1. We empower next generation leadership when we invite them into our inner circle. When Moses ascended Sinai to receive the two tablets of commandments for the first time, Exodus 24:13 reads, “So Moses and his assistant Joshua set out.” What a thrill it must have been for Joshua to join Moses on a portion of the journey. Then later, as Moses came down from the mountain, Joshua was the first to join him. Thoughtful leaders often give emerging leaders a “backstage pass” to join them in experiencing special ministry moments; moments that will shape them as a leader.

2. We empower next generation leadership when we give them opportunity to lead. In the first mention of Joshua in the Bible, Moses commands him to “Choose some men to go and fight the army of Amalek for us” (Exodus 17:9). Long before the time of succession, Moses recognized the leadership potential in Joshua and allowed him to get some key leadership “wins” under his belt. In doing so, Joshua began gaining the confidence of the people, while also gaining confidence in his own leadership giftings.

3. We empower next generation leadership when we affirm them. After the victory over the army of Amalek, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua:” (Exodus 17:14). In doing so, Moses affirmed Joshua privately as a leader. Later, at the time of succession, Moses again affirmed Joshua; this time, publicly: “Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, ‘Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors he would give them.” (Deuteronomy 31:7). Private and public affirmation serves to empower next generation leadership.

4. We empower next generation leadership when we allow them to fail forward. John said, “Leaders don’t have to be perfect to be successful.” Numbers 11:26–29 gives the account of two men, Eldad and Medad, who were prophesizing there in the camp. A young man reported this to Moses. Joshua was there when the news was given and protested, “Moses, my master, make them stop!” Moses gently rebuked him, saying, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!” Moses didn’t discard Joshua as a leader because he demonstrated a lack of wisdom in this matter. Instead, he used it as a teachable moment. Soon afterward, Moses once again expressed confidence in Joshua by selecting him as one of 12 to spy out the land of Canaan.

5. We empower next generation leadership when we clearly define the win. So many young leaders have no idea what success looks like. They think they are doing a phenomenal job while their senior leaders are disgruntled and disappointed with their performance. Empowering leaders takes time to set goals, define wins, maintain accountability and celebrate victories with young leaders. As Moses’ succession plan was nearing completion, he clearly defined the win for Joshua, saying to the people of Israel, “Joshua will lead you across the river, just as the Lord promised,” and to Joshua himself, “You will lead these people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors he would give them” (Deuteronomy 31:3, 7).                                                                     (TIM COALTER)

It has often been said that when we marry, we do not marry just a person but an entire family. As we sow into our marriage, we should remember not to neglect the relationship with our own parents and in-laws. How exactly can we build a healthy relationship with them?

Carve your own family values, while respecting theirs:  Focus on the positive qualities of your respective family backgrounds and think about how you can build on those qualities. At the same time, talk honestly with your spouse about unhealthy or destructive patterns you don’t want to continue.

Establish boundaries: As a married couple, your top priority is to each other. If your in-laws have a tendency to drop in unexpectedly, gently but firmly let them know that privacy is an important part of your new life together. Tell them they are always welcome, but you’d prefer them to call ahead. If you are living under the same roof, request that they knock before entering your room. Also, agree to not involve them when private couple issues need to be worked out.

Communicate your plans but listen to their perspective: Sharing the decisions you’re making as a couple – where you will live, when you plan to have kids, how you plan to raise them – will make your in-laws feel valued and honoured, and can build trust and respect in the relationship. Take time to listen to their perspective too, since they usually just want to share from their own experience or see that you don’t make the same mistakes they did.

Spend time intentionally: What can warm the hearts of parents more than knowing you care about them? By initiating ‘family time’ with your in-laws, you’re telling them that they are valuable to you.

Show appreciation and consider their needs: When you choose to understand your in-laws and love them, you are also choosing to honor your spouse and their relationship with their parents. There will be times when you may not understand or agree with the attitudes and opinions of your in-laws, but you can still learn to appreciate them for who they are. Also, consider their needs, be it financial, physical or emotional, and be there for them during tough times.

Value the extended family: Many parents are a huge source of support, particularly when we have children. Grandparents can play a vital role in the developmental years of our children, so through maintaining a strong relationship with our parents and in-laws, we allow our children to get to know their grandparents.

Though you may experience the occasional bump in the road, in-law relationships can ultimately be a great addition to your life and family. Remember, by loving your spouse’s parents, you are loving your spouse too.
(FOCUS ON THE FAMILY SINGAPORE)

Doubt is contagious and requires no faith or effort on our part to obtain or contain it. It’s always easier not to trust God than it is to trust Him.
Since doubters are so prevalent, doubting always seems to come in an easy to unwrap package. In our efforts to satisfy our need for self-protection, doubt encourages us to lower our expectations. Not wanting to fail or to be hurt, we lower our expectations to prevent disappointment. With lowered expectations our circumstances become somewhat easier to accept when things don’t work out the way we had hoped or imagined.

Frequently doubt enters the door through the people around us who are quick to point out the obstacles and hindrances to our situation. The Bible states, “…you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.” (Proverbs 6:2) Doubt is carried on the wings of words. The words you speak or listen to will either lift you up or tear you down, either increase your faith or decrease it. The Bible also states, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). If we don’t keep our mind filled with God’s Word we’ll be constantly assailed by doubt. Words are powerful!

Whose words are you listening to today? Are you walking in faith or are you walking in doubt? Are you walking with God’s perspective of your situation or have you cowered to man’s perspective? Man’s perspective is limited and skewed and hinges on doubt. God’s perspective is free and boundless and wrapped in His promises.

Doubt corrupts God’s Word and leaves us wavering and vulnerable.

Faith does not ignore the facts, it ignores the power of the facts.

Faith is not about telling God how big your storm is, it’s about telling the storm how big your God is!                (KAREN SCHAGUNN)

Sometimes it’s not the fight itself that’s damaging, but what happens when the battle is over. Think for a moment about your own verbal spats with your mate. Do they usually result in a time of healing, or are issues left hanging for a “rematch” later on? Do you and your spouse agree to leave an argument behind after you’ve talked it out, or is there a prolonged period of distance and silence?

In unstable marriages, conflict is never entirely resolved. Resentment and hurt feelings accumulate over time and eventually turn to bile in the soul, which then erodes the relationship from within. But in healthy relationships, confrontation allows ventilation that ends in forgiveness, a drawing together, and a better understanding of each other.

After an argument with your spouse, ask yourself these four important questions: Are there things I’ve said or done that have grieved my partner? Do I need to ask forgiveness for attacking the self-worth of my spouse? Have I refused to let go of an issue even though I said it was settled? Are there substantive matters that haven’t been resolved? Then move to put an end to the conflict—before the sun goes down.

Just between us (husband & wife) . . .

•  In our last fight, did we resolve the issue in question?

•  Do our conflicts usually end positively, or with hurt feelings and   unanswered questions?

•  What changes would help us resolve conflicts “before the sun  goes down”?                                                         (DR JAMES DOBSON)

At the first Pentecost, the promised Gift, the Holy Spirit, descended on the disciples. They heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven. A tongue of fire came to rest on each of them. Remarkable things began to happen. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to speak foreign languages. They proclaimed the Lord Jesus as the one and only Saviour. They were no longer afraid. They gave bold witness to Jesus. Three thousand people were converted on that one day. In short, the infant Church was launched. It was manifested to the world.

The early Church was sent to a world which did not yet know Jesus Christ, His life and work and His message for humanity. The Church had to meet people of various religions and cultures. Not all would receive the Gospel message and embrace faith in Jesus Christ. Their freedom was to be respected. Yet Christians were still called to enter into dialogue with them, bearing witness to Jesus Christ as the Spirit guided them.

As the Church celebrates Pentecost this Sunday, almost 2,000 years after the first Pentecost, the Church cannot avoid asking herself some relevant questions. What is Pentecost saying to the Church today? What progress report can be drawn up about how the Church for the past two millennia has carried out her divinely-given mandate of proclamation, witness and dialogue? How is the Church today announcing that Jesus Christ alone is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14: 6) and that only in Him do people find the fullness of religious truth and the means to salvation

Moreover, the Church at Pentecost today has also to examine her life of witness. How do members of the Church give witness to Christ by their lives as they find themselves living and working with people in varying situations:  in societies marked by a sense of the sacred, respect for God and religion, or in societies seduced by secularism, permissiveness and practical or even ideological materialism? How do Christians witness to Christ both amid persecutions and in time of consolations?

All Christians are not united under one fold and one shepherd. What can be done, through prayer, study and practical cooperation, to heal the wound of Christian disunity so that common witness may be given?

Society worldwide is marked today by the presence of many religions. How effectively is the Church engaging in dialogue? What is being done to establish good relations of mutual understanding and respect, particularly with people of other religions? In what could sometimes be described as a religious supermarket, how do the followers of Jesus Christ react? How are they to show their fidelity to their Lord?                                                           (CARDINAL ARINZE)

Somewhere between the youthful energy of the teenager and the golden twilight years of a woman’s life, there lives a marvelous and loving person known… as mother.

A mother is a curious mixture of patience, kindness, tolerance, understanding, discipline, industry, purity, and love.

A mother can be at one and the same time, both love lore and counselor to a heart-sick daughter, and a head football coach to an athletic son.

A mother can sew the tiniest stitch in the material for that dainty prom dress, and she is equally experienced in threading through the heaviest of traffic with a large station wagon.

A mother is the only creature on earth who can cry when she’s happy, laugh when she’s heartbroken, and work when she’s sick.

A mother is as gentle as a lamb, and as strong as a giant. Only a mother can appear so weak and helpless, and yet at the same time, can put the fruit jar cover on so tightly that even dad can’t get it off.

A mother is a picture of helplessness when dad’s around, but a marvel of resourcefulness when she’s all alone.

A mother has the angelic voice of a member of the celestial choir as she sings a lullaby to a baby held tightly in her arms; and yet the same voice can dwarf the sound of an amplifier when she calls her boys in for supper.

A mother has the fascinating ability to be almost everywhere at once, and she alone can somehow squeeze an enormous amount of living into an average day.

A mother is old fashioned to her teenager. She’s just “mom” to the nine-year old, and she’s “mamma” to the little two-year old. There’s no greater thrill in life than to point to that wonderful woman and be able to say to all the world, “That’s my mother.”                                                                                             (FRED CRUZ)

One weekly habit that is utterly essential to any healthy, life-giving,  joy-producing  Christian  walk  is corporate  worship.
And it is all too often neglected, or taken very lightly. In fact, I do not think it is too strong to call corporate worship the single most important habit of the Christian life. We may think it’s a new temptation today to play fast and loose with corporate worship, but Hebrews 10:24-25 gives another impression: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

By clearly delineating a bad habit that we must not develop — “neglecting to meet together” — Hebrews is also making clear what good habit we should cultivate, and feed: meeting together. Today’s temptation to underestimate the importance of the weekly assembly is as old as the church itself. And yet, the great irony is that the habit of meeting together with Christ’s people to worship him is utterly crucial for the Christian life.

But why? What is it about corporate worship that would lead us to think so highly of this as a habit to make?

The reason corporate worship may be the single most important Christian habit, and our greatest weapon in the fight for joy, is because like no other single habit, corporate worship combines all three essential principles of God’s ongoing supply of grace for the Christian life: hearing His voice (in His Word), having His ear (in prayer), and belonging to His body (in the fellowship of the church).

Settle it now. Make it a habit. Corporate worship is too important to revisit each weekend and wrestle, Will I go this weekend, or sit this one out? If you leave it open-ended, as so many do, excuse after excuse will keep you from the storehouses of grace God loves to open in corporate worship. Over time your soul will become dry and shallow because of it. Neglecting to meet together will soon sow and nourish seeds of unbelief in your soul. Of course, unusual circumstances will arise, when you’re out of town, or at the hospital with a new baby, or something else manifestly restricting. But the sad truth is we are far too prone to give ourselves a pass on meeting together, when we really should have made it a habit ahead of time, entertaining only the rarest of exceptions.

And just to be sure, the reason to make corporate worship a habit is not to check the box on perfect attendance, and not because corporate worship alone is enough to fully power the Christian life, and not because mere attendance in worship will save your soul. This is not a call for legalistic going-through-the-motions. The hope is not just to show up and be a shell. Rather, this is a summons to harness the power of habit to rescue our souls from empty excuses that keep us from spiritual riches and increasing joy. Negligence and chronic minimizing of the importance of corporate worship reveal something unhealthy and scary in our souls. Let’s resist it with fresh resolve.

For our deep and enduring joy, there is simply no replacement for corporate worship.                                                                                            (DAVID MATHIS)

For many people, loving others is a nebulous concept. Fortunately, agape love is very clearly defined in the Scriptures. When love is used as a noun in Scripture, it is referring to character. For example: “God is love” (1 John 4:8); “Love is patient, love is kind,” etc. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Love is the highest of character attainments: “The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1Timothy 1:5). Love is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), the means by which a true disciple of Christ is identified (John 13:35). The attention given to love in passages such as 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4 reveals its importance to God in our interpersonal relationships, of which the family is primary.

Agape love is not dependent on the person being loved, but on the lover. You may like someone because of who he is; but you love him because of who you are. God loves us not because we are lovable but because God is love. If it was any other way, God’s love would be conditional. If you performed better would God love you more? Of course not. God’s love for us is not based on our performance but on His character.

Love is also used as a verb in Scripture. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). Used this way, love is grace in action. It is giving unconditionally to meet the needs of another.

If you say you don’t love someone, you have said more about yourself than about that person. Specifically, you’re saying that you haven’t attained the maturity to love him unconditionally (Luke 6:32: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”) The grace of God enables you to love others in a way that people without Christ cannot. God doesn’t command you to like your family, your neighbors, and your coworkers, because you can’t order your emotions to respond. But He does instruct you to love them. You can always choose to do the loving thing and trust that your feelings will follow in time.
(DAILY IN CHRIST by NEIL T. ANDERSON)