Brandon Cox shares the prayers his church prayed for revival. You can pray them, too! “There were nine particular prayers we’ve prayed, repeatedly, and that we’re going to continue to pray over our church family. I want to invite believers everywhere to pray these prayers over your church family as well… 1. God, Give Us a Breakthrough in Evangelism! God, remove the blinders from the eyes of unbelievers so that the gospel we are sharing will connect with their minds, hearts, and wills. Empower us, as you’ve promised to do, to be faithful in sharing our own faith stories and the life-changing story of Jesus’ death for the sins of the world. Help us to faithfully proclaim the life-changing power of the message of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ! 2. God, Give Us a Breakthrough in Discipleship! God, help us to identify people into whom we can pour our time, our lives, and our knowledge. Help us to dive deeper into our personal relationships with you than ever before and to be formed, by your Spirit and your Word, into the likeness of Jesus Christ. And help us sustain a multiplying movement of disciple-makers! 3. God, Give Us a Breakthrough in Community! God, help us to live authentic lives with others, studying the Bible, holding each other accountable, offering encouragement, and going deeper together. Give us friends who make us more like Jesus and help us to reflect God’s love to others. 4. God, Give Us a Breakthrough in Ministry and Serving! God, thank you for giving, entirely by grace, gifts for each of us to use in ministering to each other. Point us toward having the hearts of servants. Open our eyes to the needs of other people around us and give our pastors wisdom as they equip us all for the work of the ministry. 5. God, Give Us a Breakthrough in Our Mission! God, help us to want what you want – the joy and gladness of all the nations as they hear your story of redemption. Open doors and empower us to go to new fields and people groups with the gospel. And help us to live missionally in our everyday lives, representing you in our neighborhoods and workplaces. Help us bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of your glory! God, help us also to see our role in our communities as redemptive. Use your good news about Jesus to bring about reconciliation between ethnicities and factions. Help us to be healers in a hurting world. 6. God, Give Us a Breakthrough for Families! God, for broken marriages, we plead for healing! For relationships between parents and children that are strained, we pray for unity! We pray that the enemy would be rebuked in his attempt to undermine the stability of families all around us. 7. God, Give Us a Breakthrough in Our Vision! God, break our hearts under the burden of our broken cities and give us the vision and energy to keep on growing churches that influence their communities with the light and love of the gospel. Increase our desire to see massive movements of people, drawing other people along in following Jesus! Forgive us of small or self-centered thinking. Help us to think bigger and pray Kingdom-oriented prayers. 8. God, Give Us a Breakthrough in Generosity! God, we trust you to provide for your work entirely, but we know that you often choose to provide for your work by raising up givers. God, bring financial peace and healing to people trapped under the burden of debt and release people to give and invest joyfully into the growth of your Kingdom. Help us to give in a way that reflects your own giving nature to others! 9. God, Give Us a Breakthrough in Worship! God, we want to strive to be a church that you want to bless! Help us to so humble ourselves that we compel you to empower us like never before for ministry. And help us to communicate such joy, such truth, such grace, and such passion in our worship that we compel others to join the experience of praising you. The more we come to depend on an all-powerful God to show himself strong through our weakness, the more God will move among his people. Let’s pray as never before for God to expand the witness and influence of his church in this world! God, give us a breakthrough! To watch Brandon’s message, click HERE. www.brandonacox.com .

How do you handle the suffering that comes your way? Suffering can take many forms: mental anguish, physical pain, hurting children, grief or financial ruin. Lysa TerKeurst describes God’s love reaching out to you in her article: But What to Do with the Deep Ache in My Soul? “I don’t like to be in pain. In any way. And if I’m not careful, this aversion to pain can lead to me grabbing for something to fill the deep ache in my soul. Maybe you can relate. When you’re lonely and you see your ex-boyfriend post a picture with a new girl — laughing, holding hands, and looking like the happiest they’ve ever been — your flesh will want to grab at something. It’s hard not to comfort yourself by texting another guy to grab a little attention and make yourself feel better. When you’re listening to other moms talk about all the progress their children are making in reading and your child can’t even identify letters yet, your flesh will want to grab at something. It’s hard not to throw out a statement to one-up the bragging moms in an area where your child is excelling. And all these things we’re tempted to grab at? They won’t fill us the way we think they will. In the end, they only make us feel emptier. But how do we tell our flesh no when we are desperate for relief? I have discovered that the more we fill ourselves from God’s life-giving love, the less we will be dictated by the grabby-ness of our flesh. One of the most beautiful descriptions of the fullness of God is found in Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians: “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19, NIV) My favorite part of Paul’s prayer is him asking that we have the power to grasp the fullness of the love of Christ … for then we will be filled with the fullness of God. If we grasp the full love of Christ, we won’t grab at other things to fill us. Or if we do, we’ll sense it. We’ll feel a prick in our spirit when our flesh makes frenzied swipes at happiness and we’ll pause. In this pause we find a great daily choice we can make. Am I willing to tell my flesh no, so that I can say yes to the fullness of God in this situation? And this isn’t about us putting on a brave face and hoping for the best when we feel powerless. We have the power through Christ, who is over every power, including the pull of the flesh. When we have Christ, we are full — fully loved and accepted and empowered to say no. This is true on the days we feel it, and it’s still true when we don’t feel Jesus’ love at all. If we live rooted and established in His love, we don’t just have knowledge of His love in our minds, but it becomes a reality that anchors us. Though winds of hurt blow, they cannot uproot us and rip us apart. His love holds us. His love grounds us. His love is a glorious weight preventing the harsh words and hurtful situations from being a destructive force. We feel the wind but aren’t destroyed by it. This is the “fullness of God.” There is power in really knowing this. This isn’t dependent on what you’ve accomplished. Or on another person loving you or accepting you. Nor is it because you always feel full. You are full, because Christ brought the fullness to you. Yes, I am fully loved, fully accepted, and fully empowered to say no to my flesh. Speak that truth in the power He’s given you. Believe that truth in the power He’s given you. Live that truth in the power He’s given you. That’s how we tell our flesh no. That’s how we live fully prepared in the fullness of God. Father God, thank You for Your love for me that knows no end. Help me look to You and You alone to fill me. I want my roots to go down ever deeper in Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.” www.lysaterkeurst.com .

Has there been a person in your life you thought you knew, but you really didn’t? Could that person be Jesus? Stay with me as we explore this pivotal question! The anchor that keeps us grounded throughout our journey of faith is a revelation of Jesus. Because of this anchor, Paul could not be shaken, confessing, “That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until the day of His return” (2 Timothy 1:12 NLT). Notice Paul does not say, “I know what I believe” but rather, “I know the One in whom I believe.” The Amplified Bible records, “I know Him [and I am personally acquainted with Him] whom I have believed [with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in the truth of His deity].” Simply stated: Paul possessed a personal revelation of Jesus. He knew Jesus intimately. Many can recite facts about Jesus—much like many can recite facts about their favorite celebrities. However, knowing about someone does not equate to knowing them personally. Can you too say with conviction, “I know the One in whom I believe” www.messengerinternational.org . Lovely one, Jesus is not a philosophy; He is a person. Therefore, believing in Jesus is more than adhering to a creed; it’s an awakening of the heart. We see Him for Who He really is—the Son of God. In the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus entered the region of Caesarea Philippi and asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Verse 13 NKJV). Several disciples answered promptly. The common response was, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Verse 14). Once the opinions of the crowd were shared, Jesus looked at them and asked them directly, “But who do you say that I am?” (Verse 15). There was a moment of silence as they were confronted by a moment of truth. The men who were so eager to air the opinions of others were now lost for words. With this confrontation came the realization that they had no answer—except for the fact that they were living off the speculations of others, rather than establishing in their own hearts who Jesus really was. Simon, whom Jesus renamed Peter, was the only one of the disciples who could answer. With boldness, he confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Verse 16). With a smile and a sparkle in His eyes, Jesus responded, “Blessed are you . . . for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Verse 17). One translation says, “My Father has supernaturally revealed this to you” (TPT). The source of Peter’s revelation was God Himself, not the opinion of man. It came through direct revelation. This is what Jesus meant when He shared, “The only way people come to Me is by the Father who sent Me—He pulls on their hearts to embrace Me . . . It has been written by the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God Himself.’ If you are really listening to the Father and learning directly from Him, you will come to Me’” (John 6:44–45 TPT). So we see clearly that the illuminated truth of Jesus must be solidified in our heart. Jesus firmly stated, “And this truth of who I am will be the bedrock foundation of which I will build my church—My legislative assembly, and the power of death will not be able to overpower it!” (Matthew 16:18 TPT). The revelation of Jesus is the foundation the church will be grounded on. Without this truth firmly planted within us, we’ll easily be swayed by the shifting current of public opinion. Beloved, there is a stability that results from revelation knowledge. Are you living off secondhand information about Jesus? Who do you say that He is? Are you convinced that Jesus is the Son of God?

“God is dead” Frederich Nietzsche It began in the despair of 19th century Europe. Its inventor would die in 1900 on the cusp of a new century. His views would combine with Darwin to shape the most violent period of planet earth. Hitler gave his writings as gifts. He also was a German. He died insane, his sister charging admission to see him chained. His name was Friedrich Nietzsche. The philosophy he articulated was called Existentialism. Man determines his own existence. Man is God. Existentialism did for meaning what Immanuel Kant did for scientific truth. Kant said that man imposed the mind’s order on physical data. Truth came from man. Nietzsche said the same for meaning. There was no meaning in the 20th century world said Nietzsche. As a matter of fact he invented the iconic term “God is dead”….meaning that the myth of God has been cast aside. Man was to will or impose his own meaning. His own truth. To be his own god. His own Creator. “Ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil” found its fulfillment in Friedrich Nietzsche and “exist-entialism”. Man’s imposition of existence onto the nothingness of nature. The main idea was this: Man’s existence came before his meaning. His meaning came later as man evolved into a “being” and determined he was “man.” Point being – man is the one animal evolved to the place of being able to choose his own meaning. But he also felt man must get out from the “ceiling” that society and conformity and religion had put on him. Or the “bad faith” of “inauthentic existence”. “Man,” Nietzsche said, “must be overcome”. Philosophy had made an “upper story leap”, an “escape from reason.” Later, two Frenchmen popularized Nietzsche…made him fit for public consumption. Jean Paul Sartre, a French author, atheist and playwright, had found meaning in the French resistance movement. He and another author, Albert Camus, took Nietzsche out of philosophy and into the arts and mainstream and developed his thought. It began to show up in the Parisian coffee shops…in literature, plays, and art and morphed through Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg into the Beatniks of California and Greenwich Village. It showed up in the anti-hero of the 50’s, the motorcycle gangs, and the counter culture that settled in San Francisco. “Find yourself…do your own thing….Rebel” “If it feels good, do it” – “Sometimes nothing is a real cool hand.” Man was now his own black cat and a cool cat at that. It was, one said, “the most seductive philosophy of all time.” Man was discovered to be God! Eureka! Existentialism meandered through the 60’s but cooled when objective evil forced its way into the 60’s world. Objective true evil was existentialism’s Achilles heel. As the Flower Children of Haight-Ashbury were set upon by drug dealers, sex traffickers, pedophiles and cult leaders like Manson…..Nietzsche’s “superman” needed a standard. As Viet Nam warred on, a standard was needed by which to protest. An absolute standard as the oasis of “peace and love”. Civil rights cried for justice. Roe vs. Wade cried for rights, and Feminism for equity. Existentialism practically didn’t work. It was the last gasp of the Greek quest. “Go East Young Mind” It appeared as though all that was Western and Judeo-Christian had failed. The death of the Christian world view and the birth of the post-modern brought a rejection of anything Western. In the 60’s onward there was a distinct cultural move to the East. The popularity of Zen, TM and later the New Age Movement brought a drift toward pantheism or monism where all is one and all is God. It was an attempt at harmony and the unity of upper and lower stories by saying there was no division – “all is one.” The West deferred to the East! Pantheism however would not fit into the American striving of making everything better and best. To succeed and not fail and be rich not poor. Eastern thought proved to be nothing but a sedative and relaxation technique amidst capitalistic pursuits, tie-dyed t-shirts and rock bands, so the 70’s gave way to personal peace and affluence and a brief return to a 50’s mentality. No one cared any more. It was the death of the West. What Happened?! Through all of this philosophic slide, where was the Christian truth? How did it weather the storm? Let me try to recount. The Copernican shift of modern science caused Christianity to take a blow amid ship not because its truth was wrong but because it had embraced Aristotle’s earth centered cosmology. For science to disprove Aristotle to the medieval mind was the same as disproving the Bible. It should not have been. The church had canonized what the Bible never taught. The earth is the central purpose of God but not the central astronomical point. The church must be wary of the scientific theories to which it weds itself. And secondly, some false leaders had greatly discredited the faith. The abuse of power by Catholicism had caused Christianity to be discounted as “priestcraft”. The 30 Years War had caused the Bible to be seen as the cause of Europe’s greatest evil and rational philosophy replaced the Bible giving man a sense of intellectual superiority over the faith. The world had magnified a false system of science and philosophy that would ultimately fail. Thirdly, as Darwin and modern science advanced, the Bible came to be erroneously perceived as out of step with progress and yet evolution proved to be the most blind-faith, fideistic, impractical, non-sequitur, unreasonable and destructive system ever. Science also brought immediate physical benefits which the church could not do nor claim to do. Also, the political revolutions of the late 1600’s until 1917 made it appear that man through his own strugglings and progress would subdue man’s great evil. A new age was dawning – that of an alienation between church and state…secular man was Modern Man. And as the fracturing of denominations grew, Christianity appeared foolish with numbers of sects holding one book all claiming to be right. The church began to be the butt of many jokes. But most of all the church had altered its beliefs to accommodate the rapidly changing world. It sounded retreat. First, Arminianism of the 17th century had removed the troubling ideas of Calvin’s theology of sovereign grace and adopted the more reasonable ideas of man’s freedom. Deism went a step further and lopped off the troublesome “unreasonable” of the supernatural. The Trinity, virgin birth, substitutionary death were exchanged for harmless, offense-less points of agreement. By the 1600’s Trinity-denying Unitarianism was a received denomination in Boston. Then German Liberalism with its evolutionary view of the Bible and its evolving view of God had permeated seminaries and denominations as it looked to be in step with the times. Protestants tried to repackage the faith for modern man and save Christianity from extinction. By the 20th century the 1st century’s unique raging river of God’s appearance upon the earth in Christ and His intervention at Calvary had become a narrow brook coursing through a great marsh of competing Christian variations. The competing world view of secular humanism was monolithic and everywhere the standard of true intelligence. From politics to Walt Disney, Biblical Christianity had become a pleasant archive of the past to be brought out at Christmas and Easter and the 7th inning of baseball games. (God Bless America). Fundamental biblical Christianity had split from denominational compromise so often that it presented a scenario of “would the real Christianity please stand up.” Because of this corruption, by the 20th century the Biblical Christian had retreated into an ecclesiastic commune. The evangelical by mid-20th century appeared shell-shocked. Having taken so many direct hits he had withdrawn to let the world go its way as he retreated behind stained glass beneath steeples and waited for the return. www.dentonbible.org . Used by permission.

Have you ever considered the significance of the appearing of Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration and what it might mean for your life? It may be obvious to some that Moses represented the giving of the Law (Torah) and Elijah represented the giving of prophets to proclaim God’s word. But actually, the meaning of their appearances goes quite a bit deeper than that. Three times in scripture God speaks from a mountain. The first time was from Mount Sinai when God gave the Ten Commandments. “Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up…And God spoke all these words, saying…” (Exodus 19:18-20 and 20:1). Between the appearance on the mountain and God speaking as if through thunder, the people of God were terrified and asked that God not speak to them anymore. “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:19). This is an interesting contrast to the second time that God spoke on a mountain. That mountain was Horeb (same mountain, different name), and Elijah the prophet waited for the Lord to speak to him while he was in a cave. Notice what scripture says about this. “And [God] said, ‘Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave” (I Kings 19:11-13). Did you notice the difference? For Moses there was thunder and an earthquake and smoke, enough to terrify the people. Yet when he spoke to Elijah, there were these things, but God did not speak through them, but rather, through a low whisper. Notice also that in Exodus God spoke and gave the Law. But with Elijah, God spoke and commanded Elijah to anoint two kings. “You shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel” (I Kings 19:15-16). In both of these accounts of God speaking from a mountain one gives the Law and one anoints kings. Now, let’s look at the account of the Mount of Transfiguration. “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise, and have no fear.’ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only” (Matthew 17:1-8). In this case, Jesus did not go up alone as Moses and Elijah did. Jesus’ closest disciples were with him. Instead of fire and smoke there was bright light. In Exodus, God’s voice thundered. In I Kings God spoke in a whisper. God also spoke in thunder to the disciples, but also in a normal voice when Jesus said, “Rise, and have no fear.” But the real significance is not that Moses and Elijah appeared, it is in what they represent. For, we must remember that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament. It was his voice that Moses and the congregation heard on Mount Sinai. And it was his voice that Elijah heard outside the cave. Thus, the two men appearing before Jesus during his incarnation are signposts, pointers, representing these truths: Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law (Moses) Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy (Elijah), and Jesus is the one anointed king The authority of the Law and the proclamation of prophecy begin and end with Jesus. The Father signifies this when he loudly pronounces, “This is my beloved Son…listen to him!” And beautifully, the first words Jesus speaks after this proclamation are, “Rise, and have no fear.” What is the Lord doing in your life, right now? Are you fearful of God speaking and changing your life? Are you listening to Jesus? Whatever the Holy Spirit may be convicting you of through the Scripture, God’s word to you is the same as Jesus, “Rise, and have no fear.” In Exodus and I Kings, Moses and Elijah went down the mountain alone. But at the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, John, and James walked down the mountain with Jesus. God is not just a thundering voice or one who commands from afar. In Jesus we are with him, through the presence of his Holy Spirit. So, in this case, we have nothing to fear beyond the reverential fear that is due him. You can submit to him knowing that his word to you is true (Law), and that his calling on your life is sure (Elijah). You can submit to his authority, because he possesses it whether you obey or not, and he much prefers to walk with you down the mountain. guywithabible.com

Forget online matchmaking sites. If you need some tips on finding love, perhaps these weird and wonderful Old Testament tales will inspire you. We will also examine four passionate Bible love stories to help you win a heart. But just for fun…hilarious Bible dating advice: Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her a new wardrobe. Then she’s yours: Any old Hebrew guy (Deuteronomy 21:11-13). Even if no one is out there, just wander around a bit and you’ll definitely find someone: Cain (Genesis 4:16-17). Don’t be picky. Collect as many girls as you can get. Surely one will make you happy: Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3). Cut 200 foreskins off of your future father-in-law’s enemies and get his daughter as your prize: David (I Samuel 18:27). Go to a party and hide. When the women come outside to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife: Benjaminites…those party animals! (Judges 21:19-2). Just kidding. But God gives some advice that could change your love life. Unconditional acceptance, passion and perseverance, wisdom and discretion, fearlessness and faithfulness are irresistible qualities any man or woman desires. Hosea and Gomer No one showed unconditional acceptance like Hosea. God commanded Hosea, his prophet, to wed and bed a prostitute. Beautiful Gomer wandered away from her husband and family, repeatedly deserting them to return to her sordid life as a whore. But Hosea rescued his bride, filthy and frail, from the slave-trader’s auction block. Hosea redeemed his unfaithful wife for an exorbitant amount, swept her up into his forgiving arms and brought her home. The amazing love story of Hosea and Gomer demonstrates God’s unfailing love for an unfaithful, idolatrous people. If you are a Gomer, it’s never to late to repent and return to God. His compassion will renew and restore you. No matter what your past may be, God will help you experience real love. If you are a Hosea, don’t give up. The great heart of God can teach you unconditional acceptance. No perfect person exists, but a great heart attracts great love. Jacob and Rachel Persistence and perseverance was demonstrated by the most unlikely of Bible characters. Jacob was no candidate for man of the year. Sneaky and selfish, he fled his father’s house because he deceived his elderly father and stole his older brother’s birthright and blessing. However, this con man learned persevering love for a woman, and his devotion shows us how we can win a heart. Jacob stole one glance at stunning Rachel and it was love at first sight. But God gave Jacob a taste of his own medicine. His uncle Laban cheated him. As Laban’s nephew, Jacob agreed to work seven years with smelly sheep to win Rachel’s hand. The wedding night was a disaster. Laban replaced Rachel with her older sister Leah while Jacob snored in a drunken stupor. The foggy bridegroom awoke to find homely Leah in his bed. (There’s more to this story…) However, Jacob persevered. He promised to work another seven years for his beloved Rachel. The Bible said Jacob was so smitten the time flew by. Do you know anyone who would tirelessly toil for fourteen years to win the woman of his dreams? Jacob worked and waited. And Rachel was worth the wait! Nowadays, most of us display the patience of a gnat. We pitch a fit if our internet is too slow. Speed dating is the order of the day, and nobody waits for marriage to hook up with a potential partner. Shame on us! Love is hard work. If you want to truly, deeply love someone, you have to be persistent and patient. David and Abigail Wisdom and discretion can be winning qualities to attract a good husband or wife. Abigail was married to a jerk and a drunkard. Her fat, rich, lazy husband Nabal refused to show hospitality to David’s mighty men. Dumb decision! But Abigail was one savvy woman. When she discovered the devastating news and impending destruction of her family, she hurriedly prepared a sumptuous feast, bowed low and apologized to David for Nabal’s rudeness. When foolish Nabal sobered up and found out what might have happened to him, he keeled over with a massive coronary. David remembered the widow’s gracious wisdom, and took her as his wife. Do you feel trapped, surrounded by losers? Hold your ground. Immerse yourself in God’s Word. Find a church. Serve God well. Be a catch and God will reward your spiritual maturity and discreet behavior. Boaz and Ruth The romance of Ruth and Boaz is remarkable glimpse into a love built on fearlessness and faithfulness. Ruth came to Israel a poor widow in a foreign land. She devoted her life to the care of her mother-in-law, Naomi. Naomi was a sad, bitter old woman. (Naomi cried, “call me Marah” which means “bitter.” The lovely Moabitess, undaunted by setbacks and heartache, faithfully gleaned in a rich relative’s field to survive. Boaz noticed the young woman’s loyalty and integrity. He admired her and showed her favor by generously providing for this sweet young woman. Following her mother-in-law’s advice, Ruth made a daring robe-proposal. She slept at the feet of her benefactor, a near-kinsman of Naomi. In doing so, Ruth asked Boaz to marry her. This was no sexually-charged proposition. In fact, she demonstrated the true qualities of holiness and loyalty to her family. Boaz was delighted. Ruth walked a hard road of grief, pain and isolation. Her Heavenly Father rewarded her with a devoted husband, a son, and the honor of being the great-great-grandmother of Jesus. Be a godly man or woman. But be gutsy too. Follow where He leads and you may find your Boaz or Ruth just around the corner!

How do we pray for our protectors? Over 1.3 million U.S. military members currently deployed to Afghanistan and other contingencies around the globe. Each of these has mothers and fathers they have left behind. A great many have wives or husbands and children who remain at home. We, yes, I am one, have homes, friends, churches, bills, school, pets, and many other things we have left behind for the sake of serving our nation.  I am currently on my second deployment to Afghanistan and was often told by people before leaving that they would be praying for me. I imagine this same comment has been made thousands of times in America as our men and women have left home to fight the wars of our nation. Some of you reading this may have spoken those very words, a promise to pray for a soldier, airmen, marine, or sailor while they are away on their deployment. But what do you pray? Using the 23rd Psalm, I will guide you to pray for the warriors of America. I also hope to give you a glimpse into the every day life of those of us who chose this line of work. “The Lord is My Shepherd;” Think of a shepherd. A shepherd is a leader, provider, protector of the ones under him. He plans and orchestrates the events of those under him. He doesn’t just say what to do, but he provides the means to do it. It is no surprise to anyone that the military is very structured. Every person, with few exceptions, enters the military as either an E-1 (Enlisted) or and O-1 (Officer). Everyone progresses and with each new rank comes more responsibility. Early in our military careers we are groomed as leaders. We are expected to follow the orders given to us, but soon become responsible to guide and direct others. Pray for those is leadership positions. This includes many different ranks within the military. Each is a shepherd; some good, others, well, they need more prayer. Each day these leaders are making decisions about what others are doing. Some are directing people to go conduct combat missions. Others are deciding what to cook or where people will sleep. Every decision made by one of these leaders affects other people. Pray for wisdom for those who lead, guide and direct the daily military operations. Pray for those under leadership. Military life is about following orders. Every person in the military is taking orders from someone else. From the lowly E-1 to the highest four star general. Pray for obedience. It is God who has placed us under the authority of others. Therefore, If we are to honor God, we must obey those in authority over us. “I Shall not want.” I cannot imagine a harder moment than just after kissing my wife and saying goodbye to my five year old daughter and one year old son. I want to be with them and hold them and kiss them so badly. Our warriors give up so much for the sake of our nation. When we wake up in the morning there is no wife to to kiss goodbye as we go to work. There are no kids running and jumping in the bed with us. There are no meals with the family or walks in the park. Birthdays and anniversaries come and go. It is not just family we are without, though. Every post has a small, what we call, exchange. This the place were we can by toothpaste, socks, knives, boots, soda, etc. It has the basic necessities, but it doesn’t have everything. We don’t have the convenience of Walmart or Target or Walgreens. What they have is what we get. There’s no options and most of the time they are out of what you need. There is one dining facility on each base. We call them “DFAC.” Now imagine eating three meals a day 7 days a week for at least six months at your least favorite cafeteria/buffet style restaurant. It get’s old pretty quick. One thing you learn quickly at the DFAC is the local and third country national we hire to cook our food just can’t fry chicken or grill meat quite like it is done at home. Our cooks do a great job providing food for the large number of people they must serve, but I don’t think there is a Paula Dean equivalent in Afghanistan. As you can see there is much to be desired; the comfort of family, the familiarity of home, Chipotle! Many soldier’s days are spent in misery longing for what they cannot have at the moment, and this destroys some. I can assure you our basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, and bullets will be met. But each of us longs for home. Pray for our minds. The mind is a power thing. By nature of what we do we must be sharp and on point, ready to act when called upon. Pray that the desires of home would not be so great that we cannot function. Pray for opportunities for communication with mom, dad, wife/husband and children. There are many great tools with the internet today, but not every soldier will get the opportunity. Pray that those opportunities will be given to them and that the time will encourage them to press on with the mission that is before them. Pray for the the wives of the husbands who are deployed. Loneliness and depression come so quickly. They sacrifice as much as the one deployed. Many are living in a city with no family near by. Some are even alone in a foreign country. They want their husbands with them, but at this moment it cannot be. Pray for the husbands of the wives who are deployed. They, too, carry a heavy load when their wife leaves. Not only do they carry the burden of caring for or maintaining their household, but they have great worry for their wives who are in harms way. Pray for the wives with children at home or pregnant while the husband is deployed. Caring for children was not meant to be a solo job. Pray for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These moms get no breaks, little rest, and little help. They do all of the cooking, cleaning, diaper changing, and dog walking. Pray for the conflict that will arise between husbands and wives during the deployment. Conflict will come. Dealing with conflict when you are separated for six months or a year is very difficult. It can be easy for some to avoid the problems all together and stop communication. Pray for the children of those deployed. They do not understand what is happening. All they know is their mom or dad is not coming home. For the past few Skype dates with my daughter she has told me that her greatest desire for Christmas is me. There is a hole in her heart. There is a hole in the heart of every child whose parent is deployed. “He leads me beside still waters.” War is busy and hectic. The typical soldier, airmen, marine, and sailor works 12 hours per day 7 days per week. No days off. No nap time. No privacy. Life is go, go, go. Someone is always wanting something from you. Depending on where you are you may have two or three or more rocket attacks in one week. Pray for rest. Working 12 hours per day for seven days equates to 84 hours of work. That is more than two full time jobs. Pray for peace. Working that many hours and being around the same people day in and day out will cause conflict. It will cause conflict at work and it will cause conflict with home. “ He restores my soul.” There is a great need for the gospel here. I am not talking about taking the gospel to the Afghan people or the people of the nation for which we are deployed to. I am talking about the people of our military. They need Jesus. Sin nature is no less prevalent here than it is in any other part of the world. Pray for the heart of those who do not believe that they will be open to receive the gospel. Pray for those of us who do believe that we would share the gospel unashamedly. Pray for the military chaplains who are deployed. They carry the burden for soul care for all of our warriors. Pray that they would proclaim the gospel boldly in the chapel services each week. Pray for the Bible studies that are taking place on each base. Pray that the Word of God is taught, and that believers would encourage and love one another. Pray for opportunities to attend in the midst of our hectic work schedule. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Death is inevitable in war. According to the Washington Post approximately 2,000 U.S. military members have died in Afghanistan since 2001. Some were accidental, but many were the result of combat action. Not only have we lost men and women, but we have taken the lives of others. Our warriors have seen death; they have seen evil. Not one of us who goes out on combat missions fails to consider what would happen if we hit an improvised explosive device (IED). Or what if a rocket lands on base right where I happen to be standing? Or what if one of the Afghan National Army or police takes their rifle and begins shooting at us on base, where we are supposed to be safe? These are the daily thoughts of those deployed. Pray for courage for those who believe. For those who believe can say, “I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” What great comfort there is in those few words. God is with me everywhere I go, all of the time. Therefore I do not need to fear. Pray for the unbeliever. What can they cling to? Where is their hope? The only hope there is is found in Jesus Christ. They may not believe now, but God may use their circumstances to draw them to Him. Pray for both the believer and the unbeliever. Dealing with death can wreak havoc on the mind. Whether it is loosing someone close to you in combat or killing another, the mind will be affected. This will effect their ability to work, their relationships with their wives/husbands and children, their walk with God, and much more. “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” What do you think of when you think of the rod and staff of a shepherd? I picture the shepherd using his staff to guide the sheep. The sheep want to go their own way, but the shepherd, with his staff, brings them back. The best place for the the sheep to be is in the presence of the shepherd. This is where they are cared for, find protection, receive provision, and find comfort. A military deployment causes much pain and heartache, not only for the military members, but also for the family and friends. There is much need for comfort. Depression lurks at the door to the minds of many. Relationships have been broken because of the tension caused from the separation. Worry slips into our minds due to the seemingly lack of control we have over situations at home. Where can we find comfort? We can find comfort in the inspired, inerrant Word of God. When events occur in our lives it can feel as if we have no one to turn to. There are no close friends or family to go to with your hurts and pains. There is no church family. Your wife or husband is thousands of miles away. Loneliness can overwhelm. Pray for the military Chaplains who have been charged with soul care for the military. There are only a limited number of chaplains who are available to provide soul care for the warriors here. They cannot provide for all. Pray that believers would wholly rely on the Scriptures for our comfort. Pray that unbelievers would be drawn to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the only true source of peace and comfort. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;” You cannot have a war without an enemy. Much of the conflict we are in today revolves around the Muslim faith. As believers we know that no amount of social justice will bring peace to this area of the world. There is only one cure, Jesus. We are fighting to restore a government, build schools, and stop and prevent the injustices committed against the Afghan people. But our enemy is doing everything in it’s power to stop us. The Afghan people don’t want the help that we are providing, but that does not deter us from trying. They have been deceived and are separated from God. In the Old Testament God used the enemies of Israel. It wasn’t typically good for the Israelites in their eyes, but God was using their enemy to mold the hearts of the Israelites. It was part of His plan. God has not changed. He is doing the same today. He works all things. This conflict today is part of God’s plan. Pray for the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other groups with whom we are fighting. They, too, need Jesus! “ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” There is not a soldier, airmen, marine, or sailor here who has not thought about the end of their life in some respect. I promise you that it has crossed everyone’s mind at least once during their time here. With the exception of the Lord’s return, death in inevitable for all of us. Every car that passes our convoys could be a car that detonates. Every Afghan National Army soldier or Afghan National Police officer could be the one that begins shooting. These thoughts are never far from our minds. There is a hope. II Corinthians 5:1-5 explains this so well. For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. This is not an exhaustive list of what to pray for our troops in combat, but I hope it encourages you to spend time praying specifically for the needs of those of us fighting for freedom and those who we left behind. If you know someone who is deployed pray specifically for them. I encourage you to ask them how you can pray for them. We each have our own specific needs and issues that arise during our deployments. Don’t forget their families! They too need prayer, but they also need tangible help. The grass still needs to be mowed. The oil in the car needs to be changed. Thank you for your prayers. They are greatly appreciated by those of us who believe.

I don’t believe in accidents. But, sometimes things happen that I didn’t plan, like the time Gary and I ended up on an all-Jewish bus tour of Israel. When Gary retired from pastoring, our home church gave Gary a travel voucher as a retirement gift. After praying and researching our possibilities we decided to pursue a visit to Israel. So, we signed up for a tour that was canceled six weeks before our departure date. But, because our trip was already paid for, the travel agency bumped us up to a luxury tour, at no extra cost. This is how we ended up on a tour bus filled with gracious, fun-loving, American Jews. But, it was not an accident. Journeying through Israel heralded for us just how long-range God’s timeless plans really are. The early church was a very Jewish church. We sometimes forget this principle when reading the New Testament. In the very beginning the only scripture they had was the Old Testament. Unfortunately, which theological views are currently in vogue often depends on what is happening within a society. I thought of this truth as I rode the bus with my new Jewish friends. Most pastors and church members are victims of the age they live in. Visiting a holocaust museum with Jewish descendants of the murdered sadly reminded me of how the majority of the churches in Germany capitulated under the Nazis’ regime. We say we are people of the book; and yet when we study Christian history, we see the age we live in plays a key role in what passages we are willing to study. With the rise of the scientific age, our popular theology increasingly chose a more scientific approach to Bible study. We wanted to know the historical background and customs revealed in a passage. We wanted to learn the meaning of the Greek or Hebrew words found within a verse. We wanted to dissect a passage like it was a frog in Biology class. These attitudes were not wrong; in fact they were very helpful to the modern student who was so far removed from the first century. But, they were different from the way the early, very Jewish church examined scriptures. Early Christians felt that the Old and New Testament was the story of God’s Son. They did not need someone to explain the language since they all spoke Greek. In addition, before the birth of Christ, the Old Testament had been translated into Greek for the now large Jewish population who lived outside the borders of Israel. Cultural and historical significance were a moot point to the first century believers. Keep in mind these Messianic Jews where eyewitnesses to the resurrection (1Cor. 15:6). Instead they searched the scriptures believing the Bible in its entirety was the story of God’s Son, Jesus. In their viewpoint, there was no conflict in believing the Old Testament was a true record of Israel’s history, as well as recognizing within the Old Testament stories, pictures foretelling the coming of Christ. For example in 1 Cor. 10:1-6 the Apostle Paul challenges us with the importance of Old Testament imagery. I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless God was not pleased for they were over thrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. ESV The Greek word translated “example” in verse 6 is the Greek word “tupos”. An English transliteration of the word “tupos” would be “typos” and our English word “type” is rooted in the ancient Greek word. The way Paul uses the word, “tupos” means: a pictorial symbol foreshadowing the future. Saint Augustine, a Gentile leader of the early church, embraced this attitude and wrote, “The new is in the old contained, the old is in the new explained.” If this feels like a unique way to analyze the scriptures, understand this is not a new teaching, but it might be a neglected one in our generation. To be a true Old Testament “type” of Christ a picture must be validated in the New Testament. In John 1:29, John the Baptist says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. With this pronouncement, a picture of Christ is identified which can be found throughout the Old Testament narrative. One key to understanding the Old Testament portraits of Christ is to see time in the Bible is best illustrated as a spiral. Not every culture describes time the same way. In the beautiful song, The Circle of Life, from The Lion King, time is portrayed as a circle where life is constantly being reincarnated. In the Western mindset, we often think of the chronological passing of time as a straight line with events beginning and ending along this line. But the biblical concept of time is more like a spiral. It has a curve like a circle because these beautiful metaphors of Christ tend to repeat themselves, but time also moves progressively forward. Analyze how this spiral view of time is evidenced in the “Lamb of God” portrait. Time begins and on the first cusp of the curve, we have the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-10). This is the first time we see the picture of a lamb sacrificed in history. Time spirals on and at the top of the next curve we see God providing a ram caught in a thicket for Abraham to sacrifice sparing Isaac’s life (Genesis 22). This is our second lamb portrait. Time advances and at the cusp of the third curve we see the Passover lamb protecting the Israelites from the death angel (Exodus 12). The imagery of the lamb continues on throughout the Old Testament. With every Old Testament sacrifice, the people are reminded that without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin. Finally, in John 1:29, John the Baptist identifies this lamb picture as a portrait of the Messiah. The Lamb picture does not stop with Christ’s first coming, though. Twenty-five times the phrase “the Lamb” or “the Lamb of God” appears in the book of Revelation. So, these portraits or types reveal cohesiveness to scripture that we might miss without their study. In the typology of the Old Testament, we see God as the author of time who has the ability to prophesy through actual history. Prophets foretelling the future write much of the Old Testament, but that is not the only way God prophesied in these ancient scriptures. Events like the Exodus, while historically accurate, also point to a coming Messiah, a lamb that would make a way for us to live in a right relationship with him. As the creator of time, God is not bound by his creation, but rather time serves God’s purposes. The Old Testament portraits of Christ highlight a divine conspiracy of the Holy Spirit and showcase the glory of his long-range plans (Psalm 33:11). The portraits of Christ also uncover the manifold wisdom of God. No one picture fully illustrates all of Christ’s work, character, or power. Think of the complete portrait of Christ as a multifaceted diamond, impossible to paint with one metaphor. There is high value, though, in focusing on one plane of that jewel at a time. As a daughter might leaf through her family’s photo albums searching for clues about her father’s military years, these portraits allow us to meditate on Jesus’ majesty in fresh ways. When we struggle to believe God could ever forgive us or doubt he could rescue us from the mess we have made, these biblical portraits advance hope. 1) All of God’s plans are eternal. Why is this crucial to remember? 2) What might change if you believed this truth?

My youngest son, Miles, and I have a unique mother/son relationship. We most definitely relate on a familial level, but also he appreciates my counsel. As a minister, much of what I do for women is counsel, but rarely does a parent experience that sort of relationship with her child. Miles, on the other hand, seeks my counsel. And understand, I do not mean simply my advice. At twenty-six, he still comes to me for solid counsel on every topic imaginable. Needless to say, I love that he does so. However, it has also presented some very touchy situations between the two of us, situations where I have found it necessary to be a little more honest than I would ordinarily be comfortable with when speaking to my son. I know the value of transparency as a teacher and as a counselor, especially in terms of my walk with God, but that transparency recently took on an entirely new level in a recent conversation I had with Miles. It was Easter and he was going through some tough times in his life. He very candidly asked me how God could ever want anything to do with him considering some of the things he had done. My husband was out of the country and my oldest son was working that day, so Miles and I were headed to lunch at a local Chinese restaurant we both wanted to try. I had him all to myself, and on the flip side, he also realized he had me all to himself. As I looked into his sweet and troubled eyes, I saw myself so very clearly. I saw the doubts I’d had so many years ago, doubts about how a God who literally knew not only every vile deed I had committed but also every disgusting thought I’d ever had could love me, much less use me to His glory. I remember thinking that my deeds disqualified me for service; they disqualified me from anything except condemnation. And here’s the kicker: to most people, they did. After the life I lived became more of a public exhibition rather than a private prison, most people felt that my deeds disqualified me from everything. It took me many years to understand the love of a Savior who not only died for those sins, but actually knew about those sins before I committed them. His response in that knowledge was not to condemn me but to go to the cross to pay the penalty I deserved. That love is astounding, and finally understanding it freed me from the condemnation brought on by others and myself. Now I was looking into the sweet green eyes of my son, eyes that were wet with tears I understood, and I wanted him to know what I knew. I wanted Miles to know that Jesus went to the cross knowing him, choosing him, loving him, and then willingly dying for him in spite of all of that because Miles is His. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:3-4) Miles has always been His and therefore is qualified for service to Him. I was immediately aware of a truth I learned long ago as I’ve looked into so many eyes like my son’s over the years: I have to be transparent about my own sin so that others might know the unconditional, ever-present love of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of His people. I needed to share with my son a concrete truth about my own past so that he could know and believe that sin doesn’t disqualify us for service. If it did, there would be no one to serve. Transparency is difficult. Once we pull back the curtain that we all safely hide behind in our day to day lives, we run the risk of rejection. There will be some who simply don’t like what they see behind that curtain, even if it is in the past, and they will either run from us or try to get others to do the same. That will happen, but it only happens rarely. What usually happens when I am transparent about my own sin is freedom from the bondage of isolation that sin and the knowledge of sin places on the woman with whom I am sharing. Often we think that our sin is too great or too horrible to be forgiven or to be passed over, even by the blood of Jesus, so we hide it or we cower under it. What I loved as I looked into Miles’ tear-filled eyes is that he decided he didn’t want to hide anymore. Miles wanted to know how to get out from under the blanket of condemnation that was paralyzing him, so he asked me a very pivotal question. How was I going to respond? When I’m asked that fateful question, “How can a person like me ever be used in God’s kingdom,” I know the door has cracked open a bit to freedom. The decision is always mine at that point whether or not to allow them to see behind my curtain and risk the pain of condemnation. I could do that or I could placate them with words of encouragement that inevitably heal nothing. Will I let them see? Was I going to let my son see who I am so that he can see the love of a Savior and King who forgives? The answer, of course, is yes! I told him of a time many Sundays ago when I sinned so grievously that I had never spoken of it since. I told him that I carried that sin with me for many, many years, certain that not only the gravity of the sin, but the hypocrisy of committing it on Sunday and then going to church and leading worship as if nothing were wrong was definitely enough to disqualify me for service. As my tears ran freely to join his, I then reminded him of what God allows me to do today. I reminded Miles of how God graciously has not only forgiven my sin, but that He knew even then that one day I would be able to be transparent about my sin with thousands of women all over the world so that the freedom available only in Jesus’ sacrificial atonement would be made known to them as well. I reminded him of Paul and David and Peter and Abraham and of how God uses the least of us to show His magnificent glory. As we cried together, driving to a little Chinese restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, I let my son see me , just as I’ve let many other women see me , knowing that I might be slain for it. That’s a risk I’ve come to be more than willing to take. How can I be willing to do less in the face of what Jesus did for me? I am willing to be slain verbally by the few so that I might be an instrument in saving the many. Jesus was willing to be by the few so that He would save the many. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5) There have been plenty of times that I have stood on stage and shared portions of my past with a group of women and that those facts have fallen on ears that no longer want to listen because of them. I understand that. But my reputation has become nothing in comparison to the freedom my transparency has provided for exponentially more women who have isolated themselves in a prison of guilt and despair because of their own sin. If my past does not serve my Savior, then it is of no value. But if it serves to release the chains of bondage that condemnation invokes, then I rejoice in sharing, even if I am slain by the few. Miles and I had a wonderful Sunday lunch of dumplings and Chow Mein, but more importantly, we had a blessed afternoon of bonding in our freedom in Christ. I have no regrets about sharing with him that afternoon, nor will I have any compunction about doing so again if necessary. My reputation and what others think of me no longer rate in comparison to the beauty of letting even my past sin work to the glory of my Savior. www.debwaterbury.com .

You probably have a love/hate relationship with apologies. You appreciate it deeply when others apologize to you. But you find it difficult to apologize to others. And let me guess, when you do apologize, you’re tempted to explain, justify or defend your actions. Which is not really an apology at all. Please hear this. Two of the most powerful words a leader can utter are simply “I apologize”. One of the reasons those two words are so powerful is because we hear them so rarely from leaders. Think back over your life. When has a leader come to you, looked you straight in the eye, and offered an unconditional apology? Rarely is my guess. Maybe never. So let’s change that. Here’s how. 5 WAYS TO APOLOGIZE WELL IN LEADERSHIP At its heart, an apology is ownership. It says “I was responsible”. Whether you intended to hurt someone or mess up a situation is irrelevant. Mature, responsible leaders know they are the problem, and they work hard to see and claim their share of anything that went wrong. They’re quick to accept blame, and even faster to assign credit to others when things go well. These leaders know it’s not about them. It’s about the mission and the team. So how do you apologize well in leadership? Here are five guidelines that have helped me and that I’ve appreciated when I’ve seen them at work in other leaders: 1. GO FIRST Often when a situation gets messed up, people are wondering what to do with it. Sweep it under the rug? Let it go? Wait for someone else to take the lead. If you’re a leader–even if you’re not the senior leader–take the initiative. Go first. If you do, you’ll not only break the ice, you’ll give others permission to take their share of responsibility AND you’ll make the situation better. So go first. 2. SAY IT IN PERSON, BUT IF YOU CAN’T, DON’T DELAY Ideally, you will take the person or people involved aside, look them in the eye and own your part of the problem (which sometimes is 100% of the problem). But if you’re not going to see them soon, don’t delay. In the last week, I’ve sent two emails to apologize for the tone in which I communicated something because I knew I wasn’t going to see the person within 24 hours. Whatever you do, own what you need to own quickly. 3. BE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT WENT WRONG AND WHAT YOU DID When things go wrong, the temptation is to be vague. “Well, I’m not really sure what happened but I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” “I don’t really know why it didn’t get done, but I’ll make sure it won’t happen again.” I hear this all the time and it drives me crazy. Really? How can you be sure it never happens again if you don’t even know what happened? Being vague on the details is a sign that you don’t really care enough to figure out what happened. Great leaders do solid post mortems on tough situations so they can figure out what happened, what they could have done to avoid it, and then figure out how to not let it happen again. When you’re owning a situation and apologizing for your role in it, being as specific as you can makes your apology mean more and makes you much more effective as a leader moving forward. 4. DON’T DEFEND Our word “apology” comes from the Greek word (apologia), which means “defense”. That’s not a bad thing when you’re engaging in apologetics (defending or advancing a belief system), but it’s a terrible thing to do when you are actually apologizing. Saying things like “If she had delivered the first version to me on time I would have had it done on time” doesn’t help. A defense is often an abdication of responsibility. Don’t defend yourself. Don’t blame others. Just own it and apologize. 5. DON’T JUSTIFY This is closely related to not defending yourself, but it’s so natural and common to justify your failure that it deserves mentioning. Sure, traffic might have been slow. But you should have left 10 minutes earlier. Yes, the shipment was delayed, but your job was to get it there on time, wasn’t it? Absolutely, you were tired. But just because you were tired doesn’t mean you can dump all over people. Those may be explanations, but they are not justifications. They don’t make what you did or failed to do right. Never use an explanation as a justification. Even if you talk about reasons, still own your failure 100% (“I was really tired, but I was also really wrong. I apologize.”) Take responsibility. I find that when I apologize using these guidelines, things go much better for the team and for me. Why? Because I grow, and I learn. And I become a better leader when I take full responsibility. www.careynieuwhof.com . Used by permission.

We all struggle with evil. David expressed his sorrow and frustration in this psalm. “How Long, O God?” David struggled – and then he prayed fervently. When pain, heartache, injustice and confusion come, it’s our foxhole moment, our desperate prayer. www.dbc.org . Used by permission.

Share 0 John Piper, in his magnificent book, “Why I Love the Apostle Paul,” asks us why Paul didn’t boast more about his vision of the third heaven. Where did Paul go? Here are John Piper’s observations: “Suppose you had an absolutely stunning supernatural experience, like being in a car accident and having an out-of-body experience so that you were sure you had died and gone to heaven for a few minutes before returning to your body and being brought back to life. How would you handle that experience? Most of us would be consumed with telling others about it. We might even write a book about it, and go on a speaking circuit. It’s just too amazing to keep to ourselves. And more than likely we would feel empowered to use that very experience to authorize our views of heaven. We might feel as if this extraordinary experience gave us extraordinary influence. Who could contradict us? We had been there! To Heaven and Back Paul did have an experience something like that. But here’s the amazing thing: He mentions it only one time in his thirteen letters, and he never once makes it the warrant for believing anything he says. In fact, the only reason he brings it up is to say that this kind of privilege is precisely not what he will boast in. Rather, he will boast in his weaknesses. Here’s the experience — he even describes it as if it were another person so as not to exalt himself: I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows — and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. (2 Corinthians 12:1–5) We know he is talking about himself, even though he says, “I know a man . . .” because two verses later he says, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). So he himself is the one who had this extraordinary experience. It is astonishing that Paul introduces this absolutely stunning experience of being “caught up into paradise” only to give it a passing “boast” and then turn all his attention to the real marks of an apostle — namely, suffering for Christ’s sake. Why Minimize the Marvelous? Paul never mentions this experience again. He does not use it to pull rank. He shifts all the focus off of the dramatic and onto the painful reality of suffering with joy. Why? Because it is merely human to boast about extraordinary experiences like visions and out-of-body encounters with God. It requires no great grace or power of God to boast in things that seem to set you apart as privileged. But to boast about weaknesses, and to be content with insults and hardships and persecutions and calamities — that is not what ordinary sinful humans are like. That requires supernatural grace. This is what Paul wants to focus on as the evidence of his apostleship. In fact, he says that the Lord Jesus gave him a thorn in the flesh (we never know what it is) precisely so that he would be hindered from boasting as a superhero of spiritual experience. When Paul pleaded that Jesus would take the thorn away, the Lord answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). So Paul concluded, Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9–10) Instead of circling back again and again to his once-in-a-lifetime out-of-body experience, Paul mentions it once, and then shifts all the focus onto the truths that people can see and think about and test in his writing and his life. Rooted in Public Reality In other words, the truth of Christianity is not rooted in mystical experiences that only a few people have. It is rooted in God-given revelation through writings that are open for all to see and study and test. It is validated in real lives that others can see and examine. So, instead of directing people to his private experience, Paul says, We behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand. (2 Corinthians 1:12–13) “The truth of Christianity is not rooted in mystical experiences that only a few people have.” If you were to ask Paul, “How can we share your insight into the mystery of Christ?” he would not answer, “I’m sorry. Those mysteries are reserved for the select few who have rare mystical experiences.” What he would say is this: “When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4). His way of opening heaven was not by appealing to unsharable experiences. His way was by appealing to shareable truths written for all to see and understand and experience. Life on Display Behind these writings he put his own life as evidence of reality. Not his life in the rare moments of mystical experience, but his life as a flesh-and-blood man who had to deal with all the hardships of life and ministry. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:9) Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. (Philippians 3:17) Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) In other words, Paul’s way of leading us into the truth and glory of Christ was not to talk about his privilege of an out-of-body experience of paradise. Instead, his way was to live an open life of total devotion to Jesus, through much suffering, and to write Spirit-given words (1 Corinthians 2:13) that are open to all — readable, public, ready for all to examine. This is a mark of humble, serious, personal reality. It is unusual, contrary to ordinary human proclivities, attractive. It has won my heart. www.desiringgod.org .