NCarolinian

Whoever said, "Do as I say, not as I do." was the worst leader ever. Words are important but actions must support them otherwise one's credentials, especially as a leader, evaporate into thin air. When we are kids, we mimic the behavior of our parents and adults we deem as leaders or authority figures. We do not grow out of this, so the leadership style we choose to select as our own had better be successful. Jesus was and is the best multi-tasker, manager and leader ever. If Christians ever desire to be effective for The Business/The Kingdom and fall in line with the training as future priests and kings ruling with Christ, then we must learn from and emulate His leadership and management. Emulate Jesus CEO Jesus managed many disciples, twelve in particular, that gave up their occupations immediately to follow Him. But not only did they follow Him, they joined Him in fulfilling His mission, though the full extent of it was veiled to them until the Resurrection. “Jesus kne...

In the previous parts to this series I spoke on the importance of aligning our hearts and minds with Christ, what the Scripture says to focus them upon, the captive mind of Christ and having the same heart as Jesus.  In this last installment, I will be encouraging you and me to keep the Holy Spirit engaged in the whole process of decision-making.  When you observe someone that purposefully slows down their response time to consider their answer of your question or comment, chances are the person has a personal discipline of listening before acting or speaking. Now-a-days this is rare. The opposite is quite prevalent and proves our responses show our choices which reveal our perspectives. There have been times when I said something I did not mean because I dodged the Holy Spirit's leading in a situation. Don't do that. I have found the Holy Spirit is the ultimate gentleman and will help you with the knowledge of what to say or do, but you and I have to say or do it. So, fe...

In my previous post entitled "The Above Things" I taught why Christians should be mindful of their every thought and what kinds of thoughts the Scripture instructs believers to focus upon. Then in the next installment called "Of His Mind", I rallied around the idea of the captive mind of Christ with the analogies of the Roman soldier holding a captive at spear-tip and the remodeling of our homes as visual aides. Today's word will be shifting to the other part of the anatomy that needs alignment with Christ - the heart. Whereas the brain is the organ that houses the mind, the heart is mentioned as a center piece or core-holding-term for where all of our emotions and spiritual experiences occur, are interpreted and flow. Ever heard the phrase - "My heart is bursting with joy!"? The physical heart might be feeling that way due to an emotional overload, but chances are it will not burst. Acts 2:26 sites the same kind of experience. Ever heard the phras...

In an earlier teaching entitled "The Above Things" I tackled  why Christians should focus their gaze and perspective Heavenward and what the Scriptures say for our minds to dwell upon. In this post, I will be examining more of what a holy or set apart for Christ mind is suppose to resemble. Maturity in the thought life of the Christian is a must.  This call to a higher thought life is not easy, but has its own rewards. Paul explains this idea when he addressed the believers in Corinth the first time -  "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me." (1 Cor. 13:11)  The war on any decision or challenge in our lives begins on the battleground of our mind. Every skirmish, no matter what the size in our head or lives, needs to be filtered through The Word of God and His Holy Spirit. Paul encourages the believers in Corinth and Christians down through the ages -...

The older we get, the more things we have to occupy our minds. These things can be good, bad or time wasters but they are there and sometimes even make it into our subconscious or dream-state. Humanity has reached a record level of sources vying for our attention and consideration of their products or services.  With all we have to think about as adults in this world to simply live, it is a wonder our brains don't explode from input overload.  However, I think and believe Christians can derive wonderful counsel from God's Word in Mark 12:17 . Jesus says in this verse - "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." In context, Christ was referring to proper monetary appropriation as He answered the Pharisees, but I believe this proper appropriation can be applied to life or the world and God or your journey with The Lord. In Matthew 22:37 , Jesus answered the Pharisees question about the greatest commandment by stating to love God with "...