Do you feel rejected by people? No one cares. No one understands. Just remember Jesus. Although he was rejected by people, he knew he was precious to God his Father. He was “…a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious” (1 Peter 2:4).
Jesus gave little value to the opinions that people had about him. He was precious to God the Father. What an amazing perspective. I wonder how he managed to keep that focus.
It’s easy to talk about this, but tough to live it out. When ridicule, slander, and for some, physical attack is common, It’s difficult to think beyond your situations.
But Jesus consistently looked to the Father to validate him. The Bible records two situations where the Father verbally announced his acceptance: During the baptism of Jesus (Matt 3:17), and the transfiguration (Matt 17:5).
Even though crowds of people followed him, he often withdrew from the crowds just to spend time with his Father. He knew the crowds were usually focused on their own needs, and once their needs are met, they would be gone.
This is why we also need to be focused on the Father’s perspective of us. But since life keeps bombarding us in the opposite direction, we’ve got to keep reminding ourselves that we are precious to the Father.
Keep reminders on your phone, desktop, or any other convenient place to remind yourself that you are precious to the Father. Gradually, this will become part of your thinking pattern.
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Alexi George is a pastor, teacher, and writer. He is devoted to helping people live their potential.
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Power is intoxicating. Supernatural power is dangerously intoxicating. It’s easy to think that God’s power working through us has something to do with us.
Don’t get so possessive. It’s not yours. It’s God’s power. The Bible says “… we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor 4:7).
When God’s power works through us to heal the sick, cast out demons, and transform lives, that’s a great feeling. After some time, it’s easy to get carried away thinking that we are something special. God uses us to do his miraculous work even though we are weak in many ways. That is because of his grace. Our weakness does not disqualify us from being used by God; when he uses us in spite of our weakness, God’s name is glorified. If we are used by God due to our merits, then we would deserve the credit.
It was for this same reason that Paul was unashamed of his weaknesses: “…to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited” (2 Cor 12:7).
So be careful. Don’t get possessive with God’s power. It’s His. When God uses you, check your heart for any selfish motivations. Make sure that people see Jesus and not you.
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Alexi George is a pastor, teacher, and writer. He is devoted to helping people live their potential.
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When your hopes and dreams are crushed, you just can’t move forward. When your expectations are not met, your life gets put on hold.
Such situations will make you wonder if there is anything more to look forward to in life. A few decide there isn’t anything to look forward to and end their lives. Others continue in an unsatisfied way, and never live their potential in life.
During a time of extreme persecution, Peter reminds his readers to set aside all their short-term expectations and do the things they need to do. Because ultimately, our true hope is in the return of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).
Learn to enjoy life for what it truly is: A temporary stop on the road to eternity. If you put too much value on the things of this life, you may be terribly disappointed.
We have an awesome eternity coming up. We have a Father who has loved us with an everlasting love. Keep your eyes fixed on that hope.
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Alexi George is a pastor, teacher, and writer. He is devoted to helping people live their potential.
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In every organization, there are people who always seem to lag behind. Some never catch the vision no matter how hard you work to communicate it and pass it on.
These are the people who seem to take up so much of your time and energy. That time and energy could have been spent on training people to manage their lives better or to develop leaders.
But what about those who continue to lag behind the rest? Should we ignore them and move on with the faithful? Although that seems to be convenient, we would be unfaithful to our role as leaders. The key is to continue to pastor them, care for them, and love them just like everyone else.
Then, you move forward with the rest and teach them to do life better. Train them to follow Jesus even closer. Develop them as leaders who would do the same for others just as you have done for them. Paul said, “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
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Alexi George is a pastor, teacher, and writer. He is devoted to helping people live their potential.
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Happiness is a choice. Life constantly pulls you down, but you have to consciously make the choice to be happy.
What makes you happy? What will keep you happy? Wilful focus on the positives is expressed in the following verse:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Phil 4:8).
What is your choice today? Just a few verses earlier in v.4, the instruction is given to “rejoice in the Lord.” Again, it is a command to take action.
You don’t have much choices regarding the difficulties of life. But we clearly have a choice regarding our happiness.
Choose to be happy today by focusing on what is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
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Alexi George is a pastor, teacher, and writer. He is devoted to helping people live their potential.
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“If every Christian would live like Christ, then the whole world would turn to Christ.” This is an amazing statement that we use with good intentions.
Unfortunately such conversations usually leave us and others feeling guilty. But is it really possible to live like Christ in every way? Many of us have tried to some extent but failed miserably.
When writing to the Galatians, Paul said: “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). shows us that this is a process that we are going through. We want quick results, but being “formed” is a process that takes time.
Although human beings were created in the image of God, that image was marred due to sin. Now, those who have accepted Christ are born again into a new life. In this new life, we are being formed into the image of Christ.
So, how are you living today? As we are in the process of being formed into the image of Christ, we can see ourselves in process. If we don’t see ourselves as a work in process, we will be disappointed.
We must give ourselves over to God’s process of forming us. This process is often called Spiritual Formation. It is a process where we cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He works to form Christ and his characteristics in us.
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Alexi George is a pastor, teacher, and writer. He is devoted to helping people live their potential.
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“There may be numerous lines of people waiting to be judged on Judgement day. If you find a line that is short, you may want to go there to save time. But if that line has many pastors, teachers, and leaders, don’t go there.
Those people will take too long because they have to answer many more questions than the average person.” This was an interesting statement I heard years ago from Dr. Walter Kaiser, an Old Testament scholar. I’ve shared this scenario many times over the years as it points to an important truth.
His words may have been inspired by James 3:1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
A high level of integrity is required. Not only in the practice of teaching, but also in life. Teaching has greater value when it is done by a person of integrity. Leaders are more effective when that person lives a life of integrity.
Are you a teacher, preacher, or leader? I believe the same level of integrity is required for all of these. I hope you will stand up to the challenge of integrity.
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Alexi George is a pastor, teacher, and writer. He is devoted to helping people live their potential.
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If we can experience life as most people, if we can breathe, then we can be sure we are alive. If you want more proof, you can see the doctor and just confirm. But how about our faith? How can you be sure you are alive?
The book of James clarifies the question of faith. “So faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead” (James 2:17). Paul clearly stated that we are saved through faith and not through the works that we do (Eph 2:8-9). Thus salvation is not through works, but the evidence of our salvation is through works.
These two are not in contradiction to each other, but they are complementary. We are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. The vital signs of our life of faith becomes our deeds. How do we know if our faith is alive? Through our deeds.
Therefore if good deeds are not evident in the life of the believer, what should we do? Shall we send the person for further testing? Commonly, when some form of medical testing is done on people, we consider the results with great importance and we take action.
When something is lacking, we immediately send people for further testing and treatment. We want to correct those areas that show deficiencies as quickly as possible.
Maybe we need to do the same for those in faith. Are there no good works that show evidence for faith, then let’s take it seriously. Further testing may be needed. Or they need some form of “treatment” to bring them back to a level of faith that shows up in their actions.
When was your last faith-works checkup? Are you doing something about the results? Let me spur you on to good works.
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Alexi George is a pastor, teacher, and writer. He is devoted to helping people live their potential.
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Recently I posted a statement online like this: “Maybe one of the greatest leadership traits is perseverance. At the end of it all, you’ll be left standing.”
Soon afterwards I read this statement from James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
We admire those who have accomplished great things in life. Among the many good qualities they possess, persistence is probably the most common trait.
My statement was probably more survival centred, while James 1:12 is eternity focused. Either way you look at it, there is a future, there is a reward.
I’ve been asking young people to invest 20 to 30 years of their lives into one community. The trend is to move from one place to the next within one or two years seeking better opportunities. There is nothing wrong with better opportunities, but it is better to invest your life into a particular location for something you truly believe in, for the glory of God.
Persevere, and remain steadfast. But to do that, you’ve got to develop patience as a strong trait within you. This will help you to stay put regardless of your situation.
Along with patience, you’ll need to forgive people if you want to work with them for the long haul. Without forgiveness, your relationships will begin to fall apart, and you won’t be able to persevere.
Ultimately, if you learn to persevere, you’ll grow in your life in every way possible. As a matter of fact, you’ll be forced to grow.
You will make a significant contribution in this life, and in the life to come, you’ll receive the crown of life.
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Alexi George is a pastor, teacher, and writer. He is devoted to helping people live their potential.
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It’s a major concern for me when we see people unable to move forward in their faith. They are still dealing with the basic factors of the faith. Somehow, they are not completely sure of their faith.
Since our faith rests on the finished work of Jesus on the cross, we have a confidence that it is firm. Our faith has a firm foundation. It is sure.
Now, it’s time to move forward.
But still, many continue to doubt if God loves them. They have difficulty believing that God accepts them and cares for them. Some are fearful that God will only accept them if they are good and live free from all sin. We want to live free of the bondage of sin and live for God, but that is not the measuring line which God uses to see if we are acceptable. We are accepted only because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
Those who continue to struggle with these important foundational matters have the risk of falling away and abandoning their faith. For such people, it is quite difficult to return to the faith in Jesus.
Thus we are to move forward in our faith. Otherwise we risk it all. The twelve disciples and the seventy two disciples were sent out to heal the sick and teach people about the Kingdom of God. Instead of doubting, they simply believed the words of Jesus and moved forward.
As quickly as possible, set your foundation in place. By faith, trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Then, spend your time bringing healing to people. The healing needs to be physical, emotional, mental, and relational. Then, teach people about God’s Kingdom. John Wimber had called this “doing the works of Jesus, and teaching His words.”
This is how we are to move forward. If we don’t, we risk everything.
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