Grace Part II: Who Needs a Savior Anyway?

Justification (as Google defines it):

1.the action of showing something to be right or reasonable.

good reason for something that exists or has been done.plural noun: justifications "there is no justification for an increase in charges" synonyms: grounds, reason, basis, rationale, premise, rationalization,vindication,explanation; More defense, argument, apologia, apology, case "there's no justification for their rudeness"

2.Theology the action of declaring or making righteous in the sight of God.

Isn't it odd that justification is both the one thing that keeps us from a meaningful relationship with God AND the one thing that makes us right with God?

We've all had conversations with someone or even ourselves where we rationalize or justify an action, comment, thought, attitude, or habit that we know is not right. We have talked ourselves into believing that our sin is justified. Could it be possible we may even know someone who truly believes he or she has never sinned? With the ways of the world so focused on satisfying self and immediate gratification, it is not surprising that one could think this way.

Romans 3:10 NLT states,“No one is righteous—not even one. So, how do we open the door to this conversation without it turning into an awkward condemnation? How do we help them and ourselves to see that we are all in need of a savior over and over again?

First, name the problem by sharing personal stories of your own struggles with sin and what you are doing about it. Help them to see that even followers of Jesus fall victim to sin and continually need a Savior. Sin is not just the bad things we do, but it is an inherent part of who we are. We should paint the picture that any person in the middle of difficult circumstances, when left to his or her own devices, is likely to sin. We can't help it. But, we as Christians know better and have tools and options to assist us when we find ourselves in the midst of those circumstances. We can use things such as prayer, other Christians, and more, but sometimes we choose not to use them and instead choose to take the path of least resistance - sin. By our own admittance of personal sin, we put a face and a reality to sin which allows those who don't know Jesus recognize it.

Jeremiah 17:9 MSG says, “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out."

Second, name the solution by sharing how we are made right in God's sight as we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. Jesus justified us to God. Emphasize that we are all saved in the same way no matter who we are or what we have done. Romans 3:21-24 MSG tells us that God has set things right. It says, "But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ." It is by grace that we are made clean.

Finally, share how to accept God's offer for justification through Jesus Christ. Acts 3:19 NLV says, "Now turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins." To know Jesus Christ personally and to have our sins forgiven, we must first admit that we are sinners who are separated from God. We must believe that we cannot save ourselves and there is no rationalizing our sin. Our only hope is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth to die for our sins. But, we cannot stop there. We also need to confess our sins and turn away from them. We must ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. He will then help us to change, over time, from the inside out.

For some, maybe even many, having the courage to share these three points will be a scary endeavor. Push yourself to follow up with a note or an email to ask if he or she wants to hear more. We may even have the opportunity to pray with our friend. Listen to God's leading and be sensitive to their body language keeping in mind that some people will need more time than others to see the truth.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for being a forgiving God. Thank you for loving us enough to send your Son to die for our sins. Thank you for this gift, the grace, You show in the person of Jesus. Help us to seek you every day at every turn instead of "trying" to lean on our own thinking. We recognize that our nature is to take the easy way out and let our emotions run our decision making. We know in our hearts and minds that Jesus is the only way to righteousness. Give us the courage to share the truth with our friends who don't know you in a way that it will be received. It is in the strong name of Jesus our Lord and Savior, we pray...Amen.

Grace Part I: Witnessing to Spock or Sheldon

Do you know a co-worker or family member who has a hard time accepting the good news of salvation by faith? Have you tried to subtly share your story only to find yourself seemingly speaking a foreign language? Our hearts ache when those who we care about and work with struggle to find peace. They ache even more so when they question us as we try to help them find the answers they seek. Many of our logical friends who share qualities with the character Spock from "Star Trek" or are similar to Sheldon of the "Big Bang Theory", have "tried" to make sense of religion, only to become more frustrated and more confident that religion is all a hoax. It's only purpose to keep society in line and to help those who need it to feel good about themselves. Some have even called the bible a nice little story. Interestingly enough, they still know that something is missing. What is it that is being missed in how we share the good news? How can the powerful,living Word of God be silent to some, yet it is a comfort and guide for others? We can continue to question, but the real message we have to convince them of is that "it" is about a relationship and not about religion. It is about a friendship with a person unseen.



Even Jesus himself faced this same challenge as he spoke to Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, in John 3:10-12 MSG, Jesus said, “You’re a respected teacher of Israel and you don’t know these basics? Listen carefully. I’m speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God?"

So how do we simplify and bring to life the amazing relationship available to others through Jesus Christ? One of the keys to helping our logical friends make sense of it all lies in getting them to first believe that they, alone, cannot satisfy the feeling of need or the longing for something more, indefinitely. Self-sufficiency will do them no good in this arena. They must comprehend the concept of grace. Our practical friends want to know how to apply our words in their lives. It needs to make sense to them. Many of them are used to having achieved success by following a series of steps, being dedicated, and working very hard. Grace is a foreign concept for them.

Google defines grace, in Christian belief, as the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. What does this mean? How can we translate this into everyday words for our friends and relate it to something they can understand right now?

First, they have to know that there is nothing they can do to "get" grace. It is simply God’s favor that is unearned, undeserved and not repayable. They need to stop trying, stop the madness of working hard to earn it; and just stop. Ephesians 2:7-10 MSG, states, "Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing." God's grace is a special gift. The fact that we can do nothing of our own effort to earn grace or lose grace is a source of comfort and hope. It is a gift that God gave us through His son, Jesus.

Second, they have to understand that every strategy they have ever used before to complete something well, frankly, will not work for filling this particular void. Practical people can be hard-headed, creatures of habit. Taking this leap of faith by accepting God's grace is unnatural, scary, and feels totally out of control. It's like jumping out of an airplane and enjoying the freefall portion of the jump. Titus 3:4-7 CEV says, "God our Savior showed us how good and kind he is. He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done. God washed us by the power of the Holy Spirit. He gave us new birth and a fresh beginning. God sent Jesus Christ our Savior to give us his Spirit. Jesus treated us much better than we deserve. He made us acceptable to God and gave us the hope of eternal life."

Third, they must know that the rules of religion are man's and not God's. Many who were not raised in the church do not have a true understanding of the purpose of the Old Testament laws. Their purpose was to show us how totally incapable we are, as humans, to keep them. They were supposed to point us to the person of Jesus Christ as our Savior. Unfortunately many of today's churches still perpetuate this thinking by placing emphasis on rules and guidelines or do's and don'ts. Instead of planting seeds and harvesting them for the Kingdom, they drive people away by making themselves and others look like hypocrites. No one can perfectly keep the laws of the Old Testament except Jesus, himself. So, incredulously, even many churches and congregations miss the point and therefore miss the mark! Romans 3:20-24 NLT tells us that Christ took our punishment. It says, "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins."

Finally, God does not expect perfection. In fact, he expects us to fall short. Often, we have trouble accepting this because we operate under a system of conditions in most of our interactions with others, i.e. if he does this...I will do this....If she does that....I will not do this.  God expects that we admit our shortcomings and attempt to do something about it by asking for forgiveness and legitimately striving to not make the same mistake again. But, once forgiveness is accepted the slate is wiped clean in His eyes. Psalm 32:5 says, Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. He already knows the sins of our past and future. There is nothing we can do that will surprise God. Yet, he still loves and accepts us with all our imperfections. There is no sin so great that we cannot come back to God.

Dear Almighty Father,

The four points above are crosswise with our current world culture and are hard for us to accept as reality. Help us to take the leap of faith by accepting your grace and go one step further by putting grace into words for all to understand. Help us take the "religion" out of it for those we work with and put the focus on the real relationship with your Son, Jesus Christ. It is in the Holy Name of Jesus, we pray...Amen.

Dodging Bullets Sent by the Enemy

Have you ever experienced a period of time at work where everything seemed to be going well? The ideas were flowing, our ability to influence others seemed vast, conflicts were resolved fairly simply, and wow, we were making a real difference! Sometimes this season can last for weeks or months, but inevitably Satan notices the impact we are having and sets his mind to derailing our efforts. The next thing we know, the tide has turned. One by one, Satan's fiery darts fly our way in multiple forms challenging us to give up for one reason or another. Perhaps, you get a physical ailment...a migraine, a simple cold, or worse; you receive anonymous negative feedback from a client or customer full of untruths about your work and attacks on your character; or maybe even an incident requires you to make a tough decision that you know will be unpopular. At that point, many of us are left asking ourselves, "What happened? Who ripped the rug out from under me?"

Satan specializes in sending specific barriers and trials our way that will take our breath away and are intended to stop our forward progress for God's Kingdom. How are we as Christians to respond when Satan's darts make direct contact? What can we do to keep proper perspective, pick ourselves up, and keep working to share what is good, right, and true?

First, turn your persecutors over to God. This is easier said than done, yet it is what we must do. Whether we know the identity of our attacker or not, we are to let God take care of him or her in His way. In Psalm 64, King David says, 1-2 "Lord, listen to my complaint: Oh, preserve my life from the conspiracy of these wicked men, these gangs of criminals. 3 They cut me down with sharpened tongues; they aim their bitter words like arrows straight at my heart. 4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent. Suddenly the deed is done, yet they are not afraid. 5 They encourage each other to do evil. They meet in secret to set their traps. “He will never notice them here,” they say. 6 They keep a sharp lookout for opportunities of crime. They spend long hours with all their endless evil thoughts and plans.[a]7 But God himself will shoot them down. Suddenly his arrow will pierce them. 8 They will stagger backward, destroyed by those they spoke against. All who see it happening will scoff at them. 9 Then everyone shall stand in awe and confess the greatness of the miracles of God; at last they will realize what amazing things he does. 10 And the godly shall rejoice in the Lord, and trust and praise him."


Second, stay prayerfully focused on doing God's will. In Romans 15:14-16, Paul emphasizes how important our work in sharing the gospel and connecting others to God is. He says, "Personally, I’ve been completely satisfied with who you are and what you are doing. You seem to me to be well-motivated and well-instructed, quite capable of guiding and advising one another. So, my dear friends, don’t take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It’s not criticism. I’m simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me, this priestly and gospel work of serving the spiritual needs of the non-Jewish outsiders so they can be presented as an acceptable offering to God, made whole and holy by God’s Holy Spirit."

There will always be people who say and do things that hurt. They may not even know at the time that they are in fact are the very vehicle that Satan is using to discourage us. Our best course of action is to be prayerful. Psalm 37:7 Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him. Don’t bother with those who climb the ladder, who elbow their way to the top.



Psalm 46 TLB, we are reminded that...God is our refuge and strength, a tested help in times of trouble. 2 And so we need not fear even if the world blows up and the mountains crumble into the sea. 3 Let the oceans roar and foam; let the mountains tremble! Nothing in our world is stable or inherently safe. We can find shelter and rest in the Lord. Even when everything else is wobbly and unclear, our faith in God will never be.

The third action we should take is to be boldly confident in God's promises. Psalm 91:9-16 NIV states, "If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he[a] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” God gives us absolute assurance that He will rescue those who love Him. This gives us the promise that when people and circumstances turn against us, God is for us.

Furthermore, in Ephesians 6:10-13 NIV we are reminded to take full advantage of The Armor of God. Verse 10 says, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Whether you are comforted by singing your favorite Christian songs or by quietly reading passages that encourage you, run to God and fellow Christians for proper perspective.

Dear Almighty Father,

We place our lives and work before you. We pray that you bless our words, decisions, actions and use them to connect others to You. Protect us from the devil's darts. Help us to view setbacks and barriers properly knowing that trials often come in response to the good work we have done. Help us to pray for those who grieve us and give them over to You. Teach us to rely on your promises and stand fortified by You and Your word as we push forward. It is in the Powerful Name of Jesus Christ we pray....Amen.

Fishing for Men, Women, and Children at Work

How do you win others over for God's Kingdom at work? Most of us generally try to be a good example of grace, forgiveness, patience, humbleness, and other positive character traits in order for our co-workers to possibly notice God's Spirit within us. We may even verbally thank God or tell a co-worker that we are praying for him or her. Who is going to get upset with us when we offer to pray for them? We might talk about the sermon we heard at church and how it affected our thinking. Is that enough? Is that what God had in mind for us when he said “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matt 28:19)?

Have you allowed yourself to think deeply about the message you send in your words and actions each day? Most of us have not, because we get caught up in "doing" the daily responsibilities of the jobs, and when we do take a moment, fear can often take hold and paralyze us into inaction.

We, as believers, are called to take some risks so that God’s Kingdom may grow! Do you ever have a great idea only to talk yourself out of it? Maybe it will fail; maybe people will laugh at me; what will everyone think? Often our fear gets in the way of doing our best work. But God wants us to go forth boldly, sometimes taking a risk, so that we may accomplish great things for Him. Yes, sometimes we’ll get it wrong and there may be a hard lesson to learn. But we will learn– and eventually great things will happen as result of our courage and persistence!

In Psalm 31:24 MSG, we are called to...Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon. So, what can we do about it? Matthew 13:23 MSG says, The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. We cannot afford to wait quietly in the wings to let others do the work. God’s Kingdom won’t grow unless we start taking some risks! We are "good earth". How do we do that successfully?

Be alert and aware of your word choice and tone of voice. In Colossians 4:5-6 MSG we are called to ... Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

Be sensitive to God's leading and bold in carrying it out even when it involves risk. Psalm 119:41-48, says Let your love, God, shape my life with salvation, exactly as you promised; Then I’ll be able to stand up to mockery because I trusted your Word. Don’t ever deprive me of truth, not ever— your commandments are what I depend on. Oh, I’ll guard with my life what you’ve revealed to me, guard it now, guard it ever; And I’ll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom; Then I’ll tell the world what I find, speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed. I cherish your commandments—oh, how I love them!— relishing every fragment of your counsel.

Being bold does not mean being reckless. It means trusting in God's strength to express our effort in the manner it will be received best. Psalm 21:13 emphasizes, Show your strength, God, so no one can miss it. We are out singing the good news!

Matthew 5:10 says, You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

Be humble in your deeds giving credit to God and not yourself. In Matthew 6:1-4 MSG we are advised, Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘play actors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Dear Almighty Father,

Fill us with your strength and confidence to win others over for the Kingdom. Give us the words and direct our actions to help others be convinced of your love, grace, and life giving ways. Let us be tools you use to share the good news of salvation and grace through Jesus Christ. We love you and thank you for the sacrifice of your Son. It is in the powerful name of Jesus we pray...Amen.

Opportunities in Disguise: Interruption, Disagreement, & Contention

What do you say? Is it "It's Monday!" or "It's Monday...meh." The week starts afresh and new and we have a choice as to which attitude we take with us. For some, a quick look at the calendar and the appointments, meetings, and tasks within in it will direct our feelings and attitude toward the week ahead. Do you have a meeting with an unhappy parent or client? Do you have an important presentation to make? Do you have a low key week with nothing too exciting planned?

Regardless of what the calendar reads, we never know exactly what is coming around the corner for us at work. In fact, on days where very little is planned out of the ordinary, the personal to-do list usually goes out the window with unplanned, unforeseen challenges. Do you get grumpy when pulled away from the plan? Maybe you sigh with frustration at the interruption. Our outward responses send clear messages about us. What do your responses say about you?

Quite honestly for many, the natural response to unknown and possibly unpleasant challenges at work is to be angry, frustrated, and short; to anticipate the week or the next moment with dread, fear, and pessimism. The truth is that we have to discipline ourselves to develop habits to express what God has done in us as Christians. Remember who you represent at work, Team Jesus, Team-Me, or Team No One (See 10/27's blog). Our words and actions not only show who we represent but also act as an expression of our new selves and our relationship with Jesus. So, how can we express what God has done in us as we face contention, disagreements, and disagreeable people and situations? Below are three ways we can find joy in the disagreeable.

Enthusiastically allow the life of Jesus to manifest itself in you. No matter how disagreeable a situation or person may be, say – “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this matter,” and invite Jesus to provide the words, thoughts, direction, and possibly even a new outlook. Galatians 5:22-24 MSG says, But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

Look forward to challenges and accept them joyfully. James 1:2-4 MSG states, Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. Firmly believe that it is one thing to choose the disagreeable, and another thing to go into the disagreeable by God’s engineering. If God puts you there, He is amply sufficient.

View challenges as opportunities to show your faith under pressure. In times of blessing it is easy to demonstrate love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control all on our own, apart from Jesus. But in times of sorrow, challenge, and trial, folks expect anger, bitterness, and strife. Express Christ by responding differently with the fruits of the spirit. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 MSG says, If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!


Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ. We thank you that we can express His life through us. We thank you for the opportunities to show others what You have done in transforming us to be more like You. Help us to see interruptions, disagreement, and contention as opportunities to express what Jesus has done in our lives. In Jesus's Holy Name we pray....Amen.

Reasoning or Arguing: What’s better?

Do you have a difference of opinion with a co-worker or a reoccurring challenge with another department at work? Maybe it is a difference in how to approach or solve a problem. Maybe it is how to address a client or a student. Whether you are in the role of leader or teammate, soft skills are extremely important to your ability to communicate your thought process effectively, even when we might be angry, and have a positive outcome. Below are some wise words written by George Whitten that give credence to using your emotional intelligence to manage workplace minefields.

Softer is better!

Thursday, March 22, 2012 (10:13 am) by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.

How often, in all the issues we have to deal with talking with people, we know or we feel we are right; our idea, our position, our interpretation is it, and we're ready to fight for it. Forget the fact that we may not be, or that there might be something we're completely ignorant of. The truth is that sometimes we know better, and sometimes we don't. But the scripture teaches us, and I've learned from experience (most of the time), that arguing, forcefulness, and violence in my own voice are almost guaranteed to start a futile and ugly war of words. People are naturally defensive, and often, naturally offensive.

But I can be the one to break the pattern…with a gentle answer. If my heart attitude is “Come, let us reason together, hear each other out, respect each other, speak softly, and trust the Lord for the outcome", and my tone of voice carries that spirit, I can actually help the other person to calm down and prevent a war. The fruit of the spirit is…..self control. What a blessing!

Do you want to start a fight…..or finish one? Give a gentle answer today and see what the Lord does!

How can we apply the lesson in Proverbs 15:1 and implement Mr. Whitten's words at work? So often we tell ourselves that if we can just get "it" out, our emotion, that we will feel better even if it comes at the expense of a relationship or trust of a coworker. But if we are honest with ourselves, hurting a working relationship with an emotional, harsh or angry outburst, can be of very little benefit to us. But, sometimes the outburst just creeps up on us and flies out of our mouths before we know it. The key is to prepare your mind and heart before you get to work each day. Below are three actions you can take to help you in working through a difficult conversation.



Praying for the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts and minds even when we don't know what we need specifically. Romans 8:26-28 MSG says, Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. We can never truly know the thoughts of others, but God does. He will help us form value added words and thoughts if we let Him.

Ask Jesus to give you the ability to hold your responses captive before letting them out. Give yourself time to wisely consider your words and run them through your filter before speaking. 1 Peter 3:8-12 MSG says, Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

Whoever wants to embrace life
and see the day fill up with good,
Here’s what you do:
Say nothing evil or hurtful;
Snub evil and cultivate good;
run after peace for all you’re worth.
God looks on all this with approval,
listening and responding well to what he’s asked;
But he turns his back
on those who do evil things.

Trust Jesus to provide you with His words and not your own. Expect His response and provision. Matthew 10:19-20 says, And don’t worry about what you’ll say or how you’ll say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We pray for you to help us choose to reason rather than fight if at all possible. We pray for the ability to be soft even when we don't feel like it. Help us to hold our fleshly thoughts and attitude captive and allow your attitude and words to take over when we are weak and tired. Fortify our faith in You that You will provide all that we need when we need it. It's in Jesus's all powerful name we pray...Amen.

Who Do You Represent at Work... Team Jesus... Team You....Team No One?

Are we glorifying God at work every day? Most of us go to work each day and are not fortunate enough to work for a company, outside of a religious organization, whose number one core value is to honor God in all we do. There are a few companies out there who live out this value, but they seem few and far between. Just because we may not work in one of those places doesn't mean that we can't work for Team Jesus in our own workplace. Unfortunately, most of us feel the restriction of workplace etiquette, policy, peer pressure, or the even the law that requires us to keep any overt conversations or demonstrations of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ hidden. Regrettably, sin can and does occur inside the workplaces of the nation and the world every day, yet it still doesn’t mean you have to leave God at home. God is allowed at work. But, the only way He can be there is if you take Him there inside of you—allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you in all you think, say, and do.

We can be the workers Matthew spoke of in Matthew 9:37-38(NLT)He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” How do we walk the line confidently representing Team Jesus with a clear conscience that we are not breaking any rules of authority?

In a survey given to those attending training sessions for a Billy Graham crusade in Detroit, attendees were asked to answer this question by checking one of the following answers. "What is your greatest hindrance in witnessing?" 0% said they don't care. 9% said they were too busy to remember to do it. 12% said their own lives were not speaking as they should. 28% felt the lack of real information to share and 51% feared the reactions of those with whom they might share. What would we check?



There are real, practical, subtle and not so subtle ways to work for Jesus in the field, our work place, and in every aspect of our lives. The hard part of witnessing is that we have to choose to do it not letting any of our fears or hindrances get in the way. Below are three ways that you can represent Team Jesus in your everyday life, especially in the workplace. In doing so you will show others what God is like.

Loving others unconditionally. In Romans 13:8-10 MSG, Paul says, "Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love. Translating scripture into workplace terms...don't be a taker; give more than you take; don't be a credit stealer; be a teammate giving credit where it is due; don't want something you haven't worked for; instead inquire, learn, study, model, do, and then good will come to you. To sum it up, demonstrate good character by putting others in front of yourself.

Acting intentionally. Romans 13:11-14 MSG says, "But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!" Translation...Wake up each morning asking God to fill you, to choose your words, your tone, your to-do items. Give up control of your calendar by intentionally giving God control.

Being a light to others. Proverbs 4:18-19 MSG says The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine. But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker— travelers can’t see a thing; they fall flat on their faces.

Likewise, Matthew 5:14-16 MSG says “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.


Finally, 2 Corinthians 4:5-6 MSG says Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. Translation...We make several choices daily, so what would happen if we choose to be a light? Think about it. Have you ever known someone whose work seems golden? His or her witness is so bright. Others are drawn to him or her. No matter what he or she takes on, it turns out beautifully every time. His or her attitude is always positive, even when a mistake is made. What do you think causes all this? It happens because he or she chooses the attitude with which he or she approaches everything. He or she chooses to be a light in every situation and interaction that comes his or her way. We can each make that choice and brighten our workplace with Jesus's light within us.

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we wake up each morning help us to understand that we represent Jesus to the world no matter where we are. Fill us with the Holy Spirit to remove any fear or doubt in our role. Let each one of us confidently represent Team Jesus in our workplace. Help us to take Jesus to work with us every day on the inside letting Him be in control of our every action. May the light of Jesus's grace and love show through us to our colleagues, bosses, friends, customers, or students through our words, work, and interactions. It is in Jesus's Holy Name we pray...Amen.

Turn Your Fear Into Faith

Do you ever look at the week ahead and just want to say, "No thank you. I'm good. I'll pass."? Is your calendar or to do list filled with appointments, important meetings, sensitive conversations, emotionally charged decisions, or commitments that you just rather not have? Just thinking about all that has to be done makes us tired. Sometimes our natural response is to avoid, but why do we avoid? Other times we become paralyzed with inaction.

If we look deeply within and are honest with ourselves, we see we often avoid situations or tasks because we fear something. Many of us fear failure, rejection, being misunderstood, or maligned especially when it is our job or lifework that calls us to be put in such situations. We often associate our job performance with our personal value and measure our self-worth by how others view our ability to do our jobs which makes our busy calendars that much more weighty.

So, how do we overcome the natural urge to hide and avoid the trials we face?



Turn fear into faith. God calls us to pull from His strength and not rely on our own in 2 Timothy 1:7...God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. Debilitating fear is not from the Lord. We can call upon the Holy Spirit to give us the power to face our fears, overcome our foes, the love to overcome evil with good, and the discipline to persevere through the challenges we face. We have been given the power to turn fear into faith. We have to choose to do it.


Find courage in God by immersing in the Word. We learn in Romans 10:17, Faith comes from listening to the message of good news - the Good News about Christ. When we fill our minds with the promises of God, God fills our lives with the provisions we need. Doubt erodes our confidence, but God's promises inspire faith and hope. When we proceed with faith and hope, each task on our to do list is made lighter. Whether we quietly quote meaningful scripture in our own heads or take a moment to pray with fellow co-worker, we will be filled with God's confidence. In Isaiah 41:10 we are directed...Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Courage comes from trusting in the presence of God. Fear comes from feeling alone against a threat. God promises us that we are never alone. Meditate on His presence and not the problem.

Keep integrity in tact through honesty. When we worry about what others will think, we become ineffective. Many may choose to bend instead of standing strong when facing pressure. In 1 Peter 2:12 we are told ...Be careful how you live among your unbelieving neighbors. Even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will believe and give honor to God when he comes to judge the world. Integrity keeps us from the trap of dishonesty and all the destruction that can result from taking an easier path. God has given us the ability to lead lives that honor Him. His word gives us understanding, discernment, and the motivation to choose the way of integrity. Choosing to act with integrity is not easy, and it may not bring immediate rewards, but we can be certain that it will one day be recognized. So, even when our decisions or actions are not popular or immediately understood, we can be confident that we have done what is pleasing to God.

Rest in God's strength and not on your own strength. King David says in 1 Chronicles 28:20, Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged by the size of the task, for the Lord God, my God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Challenges that threaten us are the tools God uses to strengthen and mature us. As we endure, we gain greater wisdom, integrity, and the courage to face whatever comes our way. So, instead of being discouraged by the size of the task, we should be encouraged by the immense power of God. Nothing is too small for God. In Psalm 37:5 we are told... Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and he will help you. When we bring Him in the loop of our concerns and confide in Him, He commits infinite resources to us.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please helps us as we face work weeks that are full of weighty issues and important interactions. Help us to rely not on ourselves, but to fully place our burdens on You. Fortify us to stay strong and stand firm in doing what is good, right, and true even when it is not popular or understood. Guide our service and our work to bravely face each challenge with a joy and anticipation of your power and strength. Let us not have a fearful spirit. Instead fill us with a God Confidence to have each conversation or make each decision with courage. Make our work light as we share it with you. It is in your most awesome name we pray...Amen.

Providing Hope for the Hurting

Every day we come in contact with hurting people. For some, the hurt doesn’t always show on the outside. Some people wear a mask to cover the invisible pain that exists just beneath the surface of their lives. It may be our neighbor, a member of our family, a co-worker, or maybe even the student sitting in our classroom. Instead of showing us their hurt, they may show a variety of outward actions that take our eyes off their pain and focuses us instead on their behaviors... they may project anger, disinterest, boredom, passive aggression, exhaustion, fear, task avoidance, self-harming, bad decision-making, or any combination of these and more. Whether the pain manifests itself outwardly or not makes it no less real for the person experiencing it.

Satan loves to tell us that we are victims who have no power to resist sin. But, Jesus gives us hope and the ability to have peace regardless of our current situation. How can we help others to rise above current circumstances, family situations, current environments, or heredity to accept responsibility and find hope? We have to be Jesus-in-skin for hurting people. Just how can we do this? We can...



Be persistent and consistent in showing grace. Psalm 34:18 says the Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit. Though folks push us away and act out in every possible way to make us believe they are bad or hardened, underneath the crust is a person who desperately wants to be understood. Ask him or her to explain the emotions he or she is feeling instead of showing them in order to uncover root causes and possible, productive solutions.

Model and teach positive problem-solving. Psalm 145:14 says the Lord helps the fallen and lifts up those bent beneath their loads. It would be easy to respond to anger with anger...disinterest with disinterest, wouldn't it? But, we are called to help one another to own our failures and circumstances and rise above them. We are not called to fix problems for others, but we are to love others through their trials and hardships and in doing so we are Jesus-in-skin.

Forgive a momentary backslide. All of us fall short of perfection. Each of us sins. Some of us are lucky enough to have our sins be of a more hidden nature. Because we are of the flesh for now and are given grace in Jesus, we must do the same. We are reminded in Lamentations 3:23 Great is His faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. We all long for a clean slate and a chance to begin again. Every day God gives us grace and love so we are freed from the burdens of sin and failure. Let us give the same.

Use your words to be the arms of Jesus. Our verbal responses have the potential to bury someone in despair or to provide hope. So many hurt people have no hope. They may believe that their whole life is a mistake and many around them react in such a way as to prove it to them. They wish they were never born or wonder why they were born into a particular circumstance? We have to remind them that they were known before they were ever conceived and that God purposefully made them. Psalm 139: 13 - 16 says Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb.I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out,you know every bone in my body;You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day. Remind the hurting that they are wonderfully and intentionally made.

Be present. Sometimes the behaviors we see from others are so foreign to our way of thinking that we are fearful of getting involved. Our first instinct is to let someone else handle it. But in John 16:33 we are told, Don't be afraid, for I am always with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Shouldn't we take a risk to help others learn of the love of Jesus?

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please help us to love those who hurt around us. Help us to see through the outward behaviors and ugliness designed to push us away. May the Holy Spirit give us discernment to see what You see. Give us the courage to show grace and love toward those who need it. Give us the right words to provide comfort and lead others to You. In Jesus Wonderful and Powerful name we pray....Amen.

Finding Comfort in Uncomfortable Conversations

Ephesians 4:25 What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself. The Message (MSG)

We've all heard of the different types of lying. Wikipedia defines a lie as one the following:
A lie is a false statement to a person or group made by another person or group who knows it is not the whole truth, intentionally.
- A barefaced (or bald-faced) lie is one that is obviously a lie to those hearing it.
- A Big Lie is a lie which attempts to trick the victim into believing something major which will likely be contradicted by some information the victim already possesses, or by their common sense.
- To bluff is to pretend to have a capability or intention one does not actually possess.
- The illusion is a lie often used to make the audience believe that one knows far more about the topic by feigning total certainty or making probable predictions.
- An emergency lie is a strategic lie told when the truth may not be told because, for example, harm to a third party would result.
- An exaggeration (or hyperbole) occurs when the most fundamental aspects of a statement are true, but only to a limited extent.
- A fabrication is a lie told when someone submits a statement as truth, without knowing for certain whether or not it actually is true.
- A half-truth is a deceptive statement that includes some element of truth. The statement might be partly true, the statement may be totally true but only part of the whole truth, or it may employ some deceptive element, such as improper punctuation, or double meaning, especially if the intent is to deceive, evade, blame, or misrepresent the truth.
- An honest lie (or confabulation) is defined by verbal statements or actions that inaccurately describe history, background, and present situations.

Hummmmn...what does all this about lies have to do with us? Well, the purpose in defining the types of lies is to illustrate that there are different motives for someone who lies. Some are for personal gain of some sort and some are to save the feelings of another. Think about the scenarios below:

We have all been in "meeting after the meeting, lesson, or presentation" with colleagues, supervisors, friends, or students, and have one of them ask us, "What did you think?" It's obvious that he or she wants your opinion of his or her performance. Uh oh! Panic. What do we do when we think something could have gone better? Do I tell him or her not?

Let's flip the situation...We are happily engaged in a conversation about something we've proudly participated in i.e. a lesson, a presentation, or an important meeting, only to be taken a back when someone has some criticism or "feedback" for us?

OR, We are sitting in a committee meeting, sales meeting, or professional learning community meeting discussing the results of some portion of our jobs. We notice that our numbers or data stand out in either a good way or not. It could be our sales numbers, our student achievement on a common assessment, work production data, or even the customer satisfaction surveys that are being compared with others. We fully understand that the purpose of these meetings is for accountability, professional learning, and mining best practices from one another. Do we choose to gloat and celebrate our good results; or do we humbly ask questions and share our formula? If we find ourselves in the bottom of a particular performance, do we choose to clam up, pout, and blame circumstances if our data isn't where it should be? Maybe we decide to be choose an attitude of "Wow, this is not what we want. What can we do to get better?"

In each of these everyday scenarios, we have a decision to make whether we are on the giving or receiving end of the feedback and discussion. There in the moment, we have just seconds to decide how to respond.



In the book of James 3:1, James says "...we who teach will be judged more strictly." Teachers therefore need to be challenged to guard their words and examine their lives. A teacher can be defined literally as an educator of students or in a broader sense it could be defined as any leader who provides training and leadership for others. The leader will be judged more strictly as he or she has great influence.

So when the time comes for us to serve in a role that requires us to give feedback we can do one of the following:
- Take the easy way out. Tell him or her what she or he wants to hear. Feed into excuses. Save the feelings of the other person, but fail to help him or her grow and improve. Provide a lie of sorts.
- Speak from the heart with love. Prayerfully choose your words and honestly, truthfully, yet gently, speak from your heart. Offer real suggestions and new ways of thinking or doing.

As the receiver of feedback we can do one of the following:
- Become defensive and make excuses. This is a common first reaction for many. If we let our knee-jerk reaction prevail, people may give up on telling us truth or trying to help us get better. They may conclude that we are incapable of change, growth, and improvement. But is this what we really want?
- Listen with a spirit of openness and humbly accept the feedback for what it is. If we have a friend or colleague who cares enough to tell us the difficult truth, shouldn't we listen? We all need to own the fact that we are of the flesh and are imperfect. We commonly lose sight of our vision or become tired and need reminders to be the best we can be. We can all get very comfortable in being “average” and living life in the land of comfort, but wouldn’t it be great if we could strive to be “awesome” instead? We will only become our best we are willing to open our hearts and minds to the words of others and accept that we all have room for growth. Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of the fool is right in his own eye, but a wise man listens to advice.”

Dear Heavenly Father,

We pray for our attitude and hearts to be open to the giving and receiving of honest feedback in all of our relationships at work or at home. Help us to be courageous and know that the truth is always better than a lie. Give us the right words for difficult conversations so they will be heard in a way that is helpful to the receiver. Open our hearts to be humble when we are in the position of receiving feedback that may be hard to hear or even hurtful. Help us to remember that we can always get better and to appreciate the brave person who cared enough to tell us what we needed to hear to become the best we can be. Help us to always find comfort in the truth. In Jesus' powerful name we pray....Amen.

Making a Daily Sacrifice of Self

When you work with people, especially in a service industry, each day requires personal sacrifice. Teachers, parents, sales people, managers, and the like must measure their words and actions carefully in order to produce a positive influence upon those they serve. When you give into a grumpy mood and a let a quick, sharp, careless word slip, months of effective work can be lost. Unresolved conflict with coworkers, parents, supervisors, or students can turn your work place into a battle ground of sorts. Even an act of unintentional indifference can derail a working relationship by sending a message of unimportance. A true follower of Jesus does not put personal needs ahead of others’ needs. They must think before they act; they must purposely "act" rather than "react." They must be okay with rigorous dialogue, appropriate challenge, and uncomfortable conversations. This requires personal sacrifice. So,I give you two parallels of Romans 12:1-2. Each translation gives insight that may prove helpful to making personal meaning when considering what it means to be a living sacrifice.

Romans 12:1 from The Message (MSG)
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1-2 New Living Translation (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Followers of Jesus should willingly go where they do not choose to go, to do things they prefer not to do, to put personal preferences upon the altar, and to die to their rights for the sake of Christ. We tend to want to live in a place of comfort and safety, but Paul calls us to present ourselves as a sacrifice before God--a living sacrifice. God wants us to willingly crawl on the sacrificial table and die to ourselves (put to death our will) each day we live. Each morning we are to "present" ourselves before God as the daily "sacrifice"--a sacrifice of our personal will, our way, our desires, our preferences, our comfort and our plans.

Being a living sacrifice is a huge challenge for us. Our flesh-nature keeps getting in the way and causes us to crawl off the alter and back to our place of safety. But, we can do so much more if we allow ourselves to be a tool in God's hands. Do you realize the full impact of someone completely surrendered as a "tool" for God's purposes? When we die to ourselves each morning, we are free to seek God's will. We are released from our own expectations and agendas, and empowered to do the work of the Lord. Paul says that this is our form of worship to God.



Why is it so hard for us to be a living sacrifice? We are flesh; we have wants and needs; we want to have fun; we have goals and desire success; we want to be accepted by others; who wants to die? Not me! Jesus said in Matthew 16:25 Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it (KJV). Death to self is the way to life! It may be easier said than done, yet you can choose to make this decision each day by applying the following:

1. Do not conform to the world. Conforming is an outward process that others can see and is defined as the following:
con•form•i•ty (kənˈfɔr mɪ ti) n., pl. -ties.
1. action in accord with prevailing social standards, attitudes, practices, etc.
2. correspondence in form, nature, or character; agreement; congruity.
3. compliance or acquiescence; obedience.

2. Be transformed. Transformation is an inward process. The mind and heart are changed. This process can take years. God’s promises us in Ezekiel 36:26, New Living Translation (NLT)... And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. Sometimes we slip back into the old mind set and the mind must be renewed or "sacrificed" often.

3. Be humble in service. We must not think too highly of ourselves and become complacent. Serving others is our way to fulfill our place in the Body of Christ. View each conversation with another, unplanned interruption, or unforeseen need as giving ourselves over as a personal sacrifice and another opportunity to win one over for Christ.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We are willing to be used up for You. Give us the courage to crawl on the sacrificial altar each day, to go the direction You chose for us and to follow You wherever You lead. Teach us how to die to ourselves daily and view each act and circumstance as a form of worship of You. We pray in Jesus' Most Awesome Name...Amen.

Lead with the Heart of Jesus

Ephesians 4:2-3

2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. New Living Translation (NLT)


Your classroom climate will be determined by your attitude. Your school climate will reflect the principal's attitude. AND the district climate will reflect the attitude of the Superintendent. Any place of work will have the climate set by its leader. Essentially, the leader sets the tone, and the workers or students reflect the behavior of the leader. There are joyful, fun-loving leaders, strict, no-nonsense ones, diligent detailed leaders, and quiet, gentle leaders. All of these personalities can be successful in the classrooms, schools, and businesses. But a leader with a negative attitude, whether angry, unforgiving, uncaring, uninterested, unethical, or arrogant, will have difficulties in discipline and overall management.

Jesus told us that the greatest leaders among us would be great servants (Matt. 23:11). A leader is a servant. We are called to serve, to teach, and to share the knowledge that God has so graciously allowed us to learn. Leaders must never have a proud spirit. Our age, education, and experience have equipped us to go beyond ourselves and our pride. We must approach our classrooms or places of work with humility, but also with confidence knowing that God has supplied us with a message to teach and lead.

As conflicts arise whether you lead adults or children, we must take a moment to remember our own mistakes from our pasts. This will help us find a balance in our discipline/correction as we realize that many mistakes are due to immaturity, inexperience, and or simple thoughtlessness, not mutiny or outright defiance. If a student or employee is rebellious, we are to give firm correction and encourage him or her to change the defiant behavior. If one lacks understanding, or forgets, we must re-teach as we work to modify behavior. Two people can display exactly the same behavior for two different reasons--rebellion or naivety. The only way we can determine which applies to the particular offense is to allow the offender to explain. Patiently listen for what is said "beneath" the explanation.



Love the individual as you learn of the underlying cause for the challenge. The Love of Christ can help you understand the person who tests you repeatedly. He/she may be an adult or a child. He/she may be immature regardless of age. He/she may not see through the same seasoned, mature, experienced eyes that you do. Gently, lovingly, and firmly deal with those "for" their good” and, "for" their future. Draw from the love of God within you, and get rid of any negative emotions you have before you discipline. Pride and/or anger can block your ability to do this. You must lay down pride and replace it with a grateful heart, full of humility and the willingness to serve God's Kingdom. Demonstrate Emotional Constancy, which is technique 47 in Doug Lemov's Teach Like a Champion.

A teacher’s or leader's Emotional Constancy is a source of students’ and/or employees steadiness in performance. Emotional Constancy does not mean expressing no emotions. It means that you express emotions as a way of consistently promoting learning and achievement. Emotionally constant leaders do the following:

1. Control their own emotions rather than let others control them;
2. Use their outward show of emotions to keep the moving forward;
3. Tie their language to achievement and positive behavioral expectations;
4. Earn the trust of those with whom they work by always being in control of self and of the room or office;
5. Use that control respectfully to help others cope with emotional trials that interfere with performance.


Dear God,

Discipline and management of people seems to be the hardest and most emotionally draining part of our jobs. We expect others to do what they are supposed to do just because it is right. But, some are not so trusting of us to just accept that we know what is best for the classroom or our organization. We chose to lay down our pride and pick up a servant's attitude. Help us to learn Your ways as we teach and lead others. Help us to not let anger or hurt build up but instead guide us in letting all of that go. Help us to realize that most of the uncooperative behavior of others comes from a place or experience that has nothing to do with us personally and usually comes from a place of hurt or prior bad experiences. Give us Your eyes, Your heart, and Your words as we address those who test us and challenge us in our work. In Jesus's Awesome Name we pray...Amen.

Adapted from http://www.teacherdevotion.com/Devotion_Archives.html and Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov.

Breaking Through to Those With Hardened Hearts

The German atheist Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) was a philosopher of the late 19th century who challenged the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. Nietzsche once said that if he saw more redeemed people he might be more inclined to believe in their Redeemer. Doesn't that speak volumes?

Christians who complain, gossip, belittle others, always jump to negative conclusions, or in general do not demonstrate the fruit of the spirit have a believability gap.
If I try to convince you that my diet is great, but I am still overweight, you will question the effectiveness of the plan. If I tell you about a great instructional strategy to try in the classroom, but my students still perform poorly on assessments, you will question my ability select an effective strategy. If I talk about how awesome God is, yet I humiliate my students by yelling at them, you will question my God. What good does it do to tell people how great our Savior is if they cannot see that we ourselves have been saved from sin? Let your light shine.

What does Jesus mean by light? Jesus also calls Himself "the light of the world." In the book of John He is called "the life that is the light of men," "the light that shines in the darkness" (John 1:4-5). The light in us is His light, the indwelling Christ, the Holy Spirit within us. The apostle Paul speaks of "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4). We have that light shining through our lives if our actions reflect the nature of Christ—His love, compassion, and forgiveness. His light shines through our attitudes, words, and deeds. When people see that our lives have been changed they see the power of God at work in us, they will agree that we do have a great Savior. When they see redeemed people, they are more inclined to believe that we have a Redeemer. The Christlike life is what becomes convincing and leads others to question why we behave in such ways.

A lost person is not capable of worshiping and coming into the presence of a holy God. But that lost person can see and hear us praising God and be brought to faith in Him. The psalmist says that when I have a new song of praise in my mouth, many will see it and be awestruck by our great God and come to trust in Him.

A believer filled with praise makes a tremendous positive impact on an unbeliever. As well, a believer with a hardened heart, can also have a tremendous impact - a negative one. God made us so that we can harden our hearts and literally shut out unwanted influences. It was meant to be a positive thing, but because we haven’t understood this, what God meant for good has actually worked against us. How many times have you purposefully avoided a social event, particular person, student, or parent in order to save yourself the trouble of interacting with someone or maybe there is a fear of being sucked into the behavior.

The world has its own priorities for sure. It's good for Christians to participate in some activities, as it is there, we will find those who do not yet know our Savior. But by avoiding drinks with friends (no one says you have to drink or you could model moderation) or by attending a private school instead of a public one, we miss out on opportunities to win unbelievers over to Christ.

A challenge for you is to intentionally look for those around us, students, colleagues, parents, friends, or supervisors, who demonstrate stress, anger, fear, or emotional outbursts. It is quite possible that they may have had little or no experience with unconditional love and they won't know what to do with positivity and kindness. They are not accustomed to getting anything “free” or receiving anything they have not earned or deserved. Many are used to acting in a such a way as to intentionally push you away or run you off in order to avoid being rejected. They take a proactively abrasive and confrontational approach to everyone that comes into their lives. But, God can soften their hearts and minds, as we become Jesus in skin for them. Do not be discouraged when you continue to receive negative responses, as it was a process that occurred over time that brought them to where they are now, and it will take a process of deliberate acts to help them see that there is another way to live.

As you go into this week work to apply these five actions:

Be Christ's Ambassador. - Represent Him and His purposes…and His purpose is to reconcile everyone to God, to draw us all nearer to our Creator who loves us.

Be Courageous. - Fortify yourself with prayer to allay any fears of becoming like the world or being sucked into negative behaviors.

Be Intentional. - Choose to interact with those who are typically more difficult and allow God to take control of the situation. Let God plant the seed in that person that can later be harvested.

Be Loving. - In all circumstances speak the truth, but do so in love. In doing so, you will open yourself up and Christ's light will shine through.

Be Responsive. - Allow Christ to speak to you in all situations and then respond as such. Allow Him to guide you in every word you speak, interaction you have, or task you accomplish.

Not everyone will understand when you interact with them "on purpose". That's alright. Let others have their thoughts. But let it be the love of Christ that compels you. Let the love of Christ refocus you, set your priorities and purpose, and determine how you feel about yourself. Let the love of Christ impact everything you say and do. Let it move you to kindness and positive action.

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:14 NLT

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray for God to show us what really matters in our classrooms and schools, so that it's not the pressure of having low test scores that compels us to make it through each day, but the love of Christ. Allow God to help us act not from a sense competition or pride, but from a sense of His love. Allow Him to make His presence known to us, so that His love will be so all-encompassing, so overwhelming, so beyond understanding that we cannot help but be compelled by it in every aspect of your work so others will wonder why and question. I pray that we will be given the opportunity to share that Christ is our Lord and Savior. In Jesus' Holy Name I pray....Amen.

Adapted from Hardness of Heart:A Condition You May Have and Not Even Know it… by Andrew Wommack & Compelled by the love of Christ by Angela Watson.

Choose to Rest Rather Than Worry: Part II - Sounds great, but HOW?

Are you tired of going through each day exhausted? My friend who happens to be a school counselor and I have joked about making and wearing a t-shirt that says, "Why am I so tired?" We joked that we would probably sell quite a few. Resting in Jesus sounds great....hummmn, but I really don't know how. How can we actually rest in Him when we have never seen or heard Jesus physically? Resting "in" someone seems strange. What does THAT mean?

The best way for a practical mind to grasp this concept is to compare it to when we physically rest. When we take a nap or go to bed for the evening, how do we actually rest and fall asleep? It takes a clearing of our minds and a total release of control or relaxation, along with a general sense of being safe. When we can't sleep it is usually caused by our minds reliving a situation or conversation that happened during the day trying to figure out what we could have done differently to change the outcome. Maybe our minds are doing our best to plan for what will we have to do in the coming day or days. We are still working. It is no wonder we can't fall asleep and allow our bodies to rest. Resting in Jesus during our waking hours is very much like resting our bodies as we sleep.

First Peter 5:6-7 says, Therefore humble yourselves [acknowledge that you cannot do it alone] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.

The only way to have energy and stamina in our lives is to play by God's rules, and He says we must quit worrying if we want to have peace. So when we have a tough situation arise, we need God's help. How do we get it? First Peter 5:6-7 says: 1) humble yourselves, and 2) cast your care on Him.



We are great at 2)casting our cares to Jesus. We pray like crazy about many things asking for God's divine intervention, but we tend to be like fishermen. We cast out the line, only to reel it back in. We rehash and over analyze and try to take a stab at fixing a challenge ourselves again because we think we know best. We try to trust in ourselves once again, and why do we do that? ... Because we have yet to humble ourselves.

Humbling ourselves is very difficult for us to do. The world tells us that we have to be strong and smart. We have to be saavy to survive. We have to prepare, plot, and plan. We must TRY HARDER. With all those messages coming at us it is no wonder we struggle. Humbling ourselves is not natural to us. We have to overcome the flesh and messages around us and admit that we are limited as a human beings. When we humble ourselves and ask for His help, then He's able to release His power in our situations. It's only then that we can really enjoy life.

How do we humble ourselves in practical terms?

Admit that we don't have the power, knowledge, or ability to resolve the issues we face each day. Remember to connect to Jesus and take on His yoke. Say an inner prayer that goes something like this, "I know my mind is just a human one that doesn't have all the answers. I am not omniscient or omnipresent, but Jesus, You are. You know. Release your power into this situation, so that the best possible resolution can be found and accomplished. I will do what I can and leave the rest to you. I give up control and put this challenge out of my mind and into your hands. You already know the outcome, and I know that in YOU the right outcome will occur. In your powerful name, I pray."

So the cure for worry is humbling ourselves before God, casting our cares on Him, and trusting Him. Instead of reeling the concern and worry about our student, that parent, or a co-worker, back into ourselves, God wants us to place our trust in Him and enter into His rest, totally giving it all away to His care. I know that when we are able to believe and say, "God, I trust You," it will literally change our lives. Psalm 37:3 says, Trust…in the Lord and do good.... God didn't create us to worry about helping ourselves all the time. He wants us to sow good seed by reaching out to help others. When we simply trust God and get busy doing the good things we know to do, then He'll bring a harvest of blessings into our lives and meet our needs.

Lord,

I pray that we can truly humble ourselves before you and give up our cares and concerns. We know that over-analyzing and rehashing issues is unproductive and exhausting. We admit that we are not able to do our work alone. Help us to truly release our cares to you trust and acknowledge that you have it all under control without us. We want to rest in you and enjoy the blessings and energy of a good life that you have planned for us. I die to myself and give my whole being over to You. Jesus, it is in Your powerful name I pray. Amen.

Choose to Rest Rather Than Worry: Part I

An educator's work is not easy. No matter our role, we have a great responsibility to make the best choices, to select the best strategies and activities, to predict every possible scenario in order to head off misconceptions, behavior problems, and misunderstandings. We are to supervise, lead, love, be flexible, yet firm, be interesting, fun, and rigorous. We have to know our students' strengths and weaknesses, while also supporting them emotionally. We are to communicate, collaborate, and be on the hunt for what works. Wow! Who can do all that and ever rest? I am exhausted just thinking about the weight of our work. But seriously, what is a person to do? Freak out? Worry? Panic? Whine? Complain? Give up? Run? Lash out? Cry?

No, we need to learn how to experience rest. If all we needed was physical rest we can always take a nap, but not at school. If we needed only emotional rest, we can always take a vacation, but not until Fall Break or Spring Break. We need it now. How can we find rest while doing our work right now?

Matthew 28, Jesus says,“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

We will experience rest when we take Jesus up on his offer to take his yoke upon us. When we think about a yoke, we usually think of a heavy wooden contraption that keeps us connected with another to do hard work. It doesn't sound very fun or comfortable for that matter. But Jesus' yoke is the yoke of relationship.

James Botts, in his sermon titled, "Rest For the Stressed", breaks the meaning of the yoke down well. He says the yoke symbolizes the following:

1. Connection “Be with Me.” Yokes are made for two, not one. We were not meant to go through life living apart from God. His yoke fits well and is lighter than the one we’ve been pulling by ourselves. Be connected to Jesus!

2. Direction “Follow Me.” The idea of a yoke pictures the forward motion of two connected together. You cannot be yoked to Jesus and go your own way anymore. We follow Him and His direction for our life. Follow Jesus!

3. Cooperation “Work with Me.” To be yoked together means that we cooperate with His work. Before we come to Him, we were living for this side of eternity. Now we are joined to His work and discover that our lives make an eternal impact.

To close, I challenge you to recognize that it is a mistake for us to attempt to do our work by yourself in a single collar. God never intended us to work alone. A yoke is a neck harness for two, and the Lord Himself pleads to be One of the two in your yoke. He wants to share the responsibility we have to do all those things listed above. The secret of peace, rest, and victory is found in tossing off the single collar of “self” and accepting Jesus' relaxing “yoke.”

Dear Heavenly Father,

We know you see the weight of our work in schools. Help us to rely on You to pull the load with us as we go through our daily challenges and struggles. Let us be the people who do not give in to fear and emotions, but to be those who are confident that You are in control and all will be well. Let us show the world the unexplainable peace that only comes from resting in our relationship with You, Jesus, that they will be drawn to You and find rest for themselves.

I pray in the powerful name of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior, Amen.

The Power of Your Words: Intentionally Choose to Be Encouraging and Value-Added

Proverbs 12:18 teaches “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

As educators, we, teachers, instructional assistants, principals, and even superintendents, really have no idea of the power of our words on others. The enormity of this responsibility gets lost on us at times. Our humanity gets in the way when we are tired, stressed, physically ill, or emotionally hurt. Most times, we never learn of our offending words until the damage is done. Usually we don’t mean to hurt people. The words just "pop out" without planning.

If we are honest with ourselves, after putting ourselves in the shoes of the offended, we are left feeling badly, misunderstood, and remorseful and wish we could suck the words back in; but, if we have a haughty spirit, we tell ourselves a person deserves it or needs to hear it. What is your typical response after a slip? Even when a heartfelt apology is delivered and accepted, a question is left in the mind of the hurt person... "Will he or she hurt me again? Does he or she REALLY think that?" It takes many positive emotional interactions to make make up for one simple, poorly thought out comment.

Even the Bible says that we in ourselves cannot control our tongues. So then, what is a teacher, instructional assistant, principal, and even superintendent to do? The good news is that we don't have to do it alone. In fact, we cannot do it alone. The power of prayer will provide.

We need to be under the control of the Holy Spirit. We must die to ourselves daily, a choice we make every day, and allow Jesus to rule in our lives. When your tongue is under the control of God, you will speak God’s words, words that add value, help others, and encourage them. We need to specifically ask for Jesus to help form every word that comes out of our mouths, to hold our thoughts captive before verbalizing them, and run them through the filter of Christ. Practice Teach Like a Champion's Technique 47: Emotional Constancy. This technique not only is helpful when applied in the classroom, but it is also very beneficial in all relationships we have.

Even when you need to have a tough conversation with a colleague, student, parent, boss, relative, or friend, thoughtful prayer prior to the discussion will make all the difference. You can speak the truth in love. Tie your emotions to the performance and not the person. The prayers do not have to be out loud. It can be under your breath or silently said in your head. God can hear your innermost thoughts and groans. The prayer could go something like this, "Jesus, I know I am unable to have this conversation on my own, help me to control my emotions and speak your words, not mine. Give me the words that will be meaningful and understood. Please help my friend to hear my words and know that they come from the heart in order to help not hurt."

So, I challenge you make your words count by understanding the power they have by purposely using our tongues in the following ways:

* Say Nothing: The Bible says there is a time and season for everything under the sun, there is a time to keep silent - Ecclesiastes 3:7
* Be a Witness: A tongue that is productive continually wants to build and expand the Kingdom of God. In order to do that, the Gospel must be shared with others. But more so than that, the Gospel must be lived through words and actions that reflect Christ.
* Speak the Truth in Love: Christ not only spoke what was true, but He did so with love. By doing so, the person He spoke to came to the conclusion that what they were involved in wasn’t right on their own.
* Make Positive Confessions: If you talk failure, it will conquer you. If you talk fear, it will grip you. We shouldn’t use our tongues to glorify a bad situation. Instead, we should think and speak positive things. Remember the whole sowing and reaping principle.
* Praise the Lord: Bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. – Psalms 34:1

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray for each of us to have a humble spirit realizing that we alone cannot control our tongues. We ask that You tame our tongues and not allow any thoughtless words or phrases to "pop out". Help us to use our tongues in positive ways that glorify You and lead others to the see You in us. Make our witness one that draws others to the Kingdom and encourages our brothers and sisters in Christ to be Jesus in skin for all.

In Jesus's powerful name I pray - Amen.

The Courage to Manage Your Classroom So ALL Can Learn

As we begin the second week of school, I allege there will still be a few more days of the "honeymoon" period that we have with our students. But very soon, a few students will test the boundaries we have set. They will question the procedures we have taught and see if we really mean it. The manner in which we handle these tests is so critical to the success of the entire school year.

Proverbs 21:11 says "When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge."

This verse talks about the three groups of people, or students in our case, — the wise, the simple, and the mocker - all of which may be in our classrooms. We hope and pray that our rooms are filled with the wise students who listen to instruction and learn from it. Wise students are open to learning from others. The wise student has an heart for learning and sees its benefits.

Simple students are not confident in themselves; they are still trying on different persona to determine who they want to be. They can be easily influenced by the popular, the funny, or the confident. They decide how they will behave when they see our response to misbehavior. If we are consistent in enforcing procedures and expectations, the simple will join the wise in learning. Practice Do It Again* and 100 Percent*!

If you give in, allow yourself to get tired and look the other way, the students who rebel against your expectations will interrupt teaching and learning. The students who are sitting on the fence will join in the bad behavior. Fortify yourself with prayer each morning to have the strength to be consistent with boundaries. As we remain consistent in our high expectations, more and more students will become wise. The fence-sitters' response to authority depends upon the actions of the teacher. They will either follow the learners or follow the mockers when they decide which side wins.

The students who test us must receive firm and quick correction. But, I challenge you to correct with finesse. Use positive framing* and What To Do* as you work toward 100 Percent*. Do not overlook little challenges—rolling eyes, smirks, put downs, innuendoes, partial obedience, and challenging questions regarding your ability as a teacher. Ignoring the rebel or mocker is like feeding a cancer and allowing it to grow.

Reward those who join in creating a positive learning environment. As we reward the "right" choices, we encourage correct behavior. When we reward those who make good choice with appreciation and privileges, the fence-sitters learn the value of learning and cooperation. When we consistently deal with the rebel by giving him/her their earned consequences; the simple will decide that the ways of the rebel are not worth it.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray for each of us to be strong and firm in our desire to create a positive learning environment in which no student or group of students steal from another the opportunity to learn. Give us the courage to say what we mean and mean what we say. Help us to be specific in our expectations and direct teaching of procedures and expectations. Open our eyes and nudge us to reward the students who follow directions and participate in class. Help us to lovingly discipline the students who misbehave, so that those who are unsure learn wisdom and the mockers learn to make wise choices. Help us to hold one another up and strengthen our resolve to provide an environment where all can learn.

I also pray for the students who are not yet wise. I pray for them to soften their hearts to correction. Help them to see the value in education. Help them to overcome personal circumstances and experiences and come to the point where they see us as partners and people who love them enough to hold them accountable to becoming the best they can be.

In Jesus name I pray - Amen.

Adapted and personalized from content found on http://www.teacherdevotion.com/Devotion_Archives.html.
*Strategies to taken from Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov.