“Perspective is the difference between a negative approach to life and a belief that God is in control!”

The other day I was talking with my daughter-in-law on FaceTime and I saw a little head appear on the screen. After chatting a few moments with 3-year-old Ari, he disappeared and we continued with our conversation. Suddenly I heard a little voice call, “Nan, Nan”. And when I said “Yes, Ari?” He said very quietly “Nan, I like the polka dots on the back of your hands”.

At first, I didn’t realize what he meant and then, looking at my hands, I saw what he had seen close-up on the screen. He had seen the age spots … brown, discoloured ugly spots that I would erase if I could … spots that appeared after thousands of hours washing little hands, preparing meals, cleaning the house, rocking little babies … spots that were the results of 75 years of constant use and abuse!

However, to Ari, these spots were happy spots, polka dots, something that made him smile! Polka dots represented bright coloured birthday presents, a circus clown or a bouquet of floating balloons!

Why did Ari see “beautiful” and I see “old”? We were looking at my hands from two different perspectives! Ari saw hands that had wiped away his tears, hands that had held him when he was hurt, hands that had rocked him to sleep. On the other hand, I saw the brown spots as signs of aging, reminders that I was no longer young and that time was passing by.

If we look at any definition of the word “perspective”, it always involves “looking”.

How do we see ourselves? How do we look at others? How do we view our circumstances, our job, our family? The Bible is full of accounts of individuals whose perspective on life enabled them to become heroes of their time or, adversely, caused them to fail. Joshua, Caleb and ten other spies were sent to see if the land of Canaan could be conquered. The ten spies looked at the giants who lived there and reported that they would be impossible to overcome. They looked through eyes of fear. But Joshua and Caleb “had a different spirit in them” and reported that God would enable them to win the battle. They saw the same giants but what a different response! Their (Joshua and Caleb’s) perspective came from remembering God’s faithfulness in the past … so they looked through eyes of faith. Same circumstances, two different responses fueled by perspective!

How about your eyesight?  Are you looking at life and seeing “brown spots” or “polka dots”?

It’s all a matter of perspective!

Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from thy Word”. Psalm 119:18

My most significant example of a Christian leader is Marie Bates, my Mom. She is not listed in the Bible; she was not a pastor or minister, nor was she academically educated for ministry. However, she was my connection to the Bible before I could read. She taught me to pray each night before I crawled under the covers on my top bunk bed. And she was my moral compass until I could begin to make decisions for myself. As my Mother, she taught me the characteristics of a good Christian woman in leadership. She listened to the Lord’s call on her life to be a mother of five children, I was the youngest.

My Mom taught me the characteristics of a Christian leader

I was blessed to have a loving, caring mother as an example of Jesus in my daily life. When I was 30 years old, my Mom died from breast cancer. Even in her darkest moment, she modelled Christian leadership for me. As she clung to the side of her hospital bed exhaling whimpers of pain, she managed to breathe out her prayers of thanksgiving to God. She grasped onto a photo of Jesus that said: “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it”. I believed it too, simply because she believed it. Within hours, she was gone. Her room lit up with magnificent colours, more vibrant than I had ever seen before, or since. At that moment, I knew “it was worth it” for her. She entered heaven “with flying colours”, as she would often say about great accomplishments.

I carried her faith in my heart, but my grief began to sink its teeth into my spiritual certitude. I started to question my own personal faith as I attempted to sort out what was mine, and what was inherited from my Mother. As I longed to stay connected to her through my faith, I knew that God was the real connection, and I began to pray for the spiritual understanding that my Mom had. I no longer mimicked what she did, but I explored it deeply. And I began to unravel the truth about my role as a Christian woman in leadership.

She taught me to look for my own instruments in life to guide me to a closer relationship with God. A few months before she died, my Mom gifted me with a brand-new Bible. She wrote inside an incredibly special message: “Always listen to the promptings of the Lord and you will hear His voice. He will guide you through life”. A message I hold dear to my heart, especially when I find myself in challenging situations.

My Mom’s role as a parent took shape through her use of prayer and reading the Bible. Prayer was her instrument for guidance and the Bible gave her direction for her life as a woman, a wife, and a mother.

What tools do you use in leading other women towards a
stronger, more intimate relationship with God?

Maybe yours is a song, a piano or other instrument? Perhaps yours is the voice that is heard in a school classroom or in a law firm boardroom?

I believe women’s Christian leadership starts at home:  pray with your husband, pray with your kids, pray with your siblings – just keep praying. When my Mother prayed with me as a young girl, and later as I watched her pray with her final breaths, I know that through her prayers she found strength and direction. A direction that led her into the arms of Jesus.

People are looking up to us for Godly leadership. Now, it’s more important than ever before to project hope. Everyday people are feeling hopelessness, discouragement and loneliness in their isolation. Keeping God’s presence in the forefront of our life is critical for us to be a positive light to others. We have a choice to make every morning, whether to be encouraged in God’s Word or discouraged by the world.

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. (Psalm 42:1-2)

The psalmist says that his soul thirsts for God. Do you ever feel like that? Are you weary? Do you feel faint? What are you focusing on each day? What are you feeding yourself? Are you spending time online, scrolling through social media and left empty? Are you watching the news, listening to fear being preached and left defeated? Are you over booked and stressed out, feeling depleted?

It is times like this that our soul will be thirsty for God because it’s not being fed. Without being fed, we can quickly fall into a place of discouragement and hopelessness. We grow weary when we forget what God has promised us. We do things in our own strength instead of relying on the power that comes from yielding to God. He strengthens us when we acknowledge our weaknesses and dependence on Him.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God? (Psalm 42:2-3)

The psalmist’s soul thirsts for God. His tears have been his food day and night. He has lost hope and is disconnected from the Lord. He has been feeding himself with the world instead of the Word.

My beautiful sisters, don’t be weary. We have God’s living Word to feed our souls, engage our spirit and bring us close to Him. Through our Lord Jesus we have abundant love that will surpass all difficult circumstances. Praise God for the blessing of His living Word, where we can see His Truth and His loving promises.

What is important is not the challenges we face, but how we carry ourselves through them. How are you carrying yourself and those around you through this pandemic?

We must remain Kingdom minded. Let’s be thankful that we have a choice each day. A choice to praise and worship our loving Father amidst difficult circumstances. We need to be intentional in praising our Father for His everlasting love and grace.

When we struggle or fall, we need to focus on His promises. They are the living Words of our Father, which guide, encourage and fill us with an abundance of peace and hope.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Heavenly Father, thank you for my precious sisters, each a unique gift from You. Thank You for Your promise that if we seek You first in everything, You will provide for us. Thank you for Your protection. Thank you for strengthening us.

I will give thanks to Your name for Your unfailing love and faithfulness, because Your promises are backed by all the honour of Your name.” (Psalm 138:2)

Amen

May the sweet love of Jesus surround you sisters, Merry Christmas

You can’t go far into scripture, and not see Jesus as a servant leader, willing to help and engage with people around Him. We take the opportunities to help those that are right in front of us, helping them develop and grow in their faith, and in their journey.

Whether it is to come alongside another leader, a young mother raising her children, someone in the workplace, or your neighbour next door, I believe we all have the opportunity to engage in the lives of another person, on a daily basis. This connection allows us the opportunity to be instruments of God’s grace and placed in a position where we can actively help one another.

As a leader, may we be challenged to carry the burdens we see on a daily basis.

Galatians 6:2 reads,

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

I met a young woman who was standing at the grocery store, by herself accompanied by her 4-month-old twin boys, and her 3-year-old little son. I shared a few words with her, “You are such a good mother, I was watching how you are attentive to all of them, in a matter of minutes.” The young woman shared that most people walk by and smile, but they don’t stop and talk with her. We began a friendship, and I often visit her at her home and see the boys. Through a simple act of encouragement and support, I was able to help.

A simple model that I have found that helps me frame how to help a person, that God has given me, is to be a help in that time, in that circumstance. Essentially, it is leading like Jesus led, serving as Jesus served. The model has six different facets to it, elements that we can see observed by Christ himself. I offer these as a framework as you take your opportunities, in your sphere of influence, as you make a difference as a servant leader.

It’s as simple as first learning to partner, come alongside, discover what you have in common. Secondly, you may find you have the opportunity to be supportive, a listening ear, a caring heart in a time of a tragic circumstances. Thirdly, you may find that you can model a behaviour, action or desired outcome by being ‘present’ in their life. Fourthly, there are times we will be given opportunity to teach a new skill, or a way of coping, a way of engaging with others. Fifthly, we can become mentors in the people that God brings our way, through informal guidance, we come alongside a person. Finally, there are points in our relationship that we may need to challenge, rebuke or even give the hard words to help people to get back on the pathway in their journey.

So, what is helping?

It is a process of taking on one or more roles in the lives around us. It is being a servant leader, ministering to the heart, full of God’s grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is partnering, supporting, modeling, teaching, mentoring, and challenging. In a story of the woman at the well, we see Jesus engaging in all six of these roles, taking advantage of an opportunity, to help in a situation, where seemingly, no help was needed. The result was a changed life. A woman’s questionable past was put on a new direction because someone chose to engage, get involved with an intentional purpose to see a life changed.

John 15:12 “Helping is simply loving each other, as God has loved us.”

Here’s what I have discovered as the marks and qualities of great helpers. Leaders who are life helpers are interested in people. They believe and develop the potential of those they seek to work with and, they have high expectations to continue to stretch and push those they help.

Hebrews 13:16

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

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He was ten-years-old when he propped those screws up against the tire. Equal measures of boredom and curiosity set his experiment into motion. Would a screw pierce the tire’s thick rubber? There was only one way to find out.

He punctured the tire three times. Three times, we limped to the mechanic’s shop for a patch. Three times, he saw the damage, inconvenience, and interruption to our day, but he never connected the flat tire to his experiment until the mechanic handed over the evidence.

His brother encouraged him to tell because “It is always better to tell”.

It took him a few days to work up the courage. Finally, he spoke the hard truth. He risked everything on the genuineness of our family mantra. “We own our mistakes, say we are sorry, never stay angry, and always forgive.” With trembling lips, he confessed, and then he waited to see if our refrain was true. Forgiveness, should he receive it, was undeserved, unmerited, and unearned.

There is a woman in Scripture who finds herself in a similar place. Forgiveness, should she receive it, is undeserved, unmerited, and unearned. If you read her complete story in John 8:1-11, you’ll see that she is merely a pawn used by the scribes and Pharisees. They don’t expose her sin for the purpose of restoration. No one encourages her to tell because “it is always better to tell.” The leaders that should have been concerned with her spiritual health use her to trap Jesus. If Christ extends grace to the woman, he fails to adhere to the law. If Christ proclaims judgment, it undermines the foundation of his entire ministry. The scribes and Pharisees care more about disqualifying Christ’s ministry than this woman’s life. She’s positioned, trembling before the One who stands between life and death. Is His mantra true? Had he really come to seek and save the lost?

Like this woman, we have an accuser who is most interested in thwarting God’s plan of redemption. His goal is destroying the ministry of Christ and the reputation and lives of His followers. Only one person stands between life and death. He is the only One worthy of casting a stone, but He doesn’t. Instead, He calls us to humble repentance and offers His life in exchange for ours. This woman remained vulnerable and exposed before Christ. Jesus could have been harsh with her because the law would have allowed it, but instead, He offers grace along with the command to sin no more.

Wherever your ministry takes you this week, remain humble before Jesus. Resist the temptation to cast stones, and instead offer grace.

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