What is the key to being an effective leader? Many people are in places of leadership because of their God-given strengths and developed abilities. While strengths and abilities are important aspects of leadership and should be continually developed, they are not the most important elements of spiritual leadership. If we allow these gifts to be the stimulus for ministry, our leadership will be shallow and temporal at best.
A very simple truth exists—genuine spiritual leadership can flow through our lives only as we are completely connected to Jesus. He is the one and only Source of a fruitful life. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5, NIV).
Read John 15:1-17.
Staying connected to Jesus should be the most important pursuit of every spiritual leader. Psalm 119:2 tells us, “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.” And Jesus said the greatest command is love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). As leaders, most of us are familiar with the idea of loving God and seeking Him with all of our heart. But amid the demands of leadership, we can easily lose sight of this single, life-giving pursuit.
God has created each of us uniquely and He wants us to enjoy a very personal relationship with Him.There are no exact formulas or methods for seeking God, but there are some overriding principles for all of us to follow.
In this unit we strive to discuss the following aspects of our relationship with God:
1. Prioritizing time alone with God every day
2. Allowing God’s Word to shape our thoughts, attitudes,
and actions
3. Living submissively aware of the Holy Spirit
4.Trusting God’s love, even when we don’t understand our
circumstances
5. Allowing ministry to flow from our time alone with God.
We should meet alone with God every day!
No matter what is going on in our lives, nothing is more important than spending time alone in God’s presence! The best way to do this is to schedule it. Each person should determine the best time for him or her to meet with God. Some find it best to start their morning with time dedicated to being alone with God. For others it may be over the lunch hour or after the kids are in bed at night.The time of day isn’t important; what is important is making the appointment and showing up!
We shouldn’t allow trouble, busyness, distractions, or even the thought that “everything is going well” to hinder us from spending time alone in God’s presence every day. Since we are human beings and we live in a temporal, sinful world, we can very easily lose the right perspective if we neglect time with God.
For the Harvest,
Cathie
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