When you pray say.. 'Hallowed be your name'

The name of God is the revelation of who HE is.  

"Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory [is] above the earth and heaven." Psa 148:13

God’s name is rvealed in the Old Testament

·  El Shaddai (All-Sufficient One, Lord God Almighty)           

·  El Elyon (The Most High God)

·  Adonai (Lord, Master)                                          

·  Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah – related to his omnipotence)

·  Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner; Our Refuge)      

·  Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)

·  Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)                          

·  Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)

·  Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)         

·  Elohim (God; Creator and Judge)

·  Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You; who makes you Holy)

·  El Olam (The Everlasting God; The ancient of Days, the creator of the universe, the God of 

                    eternity)

·  Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)                         

·  Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)  

·  Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts)

The Bible reveals that God is: All-knowing, All-powerful, Present everywhere, Never changes, Eternal

In Character He is:  Love, He is Just, He is Holy, He is true, He is wise, He is good, he is patient, he is merciful, he is gracious!

God is revealed in the New Testament in Jesus the Christ:
 ‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’  Isaiah 9:6  This prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus, God’s plan.   

Jesus is Emmanuel God with us.  He is our prophet, our priest and our King.  He is our Saviour, He was is lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  He is our redeemer, He is merciful, He is our peace, He is our joy, He is full of Grace and truth.  He is our peace, He is the reason for our forgiveness, He is our justifier, He is our sanctifier, He is the giver of all our gifts, He is giver of his Spirit, He is our great shepherd. He is our burden bearer.  He is the way the truth and the life. He is the only way to heaven.  He is our hope of eternal live, he has conquered sin and death, He defeated the devil, He is the king of Kings, He is the Lord of Lords, He reigns supreme and he is our returning king. When we focus his name and focus on who he is, we are reminded that our Father is Almighty and is indeed above all.  And we could go on and on....

God is to be worshiped!   The mystery - That God is almighty and Holy yet Jesus instructs us that we can call him 'Father'.   'Abba' meaning daddy!  I get to call the creator of the universe ' daddy' -  This is HUGE!  What a joy to pray!

Generosity: The Poverty of A Rich King

The Macedonian church was radically generous in response to the gospel gaining traction in their lives. They understood that they were redeemed in order to serve the rich King who became poor for their sake, so that they might become rich; and thereby bless others through their abundance of wealth and joy in the midst of extreme poverty. God provided for them so that they could provide for the needs of others (cf. Gen. 12:1-3), despite the fact that they were among the poorest churches in the first century (AD). May our hearts reflect their radical generosity…

2 Corinthians 8:1-15 

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

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I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

The Radical Generosity of John Wesley

“[Wesley] had just finished buying some pictures for his room when one of the chambermaids came to his door. It was a winter day and he noticed that she had only a thin linen gown to wear for protection against the cold. He reached into his pocket to give her some money for a coat, and found he had little left. It struck him that the Lord was not pleased with how he had spent his money. He asked himself: ‘Will thy Master say, “Well done, good and faithful steward?” Thou has adorned thy walls with the money that might have screened this poor creature from the cold! O justice! O mercy! Are not these pictures the blood of this poor maid?’

“Perhaps as a result of this incident, in 1731 Wesley began to limit his expenses so he would have more money to give to the poor. He records that one year his income was £30, and his living expenses £28, so he had £2 to give away. The next year, his income doubled, but he still lived on £28 and gave £32 away. In the third year, his income jumped to £90; again he lived on £28, and gave £62 to the poor.

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“Wesley preached that Christian should not merely tithe, but give away all extra income once the family and creditors were taken care of. He believed that with increasing income, the Christian’s standard of giving should increase, not his standard of living. He began this practice at Oxford and continued it throughout his life. Even when his income rose into the thousands of pounds, he lived simply and quickly gave up treasures on earth, so the money went out in charity as quickly as it came in. He reports that he never had as much as £100 at one time.

“When he died in 1791, the only money mentioned in his will was the miscellaneous coins to be found in his pockets and dresser drawers. Most of the £30,000 he had earned in his life-time he had given away. As Wesley said, ‘I cannot help leaving my books behind me whenever God calls me hence; but, in every other respect, my own hands will be my executors.’”

Randy Alcorn points out that Wesley’s income in today’s dollars would be $160,000 annually. Yet, he lived on only $20,000 of it.[1]

While we may not be able to live as radically generous as John Wesley (just as few of us can live out the uncommon faith of George Muller) ,we can certainly strive to imitate the faith and generosity of our King and those who have been given the grace to reflect Him. After all, it is the Spirit of God who empowers such things! May we cultivate the grace of generosity and find God’s provision sufficient to sustain our radical self-denial and increasing ministry to the least of these–both physically and spiritually. May we put God to the test and find His grace sufficient for producing in us an abundance of joy and poverty that results in nothing short of a wealth of generosity (Mal. 3:10; 2Cor. 8).

How to Rise Above “I’ll do it Myself”

This is an exceptional post by Dan Rockwell.

Individual contributors have impact by getting things done. Leaders have exponential impact by getting things done through others.  But, it often feels easier to do it yourself.

Five reasons it’s easier to do it yourself:

1. Control.
2. Quality. It’s done the way you want it to be done.
3. Scheduling.
4. No relational component.
5. No communication confusion.

Three real reasons to do it yourself:

1. You plan to keep doing it.
2. It’s once and done. It really is quicker.
3. You have unique technical skills. No one else is equipped.

When others should but can’t:  The work of leaders is the work of others. The first work of leaders is developing the team. It may be easier to do it yourself, but in the end you short-circuit exponential impact.

Develop the team or you’ll do it yourself.

The door to developing others swings on modelling. Humbly live it yourself or shut up and go home.

Don’t neglect the behaviours you expect from others. Arrogant self-exemption closes hearts and minds, but, modelling enhances influence.

After modelling, teach others to combine strengths with contrasting qualities.

Navigate tension between:

1. Decisiveness and listening.
2. Focus and flexibility.
3. Tenacity and kindness.
4. Vision and openness.
5. Kindness and candor.
6. Passion and quietness.
7. Analysis and initiative.
8. Planning and people.
9. Solitude and relationships.
10. High expectations and helpfulness.

An example:

Listening frustrates decisive leaders. What’s the point of talking when decisions have been made. Teach decisive leaders to slow down and ask questions that explore purpose, align people, and weigh options.

The more important the decision, the more necessary inclusive listening becomes. But, weighty decisions often drive decisive leaders to make choices in isolation.

Listening is the pursuit of excellence not leading by consensus.

Last word:  Leaders who don’t develop the team end up doing it themselves.                                                

How do you help others deal with tensions between corresponding qualities?                                                What others tensions can you add?

Why The Best Leaders Are Sometimes Invisible

By Justin Lathrop.  As far as I am concerned this is a brilliant post.   

There is a pervasive stereotype that “leaders” are the ones in the limelight, the ones on stage, the extroverts with big personalities who’s faces are on the front page. Like many stereotypes, I think this one is often unfair.
Some of the best leaders I know don’t demand up-front attention, but their leadership is powerful because of the fruit it brings.
Their teams, or organizations or the individuals who come in contact with them are grown and propelled forward by the vision they have, and by their strength, even if their vision and strength are quiet and unassuming.

One of the reasons I think quiet leadership like this is so powerful is because the burden of responsibility is taken off of one person, and transferred to many.

A group of people living up to their full potential is truly more capable than a single person living up to his full potential. This is easy to admit. Which is better — one person who is living out the Gospel, or a group of people, with unified vision and purpose, all contributing equally to the community in his or her own unique way?
The answer is obvious.
So a leader, then, might sometimes be the person from stage, teaching and explaining and casting vision, but a leader might just as often be the one who is discipling, training or just living a life worth mimic behind the scenes.
Chances are, this is happening over coffee, or lunch, or at home, or in an office. No stage (or lights) needed.

The other thing I love about this view of leadership, is that it acts as an important reminder we are all leaders, if we’ll accept the job title.

We are leaders in our homes, with our families, in our marriages, at our work. We all have the opportunity to be someone who sets the “tone” for the year, or the week, or the day.
We can choose to not just respond to what life hands us, but to set the pace, to cast vision, to inspire change.
When we do this, we suddenly start to impact people around us without even realizing we’re doing it. Their lives will change as our lives change. We can make an impact without asking for any credit.

The final reason I love this view of leadership is that my favorite leaders are humble people.

Some of those very humble people are “limelight” people, in the sense that they are well-known, and sometimes on stage. But none of them are begging for the attention or asking for praise. In fact, each of them are willing to work hard and live their life in an honest, congruent way.
Their main objectives are to do what God has called them to do, and to help others discover and do the same.
They’re contributing to the Kingdom in their unique way, and they’re doing it to the very best of their ability. I know up-front people who are doing this, and I know behind-the-scenes people who are doing it. But all of them are humble.
And people are noticing and changing.
It doesn’t take fame or notoriety to live this way. In fact, it doesn’t take anything other than just a willingness to work hard, be humble, and to welcome the grace of Jesus.

7 Ways God Will Evaluate Your Faithfulness

By Rick Warren - WOW!  You did it again Rick

Pastors and leaders, I’m going to give you a sneak peek at your final exam.  You’re going to stand before God one day and He’s going to evaluate your faithfulness.  He’s going to look at eight different aspects of your life to judge your faithfulness and you should be highly interested developing these areas of your life and leadership.

1. Do you possess the right values?

A faithful person knows what’s important in life and what isn’t important in life.  A faithful person knows how to invest his or her life.  A faithful person makes their life count.  A faithful person knows the significant apart from the trivial.
Proverbs 28:20 says, “A faithful man will be richly blessed but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.”  This verse contrasts faithfulness with a desire to get rich quick.  He’s not talking about making money.  He’s saying that what we have to realize is there is more to life than just the accumulation of things.  The Bible says we’re to live like fish swimming upstream in a very materialistic world.  Faithfulness is proven by our refusal to buy into the system that says the almighty buck is the number one thing in life.  Faithfulness is often proven by choosing of a simplified lifestyle to allow more time for ministry.

2. Do you care for the interests of others?

The second way God is going to judge our faithfulness is our relationship to other people.  Did we care about the relationships of others and not just our own relationships?
Faithfulness swims against the stream of contemporary culture, which says, “What’s in it for me?  What are my needs, my ambitions, my desires, my goals, my hurts, my values, my profit, my benefit?”  But God says faithfulness is proven by our others-directedness and by giving our life away, by looking at others rather than concentrating on ourselves.

3. Do you live with integrity before an unbelieving world?

In other words, a mark of faithfulness is the kind of testimony you have with unbelievers.  The Bible teaches that a pastor is to be above reproach in the community and to have a good reputation, not with believers, but with unbelievers.  When God evaluates your faithfulness, He won’t be looking at your communication skills but He will be examining the way in which you walked before those who are outside the faith.

4. Do you keep your promises?

When God evaluates your faithfulness, He’s going to look at all the promises you made.  Proverbs 20:25 “It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later consider your vow.”  It’s easier to get into debt than to get out of debt – that’s making a promise to pay.  It’s easier to get into a relationship than out of a relationship.  It’s easier to fill up your schedule than it is to fulfill your schedule.  The Bible is saying that faithfulness is a matter of if you say it, you do it.  You keep your promises.  The number one cause of resentment is unfulfilled promises.

5. Do you develop your God-given gifts?

There’s a tremendous emphasis in the Bible on using the gifts and the talents God has given you. God has made an investment in your life and He expects a return on it. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each should use whatever spiritual gift he has received to serve others faithfully, administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  Notice it says if you don’t use your spiritual gift, people are getting cheated.  Faithfulness is based on what we do with what we have.

6. Do you obey God’s commands?

1 Samuel 2:35 god says “I will raise up a faithful priest to serve me and do whatever I tell him to do”  Circle “do whatever I tell him to do”.  God defines faithfulness as obedience to the commands of Christ.  We can be skilled leaders and communicators, but disobedience disqualifies us from being seen as faithful as God defines it. This is basic, but its essential.

7. Do you pass on what you learn?

The Bible talks a lot about the transferring process of multiplication.  You’re to give what you learn to faithful men and those faithful men are to give it to others, and so on.  None of us would be here today if there hadn’t been faithful men and women in the last 2000 years of the church. We’re leading today because some faithful men and women took time to write down the Scriptures, and others preserved the Scriptures, and others translated the Scriptures.  We’re here because of the testimony of faithful people.
If God teaches you a spiritual truth and you’re learning a spiritual truth, it’s your duty to pass it on to others.
How do I become faithful?  Galatians 5:22-23 says, “The fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness.”  It’s one of the nine fruits.  When the Holy Spirit lives in my life, I will demonstrate faithfulness.  How do you know when you’re filled with the Spirit?  What is the test?  Some kind of emotional experience?  Not necessarily.  You can have an emotional experience and not be filled with the Spirit.  What is the test?  The fruit is the test.  How do I demonstrate that I’m filled with the Spirit?  I demonstrate it when I’m faithful to the responsibilities that God has given me.

Marriage Reveals, Not Creates Problems!

This is an exceptional post by Rick Warren.
 

If you are prolonging a relationship that you know is going nowhere, don’t continue it. “But I won’t have anybody to take me out on Friday night,” you say. A bad marriage is a million times worse than not going out on Friday night! The longer you’re in a relationship, the more difficult it’s going to be to get out of it.

Proverbs 28:23 says, “In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery” (NLT).

Size that person up quickly. Make sure he or she is emotionally healthy. Don’t be afraid to ask questions like, “Do you have uncontrolled anger?” “Can we talk about me?” or “Will you pick up the tab?”

Regardless of the emotional state of your partner, you need to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ yourself. If you haven’t done that, you need to start there. You need to get spiritually connected to God.

Then I want to challenge you to commit yourself to God’s standard and not let oceans of emotions sway you into making a stupid decision. Given the right situation, you can get a quiver in your liver and fall in love with the idea of being in love. But don’t make a stupid decision!

Don’t date until your own emotional hurts are healed or at least in the healing process. Get rid of the bitterness. Get rid of the anger problem. Get rid of your baggage.

I remember marrying a couple many years ago at Saddleback. About five years later we had them over for dinner. The woman told me, “When I walked down the aisle in that white dress, I had no idea that I was carrying an entire bag of emotional garbage on my back. And I took all that garbage into the marriage.”

Friends, marriage does not create problems. It reveals them. The more you can deal with it before you get married, the happier, more God-honoring, and more fulfilling your marriage is going to be. You will have that deep soul intimacy that is personal, relational, sexual, and spiritual. It is the oneness that comes from being unified by a relationship to God, your purpose, and your calling.

Talk About It

• What are the changes you need to make in your relationship?
• What are the hard questions you need to ask in your relationship?

Your love is relentless - AWESOME!