However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if prophecy, in proportion to one’s faith; if service, in the act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching; or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8)
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
The word Advent means the appearing—something that bursts onto the scene. At this time of year we are actually thinking about TWO Advents. We look backward in gratitude to celebrate the first Advent of Jesus when He was born in a manger in Bethlehem. And then we look forward in joyful expectation to the second Advent of Jesus when He will return to earth again as King of kings. As we will in this time between the Advents, there are four qualities that we should exemplify—the first is hope.
When the candle is lit, darkness disappears.
Darkness is not the opposite of light, it is the absence of light. In the same way, despair or hopelessness is the absence of hope.
Adam and Eve lived in perfection, but when they tried to do things their way—instead of obeying God’s way—their sin caused them despair. They tried to cover their nakedness, but with a hopeless covering of dying leaves. God came with a promise of full restoration, and illustrated it by covering them with the skin of a sacrificial animal (Genesis 3:7, 15, 21).
Job knew the hopelessness of self-covering and finality of earthly life, and even David—the man after God’s own heart knew this too (Job 6:11-13, 17:13-16; 1 Chronicles 29:15).
But Job and David both knew the hope they could have in their Redeemer (Job 19:25; Psalm 16).
Hope in both the Old and the New Testaments means a patient waiting, anticipating with pleasure, having a confident expectation. It’s a light shining in the darkness that cannot be extinguished—it’s hope that despair cannot darken (Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7).
At His first Advent, Jesus appeared in our “clothing” so that He could become our sin and then clothe us in His righteousness (Hebrews 2:17; John 1:14; Romans 4:6-8; Hebrews 6:16-20). For this we look back in gratitude.
But we don’t live today merely in gratitude for Christ’s first Advent, but we also live in confident hope of Christ’s second Advent (Acts 1:11; John 14:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:1-8; Revelation 22:7, 12, 20).
He came into this world of sin,
Made flesh and blood His dearest kin;
He died, that He might take us in,
And keep us till He comes again. —Scott Hubbard
How do we live out this confident hope—
May the God of HOPE fill you with all JOY and PEACE as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
Follow along with all four of the Advent attributes by clicking here.
Shepherd leaders cannot allow past hurts to negatively impact their current situations. Don’t give in to the natural fight-or-flight response, but ask God to help you response with supernatural faithfulness. I unpack this idea in greater depth in my book When Sheep Bite.
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
In responding to an evolutionary biologist’s claims that the material world is all that matters, John Stonestreet invokes the timely wisdom of G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis. One of my favorite quotes from Lewis appears in this post: “A theory which explained everything else in the whole universe but which made it impossible to believe that our thinking was valid, would be utterly out of court… It would be an argument which proved that no argument was sound—a proof that there are no such things as proofs—which is nonsense.”
“Good leaders love leading the people they lead more than they love leading people.” —John Maxwell
Gerrit Scott Dawson writes about how the Bible helps us see ourselves more clearly. “The truth-telling mirror of Scripture exposes and composes us. Imagine a mirror that would make you as appealing as you could hope to be. Imagine a well of clear water that not only reflected but washed you clean of dirt and blemishes. When we read Scripture with open hearts and in reliance on the Spirit, that’s what happens.”
“Twice in the book of Hebrews we are urged to ‘consider Jesus.’ In Hebrews 3:1, the writer exhorts us to consider Jesus (κατανοήσατε) so that we will continue believing in and confessing Him throughout our lives. This word means to pay attention to something through direct observation, with the implication of also thinking about it, meditating on it, and returning to it often, just as one might carefully observe an object in creation or a work of art. … In Hebrews 12:3, the writer calls us again to consider Jesus, but this time as a work of rational analysis (ἀναλογίσασθε), a theological analysis, as opposed to an aesthetical contemplation. This suggests the need to study, read, think deeply, meditate, talk with others, and know Jesus in terms appropriate to His uniqueness and mission.” —T.M. Moore
“Be silent, if you choose; but when it is necessary, speak—and speak in such a way that people will remember it.” —Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all want us to live in the fullness and freedom of the Kingdom of God. The Father longs to give us the kingdom, and Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede for us!
Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)
Therefore [Jesus] is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Jesus not only gave us an example of well-rounded, healthy growth, but He also gave us a barometer of measuring just how healthy we truly are.
I talk about this pyramid of healthiness in Chapter 8 of Shepherd Leadership, but the example we really see of Jesus at the pinnacle of spiritual health is in Chapter 12. Here’s an excerpt—
Friends, the mark of a maturing shepherd is not one who never misspeaks or never makes a mistake. No, the mark of a maturing shepherd is the one who is closing the gap between his mess up and his confession, and one who is experiencing fewer mess ups over time because the Holy Spirit is helping him get healthier and more mature.
The pinnacle of a shepherd leader’s health is not how wise you are, nor how physically healthy, nor even how much spiritual insight you have gained, but it is how appropriately God-honoring your actions and reactions are among the sheep you pasture.
If you see or hear something from yourself that is not reflective of your Chief Shepherd, it’s how you handle your next response that reveals how close you are getting to the pinnacle of health that Jesus demonstrated for you.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
When a shepherd leader is bitten by a sheep under their care, it’s quite natural to say, “What’s wrong with them?” Let me highlight that word: natural.
In my book When Sheep Bite, I contrast the natural response with the supernatural response. It takes a lot of work because “natural” comes just so, well, naturally. But to respond supernaturally is going to take some re-training.
We need to be able to reflect after we’ve interacted with a biting sheep. If we reacted in an inappropriate way, we need to ask forgiveness and attempt to make things right. Then we need to engage in some Holy Spirit-led introspection to switch the natural question of, “What’s wrong with them” to the supernaturally-led question, “What can I change in myself?”
In a recent interview with Karl Vaters on his Church Lobby Podcast, we talked a bit about this topic.
One chapter in my book is titled ‘Is God Trying to Get My Attention?’ Here’s an excerpt—
Pain always takes priority. It always gets our attention and demands to be attended to immediately. We don’t schedule painful things on our daily “To Do” list, but that painful item will become the one and only thing which clamors to be addressed.
The same thing is true when the sheep bite and kick their shepherd. It hurts, it demands an immediate response, and it seems to become the only item on our agenda. But I would like to advocate that we don’t respond immediately. Why? Because our primal, gut-level response is almost always very shortsighted, and frequently, upon reflection, we later end up second-guessing what we said or did.
I believe there is also a more important reason we need to delay our response to those slights: We need to make sure the bites we receive are not God’s attempt to get our attention for being dull in our shepherding. God told Jeremiah, “For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the Lord” (Jeremiah 10:21 NKJV). As a result, God had to send something painful to those religious leaders to make them aware of the dullness that had set in.
I conclude this chapter with a prayer for shepherds who have been bitten—
Father, Your sheep continued to wallow in the unhealthy habit of biting the hand that fed them and cared for them. In Your perfect love, You knew just how to discipline them, always with a heart of drawing these wayward sheep back to You. I ask You to please cultivate this loving heart in me.
Jesus, even as You were nailed to the Cross by the very sheep You came to save, You didn’t lash out in anger but lovingly prayed, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” You know how much it hurts when my loving shepherding of these flock under my care is repaid with bites and kicks and abandonment. Jesus, help me to learn to respond in loving forgiveness as You did.
Holy Spirit, as David prayed, so I pray, “Search me.” As I do, please show me where my words, actions, or attitudes have rubbed the sheep under my care the wrong way and prompted them to lash out. Help me to repent, forgive, and ask forgiveness. Even if the attack was unprovoked by anything I have done, my heart’s desire is for none to be lost so please help me learn how to bring about restoration.
I pray this in the name of my Good Shepherd, Jesus. Amen.
To find out more about When Sheep Bite, or to pick up a copy for yourself, please click here.
The word Advent means the appearing—something that bursts onto the scene.
At this time of year we are actually thinking about TWO Advents. We look backward in gratitude to celebrate the first Advent of Jesus when He was born in a manger in Bethlehem. And then we look forward in joyful expectation to the second Advent of Jesus when He will return to earth again as King of kings.
As Christians live in this time between the two Advents, our celebration and expectation should bring four noticeable attributes from our lives:
Please join me at Calvary Assembly of God as we learn more about how the Holy Spirit empowers these four attributes in our daily lives, how this glorifies God, and how it then draws others to Jesus their Savior.
But this isn’t quid quo pro—we aren’t grateful people just so we can get something back for ourselves. We should be grateful people because…
(1) …God is good all the time and so we should be thankful to Him continually—1 Thessalonians 5:18
(2) …Jesus was grateful—1 Peter 2:23; Hebrews 12:2
(3) …God blesses thankful people—1 Peter 3:9; Luke 6:33
(4) …your thankfulness can benefit people you haven’t even met!
Near the end of his life, David wrote a hymn of thanksgiving, which he taught to Asaph (his worship leader) who then taught it to all the citizens (1 Chronicles 16:7-35). Throughout this song, notice how many times David sang about not only giving thanks but sharing our thankfulness with those around us.
In difficult times, people search for what delivered others in the past. A good example is Psalm 106, where the psalmist warns his readers about the dangers of forgetting to be thankful for God’s blessings. This psalm begins and ends with words taken right from David’s hymn of thanksgiving as an added reminder of what our gratitude should sound like (see vv. 1, 47-48).
One hundred years after David wrote this song, King Asa needed to look back to it. His father Abijah had been evil throughout his reign as king, so had his grandfather Rehoboam. His great-grandfather Solomon started off well, but turned away from God near the end of his life. So Asa looked all the way back to the thankful heart of his great-great grandfather David (1 Kings 15:11).
Jehoshaphat needed this same song 100 years after Asa (200 years after David wrote it) in 2 Chronicles 20. Enemies had surrounded Judah and Jehoshaphat called the people to prayer. Jahaziel, a direct descendant of David’s worship leader Asaph, calls the people to trust God to fight the battle for them. As the army marches out the next morning, they put the worship team at the front who sang David’s 200-year-old song of thanksgiving and God used that to ambush their enemies!
Your lifestyle of gratitude today—your songs of thanksgiving—could be a blessing to future generations that haven’t even been born yet!
We would do well to learn the lessons of the past and make sure we are always quickly turning our grumbling into a song of thankfulness.
As you do, you are…
Emulating the lifestyle of Jesus
Banking up blessings from God
Ambushing the enemy
Bringing a testimony to non-believers
Establishing a standard for future generations
We bless God and bless others by employing two words: BE THANKFUL!
I’ve got a great Christmas gift idea for you to give to your favorite pastor: a copy of my book When Sheep Bite. I promise you that your pastor has been bitten and that there will be more bites in the future. This book will bring about the healing and restoration that your pastor needs.
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that’s no reason not to give it.” —Agatha Christie
“Let us remember, dear friends, that as we meet at our tables today with our sisters and brothers from distant parts, we are also invited by our elder Brother, our divine Friend, to join with Him in a higher feast, the way there sprinkled with His own blood. Let us not forget, as we are blessed with the providential bounties for the nourishment of these frail bodies that Christ the Lord summons us to a spiritual feast.” —Rev. James Cruickshanks, November 21, 1861
“The apostle Paul explained that the power of God at work within us, the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit, is exceedingly abundantly greater than all we could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Greater for what? For a clearer vision of Christ and more intimate communion with Him (Colossians 3:1-3; 2 Corinthians 3:12-18). More continuous and abundant yields of spiritual fruit (Galatians 5.22-23). Greater consistency and effectiveness in the exercise of spiritual gifts for ministry (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). More power to bear witness for Christ, to love God and our neighbors, and to advance His rule of righteousness, peace, and joy on earth as it is in heaven (Acts 1:8; Matthew 22:34-40; Romans 14:17-18).” —T.M. Moore [check out all of the Scripture here]
However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if prophecy, in proportion to one’s faith; if service, in the act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching; or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8)
Craig T. Owens 