| Be Your True Self! | | | | wise, loving words are the seeds of peace. God |
| Shine: How to be bold on the inside | | | | loves peacemakers and those who edify and |
| 1) Who am I and where does my value come | | | | encourage others. |
| from? | | | | 5) How do I know the right path to take? |
| 2) What will really make me happy? | | | | "When the Sprit of truth comes, he will guide you |
| 3) Am I more influenced by God's truths or the | | | | into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will |
| world's views? | | | | only speak what He hears from the Father... The |
| 4) What is true success? | | | | Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to |
| 5) How do I know the right path to take? | | | | you. (Why?) Because the Father himself loves |
| 6) Two important questions. | | | | you ~ because you have loved me and have |
| 7) What do we do with this great love God has | | | | believed that I came from God. I have told you |
| give us? | | | | these things so that you may have peace. In this |
| 8) Why was Jesus such a different kind of | | | | world you will have trouble. But, take heart, I |
| leader? | | | | have overcome the world!" John 16: 13-15, 27, 33 |
| "Leadership is a combination of strategy and | | | | The Holy Spirit is given to us as a gift from God |
| character. If you must be without one, be without | | | | when we accept that Christ came to die for our |
| the strategy." - Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf | | | | sins so that we can have intimate union with God |
| 1) Who am I and where does my true vale come | | | | forever. Our selfish desire separated us from |
| from? | | | | God's purity, yet Jesus came to bridge that gap |
| "How great is the love the Father has lavished on | | | | so that we can have constant and unhindered |
| us that we should be called children of God." 1 | | | | communication with our Creator. His Spirit will |
| John 3:1 | | | | guide us to the right path for our lives? |
| My self worth is based on the fact that God | | | | 6) Two important questions. |
| loves me and calls me his child. | | | | Good plans "For I know the plans I have for you, |
| "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will | | | | plans to help you and not to harm you, plans to |
| lift you up." James 4:10 | | | | give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 |
| Humbling ourselves means recognizing that our | | | | Broad Path |
| worth comes from God alone. To be humble | | | | The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts very quietly |
| involves working with his power according to his | | | | to reveal to us right from wrong, wisdom, truths, |
| guidance, not with our own independent effort. | | | | and convicts our heart when we have grieved |
| Although we do not deserve God's favor, he | | | | God. God loves us no matter what we could ever |
| reaches out to us in love and gives us worth and | | | | do. And yet, because of His love, He wants us to |
| dignity, despite our shortcomings. | | | | live a good life that will deeply satisfy us and bring |
| 2) What will really make me happy? | | | | Him glory at the same time. We have to decide |
| "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the | | | | to trust that He has our ultimate good at heart. |
| humble. Submit yourselves to God. Come near to | | | | God has good plans for us, far better than we |
| God and he will come near to you. Purify your | | | | could design for ourselves. The first question for |
| hearts. Humble yourself before the Lord, and He | | | | mankind is: "What do you believe? Will you ask |
| will lift you up" James 4:6-10 | | | | the Holy Spirit to come in?" The second question |
| Instead of aggressively going for 'more' of what | | | | is: "Will you take the time to listen to the Spirit's |
| we want, why not submit ourselves to God, and | | | | tender guidance or will you follow the loud voices |
| trust him to give us what we really need. There is | | | | of the world?" Or rephrase it this way: "will I take |
| nothing wrong with wanting a pleasurable life. God | | | | the broad path or the road less traveled." It's not |
| gives us good gifts to enjoy, but you will never | | | | what you are doing, it who you are following that |
| be happy seeking pleasure at others expense or | | | | makes all the difference. |
| at the expense of obeying God. | | | | Are you following the world or are you following |
| Of course, God wants us to be happy. But, there | | | | the Spirit leading your heart into your destiny? |
| is a great difference between happiness and joy. | | | | Are you grasping and grabbing, as most do, out |
| Happiness is temporary and usually is a result of | | | | of a deeper belief in scarcity. If I don't do this, |
| favorable circumstances. Joy is deeper than that. | | | | take this, promote myself this way, then I won't |
| It is a constant knowing that nomatter what is | | | | have what I need. That is thinking about survival, |
| happening around us, we are loves by the | | | | not success. Or, are you thinking, I know people |
| Creator of the universe. He will never leave us, | | | | might think I'm crazy, but I really feel led to do |
| forget us, or forsake us. He delights in me. why? | | | | something very unconventional, out of the box, |
| Because he created me. just as a mother loves | | | | out of the norm. I don't know how I'm going to |
| her own child, her 'creation', God loves us with an | | | | do it, but I just know everything will work out. # |
| everlasting love and draws us to Him with his | | | | Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God |
| cords of oving kindness. He desires a closer and | | | | works for the good of those who love him, who |
| closer relationship to Him each day. The more | | | | have been called according to his purpose." |
| time He gets to spend with us, the more time He | | | | Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you to |
| wants to spend with us. He think we're amazing, | | | | will and to act according to his good purpose. |
| beautiful, talented, and perfect in his love. He | | | | Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who |
| doesn't see our flaws or buy into our fears. He | | | | began a good work in you will carry it on to |
| lifts us with His everlastind love into a place of | | | | completion until the day of Christ Jesus. |
| peace, comfort, and deep joy. | | | | 7) What do we do with this great love God has |
| Pride makes people self-centered, leads us to | | | | give us? |
| conclude we deserve all we can see, touch or | | | | "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this |
| imagine. It creates greedy appetites for far more | | | | world, but be transformed by the renewing of |
| than we need. We can be released from our | | | | your mind. Then you will be able to test and |
| self-centered desires by humbling ourselves | | | | approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and |
| before God, realizing that all we really need is His | | | | perfect will."- Romans 12:2 |
| approval. When the Holy Spirit fills us, we see that | | | | 13Jesus answered her, All who drink of this water |
| this world's seductive attractions are only cheap | | | | will be thirsty again. |
| substitutes for what God has to offer. | | | | 14But whoever takes a drink of the water that I |
| Because of man's fallen nature, people have a | | | | will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any |
| tendency to envy which leads to discontentment. | | | | more. But the water that I will give him shall |
| The antidote for that is a servant attitude and | | | | become a spring of water welling up (flowing, |
| humble heart towards God and others. | | | | bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) |
| 3) Are you more influenced by God's truths or | | | | eternal life. |
| the world's views? | | | | 8) Why was Jesus such a different kind of |
| "The world and its desires pass away. But the | | | | leader? |
| man who does the will of God lives forever." 1 | | | | Matthew 20:25-28 (New Living Translation) |
| John 2:17 | | | | "But Jesus called them together and said, "You |
| When our attachment to worldly, shallow desires | | | | know that the rulers in this world lord it over their |
| is strong, it's hard to believe that what we want | | | | people, and officials flaunt their authority over |
| will one day pass away. Yet, knowing all that we | | | | those under them. 26 But among you it will be |
| touch will end can give us courage to live for God | | | | different. Whoever wants to be a leader among |
| knowing that He and our relationship with Him will | | | | you must be your servant, 27 and whoever |
| last forever. | | | | wants to be first among you must become your |
| 4) What is true success? | | | | slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to |
| "Earthly or unspiritual wisdom is vanity, selfish | | | | be served but to serve others and to give his life |
| ambition, envy, boasting, denial of the truth. But, | | | | as a ransom for many." |
| the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all | | | | Matthew 19:29-30 (New Living Translation) |
| pure, then peace loving, considerate, submissive, | | | | 29 And everyone who has given up anything, for |
| full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. | | | | my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in |
| Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest | | | | return and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many |
| of righteousness." James 3:15- 18 | | | | who are the greatest now will be least important |
| True success and wisdom can be measured by | | | | then, and those who seem least important now |
| the depth of a person's character. It is easy to be | | | | will be the greatest then. |
| drawn into wrong desires by the pressure of | | | | The world talks about leadership in a very |
| society, work, and sometimes even well-meaning | | | | different way than Jesus. He was the first to say |
| Christians. By listening to the advice: 'Assert | | | | such staggering things about leadership. His ways |
| yourself', 'Set high goals and standards and accept | | | | seems contrary to popular belief then and now. |
| nothing less', You Deserve it!', 'Get happy,' we can | | | | How can being humble cause people to respect |
| be drawn into greed and destructive | | | | you? Wouldn't that seem like a form of |
| competitiveness. Seeking God's wisdom delivers | | | | weakness? How can people know how important, |
| us from the need to compare ourselves to | | | | powerful, rich you are if you don't brag about it |
| others and to want what they have. | | | | here and there, in the appropriate moments? |
| Just as you can you can identify a tree by its | | | | They would never just guess that you are |
| fruit, you can evaluate your wisdom by the way | | | | somebody. |
| you act. True character is defined as what you | | | | And yet how did Jesus command with such |
| do and think when no one is looking. Are you one | | | | unwavering authority the respect of so many? |
| to escalate the conflict, pass on the gossip, fan | | | | How can a man seem important when he washes |
| the fire or discord? Careful, winsome speech and | | | | his own followers feet? |