Press the arrow to listen to “Revelation Song” by Gateway Worship and Kari Jobe as you read today’s devotion about losing things.

Scripture
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.

Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.
Psalm 40:1-5

Observation
When I study the course of my life, I see that losing something is the secret to getting everything. It seems when something is snatched from our lives that this is the very thing that makes it possible for us to receive something better. It is not that what was lost was wrong. It was good, but not right for us.

What the Lord needs most from us are open hands. If we will not open them, he will empty them so that they are ready to receive. The secret is to hold everything with open hands so that it does not hurt when God removes things.

Application
Our life is always moving toward a new song if we will wait patiently for the Lord. A song takes an experience. We must be open to new experiences so that God can sing through us, even when they are experiences we don’t like.

Prayer
Father, I receive emptiness today as happily as fullness. My empty condition is what will give you space to bless. So I’m excited and expectant. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong sing “All I Need is You” while you read today’s devotion on partiality.

Scripture
But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)–well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. Galatians 2:6

Observation
It is easy to see the ugliness of partiality when those lower on the totem pole are treated with distain. But more subtle is another ugly side of partiality when we show too much attention to those on the topside of life.

Why are people of high reputation so attractive to us that we’re willing to forget what we value and to bow and scrape for them? It comes back to the simple fact that we aren’t secure in what God has said about us. We think there is something missing in the bag of goodies he has given to us to make our life succeed. So we start begging from people of reputation.

I wonder how the Lord feels, after having invested so much into each human being, to see us chasing the scraps that supposedly important people throw our way?

Application
All I want is in him. My life must become as simple as that.

Prayer
Father, today, help me to live my life out of the abundance you have given to me. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Gateway Worship sing “You Are God” as you read today’s devotion about listenting to God.

Scripture
So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. Instead you rebelled against the command of the LORD, and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country. Deuteronomy 1:43

Observation
In Act One, God said “go” and the people said “no way” and refused to enter the promised land.

In Act Two, God said “woe” and the people said “so what” and tried to seize the land that they had lost.

Their sin was presumption. God loves courage and boldness but he hates presumption. Courage is stepping out because God is with us. Presumption is stepping out even if he is not.

Presumption is hard to detect, because it hides under prayerlessness. We can deliberate in meetings and ponder decisions through in our quiet moments, but the action of asking for direction is often overlooked.

Application
I want to be a man of courage, but not presumption. Today I slow my pace to hear the voice and receive his direction.

Prayer
Father, please led me and let it not be the other way around.

Press the arrow to listen to Brooke Fraser sing “How Great Thou Art” at Hillsong 2008 as you read today’s devotion about focus.

Scripture
They continued, “If you think we’ve done a good job so far, give us this country for our inheritance. Don’t make us go across the Jordan.” Moses answered the families of Gad and Reuben: “Do you mean that you are going to leave the fighting that’s ahead to your brothers while you settle down here? Why would you even think of letting the People of Israel down, demoralizing them just as they’re about to move into the land God gave them? That’s exactly what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to survey the country. Numbers 32:5-12

Observation
What has surprised me most as a leader is the capacity of people to make selfish requests  of me and the whole team at the expense of others. The nature of being a leader is to focus on the mission and sacrifice to accomplish it. It is a head spinner to meet a few who think only of their own wants and not the needs of everyone else. But such people do exist and they regularly seek out leaders.

Moses was almost ready to let go of the steering wheel, but nonetheless, he too faced selfishness among the people. Two tribes didn’t want to go over the river to fight. They saw the open fields and empty towns around them on the east side of the river and asked to stay put. They did not offer to fight, just to settle. There actions were not just selfish, they were demoralizing to everyone else.

What stands out in this story was Moses’ leadership. Moses did exactly what a leader should do by pointing out the ramifications of their selfish choice. The tribes of Rueben and Gad couldn’t see that self-centredness because they didn’t have a leader’s point of view. Moses could see it because he looked at every decision in terms of the prime mandate: leave Egypt, survive the desert and conquer the land flowing with milk and honey. That sentence kept Moses awake nights and moving on in the daylight. Moses did what a leader is supposed to do. He called the people back to the mission even when they didn’t want to do it, so that they could have what they had longed for over the past 40 years. That is a tough thing to do, but that is leadership.

Application
The difference between a leader and a non-leader is selflessness. A leader wants what is best for all the people over the longest time. A non-leader wants what is best for himself, immediately. In every decision I face, I am at the cross roads of that decision. Will I be selfish or panoramic in my outlook? I want to be one found on the west side of the river, even if it means that I’m the last one to find a home for myself.

Prayer
Father, today I ask that you would help me in every decision to keep the mission in view. Help me not to be deterred by selfishness whether it is in me or in others. Keep my eyes on Jesus, focused forward so that all of your people can experience all of your blessings. Amen.