Press the arrow to listen to Mercy Me sing “You Reign” as you read today’s devotion.

Scripture
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.’ Luke 20:42-43

For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6

Observation
Two million people are expected to attend today’s inauguration today. The other 300 million will look from a far distance. But at the actual moment only three people will matter.  The new President, the new first lady and the Chief Justice. No one else will be closer to the centre of things. From today forward, many will swim up stream to fight for a few moments time in the Oval Office. Most of us will never get there.

But I am guaranteed a seat of honour next to Jesus. There is something so inclusive about Christ’s love that there is a chair next to him available for everyone who believes.

The throne we sit beside is not one fought for on a campaign trail. There is no contention connected to it. Instead, it is a chair of peace. Jesus simply sat on it and waited for his Father to take care of things.

There is a peace sitting close to Jesus. Just as his position was granted without striving, so too our security will come not because of haranguing but by trust.

Application
I wouldn’t have a clue of how to get five minutes with President Obama, but I can spend this entire day with Christ. Sitting beside him stills all of my desires. He didn’t strain to exalt himself there, so neither should I. Jesus got all that he has by letting go. I surrender to him.

Prayer
Father, today bless the President coming into authority. Grant him wisdom to lead well. Be the unseen presence who stands beside him in every hour. And let me live with an awareness of where I am and whose I am. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Jeremy Camp sing “Lay Down My Pride”

Scripture
And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt. 1 Samuel 18:3-4

Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him. Matthew 3:13-14

Observation
Jonathan and Jesus both appear in today’s Bible readings. Both were kingly leaders who took off their robes, laid them down and gave up their lives not for work but for friends. Jonathan gave his life for one man and prepared him to lead a nation. Jesus gave up his life particularly for his disciples to save the whole world.

Jonathan was impressed by David as Jesus was impressed by John, his cousin. In David, Jonathan saw someone who loved God and country as much as he did and who embraced risk for the sake of the cause. In John, Jesus saw someone living radically for the unseen and eternal realities he had only recently laid aside. Both men found comrades who valued what they valued.

Both Jesus and Jonathan show us leadership by surrender. Both brought greatness to others but not to themselves. We cherish their memories now, but few did back then. Both died ignominious deaths for what they believed in most. Monuments came later

I read recently from Henri Nouwen:

Authority and obedience can never be divided, with some people having all the authority while others only have to obey. This separation causes authoritarian behaviour on the one side and doormat behaviour on the other. It perverts authority as well as obedience. A person with great authority who has nobody to be obedient to is in great spiritual danger. A very obedient person who has no authority over anyone is equally in danger.

Jesus spoke with great authority, but his whole life was complete obedience to his Father, and Jesus, who said to his Father, “Let it be as you, not I, would have it” (Matthew 26:39), has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (see Matthew 28:18). Let us ask ourselves: Do we live our authority in obedience and do we live our obedience with authority?

Application
The greatness of a leader is shown not by what he gains but in what he gives up. When Jesus and Jonathan surrendered they may have walked without crowns, yet they both remained very much kings. Their regal authority came not by how they grasped power but in their security in their God-given identity while releasing it. I want to lead like that.

Prayer
Father, today, I see another kind of leadership that is proven not by the titles it achieves but in what it gives for the benefit of others. Here is my tunic, sword and bow. Let them be useful for others. Amen.

Scripture
Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea. Acts 8:40

Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers. Today you have earned a blessing.” Exodus 32:29

Observation
In one denomination in Papua New Guinea a pastor cannot be ordained until he has started at least one church from scratch. Those leaders know that the proof of a pastor is not in the academic degrees on his wall but in the results of his ministry.

There is a path to full time ministry that involves Bible college, interviewing boards, letters of recommendation, trial sermons, and the like. It is a well worn path and it works well in some cases, but it is not the only method God uses.

There is another path to ministry that is less used but very effective. It comes when a person begins to serve with the gifts God has given and the results get the attention of others and are blessed.

The Levites were self-ordained. Moses did not ordain them; he just recognized God’s hand on their ministry and then blessed them. They took leadership initiative in a crisis, stood up for the Lord, and were given a life call to full time ministry as a result.

Philip the evangelist was self-ordained. He was only given a license to drive for the Meals on Wheels program at Jerusalem First Church. But after a national revival in Samaria, leading a Prime Minister to the Lord and starting fires up the seacoast, God at last gave him a settled place in the megapolis that was Caesarea.

Caesarea was a world-class city, on the scale of New York, Hong Kong or Singapore. King Herod had built the largest artificial port with underwater concrete and had made Caesarea the hub of East and West. Philip earned the right to minister in that world-touching city because of his initiative all along his winding path from Jerusalem, to Samaria, to Azotus and beyond.

Application
I wonder at times if God is bored with our life path because we want permission and invitation to serve him. Could it be that there are times that God simply wants us to act? Certainly we need to pray, test and be led by the Holy Spirit. But great movements of God do not start in committees, but with courageous people who take action. The Levites “earned a blessing” because they took initiative when something needed to be done. There is a professional pathway to ministry, but the lives of Philip and the Levites are there to remind us that it is not the only way that God uses. God loves risk and blesses those who take that path.

Prayer
Father, Philip is my life mentor. The way he took I find very uncomfortable. There were rules and regulations even in his time. James and the brothers had to be consulted first. But he took a risk and was blessed for it. Help me to walk confidently when there are unworn paths you lead me on. Help me to make the most of every opportunity and in it extend your kingdom and bless me for it. Amen.

Amaze yourself with these Nathan Sawaya’s Lego sculptures on CNN and his blog.

Scripture

For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’ Acts 4:11

Observation

Back in April of ’79 I was a senior in high school saving for college. My summer job was working construction. The boss had just finished laying rows of cinder blocks 27 feet tall. My job was to pull down the scaffolding. I ate my McDonalds lunch from that sky perch and did two historic things. First I made a time capsule of junk food as I put the McDonalds packaging into the holes in the wall. And then I did what no one can resist: I wrote my name and the date in the wet concrete in the top course of blocks.

No one can resist making their mark in stone. There is graffiti etched in sandstone along the Oregon Trail from the 1850′s. There are tags in Roman catacombs and even the Egyptian tombs. I once asked a graffiti artist what it was that drove him to spray paint his tag on blank walls around town. He said, “It’s the desire to be noticed.”

Every human longs for significance and wants to make their mark. Deep down, somehow, in some way, for some moment of time no matter how brief we want to be important. Otherwise Gold Class, First Class, Platinum would not exist. We want to end up on top of the heap of humanity and be treated special.

We are each special to God, but he has designed it such that none of us can claim to be superior. That’s why this little phrase is repeated over and over in the Bible:

The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.

The “cornerstone” is not a shinny granite block at the bottom of the wall, it is a huge monolith at the top of all the courses of stone. The cornerstone in the temple was the largest building stone on earth. It was a rectangular block of rock nearly the size of a house. The walls of the Temple were built with man-sized blocks of granite. The rows and rows of huge stones were held in place by the top capstone. It was pure genius as it withstood earthquakes for centuries.

Application

Here’s the point for us: we are definitely not the capstone, that’s Jesus. Nor are we dirt because the stones were built without mortar. Instead each of us is a living stone with a part to play in the wall, high or low, visible or invisible wherever the Stone Mason wants it to rest. Once each of us is in position, Jesus takes his place on the highest level and holds us in place.

It is a secure feeling being locked into Christ submission. Like a row of Lego blocks, he puts me where I belong and holds me secure. And submitting to his Lordship is a joy because he did not take this exalted position for himself. The stone was rejected and God the Father himself hoisted him into the highest place. Jesus’ authority over me is submission and that is a joy.

All comes together when Jesus is in the right place over our lives. Jesus will only be in the right place when I confess that Jesus is the cornerstone, I am not.

Prayer

Father today I want to stumble on Jesus so I find just the place I am to be. Amen.