“And when the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes.” – 2 Chronicles 34:19

What a beautiful picture of godly leadership! King Josiah loved the Lord and had worked diligently to restore the temple. However, he simply did not know God’s Law. When workers found the scroll of the Law (likely Deuteronomy) and it was read aloud, Josiah recognized the many ways that he and his nation had fallen short of God’s standard and he was deeply sorrowful and afraid.

We all make mistakes and fall short of God’s standard from time to time even when we have the best of intentions. A critical measure of godly leadership is how we respond when presented with our sins and shortcomings as leaders.

Godly leaders won’t try to hide from their shortcoming, they’ll be sorrowful and repent. Godly leaders won’t defend their error, they’ll publicly acknowledge it and move forward. Godly leaders won’t seek to shift blame to others, they’ll take ownership of their mistakes, even those made in ignorance. Godly leaders won’t excuse their ignorance, they’ll admit it and learn. Godly leaders won’t seek to justify themselves based on their prior accomplishments, they’ll commit to change going forward.

Once again, we all make mistakes and fall short of God’s standard from time to time. In Christ there’s always forgiveness available when we confess our mistakes and ask for God’s forgiveness. We don’t need to dwell on, or be constrained by, the past. We must move forward in Christ with integrity.

“Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered.”
– Proverbs 21:13

It would be difficult to count the number of times and ways that God makes clear in the Bible that as His people we must have tender hearts and generous spirits toward the poor. We’re called to be abundantly merciful and gracious toward those in need. We’re called to be the presence, hands, and feet of Christ to those without. We’re called to be illogical, irrational, and over the top in mercy. This is God’s heart and we’re called to reflect His heart, not our own logic or opinion.

The reason for this is quite simple. We are each spiritual beggars crying out to God for mercy and charity. We have separated ourselves from Him by our sin, humiliating, degrading, and debasing ourselves. We are incapable of cleaning ourselves up and getting back into right relationship to Him.

Despite the fact that we are irresponsible, undeserving, filthy spiritual beggars, God‘s love and mercy are so vast that He sent His Son Jesus into our world to take our sin, guilt, and shame upon Himself at the cross. Because He did, all who believe in Him are cleaned up, stood up, embraced, and adopted by God. In Christ we’re no longer spiritual beggars, but adopted children of the King of the Universe.

God has shown us mercy to us in our deepest need and He expects us to be likewise overflowing in mercy and generosity toward those in need.

“So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.” – 2 Chronicles 30:10

When King Hezekiah led the recommitment of Judah to the Lord and prepared a great Passover celebration, he extended the invitation to participate to the remnants of the people of Israel. He sent messengers throughout the wrecked nation of Israel, inviting all to return to the Lord, to gather in Jerusalem, to come to the temple, and to worship God.

His invitation was not well-received. The people of Israel were largely uninterested in spiritual matters. His invitation seemed quaint, old-fashioned, out of touch, and foolish. It was considered ridiculous for him to even ask.

The gathering that followed was a powerful and joyful time of renewal and fellowship for all who participated. There was tremendous spiritual power and blessing in that celebration. Hezekiah was no fool for holding the service or for trying to call back the lost sheep of Israel. The handful that responded encountered God.

Fast forward many centuries… The people of God should not be afraid of embarrassment or humiliation when we invite people to join our spiritual lives and gatherings. Many will reject, scorn, or mock the invitation. But we know the truth of what we ask and God is pleased by our asking. Renewal and blessing awaits, but many will pass on the opportunity. We must accept that. We must not judge our invitation by the numerical response but by our faithfulness to the Lord.

“If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.” – 2 Corinthians 1:6

Suffering, grief, and pain are all part of living in this fallen world, which is beset by sin and brokenness. However, that doesn’t mean God doesn’t care about our suffering. He Himself offers comfort to His children, those adopted by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Our Savior experienced unimaginable suffering and promises that He is with us in our affliction.

Moreover, God makes each of us part of His plan to comfort others. Every Christian is called to be a comforter. As we have suffered and been comforted, we are blessed and equipped by our experience to comfort others amidst their suffering, grief, and pain. Our painful experiences prepare us to soothe the pain of others.

It’s no small task to enter into the pain of others, but as followers of Jesus, that’s exactly what we’re called to do, weeping with those who weep. We minister by our prayers, our presence, our tears, and our wise counsel. Our experience of God’s comfort opens doors for others to understand, seek, and experience His comfort. We’ve been called. Will you answer?

“But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” – 1 Corinthians 16:8-9

These verses highlight an interesting reality as we minister, serve, and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, namely that we don’t control the most important element of successful evangelism – the Holy Spirit. Though we preach, teach, proclaim, help, serve, and love, it’s God who opens the doors for effective work. We have work to do, but the fruit comes from the Lord.

At all times, we must faithfully serve as we’re called to serve, but we must be sensitive to when and how the Spirit is moving. We must not be too hasty to move on when the Spirit opens doors. On the other hand, we must be discerning about whether to stay the course or move on when the Spirit has not (yet) opened a door. Should we continue, possibly for years, or rethink our approach – only prayer can answer that question!

The process of discernment isn’t made easier by the presence of opposition. Whenever there is effective Gospel ministry, there is likely to be opposition. We must not become discouraged by that when God is on the move. On the other hand, we must always make sure the opposition we face is because of the message of Christ and not simply because of some deficiency in the messenger!