidence that God accepts you. God already accepts you through Jesus.

The moment I behave in a way that is not God-like, that’s the moment I can come back to God and say sorry, be forgiven and remain close in His presence.

Becoming like God is a daily walk of intimacy with the help of His Spirit.

TIME TO THINK:
When was the last time I asked God for His help?
How much have I changed to become like God in the last few months?

PRAYER:
Father, thank you that I can come straight to You to talk about my struggles. I don’t have to wait and I don’t have to go through any other person. Help me become more like You and show me where I can change, no matter small it is. Amen.

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Yes, I am – What about YOU?

Am I Surrounding Myself With The Right People?

The first churches were started by a bunch of common men and women who loved Jesus and loved seeing people meet Jesus. Their success wasn’t based on their position or their training, but on their passion.

Attitudes are contagious. One thing I love about the team I serve with is that being around them and discussing church, ministry and life in general, stirs my passion for what I do.

If you read through the book of Acts, Paul had a team of people who worked with him to try and accomplish a vision that was larger than he could have ever imagined. Any great leader knows you cannot persevere without great people.

An excellent leader will always persevere because they are not trying to do what they are doing alone. They’ve built a team with people who understand they are valued, their opinions are not only welcomed but necessary, and the goal is the advancement of an organization—not the attention of an individual.

You know you have the right team when you don’t just love the work you do, you love the people you do it with. You know you have the right team when problems do not belong to “me” but rather they belong to “we!” You know you have the right team when the people you lead love you and the organization too much to allow team members to make a ridiculous decision.

The right team will refuse to allow personal preferences to dictate decisions and will embrace uncomfortable conversations. The right team will bring people in when making a decision that directly impacts their area, understanding that this does not slow down the process, but speeds it up, because people are way more likely to buy into a decision when they’ve had input.

What’s Next:

Do you have the right people around you? People who would stick with you no matter what the circumstances?
Is there anything about your attitude that you don’t want to pass to your team? What steps can you take this week to set the tone for the people you lead?

Just the two of US!

Whether you’re a pastor’s wife, the children’s ministry director, the administrative assistant or the founder of a non-profit, we can all become guilty of being effective merely by association. We can be tempted to ride our husbands’ or our ministries’ spiritual coattails. But God wants more for us than that.

If you’re in leadership, you’ve probably been guilty of “effective by association” at some point in your walk with Christ. As believers, we are meant to be profoundly effective, profoundly fruit-bearing in our personal lives, not simply because we’re part of a healthy, growing church. Not because we’re married to a pastor. We must all ask ourselves this question: Have I been living life only effective by association?

We can fall into a trap of depending on our husbands’ faith, our pastor’s guidance, or our ministry leader’s vision. The leadership, vision, and faith of those people is of vital importance, but their faith can’t be your faith. You have to know who YOU are in Christ. Just because you’re under great leadership or married to an amazing pastor, their walk with Christ be your walk with Christ. Their relationship with God cannot replace your relationship with God. Your effectiveness cannot be measured by the effectiveness of your organization, but rather what you are doing to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

We love the way our friend, Holly Furtick, Senior Pastor’s Wife at Elevation Church, described it:

In our line of work, it is easy to fall into the trap of depending on my husband’s faith. His vision, his purpose, and dangerously, his relationship with God. It’s a hard line to balance. He is my husband; we are one. His vision should be my vision, his purpose mine. And he is my spiritual leader, his relationship with God directly affects mine. But his relationship with God cannot replace my own relationship with God. I also cannot ride the spiritual coat tails of our church. It is such a privilege to be a part of a move of God. There’s nothing like hearing the testimonies and seeing the hands raised (yes, I peek). But if I don’t allow God to speak to me each week, change me, seeing God move in others will only last me so long.

Before you get in the truck: Today, do something – anything – that is only about Jesus and you. You and Jesus. That’s It.

John 15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

I AM…

Let’s go back to the basics. Back to the very reason you are serving God in your role. Take a moment, and let this question roll around in the corners of your mind:

Am I God commissioned?

Some of you feel strongly called to leadership and ministry. You can remember the details and circumstances preceding the acceptance of God’s call on your life. Others find yourselves in leadership by default. You married an accountant turned pastor and are now knee deep in leadership you never envisioned. Maybe you said you’d never marry someone in ministry, yet here you are … leading by default. Some knew you were marrying into a life of ministry. You were excited about your role as a pastor’s wife. However, you’re well aware you don’t possess the gift of leadership, yet you’re married to a very gifted leader. You find yourself in a position of leadership and influence into people’s lives. You feel misplaced and confused by what ministry looks like for you.

No matter how you found yourself in your role, we believe you were God commissioned.

None of us were called into ministry by popular vote. Take a stroll through our Facebook feeds or Google our names or ministries and you’ll find people not sending their votes our way. Whether they are giving your church a one star rating online, spreading gossip about your family, or launching a full-scale attack campaign, we are crystal clear that popular vote didn’t get us where we are today.

We didn’t jump into ministry by our own appointment. We could fill journals with lists of personal weaknesses and could easily drum up one hundred and one shortcomings. We didn’t appoint ourselves to these roles because we know us. We doubt ourselves. And if we are gut-level honest, we doubt God’s ability to use us.

Not by popular vote. Not by our own appointment. We are God commissioned. He chose us for these positions. He carefully placed us as pastors’ wives, ministry leaders, and influencers. If He commissions us, then He will surely equip us.

There is incredible joy found in the calling that comes directly from Jesus. Hang on to that today.

Before you get in the truck: Take time today to praise God for His calling on your life. Soak in the truth that you are God-commissioned.

Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead

Praise God OnPurpose!

Overwhelmed?

At the end of a long day and a long ministry week, a Texas pastor’s wife finished dinner with her family and hopped in her truck heading to Walmart. The florescent lights, smiley-faced price-cuts, and kind front door greeters of that Walmart were the last to see her that Friday night. She disappeared. Two days later, she was found in a motel in Fort Worth.

Her husband issued the following statement after the return of his wife: “My wife became overwhelmed from the pressures we carry for so many. This was my failing for paying so much attention to the needs of others and not noticing the signals in my own home.”

And our hearts were broken for her. Broken because we, too, had been overwhelmed by the expectations of many, and criticism had worn us paper thin. Broken because loneliness had gnawed away at us, and because we were weary of every-watchful eyes. Broken because, while we had never hopped in the truck, we had certainly had plenty of moments in our years of ministry that some time of escape had sounded like a great option. Broken.

Being a pastor’s wife or a woman in leadership is a privilege and honor. But let’s be honest for a moment, there are so many challenges that can suck the joy right out of our ministry calling. So many difficulties that, if we don’t learn how to navigate them well, they will make us want to hop in the truck and escape.

Over the next ten days, we are going to look at some of the joy stealers we face when we are in ministry. We will have daily action steps that will move us closer to the joy God holds out for us in this calling and move us further from those trucks that tempt us to jump on in and escape.

Before you get in the truck: Evaluate where you are right now. Are you lacking joy? Are you on the verge of a breakdown? Ask God to breathe new life into your soul as you take this journey with us.

Matthew 11: 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Leading OnPurpose!