9 Quotes From “Leadership Promises For Every Day”

leadership-promisesLeadership Promises For Every Day is a devotional book for leaders and aspiring leaders. A passage from the Bible is combined with a passage from one of John Maxwell’s outstanding books. It’s an excellent way to start your day! If you haven’t already, check out my review of this book here, and then enjoy a few quotes—

“How many leaders have ruined their lives and damaged the lives of others through immorality? Character has become a crucial issue today precisely because of the myriad of leaders in the political, business, and religious worlds who have fallen morally. No doubt they fall partly because the enemy has targeted leaders for attack. Leaders need to remember that they influence many others beyond themselves; they never fall in a vacuum. They also need to realize that replacing fallen leaders is a slow and difficult process.”

“Our goal among brothers should not be to punish or excommunicate, but to restore. Confrontation is a redemptive act of leadership.”

“Leaders need to respond to individuals based on their needs rather than their faults. … Good leaders do this well. They don’t lead out of a predetermined package of behaviors, but size up every situation and discern what must happen to reach the desired goal.”

“People rise or fall to meet our level of expectations for them. If you express skepticism and doubt in others, they’ll return your lack of confidence with mediocrity. But if you believe in them and expect them to do well, they’ll wear themselves out trying to do their best.”

“Leaders must constantly ask if their plans fit God’s revealed will for them and their organization. Then they must ask if their plans remain relevant to the needs of their mission, their values, their vision, and their long-range objectives. Finally, they need to ask if their plans fit the needs of their culture and time.”

“We need to remember that when people follow behind us, they can only go as far as we go. If our growth stops today, our ability to lead will stop along with it. Neither personality nor methodology can substitute for personal growth. We cannot model what we do not possess. Begin learning and growing today, and watch those around you begin to grow.”

“Servanthood is not about position or skill. It’s about attitude.” 

“People who blame others for their failures never overcome them. They simply move from problem to problem. To reach your potential, you must continually improve yourself, and you can’t do that if you don’t take responsibility for your actions and learn from your mistakes.”

“Laughter breeds resilience. Laughing is the quickest way to get up and get going again when you’ve been knocked down.”

I am always sharing great quotes from John Maxwell and others on Twitter and Tumblr. If you’re not following me there, please do so!

Leadership Promises For Every Day (book review)

leadership-promisesJohn Maxwell wisely noted, “The secret to your success can be found in your daily agenda.” He also says, “All’s well that begins well.” With those two thoughts in mind, his Leadership Promises For Every Day can be a key component to a leader’s success.

For 20+ years John Maxwell has written extensively and persuasively on leadership development. In fact, my library has an entire shelf devoted to his wisdom! I have benefited from all of his books, as they have helped me go deeper into various leadership topics.

But Leadership Promises is a different way of presenting Maxwell’s wisdom. Instead of a deep dive into specific topics, this devotional presents a broad foundation across the entire leadership spectrum. Each day’s leadership thought is introduced with a passage from the Bible, and then a relevant passage from one of Maxwell’s outstanding books.

As I have included Leadership Promises in my beginning-of-the-day routine, I have found timely insights I have needed for each day. I have also found that discussing each day’s thought with a friend who is also reading this book has added a deeper dimension to both of our leadership development.

Whether reading this on your own or as means of starting a discussion with other leaders-in-training, Leadership Promises will help you soar in your personal leadership growth. It takes just a few minutes to read each day’s lesson, but I’m sure you will find, as I have, that you will be contemplating the wisdom all day long.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

Book Reviews From 2015

John Piper On Fear

I read this in a devotional from John Piper this morning, and wanted to pass it on.

John PiperOne possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in unbelief goes like this: “I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my faith in God’s grace must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all.”

My response to this concern is: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy, who doesn’t want you to finish the race, throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race.

And it certainly doesn’t mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise, the enemy wouldn’t bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers.

When anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God’s glory and the greatness of the future that He plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked.

At first blow, our belief in God’s promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether, by grace, we set in motion a process of resistance—whether we fight back against the unbelief of anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers?

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”

Notice: it does not say, “I never struggle with fear.” Fear strikes, and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead, the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike. (emphasis mine)

Check out this and other great devotional resources through BibleGateway.com by clicking here.

Light And Truth—The Gospels (book review)

Light and Truth GospelsI love reading the “old guys.” I mean the ones who have stood the test of time, and their lives have backed up their writing. Recently I just finished going through the Gospels in my personal Bible reading time, and I did so with the help of Horatius Bonar, a very notable old guy.

Horatius Bonar was a pastor in the mid- to late-1800s in Scotland. He came from a family tree loaded with pastors, and this rich heritage shines brightly in his writings! In Light And Truth, Dr. Bonar doesn’t shine a light on the Scripture, but he points out where the light is already shining brightly.

Light And Truth is not a verse-by-verse commentary on the Scripture, but more of a theme-by-theme commentary. Bonar dives deep into the biblical account of the life of Jesus. Sometimes he elaborates on a well-known Gospel story, and sometimes he turns his attention to an aspect that not many people would notice.

Light And Truth is not meant to be read in place of the Bible (like a devotional book might be), but alongside the Bible. Allowing Dr. Bonar to show you the light and truth he has seen in the Gospels will add a richness and depth to your own Bible reading.

Links & Quotes

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“May the Lord increase your hunger and your thirst to see the face of God. And may He grant your desire through the gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God.” —John Piper

Chuck Colson said, “It seems that everywhere—from Tennessee to Tokyo—religion is being permeated by a consumerist mentality.” Read more (or take a listen to Chuck’s broadcast) on Gimmie That Hot-Tub Religion.

My friend and mentor, Tom Kaastra, has an amazing new website called The Basics of Life—Help for your spiritual journey. Do yourself a favor, check out the site, and then subscribe so you can receive his wisdom each time he publishes something new.

Ken Davis has some good insights on handling the ups and downs of life.

Dr. Ben Carson sets the record straight on Planned Parenthood’s racist foundation. And Jayme Metztgar explains why abortion is the new slavery, giving three reasons why what Planned Parenthood is doing is morally wrong.

From Planned Parenthood’s own annual report, prenatal services—which have decreased—amount to 18,684 services. Out of the total 10,590,433 services then, pre-natal care accounts for less than 1 percent. For pregnant women who come to Planned Parenthood, 94 percent of them have an abortion. (h/t Live Action)

Where did life originateJ. Warner Wallace asks: Can naturalists [evolutionists] explain where life originated? Great apologetics for those who believe in a Creator or Intelligent Design.

David Wilkerson says there is a command from Jesus that far too many Christians ignore: “The King has told us to bind up the devil and cast him out of the banqueting hall. In short, we’re to rise up and take serious action against satan’s attacks on Christ’s Body.” Read more here.

Be Quiet With God

I was preparing for a prayer gathering at our church and reading some insights on prayer from noted author and pastor E.M. Bounds, when I read this passage:

E.M. Bounds“It is not an easy task for the lips to try to pray while the heart is absent from it. The charge which God at one time made against His ancient Israel was, that they honored Him with their lips while their hearts were far from Him. The very essence of prayer is the spirit of devotion. Without devotion prayer is an empty form, a vain round of words. Sad to say, much of this kind of prayer prevails, today, in the church. 

“This is a busy age, bustling and active, and this bustling spirit has invaded the church of God. Its religious performances are many. The church works at religion with the order, precision and force of real machinery. But too often it works with the heartlessness of the machine. There is much of the treadmill movement in our ceaseless round and routine of religious doings. We pray without praying. We sing without singing with the Spirit and the understanding. We have music without the praise of God being in it, or near it. We go to church by habit, and come home all too gladly when the benediction is pronounced. We read our accustomed chapter in the Bible, and feel quite relieved when the task is done. We say our prayers by rote, as a schoolboy recites his lesson, and are not sorry when the Amen is uttered. Religion has to do with everything but our hearts. It engages our hands and feet, it takes hold of our voices, it lays its hands on our money, it affects even the postures of our bodies, but it does not take hold of our affections, our desires, our zeal, and make us serious, desperately in earnest, and cause us to be quiet and worshipful in the presence of God.” —E.M. Bounds (emphasis added)

The Bible says that early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus went off by Himself to a solitary place to pray. Do you find a quiet, uninterrupted place to be alone with God, or is your prayer time busy?

Jesus Daily (book review)

Jesus DailyIn just a minute I’ll tell you how to win a FREE copy of the Jesus Daily book, and one other winner will get a free copy of the book and a really cool Jesus Daily t-shirt.

Some people have asked, “Would Jesus tweet?” The answer, I believe, is a resounding yes! Jesus used all of the methods available to Him to share the Good News. Dr. Aaron Tabor is essentially doing the same thing. What has become the Jesus Daily book began by Dr. Tabor asking, “What more can I do to share the good news about Jesus Christ?” That turned into a Facebook page, which has now become this inspirational book.

Jesus Daily is a 365-day devotional book. Each day you will find a verse from the Bible, a short 1-page devotional thought which springs from that verse, followed by a way to interact with others online in sharing the good news.

For example, on my birthday I see, “Surely, O Lord, You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield” (Psalm 5:12). The devotional thought reminds me that God as my Heavenly Father loves spending time with me, and that in His surrounding presence I find restoration. I don’t have to “earn” time with Him, but He longs for me to come to Him. Then I’m challenged to post one of my favorite verses on-line, and ask others to do the same.

It’s a powerfully-simple concept. Just a few minutes each day, and you will not only draw closer to God, but you will share the good news about Jesus with all of your on-line connections.

Okay, here’s how you can win one of the two prizes. To be entered into the drawing, do as many of the following as you’d like. You will be entered one time for each of these things:

  • Post a comment below with one of your favorite Bible verses.
  • Click one of the share buttons to share this post on one or all of your social media outlets. Make sure that you use the hashtag #JesusDailyBook, and also tag me (@craigtowens) so I can get you entered.

Winners will be selected by a random drawing at 5pm EST on Saturday, December 6, 2014. If your name is drawn, I will contact you. Even if you don’t win a free copy, Jesus Daily will make a great devotional book for you.

I am a FaithWords book reviewer.

Links & Quotes

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Some good reading & watching from today…

Our First Amendment rights are under assault like never before! In Idaho the state government has told pastors to either perform same-sex “weddings” or go to jail.

“When men have to do with their estates, they are very careful; they fee a lawyer to go back over the title-deeds perhaps for two or three hundred years. In trade they will hurry hither and thither to attend to their commercial engagements; they would not launch into speculations, nor would they run great risks; but the soul, the poor soul, how men play with it as a toy, and despise it as if it were worthless earth. Two or three minutes in the morning when they first roll out of bed, two or three odd minutes in the evening, when they are nearly asleep—the fag-ends of the day given to their souls, and all the best part given to the body!” —Charles Spurgeon

“We’ve found that sleep may actually be a kind of elegant design solution to some of the brain’s most basic needs, a unique way that the brain meets the high demands and the narrow margins that set it apart from all the other organs of the body.” Read more about the rejuvenating power of sleep for the human brain.

“God will allow His servant to succeed when he has learned that success does not make him dearer to God nor more valuable in the total scheme of things.” —A.W. Tozer

[VIDEO] This story from Ken Davis is hilarious!

Prayers aren’t graded according to style. If prayer depends on how I pray, I’m sunk. But if the power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer, then I have hope.Read more thoughts on prayer from Max Lucado.

“Desire can’t be sated, because if it is, the longing disappears and then we’ve failed, because desire is the state we seek. We’ve expanded our desire for ever more human connection into a never-ceasing parade of physical and social desires as well. Amplified by marketers and enabled by commerce, we race down the endless road faster and faster, at greater and greater expense. The worst thing of all would be if we actually arrived at perfect, because if we did, we would extinguish the very thing that drives us. We want the wanting.” —Seth Godin

 

Taste And See (book review)

Taste & SeeTaste And See is made up of 140 short, powerful thoughts from the pen of John Piper. As the title advises, these are thoughts that you will want to chew on slowly, enjoying the flavorful way Pastor Piper brings Scripture to bear on our daily lives.

Each day’s reading is short (perhaps three pages long at the most), so you would almost think you could speed-read right through it. But the limited number of words for each reading is in no way an indication of the weight of those words. Some devotionals convicted me; some brought me to tears; some made me angry; but all of them made me think differently.

If you are already familiar with John Piper’s books, Taste And See will be a welcome addition to your library. If you haven’t read anything from him yet, this book will be an excellent introduction to this wise and gentle pastor/author.

Taste And See is part of a verse of Scripture which says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the the one who takes refuge in Him” (Psalm 34:8). Indeed, the best part of Pastor Piper’s writings is that you will taste and see more clearly how good and worthy of praise God is!