Pastor Chuck Pelham

Throughout Israel’s early history God had made covenants of blessing with them but they were always conditional.  Blatant disobedience would mean that the pleasurable aspects of blessing would be replaced by punishment.  The fulfillment of the promise could always skip a few generations of disobedient Israelites.

We find here in this portion of scripture that Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things that she once possessed.  God had given His people so many possessions and for centuries they had enjoyed the conquest of the promise land.  But now here they are in our text and have lost everything because they had sinned gravely and had become vile.

Great Conquests must be supported by Great Character.  Whatever gains we make we can lose in a flash, unless we simultaneously develop character to support those gains.  We all have watched over the years many leaders fall morally…in the church and in secular society.  Mainly, because their charisma (gifts) exceeded their character (moral infrastructure)…their gift grew bigger than them.

It has been said, “nothing is so hard to gain, and so easy to lose, as a good reputation.”  In fact the bible teaches us in Proverbs 22:1 “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches…” fame and popularity is fleeting.  What is a lifetime and what we should give ourselves to is the constructing of our character.  Only then we keep the gains of conquest that God provides.

• Most people see the talents and gifts but equally important is the solid character and integrity.
• Most recognize the product but equally important is the process that develops along the way.
• Most recognize excellence in performance but equally important is the excellence in discipline.
• Most recognize external appearances but equally important is the internal stability and obedience.

Character is what happens daily not in a day.  It’s never enough to just enter the land and have conquest but its God will for us to occupy what we conquer. 

Chuck Pelham

Sources:

Maxwell J, Thoughts on Leadership

Hayford J. W., “Spirit Filled Life Bible”

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Job 6 & 7

All of Job’s friends had their theory about Job’s troubles, but he simply asked them to check his life out and to point out any place where he lacked integrity.  Job felt so certain of the blamelessness of his own heart that he invited his peers to scrutinized him.  This takes a strong leader with strong character and a strong sense of security to do this.

I like the way C. S. Lewis said about this kind of quality, he said it was “Leaders with Chests.”  Lewis likened the properly ordered soul to the human body; the head (reason) must rule the belly (sensual appetites) through the chest (character and spirit).

The CHEST is the indispensable liaison between REASON and the APPETITES.  I call it the INTEGRITY CHECK.  Without a strong “chest” people would succumb to excuses, relativism, and compromise, Lewis went on to say that people with no character or integrity are (people) “men without chests”.

Job was able to invite his peers to check him out because he possessed the following;

-          Strong Security: He was emotionally secure enough to take criticism.

-          Clear Conscience: He kept a clear and sensitive conscience regarding sin.

-          Pure Motives: He refused to entertain self-indulgent motives.

-          Solid Character: He was committed to doing the right thing at any cost.

I encourage us today to be men and women who can lead with Integrity!

Chuck Pelham

Sources:

John Maxwell, Thoughts on Leadership

C.S. Lewis, quote

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Church in the Workplace

“While they were going out a man, who was demon-possessed and could not talk, was brought to Jesus.” Matthew 9:32

How many of us can remember that years ago, actually before my time, that it was not uncommon to have your milk delivered to your home. Doctors made house calls. And when you made a call to a company to discuss a problem, you actually spoke to a human being. Those days of personal service are gone, and if we are not careful, we will follow the same trend in how we share the gospel.

So often we are encouraged to bring people to church and of course we should.  Yet, we see no examples of where Jesus brought people into the synagogue to get them saved or healed. The miracles happened more often in the workplace because that was where Jesus could be found. Jesus had less response and found more resistance in the synagogue than in the workplace. He took the gospel to and modeled the gospel in the workplace. That is where the power of God was manifested. This is not to say we should not bring people to church, only that our priority should be to bring the Church into the workplace, not bring the workplace into the church.

Paul understood this when he said, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4).

Paul understood that it wasn’t words that impacted people; it was the power of God manifested through him.  When is the last time someone saw something happen through your life that could not be explained other than God working in your life? When you begin to see this happen, you will be modeling ministry as Jesus modeled it. You will be bringing the Church to the people, not the people to the church. I want to encourage you today to pray and ask God to make you a vessel of His power, not simply a vessel of words.  Allow God to use you were you are.  Your job is your pulpit…it’s the place where His power will be released to touch others.

Chuck Pelham

Sources

Hillman, Os, Faith & Works: Do They Mix?, Alpharetta, Georgia, Aslan Group Publishing 2000

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Hey Guys…some food for thought from my devotions.  Have a great day.

Proverbs 6:6, 9-11

King Solomon had plenty to say about a slacker (sluggard) or the habitually lazy person.  He makes a strong contrast between what I call the slacker with the ant, who works diligently during the summer to gather enough food for the winter (Proverbs 20:4).  He goes on to say and to describe the slacker as one who refuses to work hard during the growing season and so has nothing at harvest time.

Living here in sunny South Florida, we are an agrarian society with farming as our main industry and this is our harvest season.  I was reminded that there would be no harvest to reap if the farmers weren’t faithful at working hard when everything was out of season.  It’s because of their diligence in the out of season time…that makes the harvest what it is.  So in essence they are constantly at work in season and out of season.

I believe as the people of God we should be motivated the same way…the slacker in a physical sense does nothing for the world around them; they leave it unchanged.  The slacker in a spiritual sense is not any different; they leave the world no better than they found it, and perhaps a little worse.

When leaders become lazy and lose their diligence in doing good for God, they become spiritual slackers and worthless to the kingdom.  As I was thinking and writing this I thought that those thoughts were a little harsh until I read how Jesus put it in Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality), how can its saltiness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.” (AMP)

The point being made is that there’s just NO ROOM FOR SLACKERS!  Wise leaders know their time is limited.  They know they have no way to retrieve misused or wasted time.  Jesus said in John 9:4 “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”

Leaders must remain diligent in doing good and in encouraging others to do likewise.  So I encourage you today…keep doing the good work while it is day and while we have a chance to make a difference…let’s get after it!  Blessings

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Hey Guys…I was doing my devotions earlier this morning and thought that I would pass along some of the things that I was working on.  These are things that we need to continue to rehearse and practice as God continues to develop us as good leaders.  Blessings

Relationships

Proverbs 27:1-21

-          When people are Esteemed, Relationships are Redeemed.

o       Leaders understand that people represent to us our most appreciable assets.

o       No resource is more valuable than PEOPLE.  Therefore, people skills represent a leader’s most important attribute.

-          This text presents some fundamentals on relationships.

o       It teaches that if people are esteemed, relationships are redeemed.

o       Notice these key principles from this chapter.

1. Don’t brag (v.1-2) Leaders know and understand how little they get from self-promotion.
2. Don’t envy (v.4) Leaders sabotage themselves if their motive is to keep up with others.
3. Be forthright (v.5-6) Leaders don’t fear confrontation, but speak the truth in love.
4. Don’t forsake your roots (v.8) Leaders understand the power of relational heritage.
5. Stay focus (v.9-10) Leaders work at maintaining relationships and meeting needs.
6. Add value (v.17) Leaders sharpen those with whom they come in conflict.
7. Don’t be moved by flattery (v.21) Leaders stay humble or you will stumble.

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Hey Guys…as I was doing my devotions this morning…I thought I would share with you some of my thoughts from it.  In Galatians 6  Paul is talking about bearing and sharing burdens and taking responsibility.  Responsibility always begins at the top…therefore leaders must lead the way.  We must be ready to help restore others who’ve failed, guard against our own sin, help bear the burdens of others and at the end of the day stay humble.  This should always be our approach and attitude.  If not then we will always live in struggle because you can’t export what’s not been imported.  In other words it’s hard to live and demonstrate a life that we’re not living.  Here are a few questions that we need to be asking ourselves as leaders…

As leaders we need to be held accountable.  Therefore we need to invite others in our life to ask us tough questions.  Let the questions be an “alarm” to us to keep us on track.

1. Is my personal walk with God up to date?
2. Am I keeping my priorities straight?
3. Am I asking myself the hard questions?
4. Am I accountable to someone in authority?
5. Am I sensitive to what God is saying to the whole body of Christ?
6. Am I over-concerned with building my image?
7. Do I put more stock in “events” rather than “process”?
8. Am I a loner in my leadership and personal life?
9. Am I aware and honest about my weaknesses?
10. Is my calling constantly before me?

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Hey Guys…earlier this morning I was working on my devotions and was meditating on a few scriptures and wanted to pass along to you a thought about working with others and handling others in tough situations. I think sometimes if we’re not careful in handling tough situations we can press our agenda’s for the sake of getting a win under our belt but along the way leave a blood trail of hurting people who need to see the love and compassion of Jesus in their sin, pain, or even rebellion. Here are some thoughts to consider…about spiritual discipline.

- The true leader is concerned primarily with the welfare of others, not with their own comfort or prestige. They show sympathy for the problems of others, but their sympathy fortifies and stimulates; it does not soften and make weak.

- A spiritual leader will always direct the confidence of others to the Lord. They see in each emergency a new opportunity for helpfulness.

- Spiritual discipline is a responsibility of the leader, a duty often unwelcome. But every Christian society requires godly and loving discipline to maintain divine standards in doctrine, morals, and conduct.

- The spirit of meekness will achieve far more than the spirit of criticism. When approaching a disciplinary situation, work on remembering these 5 guidelines that may help keep motives pure and God’s presence tangible.
1. Conduct a thorough and impartial inquiry.
2. Consider the overall benefit to the work and to the individual.
3. Do it all in the spirit of love and in the most considerate manner.
4. Always keep the spiritual restoration of the offender in view.
5. And by all means and always…PRAY IT THROUGH!!

- Reference: Galatians 6:1, 2 Thessalonians 3:15, 2 Corinthians 2:8

Have a good and Godly day!!!

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