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In
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Senseless Tragedy! For the past two months we have shared excerpts from
the book Choosing Forgiveness
by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. We have been reminded that no matter how painful
our circumstances are or have been we have a choice to continue down a path
of self-destruction or we can choose to forgive our offender. This topic on forgiveness seems all the more
appropriate in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech Massacre. Being parents
of four, we can only imagine the loss and agony these individuals must be
feeling losing their loved ones in such a horrific manner. Forgive?
Forgive Cho Seung-Hui? Fifty years ago a man named Jim Elliot and four other
missionaries were martyred for their faith in Christ. Many of us know the
story well. Last year’s film, “End of the Spear” gave us
a better glimpse as to what happened in the dark jungles of Ecuador. What
you might not be aware of is the story detailing how years later the Indian
who killed one of the missionaries would be the one to comfort that
missionary’s son when a tragedy occurs in his family. Read this
story from Choosing Forgiveness - Eric and Jennifer Garcia |
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How would
you define leadership? I’ve found, through many years of talking
with people about leadership, that if you ask fifty people you will get
forty-nine answers. My definition for
the past 30 years of working with high level leaders has been: Leadership
is … knowing
what to do next,
knowing why that’s important, and
knowing how to bring the appropriate resources to
bear on the need at hand. Now
let’s “unpack” it a little bit. How do you know, how do
you sort out what to do next? There are three P’s involved: Process,
Principle and People. |
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This simple
tool can give you clarity and hope in all your key relationships. Some leaders
tell us this tool changed their entire worldview—the way they viewed
God, themselves, others, sin, conflict, and relationships. In this
life, we who belong to Jesus, have two constants. Two unchanging realities.
We will always confront sin issues and we will always have the identity God
gave us. They are represented in the two lines below. Working on My Sin Issues Here’s
the key question: Which of these two constants define my life focus? From
which line do I launch my day? Which is my starting line? Which line offers
me the hope of experiencing the other line? |
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#4:
Some pray as if God sometimes forgets or tries to renege on His promises
and is depending on pray-ers to remind Him of them. God does not need to be reminded of His promises. He made
promises and bound Himself to us in a blood-sealed covenant so that we
would know exactly what we could expect from Him. The purpose of His
promises is to give us confidence and peace. Instead, sometimes we pray as
if we are responsible for finding the scriptural promise that can be
construed as guaranteeing the outcome we have prescribed, then taking that
promise to God to hold Him to His Word. |
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Focus
Group Spotlight |
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- by Jeff and Judi Parziale, Stepfamily Ministry Focus
Group 1.
Be prepared 2.
Be healthy 3.
Be patient and flexible 4.
Be realistic 5.
Be connected |
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What's New? |
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