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