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.

Great Article by Robert Ripper....What It Means to Be "Salt and Light" and How Not to Get Obnoxious About It

What It Means to Be “Salt and Light” and How Not to Get Obnoxious About It by Robert Ripper


When Jesus delivered His famous Sermon on the Mount, He instructed us in Matthew 5:13-16 to be salt and light. Specifically, He told us to be “salt of the earth” and “light of the world”. Jesus was using these illustrations, so we could relate to them even today. You may wonder, what does it mean to be salt and light in today’s world?

Certain things don’t change much. Mankind still needs salt and light. You put little bit of salt in your food (unless you are on a strict low sodium diet) to make it taste better, and you get (hopefully) exposed to some kind of light, so you could see things around you, on a daily basis. This means that you and me, being a people of this modern era, should be able to easily interpret Jesus’ analogy that was presented to us over two thousand years ago.

Being salt and light is relevant even today

Jesus knew, that understanding of what He was preaching about salt and light, carried significance not only to the people around Him at that time, but also to you and me today.

Powerful effects of salt and light

Think of how salt and light effect their surroundings. Just a pinch of salt can enhance your meal’s flavor or a small light bulb, when turned on, will transform a pitch black cell into a bright room. In the same way the early church, despite being so small, has enhanced the flavor of the entire world to such an extent, that we can see its effects until this day. We, as Christians, are still called by Jesus Christ to have influence on our surroundings, which is our family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and the rest of the society,

How can I be the “light of the world”?

A small local church can make a big difference in their local community, but even you, as an individual Christian, can become someone’s light in their dark life. Spreading the Gospel on a large scale and on an individual basis is the main premise of Christianity, but the bridge between us and the rest of the world needs to be built on our actions.

Such actions may include charity, humanitarian relief, or education on a larger scale, but also individually, we need to be examples of living godly lives, showing kindness and forgivingness, put others’ needs above our own. When we present ourselves in a light we can be the light.

Simply put, practice what you preach and others will follow.

How to be the “salt of the earth” without getting obnoxious

On the other hand, too much salt will ruin your lunch. First, you will take a bite, then spit it out and end up throwing it all away, even if you are hungry. Same goes for the light. Too much light would blind you. When someone beams a high-output light strobe directly in your line of sight, you have no choice but to shut your eyes. The immmediate effect is that you see nothing. If you try to walk away you will probably stumble over a power cord. What follows next is a fall.

You can be someone’s “salt of the earth” without ruining their lunch and “light of the world” without blinding them.

The key is tact and moderation.

How to have “salt and light” effect on people

Have you ever been around a holy-roller who spoke to you only in Bible verses like a pre-programmed answering system? Or someone so self-righteous that condemnation of others was seeping through their pores like sweat from an endurance athlete? That is a big turn off. God gave us common sense, which includes ability to maintain social interactions with the rest of the world. Instead of being repulsive, weird and overwhelming, we can be just human. We are not perfect people, we are just forgiven people, and others need to sense that aura of the Holy Spirit around us.

No matter whether you are a big deal in your community or not, you have influence on other people. Use it for God’s Kingdom in a wise manner.

Where does our influence come from?

But the influence of Christianity on this world is possible not because of our own wisdom, intelligence or hard work. Not even because of our good intensions or zeal. We are able to turn someone’s blant tasting life into a life that is rich in flavor, and the current darkness of this world into a bright future, only because of the power of God.