Faith Filled Friday – Praying In Faith!

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

“And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”” (Genesis 24:12–14, ESV)

By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master. Why do we allow the faithless to tell us how to pray? I mean, seriously, have you noticed what they say to us. “You can’t pray like that! I mean, you can’t tell God what the scenario will be. He’s sovereign and Almighty. He’s in charge. He’ll tell you what will happen.”

Often these well-meaning people are educated in the Bible and have more years with Christ than we do. And so, we believe them … until we start reading our Bibles! And then, we realize that the men and women of faith did a lot of things that the people of faith today tell us not to do.

It’s at that moment when we stop and think, reflect and wonder. While we aren’t going to get judgmental, we should become fruit inspectors. Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:7–8, ESV) The fruit Jesus refers to in these words is answered prayers. Do these well-meaning people have the fruit of God-sized answers to their prayers? Do they share those answers?

When Abraham’s servant asked God for favor, he wanted to be absolutely sure he didn’t mess this up. After all, this was going to be the wife of his master’s son, the successor to the covenant of God and the heir to the Promised Land. Talk about pressure to get it right!

So, when life brings about important decisions, do as Abraham’s servant did: Pray in faith. Set out the scenario that will show you God has answered you. Don’t make it bizarre. Simply allow it to reveal God’s will, something a bit out of the ordinary.

Then, step back and watch God work.

Faith Filled Fridays hope to boost your trust in God and accelerate your daring and courage in everyday life. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each encouragement out of a heart that has known both great joy and great loss – his wife of 38 years, 5 months and 2 days was promoted to Heaven on November 11, 2017. Through every experience, God has proven Himself more than faithful and trustworthy. He welcomes your comments below.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sex In A Sex-Crazed Culture!

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

In this three-part interview, Dr. Smith discusses this issue with Keisa Jones, author of Preparation While You Wait, Real Talk For Women of God Waiting On Their Promise.

In part one of this three-part interview, Dr. Smith talks with Keisa Jones, author of Preparation While You Wait, Real Talk For Women of God Waiting On Their Promise about sex in a sex-crazed culture.

In today’s episode, author Keisa Jones shares her testimony, explaining why she speak to women and encourage them to wait to have sex until marriage. She also talks to us about how the pull of our sex-crazed society has had such an effect on her personally. And she wraps up this segment of the interview talking about being weak in the flesh and how women can get strong in the Spirit.

Eagles In Leadership highly recommends Keisa’s book to you. If you would like to purchase Keisa’s book, just click the book title here: Preparation While You Wait, Real Talk For Women of God Waiting On Their Promise.

* WARNING: This is a frank and transparent discussion and may not be suitable for younger listeners.

About our guest author: Keisa Jones is a passionate woman of great faith and loves the Lord with every fiber of her being. She is an encourager, motivator and servant leader in the Body of Christ; being called to share the truth and love of God to the NATIONS. She understands the mandate from God to go to the nations and kingdoms “to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” During an encounter 10 years ago with the power of salvation, she fully surrendered her life to God. Learning through prayer, relationship and the study of God’s Word has been her focus and commitment.

She currently serves as a Minister of Open Door Worship Center under the leadership of Bishop Deon and Prophetess Fannette Douglas. The Lord has given Keisa a heart and passion for leaders and those hurt and broken. She has dedicated her life to live as a true example of a BELIEVER and FOLLOWER of Jesus Christ. Her motto has become, “For God I live and for God, I die!

 

Posted in Book Reviews, Sex, Transformed | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Train Them Thursday – How We Measure God’s Value!

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.” (Matthew 2:10–12, NASB95)

Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Sacrifice is at the center of discipleship. You will never see a miserly disciple. You may see someone who claims to be a follower of Jesus being stingy, but that’s just a pretender, a fake, a phony!

True followers of Jesus give because their Master and Lord gives. Just as Jesus told us that, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NASB95) So, too, He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13, NASB95) Generosity is part and parcel of the soul of the devoted follower of King Jesus. We identify our faith by our sacrifice.

As the magi saw the star, “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” Followers of Jesus are known for their demonstrations of faith. Everything is grander, greater in the life of the one who chooses the Path of Life. Thus, these men of learning had discovered that joy is something that one expresses and shares, causing it to multiply.

Sharing is the evidence of God’s residence, the mark of a follower of Jesus. Not only did these officials express their emotions publicly, but they also gave of their substance dramatically. They had traveled the nearly 1,000 miles at their own expense and now they opened expensive gifts, gifts fit for a king! Cheap is not a godly trait.

And this makes perfect sense when we remember these men came to worship Jesus. An old word, worship means to show forth the worth of the one we choose to worship. What we give reveals to what extent we value the one we are giving to. Literally, our gift reveals the actual worth God has in our lives and hearts, but you already knew that!

 

Train Them Thursdays seeks to wed the Great Commission directive of Jesus with the practice He employed while on Earth. Each nugget is meant to encourage the reader with a “can-do” spirit to realize that discipleship is something each person is both capable of and empowered to accomplish. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each thought and they flow out of decades of his tried and true field-testing in multiple settings from rural to inner city. He welcomes your comments below.

 

 

Posted in Discipleship, Train Them Thursdays (discipleship) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Willing Worker Wednesday – Fulfilling God’s Role For Our Lives

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

““Why were you searching for Me?” He asked them. “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand what He said to them. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.” (Luke 2:49–52, HCSB)

Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them.It doesn’t matter who we are or how important we are, we all have roles to fulfill. Throughout our lives, we have the constant choice whether to fulfill the role God has given us at the moment or thrash about like a wild animal in a department store.

Roles are God-given responsibilities to perform specific functions for the purpose of accomplishing all God has designed for us at any given moment. Often, the fulfillment of a role today will determine our success or failure in the future.

So, when Jesus at the age of adulthood, focused his attention on the business of His heavenly Father, time slipped away. There, for days, He sat absorbing and discussing the things of God that were in the forefront of His heart and soul.

Soon, after days of separation, His frantic parents found Him. When they shared their concerns, Jesus matter-of-fact response shows us that He meant no rebellion or disrespect. Perhaps there’s even an air of confusion in the exchange. Jesus asked His parents, “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

Whatever the situation, He still had a role to execute. God wanted to train His Son through the leadership of Joseph and Mary. There were almost two decades before Jesus’ formal ministry would begin. So, “He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them.” Obedience always teaches the lessons of leadership.

Whether we like it or not, today is a good day to stop and evaluate if we are fulfilling all of our God-given roles effectively. In order to discover all God has for us we will need to be, “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, HCSB) as Jesus did. Only then will God’s lessons of servant leadership nurture our souls.

 

Willing Worker Wednesdays are dedicated to explaining the core realities of servant leadership – the Biblical principles and methods used by God’s faithful people throughout time. They further reflect the lifestyle of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords as He walked on this earth announcing the Kingdom of God had arrived. These brief lessons are written by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, and come from his extensive ministry within the local church, in higher education, in church consulting and as a Biblical author and leader. He welcomes your comments below.

Posted in Leadership Blog, Willing Worker Wednesdays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Turn-Around Tuesday – Listening For His Foot Falls!

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

“Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.” (Genesis 14:13–14, ESV)

Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. In the darkness, despair is all we can see. When we are trapped what can we do? Who do we cry out to?  How can we escape when we have no power to do so?

As tears run down our faces, God sees our pain. When there are no solutions God alone can intervene! And so He does, daily, repeatedly, often. If we listen more closely, if we tune our hearing to the stories of others around us, we will hear the footfalls of the One who alone is mighty to save.

In their stories, we hear lines like, “And then, out of nowhere …” “I don’t know how that happened …” “A total stranger came along …” These familiar and “coincidental” happenings are so common as to stagger the imagination when they are cataloged.

And that is just it. We need to start paying attention to the works of God all around us. This is the work of a believer. Unfortunately, we are far more often doubters in this life.

Yet, despite our unbelief and our depression over our current circumstances, God still works. He is always on the Throne and His love – exceeding love – never fails His own. And so, “then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew.”

While we don’t know anything about this person, their anonymity reminds us that God can and will use anyone at anytime to unlock the prison of pain and suffering we are in. God will send someone in His time to bring relief and release. God loves us that much.

Perhaps no one sees your chains. It might be that none of your family or friends are aware of the abuse or the harassment you endure. Be assured there is One who sees all and is mounting a rescue mission as you read these words. “Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:4, ESV) Help is on the way!

 

Turn-Around Tuesdays are designed to bring hope and help, insight and encouragement to those of us who are simply overwhelmed by the flood of problems life throws at us. No one is immune to trials and troubles, but God has a way of lifting us from life’s torrents. Each short thought is written by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, and comes from his life-journey with the God who never leaves us or forsakes us. He welcomes your comments below.

 

Posted in 2 - Turn-Around Tuesdays (trials and troubles), Suffering | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Magnificent Marriage Monday – God Specializes In The Impossible!

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “As for me, here is my covenant with you: You will become the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you.” (Genesis 17:1, 4–6, CSB) 

I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. When we think all is lost, that whatever we had hoped for and whatever we had chosen to do would no longer happen, God steps in. When we are powerless, our God is all-powerful.

Sometimes God simply waits until we use up all of our strength because we are stubborn or have chosen to answer His promises our way. When that happens His plan may be delayed, but it is not undone. God always accomplishes what He promises He will do.

For Abraham, over a decade had passed since God had rejected Ishmael and affirmed to him His promise:“Now the word of the Lord came to him: “One who comes from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”” (Genesis 15:4–5, CSB)

Whatever you and your spouse are facing right now, no matter how bleak the situation looks, remember, God can do in a minute what we cannot do in a lifetime. Are you drained? Do you feel you are unable to go on? Then I have good news. God is able and willing to intervene if you will take your hands off of it.

Whether you are waiting for a child or in need of a job, no matter your situation God is saying to you today, “I will. I will make a way where there seems to be no way. I am the God of the Impossible! (Luke 1:49) There is nothing to hard for Me!” (Jeremiah 32:27; Luke 18:27)

I know its hard waiting. But, perhaps, it’s God who is waiting for you. Is it time to stop trying and trust God? If He gave you a promise He’ll give you His answer … in His time. We can trust Him. He alone is trustworthy. Whatever He promised you, He will fulfill. Why not stop, drop to your knees together right now and surrender to His ways!

 

Magnificent Marriage Mondays are helpful hints, clues, ideas, and solutions for the child of God who is looking for a spouse, in a relationship with someone, or are already married. Each post seeks to bring help, hope, and honesty to your life and make the rest of your life, the best of your life. They are written by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, and come from his 38 years, 5 months and 2 days experience with his wife, Melodee, who was promoted to Heaven on November 11, 2017. He is currently seeking God’s will for his new life partner. He welcomes your comments below.

Posted in Magnificent Marriage Mondays, Marriage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hope For Today – Loving Our Neighbor As Much As We Love Ourselves!

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

I’m Dr. Matthew Lee Smith and I want to share some Hope For Today about, Loving our neighbor as much as we love ourselves!

Check it out at the link below. Click the link below to listen. Hope For Today is a part of the ministry of Eagles In Leadership. If you would like to know more about the hope God gives and His abundant life through Jesus Christ, I would invite you to check out our website: EaglesInLeadership.org.

Just push the media button below to hear this encouraging message!

We hope you’ll consider going to Israel with the Eagles In Leadership group this December! Click the link, “Join Us In Israel This Fall,” at the top of the website for more information.

And, if you are so inclined, sign up for more encouragement through notifications (UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE WEBSITE) of other blogs and podcasts while you are at the Eagles in Leadership​ website.

Posted in Hope For Today, Transformed | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Faith Filled Friday – Believing God Will Work!

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

“The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.” (Genesis 24:7, ESV)

The Lord, the God of heaven, he will send his angel before you … and you shall take a wife for my son from there. God responds to faith. Those who walk in faith know and understand it. We simply trust the One who walks with us, as a friend trusts another friend.

Abraham, now old and wanting to make sure the son of his old age, Isaac, had a wife, commissions his most trusted servant with the task. Sending him some 1,000 miles through dangerous terrain and possible bandits, Abraham is adamant that Isaac’s wife should be of his family and not of the inhabitants of the land.

When the servant replies with skepticism, the dialogue grows pointed. “The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there.” (Genesis 24:5–6, ESV)

Abraham had no desire to cause Isaac any reason to drift away from the covenant and the promise. Too much was at stake. So, in faith, Abraham sends his servant in full assurance that the God who had never let him down would bring success to this journey as well.

Faith breeds assurance. God is trustworthy. However, just because He is trustworthy doesn’t mean we trust Him. Abraham had learned throughout his life that God “asks” for bigger and bigger things so that He can demonstrate He can be trusted.

You know this all too well. Each time God asks you pause. When God asks us to trust Him, He goes for the things that we doubt in, that we aren’t sure we can do. Those are the moments when God’s faithfulness is tested in our hearts and found to be true and real … if we choose to accept God’s request and do what He has called us to do.

Do you believe God is trustworthy? How are you demonstrating it right now? What are you doing by faith, without facts or evidence? That is when God responds. Do what He’s asked and watch Him work!

 

Faith Filled Fridays hope to boost your trust in God and accelerate your daring and courage in everyday life. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each encouragement out of a heart that has known both great joy and great loss – his wife of 38 years, 5 months and 2 days was promoted to Heaven on November 11, 2017. Through every experience, God has proven Himself more than faithful and trustworthy. He welcomes your comments below.

 

Posted in faith, Faith-Filled Fridays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Train Them Thursday – Worth Our Life!

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

“Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went their way.” (Matthew 2:7–9, NASB95)

And he sent them to Bethlehem. Pretenders never do the hard work. They make a great pretense as to being with you, but in reality, their effort is always, at best, minimal. This is one of the great diagnostic tools of the disciple of King Jesus.

You see, people who are in love with Jesus will do whatever it takes to follow Him. We’ve come to understand that, apart from Jesus, there is only death. We have escaped the daily pain of another misguided failure. We know what it feels like to be without certainty, without direction, without purpose. Those were our days in death.

Some of us have been mangled by others. Others of us have been dragged through life by our own bad decisions. And now, we have found hope and help in the midst of our chaos and confusion. There is a light and we see the end of our long tunnel.

Shame and guilt no longer hound us. The failures of our past are just that … the past. Now, with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we walk a new path, we have a new hope, we experience a new joy each day. Those gifts were unimaginable not so long ago.

And so, as we watch the sunrise on a new chapter in our new life, we who truly have surrendered to the King of kings and Lord of lords will do whatever it takes to serve and worship and honor Jesus, in public, at home, on the job or in the classroom.

Not so for the fakers of faith. They are, at best, half in and half out. They cringe at total surrender and abhor painful sacrifice. Theirs is a “show me first” kind of faith. They want to know, “What’s in it for me?” And like King Herod, they are unwilling to make the effort to search out and find the One who alone is worthy of life.

Rejoice in the reality of your King. Follow after Him with all your heart. He rewards those who diligently seek after Him. He blesses those who follow His commands exactly. He is worthy of our life!

Train Them Thursdays seeks to wed the Great Commission directive of Jesus with the practice He employed while on Earth. Each nugget is meant to encourage the reader with a “can-do” spirit to realize that discipleship is something each person is both capable of and empowered to accomplish. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each thought and they flow out of decades of his tried and true field-testing in multiple settings from rural to inner city. He welcomes your comments below.

 

 

Posted in Discipleship, Train Them Thursdays (discipleship) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Willing Worker Wednesday – Am I Growing?

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

“The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on Him.” (Luke 2:40, HCSB)

The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on Him. Growth. It is the natural result of life. Where there is life there is growth. Where there is no life there is no growth.

The question is always the same: “Am I growing?” If the answer is, “Yes!” then life is present. Any other response means that we have a serious issue within.

Being a servant leader is all about growing … constantly growing into the person God is calling us to be. And, who is that? Paul answered our question for us two millennia ago when he wrote, “And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.” (Ephesians 4:11–13, HCSB)

Did you catch the end of that thought? “Growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.” When we look and act like Jesus, we will be grown! In other words, we have a lifetime of growth yet to accomplish. God is working in us to bring about that growth. That is what eternal life is all about. Eternal life brings eternal growth.

You, as a servant of King Jesus, have plenty of opportunities to learn as you lead. You won’t always get it right, that’s why you need humility. Rejoice that God has placed you in leadership and remain humbled that He, at any time, could take that leadership from us because of our misuse of His gift or the abuse of others.

What an awesome privilege to be a willing worker of King Jesus! We have the constant opportunity to bring the peace and presence of our King, Jesus, into each and every person we come in contact with.

Today, as you step out the door or into the next encounter, rejoice that Jesus has chosen to fill you with wisdom and grace to lead for Him! Lead boldly knowing that you are growing into the worker He loves!

 

Willing Worker Wednesdays are dedicated to explaining the core realities of servant leadership – the Biblical principles and methods used by God’s faithful people throughout time. They further reflect the lifestyle of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords as He walked on this earth announcing the Kingdom of God had arrived. These brief lessons are written by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, and come from his extensive ministry within the local church, in higher education, in church consulting and as a Biblical author and leader. He welcomes your comments below.

 

Posted in Leadership Blog, Willing Worker Wednesdays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment