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