Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: daily devotional

Courageous Leadership

Encouragement

Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”
Exodus‬ ‭5:22-23‬

If you are in any position of leadership you know the weight and responsibilities that come with the position. People under your leadership need to know that you are mindful and cautious in every decision you make. 

As a leader you are responsible no matter what happens. People often turn to leaders for help but people don’t always respect their decisions. Part of being in leadership is knowing that you must make tough decisions and live with the consequences or rewards.

Good leaders aren’t always popular people. They lead the best they know how and do what they think is right. But most importantly, every leader must lead with courage. 

Moses knew the burden of leadership when God appointed him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and out of slavery. Moses did as God instructed but Pharaoh resisted and punished the people even more harshly. Moses was distraught. He didn’t understand why God was not following through with His part. 

At first Moses was the bad guy in the eyes of the Israelites. However, Moses stood courageous and confident in the Lord’s power. Good leaders must exercise great courage.  

The definition of courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery. Moses didn’t think he could be a good leader but God wanted to use his weaknesses to display His power. Moses led according to God’s Word and that takes courage. 

It takes courage to stand for what is right, to face your enemy, to rise above evil, and to call out wickedness. God will never ask you to do something He will not equip you to do. He will use you to display His power and glory. God just wants you to be a courageous leader!

What are some of the decisions you have made or having to make that are not very popular with other people? Do your decisions point people to Jesus? Does your leadership reflect the character of God?

Be strong and courageous!

Pray

Lord, I know you will give me the power and wisdom to do what you’ve called me to do. I trust you to use me any way I can be used. Give me courage and boldness. 

Learning God’s Will

Encouragement

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
Psalm 143:10

Learning something new can be a bit of a challenge. But once you discover how to do it, it can be rewarding and great. For example, learning to play an instrument can be difficult and time consuming but once you learn to play a song it’s exciting.

In the same sense, learning to do God’s will can be challenging but the reward is worth it all.

In this Psalm, David cries out to God for help. It’s a desperate cry for help. But right in the middle of this Psalm, David seeks to understand the will of God because he knows it’s the best thing. He knows that God is in control of all things but he wants God to reveal His will to him. 

This is the best attitude to have when we face difficult times in our life. Instead of praying for God to remove our trials we should face them with a perspective that God is trying to teach us something new. 

Just think about all the challenges that David faced during his life.

  • He was the youngest and smallest of his brothers but he knew he had a purpose. 
  • He took on the biggest and strongest Phillistine (Goliath) and experienced victory. 
  • He committed many sins but found forgiveness through God’s love and grace. 
  • He lost a child who was only a few days old but knew the child was with God in Heaven. 

The list can go on and on but David was always aware that God was maturing his faith and increasing his spiritual strength. 

That is how we should look at our life. God causes all things to work for His glory. God wants to see you grow in faith.

Pray

Lord, teach me to do Your will. Let Your Spirit lead me along the path that You desire. Increase my faith and give me strength to endure to the end.

God Desires Your Heart

Encouragement

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10:39‬ 

There is one thing God desires from His people (Christians). There is only one thing that we need to give Him and that is our heart. He desires our whole heart. And when we give our whole heart to God, we are giving Him our all. 

Have you given your whole heart to God? God is concerned about our hearts. 

When we give our heart to God, in return we gain His wisdom, power and riches. Through the Holy Spirit we gain wisdom to make better choices and find the right words to speak. We receive divine power to overcome temptations and strength to get through tough times.

I think you can agree that giving your heart to God is better than giving Him anything else we have. Giving our heart to Jesus gives us eternity in Heaven. In order to give your heart to God we must die to ourselves and find new life through Jesus Christ. 

When we give our heart to Jesus he makes us a new person. He puts new desires in our heart, desires that glorify Him. Have you opened the door of your heart and let Jesus come in?

Pray

Lord, I give you my heart and want you to make me new. Fill me with your goodness and joy.