I’m Dr. Matthew Lee Smith and I want to share some Hope For Today to report that God is able! No matter our situation, no matter our circumstances, God is able!
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.
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“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” (Genesis 12:1–4, ESV)
So Abram went … Abram was seventy-five years. Excuses are simply lies we tell ourselves. We hear them every day. We tell them more often than we like to admit. We use them to excuse ourselves from something that would make us uncomfortable or take too much out of us. While we may want the benefits, we have to admit that we don’t want to pay the price. But, to be honest, excuses cripple us. They shorten the zest in life and short-circuit the blessings life has to offer.
Abram had lots of reasons to make excuses when God called him to leave all he had and leave all he knew to accomplish only God knew what in a place only God knew where. He was established in Haran. He was older and traveling would have been a burden to him. He had a wife and was caring for his nephew. If anyone had reasons not to go it was Abram.
However, we learn again and again in the Bible that faith chooses what God commands. Abram simply accepted what God told Him to do. As we have said, God promised to bless Abram mightily for his obedience. And this is the great motivator. When we obey God He blesses us. Abram knew that with the mission came the resources of Almighty God to accomplish it.
What excuses are you holding on to today? What has God called you to do that you have yet to step out on? Abram wouldn’t receive the blessings promised him until he left all that he knew to do all that God called him to. The blessing is found once we go in obedience.
In the quietness of your heart right now, isn’t it time to exercise faith? Shouldn’t you start making plans to go, to do, what God has called you to, even if it was a while ago? Blessings follow obedience.
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.
“John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ”” (John 1:15, NASB95)
He … has a higher rank than I. Self-importance. It is such a malevolent character trait, don’t you think? Well, many can think about it this way, because they are so self-important the very idea of not thinking of themselves is foreign to their minds.
How and what we think about ourselves says a lot about our view of God and our effectiveness in working for Him. Choosing which “Son” our lives revolve around makes all the difference in our world. If we choose to orbit ourselves, we choose the child of our parents as the Center of Our Universe. That means that we find ourselves more important than everyone and everything around us.
However, for the true disciple of Jesus, as John the Baptizer shows us here, rank is of little importance. We follow Jesus. He is more important than anything or anyone, especially and including ourselves. Putting His will and whim ahead of ours is what makes us effective because we are never in our own way, never seeking our way when someone for whom He died is in need.
Since we know that Jesus is God, we know that we are not. Having a proper perspective of ourselves makes discipling others so much less complicated. We understand our mission is to pour our lives into them. We choose daily – sometimes hourly – to do what is best for the other person and not for us.
This is the testimony of those who truly live for Jesus. They choose to set themselves down and raise others up. They follow Jesus’ example (Philippians 2:5-8) and make themselves of no reputation, taking on the form of a slave. This is Biblical humility. This is discipleship. This is the pathway to effectiveness. This is Jesus.
As you evaluate your current situation, ask these questions: What or who holds the center of my life? What does my life truly orbit? How do I know that answer is true? For whom am I living? How do I demonstrate that? What am I doing that reveals I follow Jesus? What should I consider that would more reflect my discipleship to Jesus?
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.
“When his division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, it happened that he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and overcome with fear.” (Luke 1:8–12, HCSB)
He was serving as priest before God. Since you are reading this I am going to assume your desire is to be used by God. Have you ever wondered what would happen to you if God showed up and showed off to call you to duty? What would that look like? How would we respond? What would we say or do?
Zechariah had that very thing happen to him! He was praying, pleading to God for a son. Asking God for the return of Israel to its former glory. Asking God to kick the Roman occupying force out of his beloved country. And, like every other day, he waited on God and went on with his life … just like we do.
And then, as he was going about his responsibilities, serving God in his own way, God barged in. He literally arranged Zechariah’s life so He could have a private interview and then dropped the new assignment on him.
Perhaps you are struggling right now with a big burden. You pray. You fast. You wait. And wait. And wait. You are still waiting and the burden hasn’t gone away yet. How long will it take? When will God arrive? How will I know?
Trust me when I say, God hasn’t forgotten you. God hears your every cry. HE knows what you are going through. And, in His time, when all is ready, He will explode on your scene with such clarity that you will not have a doubt of what God wants you to do and where God wants you to go.
But until then, allow God to be God. Allow Him to arrange the pieces of your life in such a manner than when – and I mean WHEN – He is ready to launch you, you are ready to be launched. Serve God. Pray. Trust. Do what’s right. And wait, expectantly. He’s at work!
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.
“But for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”” (Genesis 4:5–7, ESV)
If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. How many times have we wanted life – and God – to grade us on a “curve?” We want God, and those around us, to let us do whatever we desire and then, pronounce that as acceptable. The trouble is, almost always our choices are unacceptable, especially to a God who has made much of His will and whim known in the pages of the Bible.
Cain knew what God wanted for an offering in the passage above. How do we know that? Abel brought the acceptable one and God chided Cain to do the same so he, too, could be accepted.
All too often in life, as most toddlers will demonstrate for us, what is required isn’t that hard. The problem is that is required just isn’t what we want to do. “Pick up your toy,” the mother will say. “No!” the toddler will snipe back. This is an age-old problem that we don’t grow out of as children, unfortunately.
When sin – which simply means, “missing what is acceptable to God” – takes control of our thoughts and our will, we are destined to be ruled by and ruined by our decisions. As we discovered here, God doesn’t change His mind just because it hurt Cain’s feelings. He is not a God who can be manipulated. He does, however, long for us to be accepted so we can be blessed by Him as a result of our obedience.
Turning around our trials and troubles requires we master our rebellion and our selfishness. It means we will need to surrender to God’s wisdom and plan. For that to happen, we will have to come to the realization that God loves us and has a much better plan for us that we have for ourselves.
Amazing things can happen in a short period of time when we choose to do what God says. Our lives literally turn on our choices. Ruling our emotions and our will are the first steps to a happy life, one that enjoys the path of God and seeks His direction.
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.
“And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man.” (Genesis 2:23, CSB)
This one will be called “woman.”Can you see this happening? Adam looks at Eve and is stunned by God’s care and craftsmanship. As He looks at her, he realizes that Eve was taken from him and calls her, “woman,” a term that compliments her incredible abilities.
While so many husbands denigrate their life partners, Adam focuses on the realities. She’s Adam’s equal because she is made of the same “stuff” – his stuff to be exact. Thus, she is designed by God to be Adam’s, “helper corresponding to him.” (Genesis 2.18)
So, God’s intention from the beginning has always been for husbands to understand that their wives are so much an integral part of their lives that they cannot do life without them. Our life mates are essential to our very existence.
From the very bone structure of a woman to the soft flesh God wraps each one with, men know deep in their souls that these incredible machines called women are every bit their compliment. Since both of us have distinct roles and, therefore, are not identical in the sense of those roles, we come to understand that our unity and compatibility are essential to becoming the total person God has designed us to be.
Men find a new level of life when they embrace – enjoy the pun – all that their wives are. When husbands appreciate, listen to, work with, seek advice from, ask for their help and work together, both God’s design and His blessing falls upon that home.
Stepping back for a moment, the wise husband will take a long and deeper look at the woman God has given him. Choosing to appreciate the person she is and all that God has brought to the table through her should cause him to pause in awe, wonder and gratitude.
Why would God care so about that man? The answer is simple. God desires to extend His love and leadership planet-wide, through viable, visible, and vital marriages because they reflect His wisdom!
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.
I’m Dr. Matthew Lee Smith and I want to share some Hope For Today to remind you that God says, “I am forgiven!”
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!
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” (Genesis 12:1–4, ESV)
I will show you … I will bless you … I will bless those who bless you. So often we hear people say things like, “God never does anything for me. God doesn’t answer my prayers. God seems to ignore me when I pray.” Have you ever wondered why? Have you taken the time to read God’s Word and ponder the people that walk across its pages in front of you?
Today, as Abram walks across in front of us, let’s stop him and find out what’s happening here. Abram, the triplet, has just buried his father, Terah. He’s sad and grieving. God enters the scene and gives him a mission. While it is a simple mission, it is not an easy one. God calls Abram to take all he has and leave all he knows to accomplish only God knows what in a place only God knows where.
Why did he go? Why wouldn’t he go? Look at the promises of God! “I will show you” the land I want you to go to. You see, Abram understood that the journey would include the greatest Guide in the universe … the Lord God, designer of Planet Earth! How could he go wrong or be led astray? Despite his not knowing where He was going, he surely knew and trusted the One that was leading him.
Second, notice God promised, “I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” When Abram left Haran, he and Lot, his nephew, had inherited Terah’s estate. By the time he arrives back in Canaan, where God leads him to, he is so wealthy the two of them can’t reside close at all. Their ranch estates are huge! Truly God kept His promise to Abram, just as He keeps them to us.
God truly wants us to step out by faith, to trust Him no matter what else we do with our lives. Will you receive blessing by obeying?
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.
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NASB95)
And dwelt among us. Camping has never been one of my favorite things. Before my wife was promoted to Heaven, she used to say that her idea of camping was a lower-end motel! I heartily concur with her idea! One of the worst weeks of our lives together was camping in the Central Valley of California. Rainy and cold, we simply were uncomfortable most of the time.
I imagine that’s how Jesus felt when He came to earth. Compared to the Throne Room of God, ancient Israel must have felt similar to our camping experience. Primitive would be an understatement as Jesus grew up without technology, without indoor plumbing, without air conditioning and central heating. There were no “hot and cold” running servants for Him to command at a moment’s notice as with the angels in Heaven.
Yet, because of His great love for us, He not only became human, he chose to live among us, as primitive as we were, and remain gracious! His character stuck out in the crowd, around the table, or in a personal conversation.
Being a disciple of Jesus is all about those very things. We are called, not to grow big churches but to live life with others. Be about in their ups and downs, their celebrations and calamities, and the every-day-ness of their lives. We are called to dwell among them, to enjoy them, to encourage them and to point them to God’s path for their lives.
Dwelling with others is what discipleship – being a willing worker of and for Jesus – is all about. Life-on-life is what the Godhead is all about. Community. A simple word that seems so complex in today’s world. We choose to involve others in our lives and get involved in the lives of others. That’s our call. That’s Jesus Great Commission to us.
And, as we do, we give them grace. We don’t give them what they may deserve. We love them. All the while we are truthful, we never seek to be hurtful, always a loyal friend. Always caring. Gracious.
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.
“In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord.” (Luke 1:5–6, HCSB)
Both were righteous in God’s sight. Have you ever wondered why God uses some people and not others? I mean, we watch it happen all the time. Out of a crowd of people, God seems to often pick the person whom we wouldn’t give the time of day to. Why does that happen? Why does God do that?
Repeatedly throughout the pages of the Holy Word of God, we see this happen. Time and again, God chooses to tap the shoulder of a person that has no power, no influence, and no reason to be used. And while God uses some people of power and influence, for He can use anyone, over and again we see a simple theme running through most of God’s first line choices.
Just as with Zechariah and his wife, more often than not, God chooses those who are right in His sight. But what does that mean? If we want to be used of God, we will need to be right in His sight. Being right isn’t as complicated as preachers and theologians make it to be.
Any parent knows what this means. And, for that matter, anyone who has ever been a child knows, too! When we are right with a parent, like God is our Father, it means our actions and attitudes, especially our attitudes, are right. We listen and follow because we want to, not because we have to.
It’s all about lifestyle. Note that Zech and his wife were, “living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord.”Choices reveal our true heart. Those who are used by God choose daily, to do the right thing, to obey God when no one seems to be watching. But God is watching. He watches our every move. He knows our every motive. He delights in our every moment.
Choosing today to the right thing according to God will set us up for that moment when God wants to use us to display His plan and glory in our story … and what could be better than that?
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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Hope Enabler is the real-life story of one Christian parent’s struggle with a runaway child and the hope that God enabled her to have during the darkest moments of that struggle.
