“For the LORD gives wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.  He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.  He keeps the paths of judgment, and preserves the way of His saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom enters into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.”  Proverbs 2:6-11
 
It is a custom at this time of year to assign new leadership roles within businesses, organizations, and churches for the upcoming year. So, keep in mind that, although taking on a leadership position requires independent judgment, it shares an intricate dependence on recognizing the gifts, talents, and leadership skills of others in order to complete the task at hand. It requires the ability to understand your limitations, surrounding yourself with others who are not afraid to tell you when you have erred in judgment, or when your ego has superseded your talent. And, it is important to have core managers that have been empowered to speak to you in truth, without fear of retaliation.  
For those leaders who cannot comprehend this, disaster is always the outcome.      

The "ego" issue is especially important if not harnessed in truth. It can spiral into a wicked tornado tearing apart any entity, whether it is a nation, a business community, or a church organization.  True leadership has less to do with the leader, and more to do with the task or mission the leader has been given to carry out.  We know this is true because, the Bible chronicles all types of people who appear unqualified to lead others in a specific task. i.e., Moses as a keynote speaker, stuttered; David was too young to go into battle; and, Paul had persecuted the very people he was later sent to lead.  God can use anyone! —From a small child, in 1 Samuel 2:18; to a donkey, in Numbers 22:28-31, to convincingly reposition your ego and bring you back on track. 

If you are a leader who has not surrounded yourself with managers who can tell you the truth, without fear of persecution or retaliation, you are setting yourself up for failure.  And, the "truth" will eventually come from others outside the idyllic cocoon you have created, puncturing gaping holes in your leadership abilities.  If your "ego" cannot handle truth, and you fear hearing the truth of a given issue somehow damages you personally, then it is possible that you need to ask yourself if you are really ready to take on the responsibility for the task at hand.   L.

​Study Reference: Proverbs 2:6-11
From: "Ardent Leadership." In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions For Everyday Living. 
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell

“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous; not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”  1 Peter 3:8-9
 
Several years ago I watched as ABC’s Nightline featured  a story about Mitch Albom and his book, Tuesdays with Morrie.  Mitch Albom, an acclaimed writer for the NY Times and a former student of Morrie Schwartz, learned that his former sociology professor was dying from a type of sclerosis called ALS.  It appears ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) slowly robs the body's motor functions until the entire body finally shuts down. When the series began, Morrie could move his upper body; by the time the series ended, he could barely move his lips to speak. 
The book chronicles the final two years of his life and the wisdom he imparts to his former student. The series, like the book, is extremely emotional; and, throughout the series Morrie explains his own emotional turmoil concerning his imminent death.  

Here's the thing I found compelling. During one of the final segments of the broadcast series, Mitch Albom asks Morrie, “What is the one thing you feel people should know?”  He thought for a second and said, “Be compassionate.” As I sat listening to the broadcast, I thought about the brilliance in the statement! Have more compassion for each other. It is a simple statement; yet, oftentimes we find it difficult to do.

Some of us confuse compassion with love. Compassion is not like love.  Love is intrinsic unto itself; you either have it or you don't.  Compassion however, can be acquired.  It is complete empathy. The understanding that you may not like the person, or their viewpoint, or their religion, or their accent, or their country, or their ...whatever; but, somehow you can offer them a glass of water when they are thirsty, food when they are hungry, and help when they cannot help themselves. Compassion compels us to make an empathetic connection between our worse enemy and ourselves.  

Morrie’s statement was one of the last things he was able to say before his death. 

Compassion, a word found 41 times in our Bible from Exodus to Jude, offers a slight glimpse into the very Spirit of God; the very Heart of Jesus Christ.  Shouldn't we at least try to offer as much of it as possible?  L. 

Study Reference: 1 Peter 3:8-9, Psalm 78:38-39
From: "Compassion." In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions For Everyday Living. 
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell

“If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”   John 15:7
 
By nature I am an optimist; I really believe just about anything is possible! God has brought me through too many things for me to believe anything else. I am fascinated every time I board an airplane, recalling the story of Wilbur and Orville Wright, the two brothers who, through their bicycle engineering skills, developed the first airplane to actually take flight in the United States.  Because of their quest, millions fly daily in planes weighing more than 100 tons. If you ever stop and really think about the concept of one hundred tons easily and swiftly zipping through the air, it becomes increasingly simple to dismiss the notion of an "impossible task."  There's more. 

What about your cell phone, internet, flat screen television, and all those wireless devices, quietly emitting signals, so communication can be instantaneous; it wasn’t that long ago that these things did not exist.  In medicine, we can look at the breakthroughs in laser eye surgery, where almost instantaneously, the eye heals itself, allowing the patient to miraculously see without glasses. Not to mention, the human body itself; a vessel God designed so exquisitely that even large quantities of poisons have to work really hard just to kill us. The Bible has already told us, there are no impossible tasks. All things are possible through God. (Matthew 19:26)

All things are possible through God, was the thought I had after reading Mark 6:37. It is where the disciples come to Jesus, asking Him to send the five-thousand people, who had been rapt by His teachings all day, into the villages to buy something to eat.  Jesus responds by telling His disciples, “Give ye them to eat.”  It is possible that the disciples, even after being with Jesus for some time, didn’t really understand that He wanted them to believe in the power of God as He did. You can’t really blame them for not understanding that they, through their belief in God, could feed the 5000 people who had followed them and stayed to hear the teachings of Jesus. 

If it were to happen today, even the most die-hard Christian optimist would still send the multitudes into town to feed themselves. Why would we really believe we have the power to transform the lives of 5000 people? To actually feed them?   I believe the notion of “feeding” is key. When Jesus was admonishing Peter, He asked, “Lovest thou Me?” When Peter replied, Jesus charged him by saying “Feed My sheep.” (John 21:15-17)   In our prayers we say, “Our Father which art in heaven ...give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:9-11)

To feed someone is a metaphor for teaching, training, and/ or mentoring, so they can be nourished, full and satisfied.  Whether you are getting your Daily Bread through a Bible study class, church sermons, or, reading the Bible on your own under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; as a Christian, Jesus expects for you to be fed and to feed others.  He expects for you to know that no task is impossible if you believe in Him. 
Impossibility is not a word for God; it should not be a word for us!   L.

Study Reference: John 15:5-7
From: "Believing In The Impossible." In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions For Everyday Living. 
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek Me, and find Me when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.”      Jeremiah 29:11-13 

 
American writer, Henry David Thoreau, was born in 1817. He wrote in an era when the male majority literally had all the privileges of a new independence. Yet, he is credited with the quote: “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”  Thoreau wrote this statement contemplating his own personal understanding of quiet desperation and that of mankind. 

At some point in our lives, we all suffer from secretly living in quiet desperation. For most of us, it occurs when we believe we are not fulfilling, or have no hope of realizing our God-given potential.  For others, it is their full acceptance of mediocrity, both in themselves and others. It is safer to continue in the mundane routine of our daily lives, than to take the risk of the unknown; to break free of the quiet unlit embers that have somehow quelled the fire in our souls. 

In today’s verse, God reminds us that no matter how dismayed we become, His thoughts towards us are of Divine love and complete peace. No matter how discouraging our circumstances, when we call on the name of Jesus, the verse says, He will hear our plea and respond. There is absolutely no reason to go through your life in quiet desperation. At some point, you will have to really believe that God values your life’s potential.  After all, He was the one who placed it in you to begin with. 

Take the time to really read your Bible; it was created to inspire deep internal thought about your life in relation to God. Use it as the ultimate tool to guide you in understanding the God-given potential for your life. Pray for guidance to alleviate any inner doubts so that you can internalize the depth of God’s love towards you. Continue to write down your thoughts as you read. It will recalibrate your thinking to foster action, helping you to develop a keen awareness of your life’s purpose, and eliminate that quiet desperation. Believe that God values your life’s potential, because the contrary would be to agree with Thoreau, and, go to the grave with your song still inside you.  L. 

Study Reference: Jeremiah 29:11-13   
From: "Quiet Desperation." In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions for Everyday Living. 
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell
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