Faith not Fear

Luke 12: 22-28

22)Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,

what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on.

23) For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

24) Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.

Of how much more value are you than the birds!

25) And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life?

26) If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

27) Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you,

even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

28) But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith...

Have you been anxious this week about life? Have you spent time wondering how you're going to pay the bills; pay the mortgage; about how much your taxes may go up; about the future?

I have!!! I've spent time worrying about my business - what can I do to build it? How will I pay the bills? About the future and what it will bring... About my Mom and sister and what will happen to them!

But in the midst of all I worry about, God has nudged my heart to stop worrying about today; stop worrying about my own needs, for He has that covered!!!

Instead, He is calling me to go do his work to help others who have needs and worries - be the arbiter of change in someone else's life -

• Through prayer for their needs, not mine!
• Through sharing a smile, a moment or two talking about their problem and not mine!
• Through investing in His Kingdom by investing in someone else's financial need and not mine!

I don't mean to make this sound easy - its NOT!!! Its our nature to think ME FIRST, ME FIRST - WHAT ABOUT ME???

But Jesus tells us clearly - don't worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will wear!!! That's not your job - its God's! Instead, we need to focus all or thoughts and actions on serving HIM!

If you think about your life honestly, you and I are very blessed! Sure, there are things that are uncertain - but we are very blessed!!! We often don't know how it happens, but things seem to work out...

We're very, very blessed and fortunate! Look instead at those who have not been so fortunate! Who don't have as much as we do - whatever that may be!

Think about what Jesus said to his disciples after washing their feet:

John 13: 13-17

"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord', and rightly so, for that is what I am.

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."

I have been blessed - its my job to go out and share that blessing with others...

Father, help me to serve You and You alone as I go out and seek to serve others...

Step Up and Step Out...

Of late, there have been many instances and experiences in my life that have been leading me to take a closer look at giving, caring and leading...



One experience, of course, has to do with my Mother, as she gets older, and is facing challenges in coping with everyday life.



Another has been observing a friend step up when it came to his attention that a brand new colleague had a young daughter suffering from leukemia, after the family had already lost one child to this terrible disease.



My friend stunned us all by taking it upon himself to host a fundraiser for this family, already struggling with crippling medical bills - what began as an idea and motivation to HELP led to an amazing fundraising event help this month that raised over $14,000.00 for this family plus several other amazing benefits, like people or corporations offering to pay their utility bills, etc.



I observed my friend fight day after day, week after week to go out, no matter what, to promote this cause and lead to its ultimate enormous success - and what I said to him at the end was - "Do you realise why people are so overwhelmed by what you did? Nobody does this - most wouldn't think of going to this level of effort for their family/friends much less someone who was essentially a stranger!""



That experience opened my eyes to what we each can do and attain for others if we just TRY!!!



Another experience has been with two organizations that I am a part of that really are in need of a re-investment of PASSION and SPIRIT among our members...



A phenomenal individual I know and love has been demonstrating to me that HOPE is never lost - if you GIVE of yourself, of your own PASSION, SPIRIT and EXCITEMENT for helping others and leading others to their true potential you can reignite the FIRE!!!!



He recently shared with me a book on Leadership - calling me to the awareness that our communities, families, organizations and societies need people to step up and LEAD others!!!



My church, Flamingo Road Church, has also been focussing on Leadership as they strive towards our mission and purpose of "partnering with others to reach their God-potential".... Just this past week, if you go through the archive of teachings on our Daily Devotional Blog at http://www.frcliveonline.blogspot.com/ , you will see the huge NEED for people to step up and step out as Leaders, Givers, and Care-Givers in our society!



So what's my point? Good question! I do feel 'called' to Step up and Step out! I feel called to true Servant Leadership - leading others by serving their benefit as opposed to my own... or as the Scripture says:



Deuteronomy 15: 10

"Give generously to others and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to"

Proverbs 31: 10-15, 17, 20

"A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.

She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.

She gets up while it is still dark;

and she provides food for her family

and portions for her servant girls."

17 "She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks."

20 "She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy."

Do you see what I mean - we are called to serve our families;

We are called to serve our communities and we do that best by stepping up

and stepping out - in FAITH - and a willingness to work hard for others...



That made me really go back and take a closer look at today's teaching "Qualities of a Leader"

on http://www.frcliveonline.blogspot.com/:



1. Have a good reputation

2. Have a strong marriage (if married)

3. Shows great self-control

4. Friendly and approachable

5. Cares for the comfort of others

6. Knowledgeable

7. Sober

8. Gentle

9. Confident

10. Money-wise

11. Controls the calendar/results

12. A great parent (if one)



That made me really take a good look at myself - Am I ready for this? No!!!! I have alot of work to do - but I DO know that with God's help, I can overcome my personal obstacles, grow and develop into the person God calls me to be - someone who fights each day to be better and do more!!!!



That actually gave me a roadmap or an Action Plan to get started on this journey - and I have to tell you, I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!

Thank You God, for guidance and direction - for putting people in my life that teach and inspire me - for using them to show me YOUR way, and for opening my heart to serving YOU through serving others!!!