Train Them Thursday – Clearing Up The Confusion!

Posted on September 13, 2018 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

 

“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” (John 1:18, NASB95)

 

He has explained Him. Confusion is never fun! You’re at one restaurant; your friends went to the other one with the same name. You wait wondering. They are still driving. You get frustrated, they are having a good time talking and driving. You call and they don’t get the problem. Then, they try to find you and go around in circles. Eventually, an hour later, lunch is ordered and everyone is starving. Confusion never yields the results we hoped for.

Have you ever asked people what God is like? Ask ten people and you will get at least ten different ideas. People seem to make God into their own image. They design God based on their desires, their hopes, and their thoughts. The trouble is, God isn’t like our thoughts or desires. God is like … well, Himself!

You know how it happens when two people like each other. They begin to fill in the blanks they don’t know with the hopes they have. The result is often hurt feelings and pain. It’s never a good policy to assume we know things we don’t know. Nowhere is this more deadly than when we pretend to know what God is like.

Disciples of Jesus use a different strategy … they choose to tell people what God says He is like. And they get their authoritative information from within the covers of their Bibles. What’s even more crucial is that they check it out before they share it.

Many of us use some Smartphone app to choose a place for that lunch that we hope our friends can find. We read the reviews and choose based on the comments. However, sometimes our likes and the likes of the people who wrote the reviews are different.

Having a personal, experiential, time-tested relationship with God through Jesus Christ is what being a disciple is all about. Not only can we quote a verse or two to explain God but we can also tell others how those thoughts came to reality in our own lives once we applied them to our difficulties. Nothing rings more true than someone who’s been there and done that. A disciple of Jesus has the experience of both.

 

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.

 

 

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Willing Worker Wednesday – Obscure But Not Out Of Sight!

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

 

“In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.””

(Luke 1:26–28, HCSB)

 

Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you. It doesn’t matter where we are, what we do, whom we were born to, what nationality we are, what gender we possess, or what age we are. God knows us. God watches us. God listens to us. God hears our thoughts. God knows our hearts. And, when God likes what He sees and hears, He acts in us, through us, for us, and to us to accomplish something greater.

In case you have missed it, God chooses those He wants to use in greater ways. He does it on the same principle as Major League Baseball does in the United States. He scouts us! God listens to the reports of our service, our attitude, our compassion, our passion for Him, and a dozen dozens of other things. Then, when the right mission comes along, He chooses to favor us – to smile upon us, literally – and place us into those greater things He has prepared for us.

Being a willing worker for the King of kings is an honor and a privilege, for sure. However, if we want to get to the nitty-gritty, serving God is all about our hearts. God favors those whom He is pleased with.

For Mary, in an obscure and notorious hamlet, being a young woman would mean few, if any influential person would ever know her. This pure, godly, alert, intelligent woman had caught the eye of Joseph. But there was Another’s eye she had caught. Someone more influential, Someone more powerful, Someone more captivating … for Mary’s life had drawn the attention of the Lord of Glory Himself!

Today, as you serve, choose to do it for the sheer joy of God. Make Him smile with your kindness to strangers. Choose to emulate his Son, who was known on Earth as, “the friend of sinners.” Step out into the mess of people’s lives and wash some feet. Clean up their messes.

Choose today to simply love your neighbor – literally and figuratively. Gain the smile of God. Remember, He’s watching!

 

Willing Worker Wednesdays are dedicated to explaining the core realties 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.

 

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Turn-Around Tuesday – Living With The Consequences!

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

 

“And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” (Genesis 4:10–12, ESV)

 

“Now you are cursed.” Perhaps one of the greatest misunderstandings within some branches of Christianity today is the idea of consequences. While we all hold to the enormous kindness of God’s grace, the application of that gift often gets murky and, well, just plain wrong, many times.

An illustration I often use when speaking of God’s grace goes like this: “Can you get God’s forgiveness if you get drunk?” The answer, of course, is, “Yes!” Then I ask, “Can you get God’s forgiveness if you get drunk and wander out into the street?” And again, the answer is, “Yes, of course!” A final question clarifies the issue we are talking about here when I ask, “Do you get the leg back after the truck runs over you while you were drunk wandering in the street, even though you received His forgiveness?” And the answer to that question is, resoundingly, “No. We don’t.”

Consequences are the things God places in our lives to remind us that His ways are better than ours. With the curse of Cain came three permanent realities: The ground would no longer yield its strength. He would be a fugitive on the earth. And, he would be a wanderer on the earth.

With sin comes change. And those changes are most unpleasant. Grace will not erase what God has decreed and determined. So, if you are in a self-imposed situation because of your sin, the first thing that needs to happen is repentance. Turn around. Look up. Cry out to Jesus. Plead for His mercy. His mercy withholds from us what we do horribly deserve. He will forgive. He will restore you to Himself.

Then, we must change the direction of our lives by choosing God’s ways instead of venting, raging, yelling, and throwing a temper tantrum on others. Turn your pain into gain today. Turn to Jesus.

 

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.

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Magnificent Marriage Monday – Divide and Conquer!

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

 

“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LordGod had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”” (Genesis 3:1, CSB)

 

Did God really say? God’s design for a magnificent marriage is all about working together, trusting one another, depending on each other and choosing to accomplish God’s goals as a couple.

That’s why Satan loves to divide and conquer! He knows that when either one of us gets alone, we are vulnerable. It’s not about smarts or cleverness. It’s all about the combined power of two people in union to one another and to God. Lucifer can’t stand that. He can’t break that easily. He knows we are easier to destroy alone. That’s why he comes when we are in the midst of our daily routines. He’s hoping our tasks will distract us from seeing his true intention: To divide and conquer.

Notice his simply strategy: He questions what God has said, but he does it in a nonchalant, almost interested fashion. Inserting the virus into Eve’s thoughts, he chooses to engage in a “harmless discussion” with the most malicious of intentions.

As I “hear” this encounter in my mind’s ear, I often hear the Accuser’s melodic voice choose his tone and words with the utmost of care. He doesn’t want Eve’s defenses up. On the contrary, he longs to “befriend” her. Thus, I sense, a disarming of her defenses here. It must have been some talk because even Adam was convinced to eat once the meal was served!

Today, as you go about the mundane and endless list of things you have to do to live this wonderful life God has given us, remember, we are better together. We are stronger when we engage the questions of life together. God gave us a partner for our benefit. And even the simple questions, the ones we know the answers to, are so better answered when we talk them over together.

God longs for us to succeed and not fail. He knows all too well how cunning our Enemy is. And He has chosen that special person to work as the other part of our mind, will, and emotions – our soul mate – for a very special reason: The preservation of our life and our future. So, talk – a lot – and thwart every plan of the Evil One before it takes root!

 

 

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.

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Hope For Today – Stepping Out By Faith

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

I’m Dr. Matthew Lee Smith and I want to share some Hope For Today to encourage you to please God and Step Out By Faith!

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!

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Faith Filled Friday – Faith Trusts What Hasn’t Happened!

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

 

“Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

(Genesis 12:6–7, ESV)

 

So he built there an altar to the Lord. So often in life, we struggle between the promise and the possession. Someone tells us they will do something but we doubt. We know they are good to their word but they have made a bigger promise. Will they follow through? Will they do what they said they would? Doubt drills deep into our faith with people and with God.

Abram had made the long journey with all that he had. He had toured the land and enjoyed what he saw. Then, that night at camp, God promised him that the land he was standing on was his. His descendants would enjoy a heritage that God had promised Abram way back in Haran. Here he was. Where God promised. What was unseen then was real estate now. Promise became possession.

The writer of Hebrews in the New Testament tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV) What is interesting is that the word translated “conviction” here can also be used to describe “real estate.”

God wants us to stand on His promises as if they are a done deal. In other words, His promises are our possession. Faith is so sure that God will deliver what He promises that believing God is like standing on our possession before we’ve ever left to pursue it.

To celebrate God’s gift, Abram worshiped. He chose to stop looking and start honoring the God who had called him and blessed his entire journey with safety and direction. Abram dropped all that he had in worship once again before the feet of the One who alone owns it all and gifts it to whomever He chooses. There, in Canaan, Abram rolled all his praise upon the Lord God Almighty who knows the beginning from the end and who alone is worthy of our praise.

Today, stop, drop, and roll whether you are at the promise or headed toward the possession!

 

Faith Filled Fridays hopes 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.

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Train Them Thursday – Grace For the Race!

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

 

“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”

(John 1:16, NASB95)

 

Grace upon grace. We all make mistakes. We all have bad days. We all get grumpy. So why is it that we are so intolerant of others when they do these very same things? Why are we judgmental, critical, and short with them? Have you noticed how many people are “cutting people out of their lives” these days?

Why do we think it is acceptable to do so? From where do such thoughts flow? Of course, they flow from within us, from our hearts. As Jesus told us, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” (Luke 6:45, NASB95, emphasis added)

But Jesus calls us to a different place, and He fills us a different fuel: Grace. Grace gives others what they don’t deserve. Included in that list of “gifts” are the attitudes and actions of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control.” (Galatians 5:22–23, NASB95)

These all flow from a close relationship with Jesus. As John, the Gospel writer tells us, “For of His fullness we have all received.” Grace abounds in the heart of the true disciple of Jesus. They drink it up like a thirsty runner on a hot day! And, like that athlete, what goes in comes out! As we take in the abundance of Jesus’ grace, we find ourselves naturally sharing that grace with others.

Grace grows hearts. Grace heals wounds. Grace restores friendships. Grace overcomes obstacles. Grace is amazing! It has done so much for you. It can do so much for those you disciple. It changes the directions of lives. Grace turns hearts from destruction. When it invades, it brings hope and help in times of urgent need. Grace abounds and multiplies. Grace brings change. Grace brings life.

Think about the many things Jesus has done for you that you don’t deserve. Those “gifts” are meant to be shared. Pour grace all over those you disciple and watch what God grows in the hearts and lives of the ones He died for!

 

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.

 

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Willing Worker Wednesday – When God Answers Us!

Posted on September 5, 2018 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

 

“But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John … And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.” (Luke 1:13, 17, HCSB)

 

Your prayer has been heard. Have you ever called someone only to hear that the number is no longer in service? Frustrating isn’t it? Like most of us, you may even call the number back sure that it was a mistake. Then, the same recording plays in your ear. Ugh!

So often in life we call to God in prayer to the point that we think God’s side must no longer be in service. Since we can hear our words, how can God be missing them? When is God going to answer? Is God going to answer us?

God answers our prayers in His time. God is working on a bigger scale, with more information, for a lot of different causes and reasons. Trust is built in those dark hours of silence. Zechariah’s account shows us that God is listening and, at the prescribed time when it best suits the plan of God, He will explode on the scene.

And, notice the plan of God for Zechariah and his wife was the answer to their prayers … many of their prayers in fact combined in one. When their new son came, they would also have the forerunner to the Great Liberator, Jesus the King of the Jews! That was one HUGE answer to prayer!

If God has delayed your answer, it probably means He has a huge reason for doing so. If your prayers are abundant and your burden is great, then God is working behind the scenes to make things happen. Part of being a willing worker for Jesus is trusting His timing and serving Him until He’s ready for our part in the plan.

Maybe today is a good time to stop, drop and roll. Stop complaining. Drop to our knees in renewed trust. And roll our entire burden onto His shoulders one more time.

God is working. We need to trust His timing. His answer is coming!

 

Willing Worker Wednesdays are dedicated to explaining the core realties 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.

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Turn-Around Tuesday – Denial Leads to Our Destruction!

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

 

 

“Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”” (Genesis 4:8–9, CSB)

 

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?” When our children respond with the, “I don’t know” line, we as parents always get frustrated. You know who’s responsible. They know who’s responsible. It’s just a matter of pride. And, by any measure, pride is ugly turning us into obstinate and mean people.

Cain’s main problem was pride. He simply wasn’t teachable. His arrogance got into the driver’s seat and plunged him off the cliff of life. Many of us would agree that we know how that feels. All too often, we have allowed pride to take us places we never wanted to go.

Once backed into a corner, we struggle to figure out how to extricate ourselves without swallowing our pride. But the fact is until we choose to admit our failure, we will always be trapped. When we are trapped, we often lie and then try to distract others, and even God, from the reality of our sin.

Cain’s choice of telling God that he wasn’t his brother’s guardian shows how ridiculous we can become when we won’t own up to our faults and failures. Choosing to remain blind to our condition, to our actions, to our consequences reveals the lengths we will go to divert all responsibility from ourselves and seek to exonerate ourselves of all wrong-doing. But, it never works.

Embracing our mistakes and owning them, both to ourselves and to God, is essential if we are going to turn our trials and troubles around. After all, the only place where we can find forgiveness and experience the removal of guilt is from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Today, if you have painted yourself into a corner, I urge you to stop painting! Fall to your knees and ask God for His gracious forgiveness. Then, accept the consequences of your choices. It is at this point that asking for God’s mercy to diminish the horrible effects of our failures is appropriate. God loves His children and responds to those who are honest, humble, and willing to be transparent.

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.

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Magnificent Marriage Monday – Our Wives Are Essential!

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

 

“This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24, CSB)

 

They become one flesh. Unity is essential to magnificent marriages. Division leads to disaster. Only when a couple enjoys each other, grows together, chooses to close the door to outside influence – especially to one’s parents, and discovers their own rhythm to making choices and solving problems will they prosper.

Unfortunately, many choose to ignore the wisdom of God in this verse. God knew that the first step to a magnificent marriage is for the husband to cut the emotional, financial, psychological, and relational umbilical cord to mom and dad. (It assumes the wife also does.)

This doesn’t mean that you, as the husband – or wife for that matter, can no longer talk to or be in contact with your parents. What it does mean is that they are a resource to be consulted after you and your wife have exhausted all the ideas and options you can think of. Looking to our wives is essential to making life work and to experience the joy that God’s wisdom affords us.

Incredible marriages are built on a second reality. God calls the couple to come together often and regularly for “bonding.” Of course, this is the sexual union. In God’s design, sex is the physical culmination and expression of the heart of love the husband has been showing to his wife all throughout the day. Love is always sacrificial, putting the other ahead of ones’ self.

Lots of conversation, lots of cooperation, lots of understanding, lots of listening, lots of selflessnesses make a magnificent marriage that is filled with enjoyment of one another selflessly.

When a man chooses to defer to his wife’s needs, when he sacrifices his own desires for hers, when the husband imitates the model of Jesus in giving himself away for her, the natural response is to be drawn to one another physically.

Today is a good day, as the husband, to stop and take inventory. Have you made your wife your primary advisor and counselor? And, do you sacrifice yourself for her like Jesus did for all of us?

 

 

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.

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