Press the arrow to listen to “Open the Eyes of My Heart” by Mercy Me while reading today’s devotion.

Scripture

And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 1 Kings 4:29

Observation
A truly great leader is a master of many subjects, not so that he can do everything, but so that he can lead those who do. His understanding should be expanding and increasing with every wave of technology and new best seller. Most of all he should have an ever deepening perception of the word of God and how it applies to life.

Leaders are learners. To lead is to learn. Solomon was an extraordinary example. He was a king, architect, engineer, builder, botanist, zoologist, scientist, scholar, philosopher, poet, and more. He was not just smart, he was wise because he knew how to apply what he knew to everyday life. What was the secret of Solomon’s great wisdom (other than the fear of the Lord)? Was he a naturally good student with a brilliant mind?

The reason the Bible gives for Solomon’s knowledge and wisdom was not the cleverness of his brain but the largeness of his heart. His heart seemed large enough to store the stand of all the sea shores. That’s big. For the Jews, the heart was not the place of love but of choice. The heart was to Hebrews the seat of the will. The heart meant more than feeling to them, but action. The feelings in the heart were more than emotion in Jewish thought, but more like passion that brings result.

Solomon had a passionate heart about leading his nation well, therefore he wanted to learn about everything that affected his nation. He wanted to know about every animal in the borders. How did plants grow, what stones made the best foundations, and how could ice be supplied to the palace in the summer time? He studied these thoughts and a million more like them. Solomon learned because he had a heart to learn.

As I’ve taught students through the years, I’ve often thought that every student is bright in some way, but it is the heart and not the mind that hinders their learning. It is the passion to learn that opens the way to learn. When a student loves life then he will want to learn whatever subjects are necessary to live life to the fullest.

Application
Solomon loved his people and so he had a heart to learn everything of benefit for them. If I am to lead well the people I oversee, then I must have more than just an inquisitive mind, I must have a heart that loves them.

Prayer
Father, grant to me an ever enlarging heart that learns widely because it loves deeply. Grant me a wide and wise heart. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to “Oceans will Part” sung by Annie Mcintosh at Hillsong while reading today’s devotion.

Scripture
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 2 Thessalonians 1:11

Observation
Life is like a coloring book. God draws the lines and we are to fill them in. There is a call he gives to us, but within that call there is latitude to explore, create and express. There are nuances in us that God delights to discover. He finds these by granting us some degree of freedom of expression in the work he has given to us to do. How we color in the lines gives him delight.

The bottom line is that God is not a micro-manager. There is a pattern well established in the Bible. He gives a person an opportunity and then leaves them for awhile to see what they make of that responsibility. When he returns to inspect, the future work given depends on what has been made of the first assignment. Faithful servants are given more talents. Unfaithful ones are left empty handed.

How then can we know what color to choose and how to shade in the spaces? Paul expressed it well when he wrote, “May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.” (NLT) There are good ideas. There are demands. But in the midst of them all are some responsibilities glow with our faith. No one has to talk us into them. We find them on our minds and in our prayers, because there is something intrinsically right about them. We can do more than just imagine it, we can believe it.

Application
When we find that thing to do that we have faith to do it with, we must pour heart and soul into getting it done. Faith filled acts is where God desires to bless us.

Prayer
Father, today, as I choose my Crayolas and color in the lines, help me to chose the works that make the greatest eternal difference. There is so much latitude in your call. Help me to use that freedom to its fullest. Sometimes I am daunted by the freedom you give to us. Instead, let me be released. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Desperation Band sing “Counting on God” while you read today’s devotion.

Scripture
David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less, because the LORD had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky. Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. Wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David. 1 Chronicles 27:23-24

Observation
David took a census. What was the big deal? Governments count heads. That’s what governments do. Why did God threaten David with a triple whammy because he wanted to make a book of pie graphs?

There is a great difference between counting up the nation and counting on the nation.  David was doing more than counting noses, he was moving his confidence from depending on the Spirit of the Lord and onto the biceps of his nation.

The Absolam insurrection was over. The nation was in a time of peace. David’s final retirement was looming. Perhaps the aging king was nervous about the transfer of power. Another son would rebel against him before Solomon was placed on the throne. Maybe he wanted to take stock of his resources before the final battle.

Application
Whatever his motive, David did what any of us do when things are going well. We depend on the gifts and not the giver. It is God’s good desire to bless us richly, whether it be a slice of bread or a place to call home. Then he wants us to live as if we did not have it with total dependance on him.

This morning I held a simple glass of water in my hand, chilled from the refrigerator. I thought to myself, that even something a simple as this drink must be seen as a gift and not a possession. I should live with a sense of awe and wonder at the grace in air to breathe, a chair which to sit, a roof that collects the rain and a pillow to call my own. That should lead me to a life of profuse gratefulness thankful for every moment of life.

When I live without counting and instead count on God, then there is no limit to the resources he can draw from to help me. There are infinite resources in God that are not found in a tally sheet. When I live detached and grateful there is no end to what God can do to rescue me.

Prayer
Father, let me live with nothing as if I have everything; and when I have everything as if I have nothing. And in so doing let me live in your abundance, available whenever I have need. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Michael Card sing “Things We Leave Behind” as you read today’s devotion.

Scripture
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8

For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Observation
The proof that pastoral ministry is a God thing, is that statistically more men are pastors than women. As I’ve watched males care for people, speak tenderly from the pulpit, weep tears of comfort and meticulously work on follow up, it seems so unnatural. Nurture is motherly. Yet, the Holy Spirit infuses some of the care of God into the heart of a pastor. When that happens in a man it must be a miracle.

Paul gave two mentors for pastors to follow: a mother and a father. God’s love for people is so great that it takes two sexes to express the enormity of his heart. The Lord desires that heart of love to infuse and effuse out of pastors, even men.

Pastor like a mother. What makes a mother unique, is her choice to not live for herself, but to give all of herself for her children. It started with a fetus overtaking her inside, then an infant overtaking her outside, on to washing, cooking, feeding, tucking into bed, patching wounds and broken hearts. Paul encouraged not just pastors but big name apostles to be “gentle” and to give life for those we serve. It’s easy to give a sermon or advice but it is another thing entirely to walk along side those in need with an open heart.

Pastor like a father. What makes a father unique is his sense of goal and purpose. Everything he does as a dad is directing his child into that good purpose. A pastor is to nurture like a father, not by sheltering people from the price of following Jesus, but by prodding them on to pay it. We are to encourage others to pay the price of the kingdom, comfort them in hard times, but always keep them moving forward into the purposes of God.

Application
A pastor is caught in the balance between father and mother. Sometimes we need to be the gentle, self-sacrificing companions, letting others into our most personal and vulnerable selves. Other times we need to prod people on toward the vision God has for their lives, with tons of understanding along the way. Each day of ministry, each person we serve, is either a mother or father moment of pastoring. The effective pastor knows the difference.

Prayer
Father, I pray with each situation and each person I will know whether they need a mother or a father. Amen.