Tag Archives: Christian Leadership books

Genesis 2:18 — It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.

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The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Genesis 2:18

The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) Here we are in only the second chapter of the Bible and already God is declaring that it is not good to be isolated. God in His wisdom of course knows that isolation is associated with all kinds of problems. In fact, according to the Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, isolation as a predictor of mortality is comparable with cigarette smoking — your risk of dying increases by 2 – 3 times if you’re isolated vs. if you’re socially connected. Besides mortality — depression, illness, and a host of other problems accompany isolation.

Your spiritual life is also very connected to the dynamic of isolation vs. social connection. Just watch the lives of those who attempt to walk their Christian walk apart from attending church vs. those who do attend. Pick someone you know who says that their way of connecting with God is through the enjoyment of nature, or by hanging out with Christian friends, or by self study. Of course there’s nothing wrong with any of those things, but, at the same time pick another who you know attends church, say, 2 or more times a week. You’ll find the difference in the depth of relationship with God between these two to be striking. By and large, you’ll find the church goer to be happier as well. According to author and speaker Dr. Kevin Gilmartin, those who attend church regularly are 40% more likely to be happy than those who don’t. (See previous posts: Congregate and Rest)

“I will make a helper suitable for him.” God’s desire for Adam was to make a helper for him because Adam alone can’t live the blessed life that God has in mind for him without Eve. Furthermore man can’t execute his part of God’s plan for mankind here on earth without women. God gave Adam His plan and agenda, but both Adam and his wife Eve are to work together, as a team, to live out God’s plan and to advance God’s agenda. Adam, the husband, has been put in a position of leadership and Eve, the wife, has been put in a position of service. Not that Adam wouldn’t serve Eve because any great leader will serve those he leads. (Traveler and the Chaplain, p. 56), But Eve has been formally appointed, by God, to be Adam’s helper. In the world’s view this certainly has a negative connotation, but in Gods view, in Christ’s view, the helper is esteemed highly for Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,

“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Mark 9:33-35



References:

Blue Letter Bible

Bible Gateway

David Guzik

J. Vernon McGee

Jon Courson

Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine

Kurt Bennett, Traveler and the Chaplain, p. 56, Enoch Publishing 2009

Genesis 2:16-17 — You will surely die

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And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

Genesis 2:16-17

It’s been said that with great privilege comes great responsibility. Adam was given the privilege of living in God’s garden, having dominion over all of nature, and living in fellowship with God. He also was given the responsibility to work and care for God’s garden, as well as the responsibility to obey God’s instructions to eat from any tree but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. With great privilege comes great responsibility, for Jesus said in Luke 12:48, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

And what a blessed life we’ll have if we found it on the acceptance of God’s right to rule over us, and if we choose to accept our obligation to obey Him. So much sin, frustration, and even rebellion stems from a refusal to live life according to God’s desires for us.

Now notice what God said regarding the tree of knowledge of good and evil, “for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Every single one of us will die. Not one of us will live here on earth forever. Let me speak plainly. You are going to die, and, because you know this with complete certainty, the only thing that makes sense is for you to accept Christ. Blaise Pascal, the great French mathematician, examined this question thoroughly. Reason together with Pascal and I as we examine what’s known as Pascal’s Wager.

Imagine with me for a moment that the Bible is false: If the Bible is false and you accept Christ, you’ve lost nothing. The outcome is precisely the same as if you didn’t accept Christ. If the Bible is false, whether you accept Jesus or not, you experience the same eternal outcome — when you die, you cease to exist.

However, if the Bible is true and you don’t accept Christ, after you die you’re spending eternity in hell — you’ve lost everything. If the Bible is true and you do accept Christ, you’ve gained eternity in heaven with Jesus. You’ve gained everything.

Even many of Pascal’s critics have explicitly conceded that Pascal’s wager is valid. (Mackie 1982, Rescher 1985, Mougin and Sober 1994, Hacking 1972) It’s not that life is so short, but that eternity’s so long.

What a great gift God has given you. He gave His only Son, to die for you so you can spend eternity in heaven with Him. He’s said that yes, you can choose to go to hell but you’ll have to do so over My dead body, over the body of Jesus Christ.

Listen to Pascal. Bet on Jesus. Ask Him into your life right now. Join Christ’s family .



References:

Blue Letter Bible

Bible Gateway

J. Vernon McGee

Matthew Henry

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Jon Courson

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

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Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

When I was in high school, in Wauconda, Illinois, there was a boy named Carl Shook in my class who had some type of debilitating disease that left him crippled. It also effected his ability to speak. Being the mush for brains high schoolers that we were, we loved to tease Carl about his body, his speech, and anything else we could think of. Carl was an easy target. In October, a month before elections would be held for Student Council government, I got the brilliant idea that it would be hilarious if I talked Carl into running for Class President. What a great joke on Carl, and on the Student Council system, if a cripple who had trouble speaking, were to run. Of course he could never win, but at least he’d campaign and the thought of Carl campaigning struck me as funny.

Carl, who’s mind was not effected by his disease, and who was actually very intelligent, loved the idea of running for office. So I became his campaign manager and we filled out the proper paper work to get him on the ballot.

As I spent time with Carl I got to know him better and better. And as I got to know him, as I recruited others to help in his campaign, as I designed and created Carl’s campaign posters, something interesting began to happen. Carl’s desire, not just to run, but to win and serve as Class President, became my desire also.

God’s hand was on that election, because, amazingly, Carl won! And after he was in office he took the job seriously. Carl Shook turned out to be one of the best Class Presidents Wauconda High School ever had.

When you spend time in close fellowship with God, when you delight yourself in Him, you begin a cycle of prayer that results in Him giving you the desires of your heart.

Why? Because as you spend time with someone you become more like them, you begin to share the same feelings, the same thoughts, the same desires.

As you spend time in fellowship with God, the desires of your heart become the same as the desires of God’s heart!

You get to the point where there’s nothing you want more than the same things that God wants for you.

Do you want your prayers answered? Spend time with Jesus.

  • Go to church
  • Read God’s word
  • Pray
  • Hang out with Christians
  • Worship Him, sing praise songs and hymns to Him
  • Take communion
  • Meditate on His word
  • Serve Him
  • Invest your life in Him

Hang with Jesus and watch what happens — “He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) For where you invest yourself is where your heart will be found. Jesus tells us:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21

Invest yourself in Him.



References

Bible Gateway

Chuck Smith, Living Water, p.84-85, Word for Today, 2007

Those Who Never Saw the Light of Day

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This man, who’s mother decided not to abort against the advice of her doctors, is Andrea Bocelli, an Italian tenor who has sold more than 70,000,000 copies of his albums. He is the greatest selling classical music artist of all time. He was voted one of People magazine’s 50 most beautiful people and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

How many great men and women has God sent into the world, who never saw the light of day, because a different decision was made? Men and women, who would have been even greater than Bocelli perhaps. Men and women who would have discovered the cure for cancer perhaps. Men and women who God sent to this world to bless us.

Choose life.

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:16

To see one of Bocelli’s most popular performances, view the video below.

References:

Wiki on Bocelli

BibleGateway.com