Encouraging Words is back!

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Philippians 2:3-7 (NIV)


“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Luke 22:42-44 (NIV)

Hello again everyone. It is a pleasure to be visiting your e-mail in-box again with Encouraging Words. Unless you no longer want to receive these, you can again expect one from me on a weekly basis. Brenda and I are emerging from a time of study and preparation for a new season of our Encouragement For Living ministry, and I’ll share a bit more about that at the end of this note.
I return to this aspect of ministry sharing the above scripture because humility has been lesson #1 the Lord has been teaching me over the last few months, and I think it is one we can all benefit from reviewing.

A few months ago, I had several goals that I felt squared very nicely with what I discerned the Lord’s plan was for me as an individual and for Brenda and me as a couple. Funny thing though; those goals were never reached. Attracting traffic for my Encouragement For Living blog and the Facebook and Twitter pages—not so much. Changing the culture in my workplace to one of cooperation and accountability for financial results—not even close. Achieving technical computer certifications—nada.

After a while, it got really frustrating. Sure, perseverance is a Godly trait and I was trying to do that, but sometimes failure to achieve objectives means you’re not seeking the ones that the Lord really wants you to have.

Then I ran across the text from Luke, and it just hit me right between the eyes—had I truly surrendered myself to God’s will? Even though everything I was striving for matched up very nicely with a good Christian life, was it really, really, what God wanted me to do?

As I kept studying the Gospel, I came back to the concept of servant leadership—developing the vision and setting the large goals for a team, then coming back behind and equipping people to achieve them. I found where I was falling short of that—I was still too focused on equipping ME and not nearly enough on others.

That realization has led to several significant revelations which have moved me away from the goals I stated earlier but have led me to ones even better. I yielded to the understanding that it is not God’s goal for me to be widely read in print or on the Internet, nor is it to achieve great notoriety at work and gain more technical marketability…yet. That may or may not happen down the road, but now is the time to not focus on myself—it is to focus on others. Rather than only writing encouragement, I need to make a greater effort to give it in person. Rather than focus on my own career management, it is time to be a positive influence and help those who work for me (17 at last count) grow in their careers and add value to our organization in the process. He’s already show me steps to take toward both goals.

Jesus is the ultimate example of humility—the greatest person ever to walk the earth who allowed himself to be treated like the worst because he put our salvation ahead of his glory, comfort, and His very flesh. I believe it is extremely helpful to keep that in mind when we feel our spouse isn’t meeting our needs, our friends aren’t attentive enough for us, or we don’t believe we are receiving the appropriate amount of respect in the workplace.

Are we putting others ahead of ourselves and not resenting the act of doing so? Jesus took that approach, in part, to show us how to. If He wasn’t too good for that, I know I’m not and I’m pretty sure you’re not either. I encourage you to start your day tomorrow with the intent of walking that out in your own life. Even if you don’t hold a formal leadership position, there are still ways we can all reach out and unselfishly bless others. The really cool thing is, we are the ones who wind up receiving the greatest blessings, as we always do when we live like Jesus.

If you live anywhere near Damascus, MD, Brenda and I invite you to our home on Sunday, September 11 to participate in the Encouragement For Living Fellowship. We sing, we praise, we worship, we study, and we, well, fellowship. Oh yes, we also eat. We’ve been doing this once a month whenever Apostle Dale Jarrett is in the area to lead us in worship music, but we’re now adding a second fellowship every month. Our next one will be on Sunday, September 25. People usually start arriving at 10:30 AM, and we get started around 11:00. We don’t have a program, we just allow the Holy Spirit to flow and encourage everyone to use the gifts of the spirit. Our friends Sharone and Erica and hoping to start another fellowship in Northern Virginia soon. I’ll let you know when that gets started.
Brenda and I are also gearing up for some travelling on behalf of ARC Ministries. Like us, ARC has been quiet in recent months, but that is changing. We will be attending the Healing Rain Conference hosted by Raging Fire Ministries in Bluefied, WV from October 7-9. We’d love to connect with you there!

I’m glad to be reengaged in this ministry. I hope you’ve been encouraged by this note. If so, please pass it on to someone who needs an encouraging word.