Passing the Test

Here is a daily devotional that I found to be very interesting and informative.

Enjoy!

Passing The Test
by Os Hillman
Thursday, January 26 2012

"The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors - to David. - 1 Samuel 28:17b

When God anoints a person, a pattern of testing appears to take place at specific times in the leader's life. God often takes each leader through four major tests to determine if that person will achieve God's ultimate call on his or her life. The person's response to these tests is the deciding factor in whether they can advance to the next level of responsibility in God's Kingdom.

Control - Control is one of the first tests. Saul spent most of his time as king trying to prevent others from getting what he had. Saul never got to the place with God in which he was a grateful recipient of God's goodness to him. Saul was a religious controller. This control led to disobedience and ultimately being rejected by God because Saul no longer was a vessel God could use.

Bitterness - Every major character in the Bible was hurt by another person at one time or another. Jesus was hurt deeply when Judas, a trusted follower, betrayed Him. Despite knowing this was going to happen, Jesus responded by washing Judas' feet. Every anointed leader will have a Judas experience at one time or another. God watches us to see how we will respond to this test. Will we take up an offense? Will we retaliate? It is one of the most difficult tests to pass.

Power - Power is the opposite of servanthood. Jesus had all authority in Heaven and earth, so satan tempted Jesus at the top of the mountain to use His power to remove Himself from a difficult circumstance. How will we use the power and influence God has entrusted to us? Do we seek to gain more power? There is a common phrase in the investment community, "He who has the gold rules." Jesus modeled the opposite. He was the ultimate servant leader.

Greed - This is a difficult one. Money has the ability to have great influence for either good or bad. When it is a focus in our life, it becomes a tool of destruction. When it is a by-product, it can become a great blessing. Many leaders started out well - only to be derailed once prosperity became a part of their life. There are thousands who can blossom spiritually in adversity; only a few can thrive spiritually under prosperity.

As leaders, we must be aware when we are being tested. You can be confident that each one of these tests will be thrown your way if God calls you for His purposes. Will you pass these tests? Ask for God's grace today to walk through these tests victoriously."

Seven Lies Debunked

Here is a great home video for all of us homeschoolers who experienced people raising their eyebrows every time we said we were "homeschooled".

Enjoy!

An Astounding Statement!

A friend e-mailed me this excerpt from a speech that the Prime Minister of Great Britain gave at a public event which blew me away. If nothing else, this highlight's our country's shame for abandoning it's Christian foundation.

Will we be bold enough to proclaim what the Prime Minister of Great Britain was unashamed to admit?


Great Britain’s Prime Minister has declared of his country what President Obama has notably denied of his own. Speaking to an audience of Church of England clergy at Christ Church, Oxford during one of the many official events celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of Scripture, Prime Minister David Cameron (left) unashamedly declared of Britain: “ … we are a Christian country,” adding that “we should not be afraid to say so.”

While he quickly emphasized that he was “not in any way saying that to have another faith — or no faith — is somehow wrong,” Cameron nonetheless acknowledged that “the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today".

"He challenged his audience that biblical morals and values were something “we should actively stand up and defend,” warning that the “alternative of moral neutrality should not be an option. You can’t fight something with nothing — because if we don’t stand for something, we can’t stand against anything.”


Challenging the moral neutrality that has infected British — as well as American — society over the past few decades, Cameron declared that “for too long we have been unwilling to distinguish right from wrong. ‘Live and let live’ has too often become ‘do what you please.’ Bad choices have too often been defended as just different lifestyles.” But, he added, “To be confident in saying something is wrong is not a sign of weakness; it’s a strength.”


Cameron challenged that it is time for Britain to return to the Christian values which made it a strong nation in the first place, to “have the confidence to say to people — this is what defines us as a society, and that to belong here is to believe in these things.”