Faithful leaders....followers...

Faithful leaders..followers...

I receive about three to four political phone calls a day and I am on the "no call" list..each come from private callers. They start at 9 in the morning and are spaced out evenly through the day. I have tried getting them stopped to no avail, so just let them ring  again and again each day...when I see "private caller" on the caller ID, I just let it ring and go about my business....realizing that the campaign trail is hot right now and we have another year of this...these callers are faithful followers...

What I am looking for is faithful leaders....

We have slew of candidates from all backgrounds, different party affiliations, different experiences, different core values, different races, ....all trying valiantly to win our allegiance .....our vote in the next presidential election...

Who has God picked? Why? He raises up and tears down leaders of nations..

But He chooses the faithful to carry out His plans...in all areas of life...

Am I faithful in doing His bidding? Am I faithful in all I do? From the mundane to the spectacular?

Thank YOU  the reminder to be faithful, no matter what the  job is...help me to be faithful in all I do...

Psalm 47:8 God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. 

Psalm 52:1-4, 8-9 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?Why do you boast all day long,you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor. You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. 

You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue! 

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God;I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.

 For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people.And I will hope in your name, for your name is good. 

Are You Faithful?   A daily devotion for August 28th   From your friends at RayStedman.org     Read: Nehemiah 13:10-14       I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy (Nehemiah l3:13a).       Notice how representative this group is that he chooses. There is a priest, a scribe, a Levite, and a layman. All four represent various aspects of the life of Israel and share one great quality. He tells us, these men were considered trustworthy (Nehemiah 13:13b). They were faithful men. I have discovered that today faithfulness is a quality not highly esteemed, although we often pay lip service to it. It is disheartening to me at times to see how few people take seriously the responsibility to carry through faithfully what they have undertaken. Faithfulness is the quality that God admires. Paul says in 1 Corinthians of those who minister in the church: Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2). That is the primary thing God looks for: the ability to hang in with an assignment until you are through; the willingness to fulfill responsibility year after year, not needing to be praised or thanked or publicly encouraged in order to do so; to work unto the Lord; to show up on time and to not leave until the work is done. I have learned through the years to look for four qualities in leaders, whether they are men or women. I look first for a searching mind: a person who is mentally alert, who has curiosity about life, who wants to learn all the time. Such a person is always reading, always listening, always thinking about what he or she hears, and trying to reason out what is behind it. Second, I look for a humble heart--someone whose ego is not on the line all the time, who must be praised and honored and encouraged in order to get him to do anything at all; who gets disgruntled and turned off if she does not get recognized. I look for someone who understands that service is a privilege; that power is not conferred upon a person by an office but by serving people. Third, I look for an evident gift: God's people are gifted people. There is not one of the members of the body of Christ who has not been equipped by the Holy Spirit with a special ability to do something. When Christians know what it is, they always enjoy doing it. It is not a burden any more than wings are a burden to a bird. It is a delight to them. I look for people who have the gift for what we are asking them to do because they will stay with it and enjoy it to the end. And then, fourth, undergirding all the others and making them possible, is a faithful spirit--someone who will not quit; someone who sees her work as a ministry of service to the Lord Himself; who has undertaken it out of gratitude in his own life and heart, and no matter how tough it gets, will not quit. God looks for these kind of people to change the age in which they live. That is what we are called to do today. We are all included in this calling, not just the obvious, visible leaders. What is required are faithful men and women who are willing to carry this through to the end. Father, I ask that You would develop in me a spirit faithfulness. Help me to stick with the responsibilities You give to the end       Life Application   In a culture where unfaithfulness is rampant, are we thoughtfully alert, humbly motivated, and faithfully committed to be counter-cultural?   Related Message   For more on this portion of Scripture read the message: Looking for a Few Good Men or listen to the audio by clicking:   Listen to Ray     Previous Devotions for August Next       Want to Subscribe?   Subscribe / Unsubscribe to this Daily Devotion by Email   Copyright © 2014 Ray Stedman Ministries — This daily devotion is from the book The Power of His Presence: a year of devotions from the writings of Ray Stedman, compiled by Mark Mitchell. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice and a hyperlink to RayStedman.org if the copy is posted on the Internet.