Pathways Press.com

Written by the Lead Like Jesus team, an organization founded by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges that promotes a transformational leadership model based on following Jesus.

The condition of our hearts is often revealed in unexpected moments. Delays happen, things don’t go our way, change is sprung upon us. What comes out of us at times like these—groans, complaints, and resentment? Or do we take a deep breath and adopt a Christ-like attitude by trusting that God is in control and is at work in all things. Choose to look at life through Jesus’ eyes and receive what He has for you, especially when things don’t appear to be going your way.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything [James 1:2-4]

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Written by Richard Foster, a contemporary author and speaker. This is an excerpt from his work “Letter to My Younger Self.”

You are trying too hard to be heroic in the spiritual life. Friendship with Jesus does not come by gritting your teeth but by falling in love. So, I would urge you to relax a bit, learn to be playful, and by all means, laugh a lot. And, on occasion, follow the wisdom of Psalm 150 and break out the lute and the harp, the tambourine and the pipe, the clanging cymbals and the loud clashing cymbals, and throw a party in the presence of the Lord.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. [Psalm 150:6]

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Written by Timothy Keller (1950-2023), an American pastor, speaker, and author.

Discipleship is not just a matter of bending your will to Jesus’ will; it’s melting your heart into a whole new shape. A disciple is not someone who simply sets a new priority; a disciple finds a new identity… He’s talking—pretty radically—about the psychological, inner life. “Your old way of having an identity, of gaining a sense of self, has got to end. In a sense you have to die to it. And Jesus can give you a whole new identity. You’ll get a whole new true self.”… Others have also noted our obsession with finding and fulfilling your deepest desires as the main thing you’re supposed to do in life. It almost seems that Jesus has us in mind when he says, “You’re never going to find out who you really are by trying to find out who you really are. You’re going to have to lose yourself in serving me.” Some things happen only as a byproduct, and identity is one of them… But you can’t change your identity by just deciding. It’s not an act of the will. A person can’t just say, “You know, I’m having a problem in my life because I built my identity on my parents’ expectations. I think I’ll build my identity on my career and accomplishments.” You can’t do that! That’s not transformation; that’s acting. Your heart is not a computer in which you can just install a program. There’s only one way that the root of your personality can be changed, and that is by an experience of love. Only when your heart experiences love from a new source beyond anything it’s ever known before will your heart start to move toward that source, and begin to be deeply changed.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? [Luke 9:24-25]

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Written by A.B. Simpson (1843-1919) a Canadian preacher, theologian, and author.  This is an excerpt from his book “Days of Heaven Upon Earth.”

Some of us are shivering and wondering why the Holy Spirit does not fill us. We have plenty coming in, but we do not give it out. Give out the blessing that you have, start larger plans for service and blessing, and you will soon find that the Holy Ghost is before you, and He will present you with blessings for service, and give you all that He can trust you to give away to others. There is a beautiful fact in nature which has its spiritual parallels. There is no music so heavenly as an Aeolian harp, and the Aeolian harp is nothing but a set of musical chords arranged in harmony, and then left to be touched by the unseen fingers of the wandering winds. And as the breath of heaven floats over the chords, it is said that notes almost Divine float out upon the air, as if a choir of angels were wandering around and touching the strings. And so it is possible to keep our hearts so open to the touch of the Holy Spirit that He can play upon them at will, as we quietly wait in the pathway of His service.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his inner being shall flow rivers of living water [John 7:38]

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Written by Mark D. Roberts, a contemporary writer.

When I was a teenager, I wanted to figure out God. I thought that if I worked hard enough and was completely logical, then everything about God would ultimately make sense to me. In retrospect, I think my desire to know God was laudable, but my expectations were naïve. I didn’t take into consideration my own limitations as a human being and God’s unlimited nature. Nor did I account for how sin gets in the way of our knowing God. Over time, I have come to realize that, although there are many things we can know about God because they have been revealed to us, our understanding has limits…God’s ways are often mysterious. Sometimes they are gloriously mysterious. Sometimes they are frustratingly mysterious. For example, when God allows the innocent to suffer, when God fails to act in ways that would seem to highlight God’s own glory, and when God appears to say “no” to our fervent prayers, we struggle to accept God’s inscrutability. It’s not just that we can’t understand God’s ways. Part of us doesn’t like them!  Yet, the greatest mystery of God’s nature leads us not to exasperation but to exaltation. I’m talking about the wonder of God’s grace, God’s limitless mercy, and unfathomable love. The more we reflect upon the mind-blowing goodness of God, the more we’ll echo the words of Paul in Romans 11:33: “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” For Paul, as for us, the mystery of God’s grace leads to astonished praise.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. [Isaiah 55:8]

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Written by Kyle Norman, a contemporary rector, writer, and speaker. 

Are you struggling to feel forgiven?  Look to Jesus. It can be hard sometimes to turn off the voice inside us that says we haven’t earned our forgiveness. After all, we live in a world that tries to rank and file everything and everyone.  We live in a world of merit and earning, one that says, “What goes around comes around,” and “You get what you deserve.” But Jesus reminds us that God’s love isn’t based on worldly principles. Jesus offers us a vision of hope and grace. You need not question your forgiveness. Like a Sentinel looking toward the horizon in the eager anticipation that the dawn will come just as it always does, you can live your lives in the assurance of God’s forgiveness, love, and redemption. Because all those things are held in the crucified hands of Jesus. 

If you O Lord kept a record of our sins, O Lord who could stand. But with you there is forgiveness, so you are to be feared.” [Psalm 130:3-4]

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Written by the Lead Like Jesus team, an organization founded by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges that promotes a transformational leadership model based on following Jesus.

Criticism is a given in life and leadership. When we focus on exalting ourselves, boasting of who we are and what we have done, criticism is sure to catapult us into distress. Humble leaders, confident in their identity, security, and significance in God, are increasingly able to receive and evaluate feedback, whether positive or negative. Paul’s criticism of Peter was aimed at reminding Peter to live by the truth of Christ so that others would not be led astray. Let criticism shape you to be more like Jesus for the benefit of those you influence.

But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.  [Galatians 2:11]

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Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. This is an excerpt from his work “God’s Story, Your Story.”

You are in the hands of a living, loving God. Random collection of disconnected short stories? Far from it. Your life is a crafted narrative written by a good God, who is working toward your supreme good. God is not slipshod or haphazard. He planned creation according to a calendar. He determined the details of salvation “before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20). The death of Jesus was not an afterthought, nor was it Plan B or an emergency operation. Jesus died “when the set time had fully come” (Galatians 4:4), according to God’s “deliberate plan and foreknowledge” (Acts 2:23). God isn’t making up a plan as he goes along. Nor did he wind up the clock and walk away. “The Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will” (Daniel 5:21). He “executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another” (Psalm 75:7). “The Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intentions of his mind” (Jeremiah 30:24). Look at those verbs: God rules, sets, executes, accomplishes. These terms confirm the existence of heavenly blueprints and plans. Those plans include you. “In him we were also chosen, . . . according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). This discovery changes everything!

But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. [Jeremiah 20:11]

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Written by Phil Rehberg, a contemporary lawyer and author.  This devotion was adapted from the classic work “The Imitation of Christ.”

At first, solitude may feel monotonous or like a heavy burden. If you patiently practice it, in time you will know the benefits of solitude; it will be close friend. Then your soul has developed an important spiritual affection…One of the important benefits of solitude is that we learn to take our sins seriously and view them as God does. If we tend to overlook our sins, solitude gives us time to feel the proper remorse… One of the best benefits of solitude is that it fortifies us against all the worldly influences constantly pressing in on us. They come from every direction, even when least expected. If we have developed a heart bonded to God – through solitude – we will find strength to resist the small temptations that present themselves each day. In solitude we remember that the distractions of the world will all turn to dust. They are just pointless pursuits. Worldly distractions rob us of our peace. In solitude we find the deep peace we long for, even if we find it just one step at a time.  

I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. [Psalm 119:15]

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Written by Brian Morykon, a contemporary writer.

There is a time for focus. A time for deep work and Do Not Disturb.  A time to stick to the schedule. But a mark of spiritual maturity is being interruptible and having a willingness to do menial things. “It is a strange fact,” writes Bonhoeffer, “that Christians and even ministers frequently consider their work so important and urgent that they will allow nothing to disturb them. They think they are doing God a service in this, but actually they are disdaining God’s ‘crooked yet straight path.’” I once shared an office with a pastor for three weeks, where the door stayed open most of the day. When a person popped in unannounced, which happened often, the pastor turned from the computer and offered full-presence listening without an ounce of irritation. That willingness to attend to small matters with great care was to me a sign and a wonder. Anyone with a job or a family knows there are limitless opportunities to serve others through small things—few things shape a soul like dishes and diapers.  For those who crave recognition, writes Richard Foster, “nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness.”  On the other hand, those who fear recognition—perhaps both fear and crave it—may try to avoid the pitfall of human praise by only serving in small ways, even when God invites them into more public service. Obscurity or visibility is not the goal. Love is the goal. Jesus is the goal. We follow him wherever he leads, serving people in small things, and maybe even in great ones, too. So, Father, make us interruptible—not for distractions of our own making, but for the people you put in our path. Help us to do small things and big things with great love, by the power of the Spirit of Jesus who lives and works in us.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. [2 Corinthians 9:12]

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