Romans 1:15 I Am Eager to Preach the Gospel (#LetterToTheRomans)

Can you sense the enthusiasm and passion of Paul the Apostle when he wrote: "I am eager [or ready or willing] to preach the gospel" (Romans 1:15)? Dear pastors, teachers, preachers, evangelists - Christians a.k.a. Christ-followers - when was the last time you're EAGER to preach the gospel? ������⚡ #ServeToLead #PreachTheWord #TheGospelOfGod #IAmEager

To watch previous short studies of #LetterToTheRomans CLICK HERE ��� http://bit.ly/LegasiRomans 

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THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

The Power of Positive Leadership (2017) by Jon Gordon, Book Review

The Power of Positive Leadership: How and Why Positive Leaders Transform Teams and Organizations and Change the World (2017) by Jon Gordon

Jon Gordon is famous for his bestseller, The Energy Bus, his first book about a man whose life and career are in trouble until he learns great lessons from a unique bus driver and colorful passengers how to overcome adversity and be positive in his outlooks, leadership, relationship, and teamwork. The Energy Bus’s main character is based on Jon’s own life, and if you already read that book, you’ll appreciate this one because The Power of Positive Leadership is a book about how to turn from a negative zombie to a positive leader. As a leader, we will surely face obstacles, failures, and test daily and there are times when it seems as if everything in the world is turning against us. But take heart, we don’t have to be bitter and become losers. We can choose to be positive. “We are not positive because life is easy,” writes Jon Gordon, “We are positive because life can be hard.”

I love this one: “Positive leadership is not about fake positivity. It is the real stuff that makes great leaders great. Pessimists don’t change the world. Critics write words but they don’t write the future. Naysayers talk about problems but they don’t solve them. Throughout history, we see that it’s the optimists, the believers, the dreamers, the doers, and the positive leaders who change the world.” So true! I read lots of leadership books and dozens of biographies of the great (and worst) leaders and I never read about negative leaders who make the world a better place. There is no need for me to share what the research says about how positivity affects leadership, relationships, business, workplace, teamwork, emotional health, and productivity. The question is not WHY positive leadership is important, but HOW to be a positive leader. And so, with compelling stories (there are many good stories here), practical ideas and practices, Jon Gordon shares 9 Frameworks on how we can utilize and implement his positive leadership principles into action:

#1 Positive Leaders Drive Positive Cultures. “Culture is not just one thing. It’s everything” (Jon Gordon)

#2 Positive Leaders Create and Share a Positive Vision. “It is important to have a compelling vision and a comprehensive plan. Positive leadership – conveying the idea that there is always a way forward – is so important because that is what you are here for – to figure out how to move the organization forward” (Alan Mulally)

#3 Positive Leaders Lead with Optimism, Positivity and Belief. “The most important characteristic of a leader is optimism” (Bob Iger)

#4 Positive Leaders Confront, Transform and Remove Negativity. “Being positive won’t guarantee you’ll succeed but being negative will guarantee you won’t” (Jon Gordon)

#5 Positive Leaders Create United and Connected Teams. “It’s the leader’s ability to unite and connect people that truly creates great teams and organizations” (Jon Gordon)

#6 Positive Leaders Built Great Relationships and Teams. “Leadership comes down to taking care of the people in your organization and making them the best they can be, not giving up on them and never failing to be there for them” (Pete Carroll)

#7 Positive Leaders Pursue Excellence. “People think you have to choose between positivity and winning. You don’t have to choose. Positivity leads to winning” (Jon Gordon)

#8 Positive Leaders Lead with Purpose. “We don’t get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it” (Jon Gordon). This is my favorite quote!

#9 Positive Leaders Have Grit. “The number one predictor and factor of success is not talent, title, wealth or appearance. It is grit!” (Jon Gordon)

When I first read the title of this book, I think of Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking. While positive thinking will help me in my personal life, positive leadership will not only impact my own but also others’ lives such as my family, friends, Bible Study group, team and organization. As Jon Gordon ends this book, he writes, “When you become a positive leader, you will not only make yourself better, but you will also make everyone around you better – and that’s a great place to start!” I fully recommend this book not only to professionals and business leaders but to anyone who wants to be 1% more better every day. I also recommend that you subscribe to Jon Gordon’s Positive University Podcast too.  

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

 

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John C. Maxwell on Leadership #17 Increasing Your Passion

Is passion a characteristic of your life? Do you wake up feeling enthusiastic about your day? Is the first day of the week your favourite, or do you live from weekend to weekend? How long has it been since you couldn’t sleep because you were too excited by an idea? You can never lead something you don’t care passionately about. You can’t start a fire in your organization unless one is first burning in you. To increase your passion, do the following:

Take Your Temperature. How passionate are you about your life and work? Does it show? Get an honest assessment by querying several co-workers and your spouse about your level of desire.

Return to Your First Love. Think back to when you were just starting out in your career – or even farther back to when you were a child. What really turned your crank? What could you spend hours and hours doing? Try to recapture your old enthusiasm. Then evaluate your life and career in light of those old loves.

Associate with People of Passion. It sounds hokey, but birds of a feather really do flock together. If you’ve lost your fire, get around some firelighters. Passion is contagious. Schedule some time with people who can infect you with it.

[Taken from The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow (2007) by John C. Maxwell. Published by Thomas Nelson]

Spend Some Time With Passionate People Today

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Small-Group Leader Must Know How to Maintain Order During Bible Study

Keep the Bible Study moving and alive. Whoever has been given responsibility for a particular part of the meeting must be enthusiastic about his part or the meeting will falter and be of no benefit. People will be bored (If you have genuinely try your best and be enthusiastic about it and some people are still bored, then it’s their problem not yours).

Note: Delegate as much responsibility as you can to others, but remember that you are still responsible for the order and the spiritual health of what happens in a Bible Study.

If there are those who constantly interrupt, they should be gently confronted with the truth that they need to consider others as more important than themselves (see Philippians 2:3). In 1 Corinthians 14:26, Apostle Paul tells us, “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”

If you feel that your study are getting out of hand because one person monopolizes the time, you may need to encourage that person who is overly verbal to allow others time to share. Ask him or her to stick to a time limit. If, however, someone takes the study off the topic, you can tactfully say that you will be happy to talk privately about it after the study. This way you are honouring him or her as a person, and you can keep the meeting from becoming boring for the rest of the people.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Small-Group Leader Must Know How to Maintain Order during Bible Study

Keep the Bible Study moving and alive. Whoever has been given responsibility for a particular part of the meeting must be enthusiastic about his part or the meeting will falter and be of no benefit. People will be bored (If you have genuinely try your best and be enthusiastic about it and some people are still bored, then it’s their problem not yours).

Note: Delegate as much responsibility as you can to others, but remember that you are still responsible for the order and the spiritual health of what happens in a Bible Study.

If there are those who constantly interrupt, they should be gently confronted with the truth that they need to consider others as more important than themselves (see Philippians 2:3). In 1 Corinthians 14:26, Apostle Paul tells us, “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”

If you feel that your study are getting out of hand because one person monopolizes the time, you may need to encourage that person who is overly verbal to allow others time to share. Ask him or her to stick to a time limit. If, however, someone takes the study off the topic, you can tactfully say that you will be happy to talk privately about it after the study. This way you are honouring him or her as a person, and you can keep the meeting from becoming boring for the rest of the people.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Letters to Little Richard #4 Work Hard as Something Done for the Lord

Dear little Richard,

            In a world where easy-money is promoted online and you can be muscular just by drinking drink in one week without exercise, don’t forget the old way of getting things done: work hard. I mean work hard in your vocation, doing it promptly and doing it well. As the Scriptures say, “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23).

            Rich, God has created a world in which generally hard work is rewarded and sloppy work is not. Yet sometimes, you may be tempted to seek ease over excellence, or you may be tempted to take shortcuts when God intends that you walk the straight and narrow path. There are times when shortcuts and pragmatic ways are good and harmless – but not always. Work hard is always right and in fact a blessing by itself. “The world does not consider labour a blessing, therefore it flees and hates it,” writes Martin Luther, “but the pious who fear the Lord labour with a great and cheerful heart, for they know God’s command, and they acknowledge His calling.” Be an industrious worker in God’s field in this world “as something done for the Lord.”

            Work hard. Wherever you find yourself – whether at work, home, school, university, or anyplace in between – give it your best. When you do, you will most certainly win the recognition and respect of your peers (either they like you or not). But most importantly, God will bless your efforts and use you in ways that only He can understand. So, my dear brother, do your work with focus and dedication. Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatever your hands find to do, do with [all] your strength”….and leave the rest up to God.

Read the Bible, God doesn’t use lazy people you know,

With brotherly love,

Richard

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Young Men, Consider Jesus

“…consider Jesus…” (Hebrews 3:1, ESV)

“Consider him who endured…” (Hebrews 12:3, ESV)

Two different Greek words are rendered “consider” in these verses in Hebrews. The first carries the idea of the prolonged, concentrated gaze of the astronomer. The second means to reckon up, to compare, or to weigh. Taken together and in their context, these words are an exhortation to fix our minds consciously on Christ, comparing and weighting His sorrows and sufferings and testing with our own. What was the secret of His serenity? This contemplation of Christ is here presented as a panacea for our spiritual maladies.

It will cure our self-satisfaction. Do we compare ourselves favourably with others? Do we criticize their actions and attitudes? Criticism is always made from a position of superiority. But instead of comparing ourselves with others, we should be comparing ourselves with Him who did no sin. Self-satisfaction withers in the presence of the selfless Christ.

It will deliver us from self-pity. This is a spiritual disease to which we all are too prone. Too many are vocally sorry for themselves and feel that life has given them a raw deal. They feel misunderstood and neglected. “Consider him who endured” (12:3). Was He misunderstood, badly treated, unappreciated, misjudged? He knew what it was to be misjudged by His family. Compare with His, our trials are trivial.

It is the antidote for discouragement. “Consider him… so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3, NIV). Aristotle used the word wearied to describe an athlete who throws himself down utterly exhausted after winning the race. Discouragement is one of Satan’s most debilitating weapons. If we withstand his other wiles, he will attack us here. “Consider him who endured.” He was despised, rejected, and maligned. His ministry was not conspicuously successful. His own intimates doubted, denied, forsook Him. Yet He endured. Consider Him, and take heart again.

It will prove a stimulant for lethargy (means a lack of energy and enthusiasm). “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Hebrews 12:4, ESV). Have we grown lethargic in the battle against sin in our own lives and in the lives of others? Never for one moment did Christ relax in His warfare with Satan until He dismissed His Spirit on the cross.

It is a remedy for forgetfulness. “[Have] you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?” (12:5). Have we forgotten the purpose of our Father’s chastening? Let us neither despise nor faint under it, but embrace it in the confidence that afterwards it will produce a rich harvest (see Hebrews 12:11).

[Edited, modified and modernized from Consider Him (1976) by J. Oswald Sanders]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Letters to Annie: Your Smile Is Contagious

Dear Annie,

The most bankrupt person in the world is the one who has lost his joy. Decide to become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know. In the recent survey, two hundred national leaders were asked what makes a person successful. Eighty percent (80%) listed enthusiasm as the most important quality. A person who is enthusiastic soon has enthusiastic followers.

How many people do you know who became successful doing something they hate? “Find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work another day in your life,” says Harvey Mackay. Thomas Carlisle said, “Give me a man who sings at his work.” That’s the kind of people I want to work and be around!

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow,” said Helen Keller. The unwise person seeks happiness in the future; the wise person grows it today. There is no sadder sight than a Christian pessimist. Your world will look brighter from behind a smile. A smile is the shortest distance between two people.

Happiness is always an inside job. Our first choice is to rejoice. “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans” (Romans 8:28, Living Bible). “Happy is that people whose God is the Lord” (Psalms 144:15). God’s joy is contagious. Greet the unseen with a cheer, not a fear. “Laughter is a form of internal jogging. It moves your internal organs around. It enhances respiration. It is an igniter of great expectations,” says Norman Cousins. God says in His Word, “If you don’t praise me, the rocks will.” Let’s not be replaced by a bunch of rocks!

For every minute you’re angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness. Two things contribute to happiness: What we can do without, and what we can do with. People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. Happiness can never be found, because it was never lost. Be like the steam kettle! Though up to its neck in hot water, it continues to sing. Smile, it adds to your face value (by John L. Mason). Annie, your smile is contagious. Your smile makes me happy.

Regards,

Richard the Poet

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.