Press the arrow to listen to Newday sing “Let The Rain Come” as you read today’s devotion about mentoring.

Scripture
I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.

Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 1:5, 6, 13, 14; 2 Timothy 3:14, 15

Observation
It won’t come through a DVD. A podcast won’t infuse it. It won’t rub off at a conference. Leadership development happens best in relationship, because the best leaders are handmade. Timothy became the leader he was because he lived within arm’s length of Paul and his family.

Truth must be mixed with personality to stick with us throughout life. It takes more than principles, for mentoring requires people who will live three dimensionally the ideals kept in books.

Young leaders should seek out accessible mentors. Because of the multitude of ways to communicate, certain megastars of ministry miles away crowd out the average mentor just a block away. There is so much in print and online that every young leader should access. But this should never replace the ordinary, but accessible, pastor who can, like Paul, craft a handmade leader out of Timothy.

Mentors should make accessibility their top priority. Development happens best through personal touch and not by remote control.  Paul could call Timothy to pattern himself after what he had seen in Paul, because the apostle had let Timothy travel with him and see him in everyday life.

Parents should remember that the greatest discipling ministry is the home. Paul was a remarkable mentor, but he could only work with the upbringing that Timothy had. Eunice and Lois wove the scriptures into daily life. They started the nail and Paul drove it home.

Application
I’ve had many mentors at arm’s length. Their presence now is gone, but I have a responsibility to what they have given to me. Paul said about mentoring:

Fan it
Hold onto it
Guard it
Be faithful to it
Go back to it

No matter how how far I go in leadership, I will never outgrow my mentors. I need what they have given to me every moment. I must reflect on what they have given to me and build on it in my life.

Prayer
Father, I’ve been given so much by other leaders. I ask not just that I will be able to give what I’ve been given, but I ask that there will be desire in those to whom I give to scrape out of me all that you’ve given me to give. Surround me with hungry leaders. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to “Carry Me” by Hillsong while reading today’s devotion on keeping on.

Scripture
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6

Observation
Back in the 60′s and 70′s, when a TV show’s ratings dipped, producers would dangle the hero over the edge of death and then splash across the screen the words, “To Be Continued.” More viewers would watch the second part of the show, than the first episode, because they wanted to know what would happen next. “Who shot JR?” were the words on everyone’s lips, during the summer of 1980, as the nation was forced to wait 6 months to discover part two of the story. When part two came on the screen on November 21, 1980, 83 million viewers tuned in. Even the Turkish Parliament delayed sessions to find out what happened in part two of the story.

Life can feel sometimes like the droning summer heat of 1980, waiting to see what will happen next. The cliffhanger of life can abruptly interrupt what seemed to us an unending road into a happy future. Paul faced a cliffhanger in the months and years after starting a church in the city of Philippi. He had only a short time to work with the new Christians, until a riot forced him out of town. What would happen next?

Cliffhangers come whenever our plans are surprisingly and disappointingly interrupted. A death, a move, or the sack can wash out the bridge of our forward progress and leave us stranded.

There are three words that should keep us moving forward during interrupted seasons: to be continued. God is an author, and his work is our life. Just as there is a beginning of our story with him, there will be a better ending, because he is a finisher not just a starter. The end will always be better than the beginning, if we will have faith.

Application
There is a power at work in my life that is greater than any severing of hope I have experienced. That power is the resurrection power of Christ. The life in me is a growing thing, and pruning will only make it more vigorous. The word “continue” is energized in my life. I should expect great things to grow out of that word.

Prayer
Father, there are many severed cables of what I thought were your purposes that have left crackling bare wires where expectations short circuit in my life.  But I breathe in the hope of this verse and dare to believe that you are writing and the story is “to be continued.” Help me to live in expectation of better things and to be prepared for them to maximize them when they come. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Chris Tomlin sing “Jesus Messiah” while reading today’s devotion on God’s people.

Scripture
Do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. Romans 11:18

Observation
At some point in our Christian walk, we must choose our attitude toward the Jewish people. One does not need to live in New York City or in Tel Aviv to be faced with this question. We are challenged about our attitude toward the Jewish people every time we pick up a Bible. Will we read only the New Testament or will we start first with the Old Testament.

There are some who ignore the Old and push straight into the New. Somehow, that is like modern suburban people living in sprawling housing developments who open their garage doors with a remote control never giving a thought to the pioneers who homesteaded that land or the Indians who first walked on it. Gentiles are not the first on the block. Others have come before us.

There should be in every believers heart an appreciation for the people of Israel for bringing the first revelation of God to us. We should build our faith on the whole Bible, and not just on one-third. We should also have a heart tender toward the Jewish people. The gospel began with them and the Bible predicts it will end with them. In all of our plans, the need of the Jewish people should come first.

Application
There is an arrogance from ignorance that I want to be rid of in my life. Everything that I read in the Scriptures has its origin in the first followers. To them I am grateful and indebted.

Prayer
Father, recently you have been opening some doors in my life to show more concern for your people Israel. Navigate me through that and help me to be part of a process of grace to bring healing to the division between Christians and Jews and to effectively reveal Yeshua to your people. Amen.