Welcome to my leadership blog. Ideas have consequences and the goal of this blog is to discuss ideas of consequence. Some ideas you may agree with and some you may disagree. No worries. The only rule is that you think and discuss in a civil manner. People who attack others only prove they have reached the limit of their logic. The Bible states, "Iron sharpens iron" and we will sharpen one another by what we read, write and think. The goal of this blog is to help us identify and follow truth in all areas of our lives. I encourage you to join our leadership discussion and transform yourself and others through the renewing of our minds.
This is the blog where leaders come to learn with NY Times, Wall St. Journal, USA Today, Money & Business Weekly best selling co-author of Launching a Leadership Revolution - Orrin Woodward.
Where would we be without a special group of self-sacrificial leaders known as mothers? I am so thankful to have been blessed with a mother who taught me:
1. The difference between right and wrong.
2. The courage to speak the truth.
3. The value of work ethic.
4. The peace that comes from doing your personal best.
5. Charity for those less fortunate.
6. Respect for a job well done.
7. Quitting was never an option when the cause is just.
8. The need for personal responsibility.
9. Never to play the role of a victim.
10. To dream big dreams.
Thank you Mom for teaching me these things and much more. Thank you for being an example for me to know what I wanted in a wife. I have been doubly blessed to have found and married Laurie Woodward. Jordan, Christina, Lance and Jeremy thank you for being a beautiful mom for them. On this mother's day, make sure you thank your mom for carrying you for 9 months and serving you when you were helpless to serve yourself. In today's age this should never be taken for granted. Happy Mothers day to all of the moms out there who willingly surrender their time, money and self to raise their children. God Bless, Orrin Woodward
Here is a great story to make you think.On this Sunday afternoon, take some time to reflect on your life and what aim or purpose is driving you.Is life about the amount of money you can make?Is life about the amount of power you can accumulate?Is life about the amount of recognition you can receive?Is life about having all you desires satisfied immediately?Or is your life about sacrificial giving of yourself to others?Don’t give a quick answer – analyze yourself and your true motives.What you find may change your life forever.Enjoy the story.
I Chose You
One Sunday morning during service, a 2,000 member congregation was surprised to see two men enter, both covered from head to toe in black and carrying submachine guns. One of the men proclaimed, "Anyone willing to take a bullet for Christ remain where you are."
Immediately, the choir fled, the deacons fled, and most of the congregation fled. Out of the 2,000 there only remained around 20.
The man who had spoken took off his hood, looked at the preacher and said "Okay Pastor, I got rid of all the hypocrites. Now you may begin your service. Have a nice day!" And the two men turned and walked out.
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God... and then wonder why the world is in the condition it is today.
Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.
Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says!
Funny or is it scary?
Funny how someone can say "I believe in God" but still follow Satan (who, by the way, also "believes" in God).
Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of Jesus is suppressed in the school and work place.
Funny, isn't it? Funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ on Sunday, but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week.
Are you laughing?
Funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them.
Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.
Are you thinking?
Will you share this with other people? Or not?
I picked you.
My instructions were to send this to people that I wanted God to bless and I picked you. Please pass this to people you want to bless.
Here is a super message by Wil Pounds for this Sunday on the deception of sin in a person’s life.Sin is like a consuming fire and the closer you get, the more you will get burned.Leadership begins with character & integrity.Sin warps the character and personality thus destroying the ability to influence.This only describes the worldly effects of sin and not the separation from God that has eternal consequences also.Read this article carefully and ask yourself where you are missing the mark.Turn to Jesus Christ and repent of your sins.Today is the day the Lord has made - let us live a life honoring to the One who created us.Paul in Roman’s said, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of the God.”A Christian is just someone who has been humbled enough to admit the obvious - We are sinners in need of redemption from our sins through God's grace.Enjoy the article and spend the time to think through your life.Self awareness is an essential part of life’s journey.
The fascination of the forbidden is the greatest lure of sin.
The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 7:11 that sin deceives the sinner. The end result of course is death.
Sin deceives in such a way that it causes the sinner to completely lose the way. It gives a false impression, whether by appearance, statement or influence that everything is ok. No one ever receives the full satisfaction that the lure of sin promises.
Sin tricks us into thinking that so long as we have not sinned outwardly and visibly everything is right between us and God. The Word of God informs us differently because God discerns the thoughts, attitudes and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12-13). Jeremiah said, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). Our thoughts and attitudes are radically depraved and these lead us to sinful behaviors.
Sin deceives us into thinking that there is no reason for our guilt. Get ride of the "ought," should" and "must" in your life. Our sins are really not that bad, after all everyone is doing it. Besides there are other people doing a lot worse things than we are. Sin deceives us as to the deceitfulness of sin.
One of the greatest deceptions is that sin deceives us into thinking that God is unreasonable. It is impossible for sinful man to live a pure and holy life, therefore God is unjust, not man. If God really loved us and wanted what is best for us He would let us do whatever we think would make us happy. If it feels good, it must be ok is a deception of sin.
Sin deceives the sinner into thinking the holiness of God is unattractive. It deceives by getting people to think holiness is unpopular, unacceptable, odd, etc. Holiness is not a popular topic in today's society, even in church circles.
Sin's biggest deception is the idea that there is no penalty for sinning.Sin deceives the sinner to believe Satan’s lie, “You will not die” (Gen. 3:4). Sin always calls God a liar. The truth is, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “The soul that sins will surely die” (Ezek. 18:4).
The Law of God reveals the fact that we are sinners, and that we can never save ourselves. The apostle Paul confessed, “I would not have known what sin was except through the law” (Rom. 7:7). We are reminded over and over again, “There is no one who does good, not even one.” “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Anyone who thinks otherwise is in bondage to the deceitfulness of sin.
Sin deceives us into thinking the law is really the problem and keeps us from becoming what we want to be, and fulfilling what we believe is essential to make us self-actualized men and women.
The Law points its finger and says, “You are the one. You are guilty before God.” Yes, we are guilty because we are guilty. It is true guilt. It declares that we have sinned against God, and broken His laws.
Sin seizes every opportunity to deceive man and creates a powerful rebellion in our hearts. Because the law says “no,” sin puts forth every effort to go ahead and do it. The Law proves to us just how rebellious our hearts are and how strong sin is in us.
Is the Law sin? Give me a break! “The law is holy, and the commandment of God is holy, righteous and good” (Rom. 7:12). The law proves to us that sin deceives us into thinking the law can save us, or that we are self-sufficient, and very religious. The law could never save anyone. No one has ever been saved by law keeping. The law condemns us in order to point us to God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ.
The law awakens us to our sinfulness and points us to the Savior, Jesus Christ. But sin deceives us into misusing salvation by grace through faith. Sin can get such a hold on us that we have no desire to live a life pleasing to God. Sin says, "Go ahead and sin it up so that grace may increase." Sin deceives by abusing the teaching of grace.
There is only one way to be delivered from the deception of sin, the penalty and power of sin, and that is by the atoning death of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:24-25, NASB 1995). The deliverer is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here is an inspiring article by Robert Morrisette on having the courage of your convictions.I love the opening definition of courage – not the absence of fear, but the perception that there is something far more important at stake.Wow!I could not have said it better myself if I took the next year.Courage is not the strength inside of you as much as the strength of your convictions.Courage is really a matter of what you are focusing on.Study any person of courage that you know.You will find that what drives them is a conviction that is worth paying any cost for.Without this conviction you will not pay the price.Cowards have no convictions worth dying for and that is why they never truly live.If you are focused on God’s Glory then you can endure many setbacks, failures and heartaches because you know there is something far more important at stake.If you are focused on what is happening to you then you will shrink back from God’s Glory to self comfort.Have there been moments in your life where you had to decide on doing what is right vs. doing what is comfortable? Lives are defined by those special moments when we must choose between comforts and convictions.I pray you choose wisely.Here is the full article.Ponder on these points as we celebrate another Lord’s day.God Bless, Orrin Woodward
I have heard it said that courage is not the absence of fear, but the perception that there is something far more important at stake. Having such a "something" gives us the ability to resist giving in to fear and to eventually rise above it. It is only in the presence of fear that true courage can be exercised, but without this "something", how can we see beyond those things we're afraid of?
Before I go further, let me say that I am not talking about appropriate fears, such as of immediate danger. Rather, I am speaking of the times when we are consumed by what we are afraid will happen, thus denying that God is in charge and that He is good. These are beliefs supported by lies that encourage us to focus on our present circumstances and past experiences. So often at these times it is hard to see what good is to come, because the uncomfortable feelings make us want to run and hide. Fear wants us to believe lies about our value, potential, abilities, influence and place in God's heart. It wants us to fix our attention on the negative things that others may have said or done to us. Fear wants us to get our eyes on anything but the Father. When we give in, fear once again defeats us, seeming to reinforce the "truth" of the lies we have believed. It is very debilitating. Yet, if we can get to the place of conquering it, on the other side of fear is great reward.
When I was teaching my son to ride his bike without training wheels, he was very fearful of falling over and getting hurt. As I helped him practice, there were moments when he did fall over and, yes, he did want to quit. In the midst of this process, I kept encouraging him to try again. I held for him what he was not able to see, that he had it in him to do it even though he did not realize it yet, and that there was a great reward waiting once he learned to master balancing his bike.
Then it happened. He rode his bike without my help. As his confidence grew, he began mastering turning, then riding on dirt, going down a hill, riding with one hand-all of it. The amazing thing was his own words, "You were right, Daddy. This is fun!" His fear was overcome by accomplishment, replaced with the joy of riding a bike and an attitude that said, "What can we do next?"
Many people develop a practiced response to circumstances where fear is involved: they avoid them. They let fear rule them instead of caution them, thus allowing it to rob them of the good things in store. My son had fear because he was going beyond what he was used to doing. It made him aware that he might get hurt and should therefore take things slowly, but he did not allow it to keep him from trying.
The enemy knows who we really are, what potential we have, and the Father's love for us. He also knows that we are not aware of many of these things ourselves. If he cannot keep us from being saved, he definitely does not want us to take hold of these truths. He knows that one of the greatest threats to his kingdom is more and more of God's people realizing how the Father sees them. It is what we have not come to fully believe that is a threat to him. If we choose to believe God, refusing to allow the enemy's lies to sow the seeds of fear in us, he knows that we will become a growing threat to his kingdom as God works through us.
So why doesn't God just vanquish fear when we cry out to Him? Why do we, His people, even have to experience fear at all?
I will offer two reasons, although there are probably more. The first is that the Father wants to heal those places in us and times in our past when we did submit to fear. He does not want to condemn us. Rather, He wants us to renounce the decisions and judgments we made long ago and receive His forgiveness so these past choices and old beliefs no longer interfere with the present. In order to deal with these areas, He will allow present circumstances in our lives that are similar to those in our past. Often we will be able to recognize that this is happening when we experience more fear than the present circumstances warrant, and find ourselves wanting to flee or respond inappropriately. In such times we need to ask God, "What circumstances in my past made me feel this way and caused me to respond the way I'm wanting to respond right now?" As He shows us, we are to pray through these instances, forgiving those who have hurt us, and asking God's for the lies we believed. If we avoid the opportunity to trace our fears, we miss the opportunity to conquer them. But the Lord is faithful, and He loves us. He will bring another circumstance into our lives at a later time.
The second reason is that the Father wants us to know and experience the truth that fear does not have mastery over us-we only believed it did. He does not allow things in our lives in order to makes us feel bad about ourselves or so we can fail. Instead, as the loving Father that He is, He holds for us what we are unable to see for ourselves at this time. He knows we have yet to see our potential. He knows that He has something great waiting for us on the other side. As we chose to cooperate with Him, believing that He is good, trusting Him, then we will come to see and experience it too.
The Lord is completely committed to you. You are loved. Often the very thing you have been asking for resides on the other side of the fear He would have you conquer. Keep in mind that you have authority over an area to whatever degree you have conquered it. Take courage, knowing that the "something" that is bigger than your fear is the Father's love for you, His goodness and faithfulness to bring you into the good things that await you. Resist fear, realizing that the Father believes in you and holds for you what you have yet to see-your potential to succeed. Press through, knowing that you will enter into a deeper knowledge of the love He has for you (Romans 5:2-5).
Robert Morrissette is the Director of Prayer Counseling and Internship Coordinator at Elijah House. The purpose of Elijah House is to share the love of Jesus to restore broken relationships and bring healing to hurt and wounded hearts, lives and relationships; to call God's people to "restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers" and to "restore all things."
