Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

James - Integrity 

Integrity, what does that mean? Well, did you know that the word integrity comes from and has evolved from the Latin adjective integer? Yes, integer, meaning whole or complete. So, integrity means wholeness or oneness. I like how Pastor Rick Warren talks about this.

A lot of people think of their life like a pie, and the different parts of their life are the pieces of the pie. This slice of the pie is my career. This is my work life. This is my spiritual life. Then this is my family life…

Today, in multiple different readings, the thought and concept of wisdom and maturity came up. Today, reading James 1, the following verse from where I stopped yesterday is:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” - ‭‭James‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is a bold statement and a significant claim from James.

James - Just Do It

I learned something very interesting about the Book of James this morning. I knew James was one of the brothers of Jesus and became a leader in the church after Jesus’ death. But, I didn’t know much about the actual content of the book of James. Reading the NIV Introduction of James, I discovered that James decided to write down some of his best teachings and advice and send them to other Jewish believers in Jesus who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire. These sayings, quick thoughts, and random ideas formulated this book.

Psalms 28:7

Today’s verse is from King David, and it is a cry out to God for safety and security. The mighty and powerful David is looking to the Lord to be his Rock and his protector. We read right before this verse that David gives praise to the Lord, for he has heard his cry for mercy, and then we read our verse.

2 Peter 3 - The Easy Button

There are a few team members in our office that have the easy on their desks. If you have not seen them before, its a rather large red button that says easy, and when you push it, it says, “That was easy.”

To be honest, often, when I read about the Day of the Lord, I think it sounds like pressing the easy button. Here in 2 Peter 3, Peter is talking about the importance of the times we are living in, and the urgency we must have.

2 Peter 2 - Stop the Slander

2 Peter chapter 2 is a full-on assault of false teaching and teachers. Peter does not hold back, and it’s a strong warning, and then a brutal attack on this corruption and heresy. We live in a world today; not unlike the day that these words were penned, there is false teaching all around us. These few verses are bold, strong in language, and a warning I think we should not overlook.

2 Peter 1 - Never Stop Growing 

Yesterday I got through two verses, today we might get a little further into chapter 1. However, if you have been with me for any period of time with the journals, I dive into the chapter and just let the Word speak, and we go from there each and every day. I do try and gather as much context as possible of the text I am reading, but at the same time, I process it through the lens of what I am walking through and my current situation and how God wants to use His word to speak to me. It’s a daily journey and my journal. So, here we go into 2 Peter 1.

2 Peter 1 - Power of Vulnerability 

Jumping into the second letter from Peter, we are reading this letter written by Peter, who was imprisoned in Rome by the emperor Nero. Generally, the first letter Peter wrote to the churches in the Roman Provence was to encourage and assist them with being persecuted. This letter is a bit different, Peter understands his life is coming to an end, Peter will soon be executed, and he wants to bring clarity to the ministry of Jesus. These churches and the pervasive culture was navigating extreme false teaching.

1 Peter 5 - Lance Armstrong

Leadership. A word that seems to have a lot of definitions, and brings a lot of different thoughts to our minds. Last night I finished watching an ESPN special on Lance Armstrong. Most will know the name, and most will have a bit of context of his story. Lance, without a doubt, has to be one of the most gifted leaders and talented athletes the world has ever seen. The problem however is, much of his life and career was built on a lie and deception around the use of performance-enhancing drugs, and Lance leveraged his dominance in the sport to dominate his teammates, the sport itself and we saw it all come crashing down as his seven Tour de France victories were stripped from him.

1 Peter 4 - Grace, Glory, Grit

It’s incredible to me how different things in God’s Word just leap off the screen and speak to me at different times. It’s so easy for me to see struggles, challenges, and suffering as bad, wrong, or unjust, but that is not a Biblical view.