Purpose to Meditate on God
As we contemplate Someone so vast and deep it will expand our souls and minds more than a person who simply focuses on things of this world. It will drown our pride and humble us in its immensity.
As we contemplate Someone so vast and deep it will expand our souls and minds more than a person who simply focuses on things of this world. It will drown our pride and humble us in its immensity.
Just as Jesus was with Cleopas He has told His children, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” This is true especially when the world is crazy. He makes a difference in the life of any and all who invite Him in.
Every leader or would-be leader must ask and answer the question, “What am I going to do with my life?” Regardless of how one answers this question, at some point one will have to say “no” in order to pursue their life calling.
I don’t know what God has in store for you, and you won’t either until you purposefully and intentionally respond to His call. As Pastor Chuck Swindoll says, “Been resisting God’s call on your life? Don’t be afraid to follow. He leads you in love.”
Good leaders will say, “Stay at it!” Ever notice how motivated and strengthened you feel when you have people who come alongside and let you know they want you to succeed? And the result? “Many people were brought to the Lord.”
Building up others means to edify, encourage, and uplift them so they will be strengthened inwardly to persevere despite difficulty. Encouragement seeks to infuse difficulty with meaning. Without that sense of meaning, hope and the will to go on fades.
In Ephesians 5:18 the contrast and comparison to being drunk illustrates the idea that we are to be influenced by the Holy Spirit. When we are under the influence of something, we will say and do things we normally wouldn’t.
Humility to be a servant leader does not come from thinking we are better than others, or can lay claim to some man-made title. It comes from recognizing who we are, as one under the sovereignty of God gifted by Him for the task of leading.
Apocalyptic, as a category of prophetic literature, is the most dramatic, foreign, and difficult to understand of all the biblical literary forms. It deals with end-of-the-world events using symbolism and figurative language.
The Holy Spirit within us encourages us to follow God’s will over our own desires. He leads our heart according to the truth of God’s Word. Even as He’s constantly shaping and moulding our hearts through the power of His Spirit, we are to follow Him.