Leading Like Jesus

This is just a quick blog...almost a mini-blog, but it got me to thinking and I wanted to share.

Leadership in the advancement of the Kingdom is a huge topic these days.  It really has been a big one for quite some time, but we often see a resurgence in the concept from time to time, and with the condition of western society right now, the season is ripe for such a resurgence.

This week, a friend emailed me asking for insight on how I believed the disciples viewed leadership before the Holy Spirit came.  This question really provoked me to consider how Kingdom leadership began.  Of course, one could propose that leadership began at Creation, and while I would totally agree, the question was specifically about the disciples' view of leadership.  So I looked at it solely within that context.

I really believe the key view the disciples had for leadership prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit was simply observing Jesus, their leader, in action.

1. He knew who He was.  Jesus did not have any kind of identity crisis whatsoever.  Even on the Cross at His lowest point, He STILL knew He was God's Son, because He cried out, "My Father, My Father...".  So the disciples saw that leadership is rooted in Kingdom identity.
2. He never asked them to do something He wasn't willing to do.  In fact, He never asked them to do anything He hadn't done first.  So they saw that a leader must do what He expects of others.
3. He was a selfless servant.  Even when He was tired, He put the needs of others before His own.  And it's important to remember that while, yes, He was fully God, He was also fully man, so He experienced the same physical requirements as others.  He got tired, probably exhausted, because we see in Scripture that He poured Himself out...yet He had to retreat and rest.  So the disciples saw leadership as radical servanthood fueled by rest and rejuvenation.    
4. He was unafraid to challenge the status quo.  This no fear mentality would've had to be rooted in His identity.  He left the disciples, and henceforth us as well, with the knowledge that we are also sons (even daughters, ha), and therefore, they could (and we can) also freely challenge the status quo to set things into Kingdom order.
5. He was a "launching pad leader."  This means that though He was fully cognizant of His own actions and their implications, He was also fully cognizant of those who would follow in His footsteps.  And as a result, He encouraged them by telling them they'd do greater things than He did.  It's hard to imagine doing greater things than Jesus did, but by that point, they were well-acquainted with His faithfulness, so I'm sure they believed.  And therefore, they saw the value in walking out one's destiny, yet all the while serving as a foundation and launching pad for the "next generation" to do greater things and to be propelled further.

Those are just a few things....gosh, I could keep going.  :-)  And imagine how all of those things are amplified when the Holy Spirit DID come to empower them for Kingdom advancement!  

Anyway, I enjoyed the pondering, and thought maybe y'all might too!

Grace and Love,
Holly

People Set Free Set People Free

Last week, I learned a fantastic new trick. I have long hair with a slight natural wave, but because it is so thick, the weight of it tends to straighten those natural waves. Sometimes, this is extremely convenient, as straight hair is probably the easiest to maintain. However, sometimes, us ladies get tired of the same old styles, and we try all kinds of things to add some variety. So I had been wanting to find an easy way to go curlier again. I didn’t particularly want to perm my hair, because that means a chemical change. With a perm, I’d lose the flexibility of leaving my hair straight one day and having it curly the next. So I’d been looking for options. Then I mentioned to my friend at work that I was about to give in and try perming again (Hello, ‘80s/’90s?). She looked at the photo of the style I was considering, and said, “Oh! You can do that with a sock!”

Say what?

She proceeded to show me some photos and videos online describing the brilliant concept of doing “sock bun curls.”  I’d never heard of it, and as is my typical analytical personality, I was a bit skeptical.  However, I had nothing to lose by trying it.  So that very night, I went to bed with my hair in a bun rolled onto a sock.  The next day, I woke and remembered what the funny-looking bun on my head was for.  So after getting up and dressed, the moment of truth had arrived.  It was time to do my hair.  Within seconds, the bun was rolled out, my hair was fluffed, and to my surprise, I had layers of soft defined curls!  Whodathunkit??  It was an amazing discovery and one I will be using.  Now, with no need for a perm, I am free to leave my hair straight when I want to and have it curly when I want to.  As soon as I discovered it worked, I told some of my friends, even texting pictures to some of the ones I’d told about wanting to curl.

When someone learns a new tip or trick, oftentimes, one of the first things they do is to share the knowledge.  When a person eats at a really nice restaurant, one of the first things they do soon after is to tell their friends about the fabulous food at the spectacular establishment.  When someone shops at a new store, they often feel an instant desire to give a word-of-mouth review to friends and family.  There’s just something appealing about having an experience and instantly wanting to share.  I firmly believe that there’s an inherent need in our existence to have something to share with others. 

That’s why the Gospel is so beautiful.  Not only is it good news for us to receive, but also it is good news for us to share.  It never runs out or diminishes in glory.  There is a liberal amount of liberty, to the point of abundance for overflow. 

Some of my favorite Bible passages are the ones about freedom.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

– Romans 8:2

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

– Galatians 5:1

“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

– Matthew 10:8

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

– John 8:32

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

– John 8:36

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

– 2 Corinthians 3:17

These are just a drop in the bucket of all the passages about freedom, or liberty. But the one that’s been really burning in me as of late is Matthew 10:8b:  “Freely you have received, freely give.”

We are given complete license to drive when it comes to sharing EVERYTHING Jesus provided for us.  We will never have the need to ration Grace or give it sparingly for fear of not having enough.  Likewise, we’ve been given an endless supply of Love, which is for the purpose of pouring out to others. 

This ability and willingness to share Love is the indicator that we are indeed His.  In John 13:34-35, it is spelled out plainly and the words are in red.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This is how the world outside the Church knows who are truly disciples of Christ and who aren’t.  If they see us loving one another, they are seeing Jesus’ command in proper function.  But there is another litmus test, this time on a personal level.  Truly, if we want to understand love, the “love chapter,” 1 Corinthians 13, is great, but the deeper revelation for understanding is 1 John.  In the gospel of John, we are shown how the world knows.  But in 1 John, we are shown how WE know if we are living as His dwelling place. 

“No one has seen God at any time.  If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.  By this, we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.”

– 1 John 4:12-13

When we are truly set free, we live in Him, and therefore, His Love pours through us.  We can’t help but share.  If we are not yet able to reach out, that is an indicator that there is still some bondage in operation.  If we can’t Love liberally or embrace Grace, there’s a place of wounding in need of healing.  I don’t say that to condemn, but rather to expose places of hidden pain.  I continually have to examine my own walk, and I’ve discovered that without fail, when I’ve reached a place where I’m in a season of not being able to reach out to others, I’ve reached a place where God wants to install liberty in me.  Those are the seasons when He is doing a deep work of deliverance in areas of pain I hadn’t been able to acknowledge before.  And as those hidden wounds heal, there are deeper places in me where His Grace and Love can now flow, this time with more freedom and passion than ever before.  We DO live and grow from glory to glory, and as we do, we reach increasing levels of liberty.  We are in an ongoing process of being set free.  It’s not a one-time event.  We experience woundings throughout life, simply because we still live in a body of human flesh.  So we have to be quick to continually relinquish all of our woundings to Him as they occur.  And if we are truly free and living in love, we will be quick to love even those who have caused us pain.  Then we will be able to liberate others from within our safe place of liberty.  People set free set people free.

Grace and Love,

Holly

P.S.  Ladies with medium to long hair, try the sock bun curls!  They work!  Gents, sorry for boring you with hair fashion tips!  ;-)

A New Day Has Dawned...

Last night, as I watched the peach drop in Atlanta showing on half my TV screen and the ball drop in Times Square on the other side of my screen, I couldn't help but breathe a sign of relief that the book entitled "2012" had closed and the fresh new one entitled "2013" just opened. It's one thing to be grateful for every moment given, and I am grateful, but I'm also exceedingly grateful that seasons DO change and that we are not meant to revel in the past. We're to use the past as a springboard for the future and the manifestation of the promises God gives us.

I'm excited about what is to come this year. I don't even know what all "it" will be, but I'm excited for it to come to pass. There's nothing like resting in the moment, during the winter season, KNOWING that there is fruit in progress.  We might not really enjoy it because we can't see it, but that's okay.  It's there, and nothing can stop it's growth.  Even more importantly, we can rest in the confidence that because of God's grace, unless we intentionally forfeit it, nothing can steal the seed growing into fruit.  God has made His promises, and as His heirs, we WILL see them manifest in their due season.

There is NOTHING that separates us from the love of God and all of the benefits that come with being His Beloved.  I sat in a period of silence yesterday, thinking about all that had happened in 2012, and re-examining the desires of my heart.  I said to the Lord, "Father, I know we can't do anything to deserve your Love.  I'm not entitled to anything extra really.  Your Love is supposed to be more than enough."  And in that moment, He swiftly redirected my misguided focus.

"Are you My daughter?"

"Of course I am," I answered.

"Is a child entitled to anything from her parents, or is their responsibility finished as soon as they've given her birth?" He asked.

"Well, God, that's really where it all just seems to begin..."

"Exactly. So if I've given you birth, My responsibility to you is not over. Just like a parent loves giving gifts to his child despite them having done nothing to deserve it, I want to fulfill the desires of your heart.  I am responsible for your happiness."

I sat there, honestly somewhat stunned, because I'd never thought about it in quite that manner.  I knew that Grace was about receiving when we've been completely incapable of doing anything to deserve it.  But I'd never thought of it as God seeing it as a responsibility.  So He reminded me of Luke 11:9-13:

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

"But Lord, that's referring to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it's not really saying You're responsible for our happiness..."

So then He reminded me of two more Scriptures.

"And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." - Acts 13:52
"...for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." - Romans 14:17

Joy comes from Him.  Our happiness is birthed from the Holy Spirit.  It's actually a desire of His heart to give the desires of ours, and once He's planted those desires in our hearts, He is then responsible for creating the circumstances to bring them to fruition.

So I am declaring that for me, a new day has dawned.  The seeds have been planted.  The fruit is growing.  The promises are just around the corner.  ALL of them, including the ones that had seemed so out-of-reach that I had begun to wonder if I had imagined them all.  I'm dusting those gems off, bringing them down from the shelf I'd not dared to explore in years, and staring amazed at how much more brilliant they are now.  Sparkling gems are hard to ignore for long.  Eventually SOMETHING is going to catch a ray of light on some facet and bring it to attention.  So they might as well just be all out there as reminders, unless He's given directives to do otherwise.

I'm trusting in the Father who has promised and is responsible for those promises, including their fulfillment.  And as I do, I suddenly feel a rush of hope that I have not felt in a long time.  I feel a boldness to approach Him with my requests, and I totally believe I'm going to see them come to pass.  

I encourage you to do the same.  Boldly approach Him.  The scepter is extended and the King awaits our requests.  What heart's desire are you daring to ask Him to manifest for you this year?  Be bold.  Speak it, and receive it.

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." 

- Romans 15:13