Wise Counsel

Do you make all your decisions willy-nilly? Are you constantly finding out after the fact that you made the wrong choice? Well we've got what you need. Get yourself a brand-new, never used, Wise Counsel. Just the people you need to ask before making those big decisions! Now for the low price of....

This may sound like an infomercial, but it turns out this is a real problem for a lot of men. Too often they let pride get in the way and don't ask for help. The older I get the more I find that if a decision can affect me very much at all, then it's worth taking to God and a small group of people that I feel are wise. Proverbs 15:22 makes it clear that wise counsel is important to any plans. When you really think about it why would you make those decisions alone? You have the wisdom of God to help you.

The flip-side of this coin is that if you never USE your wise counsel it's pointless to ask them for advice. If you seek wise counsel every time something comes up and don't listen to the wise counsel, you've wasted their time. Proverbs 12:15 says "The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice." So the next time you ask for advice, ensure the people you ask are truly wise, and then follow it.

The Bench-Warmer

What kind of follower of Christ are you? Do you jump at every opportunity to get involved in your church, volunteer to help any time you can lend a hand? God knows what kind of Christian you are, and whether you're just warming a bench at church or if you're committed to following Him and doing all that you can to further the kingdom of God.

Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart is a liar. Too often, someone who appears sincere in their worship is simply putting on a good show for those around them. No matter how sincere you appear to be, God knows the intention of your heart, and you aren't fooling Him, even if everyone around you falls for it.

The Bible goes on to say in Jeremiah 17:10 the God searches our hearts and minds and will reward us according to what we deserve. Matthew 6:1-2, 5, 16 tells us that if we are just putting on a show for men, then the recognition of men is the only reward we'll have; Matthew 6:3-4, 6, 17 shows us that if we are sincere with God, then our reward will come from Him.

God is not pleased with our praise when we do it for the recognition of men. God only recognizes and rewards us for our praise to Him because we love Him and want to serve him. So will you be a bench-warming hypocrite, looking only for the praises of men, or will you be on fire for God, simply because He died to save you?

The Valorious Armor Bearer

In 1 Samuel 14:1 we find the beginning of an interesting story, of two men who single-handedly conquered a Philistine garrison. This story catches my interest because we often hear the name of one of the men, but the name of the other isn't even mentioned in the Bible. Nearly everyone knows who Jonathan was, great friend of King David, son of Saul, David's mortal enemy. However, we are never given the name of the armor-bearer. We do find that, throughout the story, this man follows Jonathan's every instruction.

1 Samuel 14:6-7 shows us the amazing faith of Jonathan, that he knew God did not need great numbers to remove opposition. God could use just these two young men to win a great victory. Jonathan's armor-bearer obviously shared his faith, as he told Jonathan, "I'm with you whatever you want to do." Here was a young man who had complete confidence, both in Jonathan, and in God.

And their faith in God was greatly rewarded, as in 1 Samuel 14:11-14 we read that Jonathan and his un-named armor-bearer were greatly victorious. With this single act of heroism, one act of bravery, God was able to bring a victory that was never expected. Israelites that had gone with the Philistines once again fought with Saul and Jonathan, Israelites that were in hiding came out to fight. The Philistines began to take their swords to one another. We can read the end of the story in 1 Samuel 14:20-23.

What an amazing story this armor-bearer had to tell: how he stood with Jonathan against a garrison of Philistines, and how that such a great victory was won for God. Sometimes we all want to play the part of Jonathan, the son of the king, the victorious warrior. We forget how that the armor-bearer is needed as well. We fail to see the need just to be an extremely faithful follower. We should notice that 1 Samuel 14:13 indicates that Jonathan didn't kill the Philistines, the armor-bearer followed him killing the men the Jonathan brought down. God uses faithful followers right along behind faithful leaders, all we have to do is be willing.

The Life and Leadership of Jesus Christ

Quite obviously to cover the entire life and leadership examples of Christ would be far more than would be feasible in a single post, but we'll touch on some of the highlights. One of the primary focuses of the New Testament church throughout the Bible is teaching the Word of God. We find Jesus doing this already by the time He was just 12 years old in Luke 2:42-47. And we see this continues as an example in several other verses as well (Matthew 4:23, Matthew 7:28-29, Matthew 28:18-20). We're supposed to teach and preach boldly and with authority. We're supposed to call others to follow Christ (Luke 19:5-10, Luke 5:27-28, Mark 1:16-18).

Going hand in hand, we see that Christ's example was that of unselfishness (Romans 15:1-3), providing for those in need (Luke 11:9-10), and serving others (Mark 10:43-45, Matthew 20:26-28). These are powerful examples. Jesus wasn't just a leader, He was a servant of those who followed Him. He was also a friend to those who followed Him (John 15:15), and He loved them (John 13:34-35, John 15:13). So often as men, it's easy for us to bow down to serve others and show others love, but this was the example that Christ set for us.

One of the greatest examples that we overlook as men that was set for us by Jesus was to not try to do everything ourselves; we need to let other people help (Mark 3:13-15, Luke 10:1). Jesus didn't try to fulfill the Scriptures foretelling His arrival all alone. He chose great men to assist Him in His work. If Jesus needed other people to help bear His load, how much more do we need others to help us?

The final example that Christ set for us was that of not leaving our work half-finished. Jesus finished all that He was intended to, and did so in a complete fashion. John 18:9 tells us that Jesus lost none who was given to Him to save, and John 17:4 and John 19:30 both herald that his work here on earth was completed. His life on earth was short, but it was lived exactly as intended, and completely fulfilled God's will without fail. May that be our testimony when we die: our work was completed, and we were great leaders for God.