Called to Lead 2

Posted on by josiahkagin

How are you doing in your leadership? Have you been investing integrity into your influence at home and at work? Let’s add a couple more investments this week.

Invest Love—lets give of ourselves sacrificially for those that God has given us to lead. They need to know that we would do anything for them even it means giving up our own comforts.

Invest Service—we must serve those we lead. Not just out in public, but especially in our homes. This may mean we have to do things we would not normally like to do. Remember, Jesus came to serve. He expects us, as men, to serve others as well.

May God help us to invest love and service into our influence.

 

Called to Lead 1

Called to Lead 1

Posted on by josiahkagin

Recently, I held our first Men’s Leadership Night at Grace Baptist Church. It was a delight to share some simple truths to encourage guys in their calls to lead. I summarized the lesson in four short videos. I will be releasing them over the next several weeks.

Notice what God said about the prophet, Jeremiah.

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” —Jeremiah 1:5

For the Jeremiah, God set him apart and commissioned him to lead. In the same way, God has set you apart and commissioned you to lead in the roles He has given you. I would suggest that you take a moment to write down the different roles that God has given you, so that you can visualize your call to lead.

Be Friendly

Posted on by josiahkagin

be-friendly

We all want solid friendships. Research shows the quality of life increases according to the quality of our friendships. So, friendship really is important to our everyday living. The Bible helps us see that God created us to be relational. We were created for relationship with Him first and then with others. By the way, that order is super important! A relationship with God absolutely increases the quality of your relationships with others.

Understanding these things, many are left wondering why friendship and quality relationship elude them. Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, gave us the proverb that answers this question.

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly:
And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
Proverbs 18:24

If we want friendship, we then have to be friendly. This may not come naturally for you. In fact, you may really struggle with stepping out and being friendly. Maybe you freeze up and just don’t know what to say. Don’t give up! With intentional effort, you will find that you can show yourself friendly. I am going to pass along a guide for being friendly in conversation. It is not original with me. It comes from a pastor, whom I respect, by the name of Carl Herbster.

“How to be Friendly and Carry a Conversation”

F: family (husband,wife,kids)

R: roles (job,positions)

I: interests (hobbies,likes)

E: education(school,training)

N: neighborhood (where live)

D: denomination (church)

S: salvation (Christ)

Let’s seek to be friendly wherever we are and discover just how fun it is.

 

They are Watching You

Posted on by josiahkagin

they-are-watching-you

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called…” (Ephesians 4:1)

Paul, writing to the dynamic church at Ephesus, challenges believers to live in a way that becomes disciples of Jesus. Wow! That is surely relevant to our lives today! Sometimes I hear lost business owners relate their experiences of dealing with those who claim to be Christian. They will say something like, “They said they were Christians, but they did not act like it…they were just rude.”  It breaks my heart each time. My first response is, “Lord, help me to represent you in a way that causes the lost to want to be a Christian.” My second response is, “Dear Jesus, help us as your followers to get it together and represent.”

I challenge you to live this day fully aware that YOU are a representative of Jesus. How would Jesus respond to rudeness, to a life shackled by sin, a slow customer service line or an undercooked meal at the restaurant?

I challenge you to remember, they are watching you. Let them see Jesus.

Our Purpose

Posted on by josiahkagin

 

vision-night

This year, at Grace Baptist Church, we are our learning our purpose and priorities. More than anything, we want to accomplish the purpose that Christ has given us to accomplish. In Matthew 28:18-20 says, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” This is a huge, monumental undertaking! However, as one man said, “Through God’s power, our faithfulness is always possible.” We have a purpose and we must faithfully engage in that purpose.

This past Vision Sunday, I was excited to reveal our public church purpose statement. Our purpose is to engage in the complete fulfillment of the Great Commission of Christ through the power of the Spirit to the glory of God. 

During this first quarter of the year, I am preaching and teaching our priorities—how we will accomplish our purpose. I believe that accomplishing such a God-sized purpose requires that we plan and prioritize. You can listen to the message at our website, facebook or podcast.

Real Strength

Posted on by josiahkagin

Strength_Sun_Rocks.jpg

What do you immediately think of when you hear the word “strength?” Perhaps you think of working out and building up muscle mass and endurance. Maybe you think about emotional strength  found in a loving support system of friends. Some may equate strength as not showing any emotion in the midst of crisis. There are many concepts that come to mind.

I want to ask another question. Where does real strength come from? Would you consider and meditate on the thought that Daniel gives us?

Daniel 11:32 “…the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. “

Real strength comes from a personal relationship with God. A relationship that secures eternal life. One that bears you up through trials and distress. More yet, this strength enables you to do exploits, what seemed to be impossible before.

Let’s seek real strength in a daily, dynamic relationship with  God.