I'm New And I'm A Leader

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  

2 Corinthians 5:17

The Bible says that when we are in Christ, or born again, that all things become new. The love of God is so amazing because He totally removes our past and allows us to move forward with a clean slate. He made it so easy because of what Jesus did at Calvary! What we have to remember is this - don't pick up the sin, guilt and pain of the past. Leave it in the past and move on ahead. 

One of the great passages in the Bible dealing with our thoughts, future and the price that has been paid for us is found in Philippians 2:5-13: 

 

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation , and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed , not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Jesus has left us the ultimate example of leadership in these few verses. He was humble, put off who He was for all of mankind, He was obedient, and in return, God gave Him the name above every other name: JESUS. As leaders, we should be humble, givers and obedient people first to God and then to our leadership. The best way to get to the top is through service. Jesus served His way back to Heaven and removed all of our issues in the process. 

Our job as Christians and leaders is to think like Christ, live our life of faith daily and understand that God is working in us. That means we understand that our sin and problems are in the past once we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. It is then easy to see that His will and His pleasures will ultimately come out in our lives when we let Him work in us constantly. 

The life of leader is not sporadic or momentary. Instead, it is life-long. Remember that God would not have called you and put you in the leadership role you have unless you were capable of making things happen. Confess this over yourself to build confidence as a leader: 

1. I am able
2. I am willing
3. I am obedient
4. I serve others
5. I live my beliefs

-------- I AM A LEADER --------

1 Peter 2:9 - He Picked Me!

We are handpicked by God according to 1 Peter 2:9 to do great things for Him. When God chose you, it was for a purpose. There are a lot of ways to show this Godly character as a leader, but here are a few that will be very beneficial for young and old alike.  The first thing is to confess the Word of God over your life daily. A confession is a declaration of your beliefs and the truth about a matter. When we confess the Scriptures over our lives, we are declaring out position in Christ. Our lives are founded on and grounded in the Bible as Christians. So confessing that foundation builds us up, reminds us what God is doing in our lives and squeezes the devil out of every situation. Where the Word of God is declared, it brings life. The devil never brings life with him. He always brings pain and death to the party. When the Word of God is alive in us and declared into the atmosphere, the enemy has no place.  How do you confess the Word? What's an example? Here it is. This practice can be used for all things in the Word you would like speak over yourself in faith. Let's say that you're having trouble sleeping at night. Each night before you go to sleep you can confess the truth of Psalm 4:8 over yourself.  Confess: According to Psalm 4:8 I will sleep peacefully, safely and securely.  The second step is to pray the Bible over your life and your family. Philippians 4:6 says that we should pray prayers of supplication or petition. That means that we not only pray (thank God, honor Him, make requests), but we include scriptures in our requests so that we are continuing to speak faith and life over ourselves. This leadership step and the confession step require something from us - we must memorize scriptures. If we don't know what to pray, how can we pray the Bible way? We should write the Word on our hearts, hide His Word in our hearts and pray the Word (Psalm 119:11).  Finally, leaders smile! The Bible says in Nehemiah 8:10, that "the joy of the Lord is our strength." Joy will put a smile on your face. Here are a couple of steps for leaders to add to your repertoire concerning smiling. I learned these from a GREAT leader - Pastor Hallam.  1. Always smile when you enter a room. It sets people at ease and makes you approachable.  2. Learn to smile, and you'll double your favor. Think about being on an interview. That potential employer will like seeing someone with a pleasant disposition. Smiling brings favor! Remember, that you are handpicked by God. He wants to use your life for amazing things. When you confess His Word, pray His Word and learn to smile, you get built up as a leader and open yourself up for God to use you. Song Choice - "Nothing Is Impossible," by Planetshakers 

I Am a Leader: Speech and Life

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4:12 that you are never too young to be a leader. Even teens have the ability to lead in a Godly way and change lives for the glory of God. There are many ways that people can be examples of God's goodness, here are two: life and speech.

Speech

Our words have so much power. They can create life or death (Proverbs 18:21). We must fall in love with words of life and use them ever day in every way. For example, if you know someone who needs to be healed, talk about how Jesus is our healer. By speaking life, you can open the door to be able to pray with someone, and they can receive a miracle! Isn't it amazing that God can use our words as the gateway for someone else to receive from Him?!

• What you say matters
• What you say is what you get
• Watch what you say because it has an impact 

Life

Our lives are walking visual aids of the power of God, or a living example of Him. If we choose to live a life contrary to what the Bible tells us to do, we are choosing to lead for unrighteousness instead of righteousness. It is important to choose life in Christ so our lives are leading toward good things.

• Your life is important, so lead like it is, 1 Peter 2:9
• God has called YOU
• Live a life that is worthy to God, Romans 12:2

Your life is valuable because your life can save others; 

your life can save others because your life reflects Jesus.

Walk the Walk

Leadership can mean a lot of things. Below I've listed 7 things that are part of every leader's life. God will help us to maintain and manage these points in our lives when we keep Him at the center of all we do.

• Leadership = lifestyle
• Leadership = love
• Leadership = giving
• Leadership = time
• Leadership = focus
• Leadership = consistency
• Leadership = Godliness

In 2 Peter 1:3, the Bible says, "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." God has called us to glory and virtue. The word "called" literally means to be called by name. As leaders, God is very detailed about our lives. He speaks to us directly about life, godliness, glory and virtue. Look at these definitions and think about how they apply to your life as a leader.

• Life - zoe life or the God kind of life; we are to live as copies of Christ as leaders (Ephesians 5:1)
• Godliness - reverence or respect; we should have a respect toward that is untouchable by people and things; we should also have self-respect and live in a way that shows the world we are confident in who we are (Romans 12:1-2)
• Glory - my opinion or view of God is that He alone is worthy; I live my life in a way that exemplifies my worship of Him in all things (Colossians 3:17)
• Virtue - thoughts, actions and ethics that are pure and modest at all times (1 Peter 1:16) 

When life, godliness, glory and virtue are maintained in your life, it's easy to keep the 7 leadership points working strong. Listen to God's voice as He calls you to greatness and be a leader everywhere you go!

Song Choice: "Jesus At The Center," Israel Houghton

FOS "First 5" and More

First 5
The 5 people who are done for the week with writing are: Reyna, Kyra Williams, Tahlia, Mirisa and Hailey. Great job!

The others who gave it a shot, just make the corrections and you're finished too.
_______________________________________________________________________________

Everyone Else
Galatians 5:22 says the FOS are:

1. Love - the God-kind of love
2. Joy - supernatural happiness from God
3. Peace - supernatural calm feelings on the inside
4. Long-suffering - patience
5. Gentleness - kindness
6. Goodness - not mean to people; a giver
7. Faith - believing in the unseen; our foundation as Believers
8. Meekness - not weakness; assertive, Godly leadership
9. Temperance - self-control

These are all character traits that Christians should have in their lives. Without these qualities, we do not stand out from the world. We are told to "come out from among them and be ye separate"
(2 Corinthians 6:17). To separate yourself means to live in a way that makes your life shine. You look, act, talk differently than the world. Your Life Look (Ephesians 5:1) is different than theirs because it is full of Godly characteristics.

* Think About It *
Is your Life Look different than the world's? Do you stand out for Jesus? What FOS are visible in your Life Look, and which ones do you need to work on a little bit more?

Make a choice to be a person full of the characteristics of God that set you apart for greatness. It's is amazing how God will promote people who get the Word in their heart. That's you!!

Discipleship: Fruit of the Spirit

The first 5 people to respond with chapter, verse and list all of the FOS is off the hook for posting the rest of this week and will get 10 points each toward the Water Balloon War on Friday. Who will it be?!

Discipleship: Be Like Mufasa

I enjoyed all of the groups that ministered today soooooooooooo much! Let me see if I can get the group names right this time:

1. Team He Lives
2. Team Chosen
3. God's Assistants
4. Team Ninja Spider Monkeys 

I think I got it this time!! Anyway, everyone put their heart into their time slots and conveyed strong messages from the Bible. I know it isn't always easy to get up in front of a crowd - especially one full of teens (wink, wink) - but you did it. Every time you do something in faith and something that may be a little uncomfortable, you stretch yourself. Stretching is a good thing. It keeps you growing and reaching for the things God has for your life. You just grew in the Spirit by ministering today! It was that easy.

Proverbs 28:1 says, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion." No matter what comes your way in life, always stay bold for God and pursue the best. If I can refer to the movie The Lion King for a moment, maybe it will help to paint a better picture. We are created to Mufasa's and not Scar's. Both are lions, but only one is strong and a good leader. Be a Mufasa (you can roar right here if you'd like).

Discipleship: Confidence

Confidence can be defined in many different ways. For the sake of this post we'll say it's an overwhelming sense of God in your life so you don't stress but live with strength instead. Confidence and pride are two very different things. Pride is a "me" thing and Godly confidence is a "Him" thing. The Bible says we are to "set our affections on things that are above," and this includes our self-image (Col. 3:2). When our confidence is found in Christ, we are setting our heart on Him so we don't have any need to worry. We're confident that God has every detail of our lives under control.

Here are some facts from today's lesson:
1. Confident people give God all of the praise
2. Confidence gives is security
3. Confidence will serve as a defense
4. Confidence is a witness
5. (MOST IMPORTANT) Confidence is vital in the Christian life

If we can take these principles and apply them to our lives we will live successfully. God has called us to walk with confidence. Jesus is our greatest example of this. He was confident in Himself as God in flesh, Jesus the Savior, God's only Son, Mary and Joseph's boy, a carpenter, the Chief Cornerstone and so on. He knew His position and never allowed narrow minded people or those with an agenda to shake His confidence. We should walk that same way. We're children of God, called out of darkness into His marvelous light, filled with the Holy Spirit and power, changed into the image of His dear Son and on a mission from God the Father. Anyone who tries to diminish that responsibility and revelation is not of God. Leave that relationship alone and walk with confidence toward your next assignment in God.

What is a way that you can stand up with confidence and live for God? We all face different challenges daily. Keep your confidence and move forward like you have nothing to lose. The good news is, you don't have anything to lose! You gain everything in Him! What a good God we serve.

Discipleship: I GOTS to have it!

Today we continued the lesson on the GOTS, aka gifts of the spirit. The Bible is full of stories and examples of the power of God moving through man with the GOTS.

Here are the categories for them:
Power Gifts
1. Faith
2. Healing
3. Miracles

Vocal Gifts
1. Prophecy
2. Tongues
3. Interpretation of tongues

Revelation Gifts
1. Word of wisdom
2. Word of knowledge
3. Discerning of spirits

All of these gifts can be found in 1 Cor. 12. Study them, desire them, and do them in faith. The more we desire the gifts of God, the more we will be used by Him.

Discipleship: Gifts of the Spirit

Today we started the most serious, deep teaching of Discipleship that we've had so far for this class. The gifts of the spirit are powerful tools that God gives to leaders in the Kingdom. We are told to desire these spiritual impartations and use them as the Lord leads us.

The three discussed today were tongues, interpretation of tongues and the word of knowledge. They can all be found in 1 Corinthians 12. What do you remember from the lesson today about these gifts from God?

Discipleship: praise is an elevator

Psalms 22:3 says that God inhabits the praises of His people. He desires our praise and dwells there. It return that praise elevates us into God's presence.

Praise and worship is a lifestyle. It's not just about singing a song. Everything about our lives is a worship to God: words, songs, actions, relationships, etc. Our lifestyles should worship God in all that we do. When we take the elevator to the top into His presence we can live in the penthouse, so to speak, of a Godly life. That means that we don't have to leave His presence. We can stay in it. Psalms 91 says that we can "dwell in the secret place of the Most High." Let's make a choice to live in God's presence.

Discipleship: The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is many things to us: friend, comforter, 3rd part of the Trinity, intercessor, God's gift to Christians, power, etc. Without the Holy Spirit the Christian life will seem empty. We were created to have all of the anointing and power of God working in our lives. We have to receive what God gives us and use it.

The HS has a manifestation in us. When you are filled with the HS you will speak with other tongues (Acts 2). There is an immediate sign that you have been filled. You don't receive the HS just because you accept Jesus into your heart. That's the gift of eternal life that we receive by confessing Jesus and believing on Him as the Son of God in our hearts. The proof of the infilling of the HS happens when we ask God for that gift, receive it by faith and begin to speak in a Heavenly language. God is a very creative God, and He gives each one of us a different sound in that gift. It makes it unique. It would be like going to a party and everyone getting candy but each person received a different kind. All Christians can receive the HS, but we sound differently when we pray.

Intercession is one of the most powerful forms of prayer. It is when you fervently pray for someone or something else. Romans 8:26 says that He "makes intercession for us." How incredible is it that the HS will pray for us?! He can give us divine comfort because He knows He's talked to God on our behalf, and that the answer we need is on the way.

If you're not filled with the HS yet and your a Christian, ask God to fill you. Read the story in Acts 2 when men were first filled with the HS. God empowered His people then, and He still does it today. Ask God to fill you, and He will. Then take time everyday to pray in tongues and in your normal prayer language.

Discipleship: Week 1 is complete!

You all have done such a great job this week! You have been challenged to build your faith, witness, be baptized, pray in tongues and the understanding and PREACH. Everyone has done their part with excellence.

The ones that preached today we're anointed, and the illustrations were creative. Everyone who is ministering Monday, get ready to bring it! I'm excited to hear what you have prepared.

Girls/Guys Night Out is going to be fun tonight. See everyone at 4:15 pm.

Discipleship: Water Baptism

Today we learned about the power of identifying with Christ through water baptism. Being baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one of the foundations of our faith. It shows the world that we are no longer identifying with our old ways, and now we identify with a new life. Galatians 3:27 says, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." The last three words "put on Christ" have a great meaning. We are put on our Christ-like nature every day just like we get dressed every day. It literally means to clothe yourself with Jesus. When we take His qualities and apply them to our lives, we are putting on Christ.

Once we identify with God by being baptized it is now time to live it strong. It takes guts to identify with God and follow through with it every day. The devil presents all kinds of options that can distract and deceive us. We have to be wise to his attempts and cast them down. Use these scriptures to combat the enemy:

• 2 Corinthians 10:5 - Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
• Sometimes the devil attacks in our thoughts. Choose to think on the Word. 
• Never allow your imagination to run wild with negative thinking. Dream big about what God has planned for you; dream about answers.
• 1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; for your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking who he may devour:
• The devil can't trap you if you stay aware. You have power over him in the name of Jesus.
• Remember, it's the devil who tries to trip you up, not God. God brings the answers.
• 1 John 2:2 - But ye have an unction from the holy one, and ye know all things.
• God speaks to His children. "Unction" means a knowing in your heart. When God speaks, you will know.
• God will give you clarity on situations when you consult him in prayer.
• Galatians 5:1 - Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
• Jesus has set us free! We have salvation, and we have identified with Him in water baptism so live like a child of God.
• Don't get tied up in sin, guilt, problems, etc. Walk free and replace old lifestyle habits with Godly characteristics since you have identified with Christ. 
• 
  Every day we put on Christ we have the opportunity for success. Water baptism is a single act of obedience to the Bible that shows the world we belong to Him, just like salvation is a single prayer and confession of Jesus. The best part is that we get to live it everyday. So make a choice to be daily identifier with Christ and thank Him for the successes that come.

Discipleship: Salvation

Salvation is the ultimate gift that God our Father has given us. It is our promise of life everlasting and our ticket to a great life on earth. It's no wonder the devil tries so hard to deceive people into going the wrong way in life. Once we've become a Christian, it is our job to tell others about the goodness of God and the bad plans the of the devil.

James 1:17 says that "every good and perfect gift is from above." God doesn't cause bad things to happen to us. He gives us the opportunity through salvation - His free gift to us - to obtain all of the good things He has for us. The devil will try to make you believe that, for example, God gives people cancer to teach them a lesson. This couldn't be further from the truth! He gave purchased salvation, peace, healing and many other things for us at Calvary according to Isaiah 53:5. He has already taken those things from us. It's the devil who tries to attack us with bad things and deceive us. Never believe the lies of the devil. There is no truth in him, so just reverse what he says in faith and declare the Word of God at all times.

Remember, as a Christian you have access to the promises of God. Live a life of faith and take hold of everything He has for you!

Discipleship: Faith

Faith is our substance and evidence according to Hebrews 11:1. In other words it is our proof of the answer until we see it happen. When we act on our faith is pushes us toward the answer we're believing for.

With every heartbeat faith should be pulsating through our lives. When we allow it to move through us, Heaven is unleashes to bring answers our way. As faith grows, answers come. Let faith grow in your heart with these easy steps:

1. Read the Bible daily, Rom. 10:17
2. Pray in the understanding and in tongues every day, 1 Thess. 5:17 and Acts 1:8
3. Go to church, Heb. 10:24-25

Let me know what you think about faith!

Like My Look?

Leaders have a look. A look that makes other aspire to be greater. Ephesians 5:1 says that we should imitate God. That means to mimic His every move. You may wonder how we can mimic God if we can't see Him. The answer is simple. Everything you need to know about God is found in the Bible. When you read the Bible, you get to know Him and how to to act like a Christian.

The look you have as a leader should be one that attracts others to godliness. For example, Joseph had great integrity and in turn attracted people to himself. He found favor with God and man because of his strong leadership skills. It is the job if every leader to attract people or followers. If no one is following, the leadership skills need to be reevaluated.

Here are some leadership qualities that every person can use. Are these working in your life?

1. Lead with your life. Leadership is about lifestyle or a look. If your look puts people off, change your style.

2. Words work! What you say matters. Choose to speak words that build up instead of words that tear down.

3. Learn to trust. Trust is a tough subject. It is easy to put up a guard and just do everything yourself. It takes a true leader to attract, train and trust others.

Get these qualities working in your life and start leading!

Leader's Get Loaded

Ideas are awesome! True leaders get loaded up with ideas and turn them loose on their team members. Ideas are the fuel to the future. Without ideas it's difficult to move forward. New thoughts on old upcoming topics show forward motion. Make a decision to be a forward thinker.

Think about Jesus' ministry while He was on earth. It was definitely one that challenged the norm and pushed ahead. He rarely did the same thing twice in demonstration. He had a sort of format that was followed but there was uniqueness and anointing with each message and miracle. As Christians we can adopt these same qualities and live pressing forward like Jesus. When we make this resolution, God can begin to work in us as leaders.

Here are some steps to generating ideas:

1. Look for usable material - the world is full of ideas so take your pick 
2. Think about how the idea can be used - it takes brain power to be creative
3. Apply your ideas - put it to use
4. Follow up on the process - what worked and what didn't

First Things First

This is my first attempt at blogging. First attempt?! Yes, this is something new for me, but I think it'll be fun. One of my favorite topics in life is leadership. Taking ownership of the fact that you are impacting someone at all times is a lot to live with, but invaluable when you realize the potential of that statement. Thoughts, words, actions, reactions, lifestyle choices... they all have an effect on the world around us. It is easy to be short-sighted and pretend like decisions are momentary actions that do not live on, but the reality is that they stay with us forever.

Right now, you are the sum total of the choices you have made up to this point in your life. Children like to point fingers and say, "it was his fault," when they get caught or asked what is going on. They immediately try to redirect any negatives to someone else and retain all the positives for themselves. It's human nature to do this. So if they choose to write on the walls with a friend, when they're caught everyone wants to turn the blame on someone else. If they can get someone to believe it wasn't their fault, then they don't have to live with the consequences.

Our lives are the same way. We make choices everyday to write or not to write a wall, so to speak. We also get to live with the consequences of our actions. I had a teacher who used to say something like, when you point your finger at someone else to blame them there are three other fingers pointing back at you. That statement has remained with me since I was in elementary school. Finger-pointing goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. What did she do when God talked to her? She pointed her finger instantly toward the serpent. It was another creature's fault that she had done something wrong. Make a decision to take ownership of your life and help lead others too.

So, what do you do if you are a person without leadership/ownership qualities? Make a shift today! You can do it! You are a leader. Here are some steps that point you toward a life a leadership:

1. Live life with God at the center
2. Recognize responsibility
3. Value every moment of your life
4. Take ownership of your actions

Songs seem to help me remember important times in life. As you decide to make a shift and become a true leader for yourself and others, maybe a song will help you remember this moment. Jennifer Hallam has a song titled All For Us. Buy it on iTunes to remind yourself that what He did for us is worth living a life of leadership.