Tag Archives: maintaining integrity

Understanding & Accepting Stewardship (Part Two)

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832225_lThose people who approached John assumed that the crowds belonged to John. If John had seen the crowds as belonging to him, then he would have automatically felt as if he was losing something. But this is not John’s perspective – John never thought he owned anything, and he certainly never believed he owned the crowds.

27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less” – John 3:27-30

John saw the crowds from the view point of a steward, and not an owners view point. The task of a steward is simply to properly manage something on behalf of the owner – until the owner takes back complete ownership. John knew that the crowds were never his in the first place – he knew he had been called to the task of managing the crowds until the real owner arrived, which in this case was Jesus.

This attitude is very different from that of Saul – Saul assumed that he owned his throne – he assumed that he could do anything with it and that the people were like chess pieces which he was free to move around the board as he pleased. This also meant that when things went wrong he had no where to turn to. Saul couldn’t turn to God because he didn’t see God as being in charge. People who feel they own something also believe they must hold on and protect it.

Instead of crowds we may have our careers, or homes, our talents, our health or even our finances. Do we feel we own these things, or do we see ourselves as being stewards of these things on behalf of the One who gave them to us. It is a very different thing to see myself as the steward of my family, or the steward of my property – rather than seeing myself as the owner of my family, my property, or my career. Being a steward means that I am not in a position to make decisions without first consulting the owner.

  • Driven people will only consider themselves – and this will often drive them to make bad decisions.
  • Called people are often more willing to lose things – and when they do lose things their hearts remain steady because they don’t feel they are losing something they own.

Driven or Called? (Part One)

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832225_lA few weeks ago I was reading a book about King Saul, a character found in the Old Testament section of the Bible.

One of the chapters listed eight events within Saul’s life that revealed he was highly driven. The whole chapter felt more like a rebuke, rather than a burst of encouragement.

 ’Point number one: A driven person is often satisfied only by accomplishment’

‘Oh dear,’ I thought to myself, ‘I see a bit of that in me’.

‘Point number two: A driven person is usually caught in the constant pursuit of expansion’

‘Oh dear,’ I thought to myself, ‘I see a bit of that in me’.

‘Point number three: A driven person will tend to be highly competitive’

‘Oh dear,’ I thought to myself, ‘I see a bit of that in me’.

The list continued until I found I had identified with nearly every point.

The next day I put the whole morning aside for some therapy. By therapy I mean a morning drinking coffee in Starbucks. I knew I didn’t start out this way. I knew ten years ago I was not a ‘driven’ pastor. I knew I began as a pastor because I sensed God calling me to do something on his behalf. The more I searched my heart the more I recognised times in my life when I had allowed external pressures to drive me beyond what God was ‘calling’ me to do. During my coffee and therapy my attention was drawn towards another character, this time a character found in the New Testament section of the Bible.

7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham – Luke 3:7-8

John the Baptist had the confidence and courage to tell fellow Jews that they ought to quit justifying themselves and face up to their need for spiritual and moral repentance. John never minced his words. He was a man you either loved or hated – and his head was eventually cut off by one of those people who hated him.

John is a remarkable contrast to Saul and you can see the contrast most when each of their identities and their sense of calling/job are under attack. Saul reacts violently, lashing out against his perceived enemies, when he became convinced that the preservation of his power and the survival of his position relied solely upon himself. But John is completely different. Watch John when the news comes to him that his popularity may be on the verge of serious decline.

26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him” – John 3:26

It is brought to John’s attention that the crowds are turning to Jesus, listening to his teaching and being baptized by his disciples – yet John remains calm.

親から子へのiPhone使用約束事

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  1. それは私が買ったiPhoneです。私があなたに貸してあげているものです。この約束事はあなたを縛り付けるものではありません。あなたを愛するよい親として、あなたを守るためのものです。
  2. パスワードは一緒に決めます。damians iphone
  3. 平日午前○時から午後7時半まで（週末は午後9時まで）貸します。時間がきたら、すぐに親に返却します。次の日までは電源を切ります。
  4. 親からの電話には必ず出ること。礼儀正しく受け答えすること。（「もしもし」、「はい、○○です。」など）また、友だちに連絡したい時に家の固定電話で連絡をするべき時間ではないなら、iPhoneで電話やメールもしないようにしましょう。親は子どもに社会の一般ルールを教え、そこで育てた良心に従うことや、友だちの家族を尊重することを教えましょう。
  5. 学校には持って行きません。友だちとはメールだけでなく、顔と顔を合わせて会話をすることも大事です。面と向かって言えないことは電話やメールでも言わないこと。
  6. もしトイレに落としてしまったり、地面に落して壊れたり、どこかに置いてなくしてしまったら、すぐに親に報告し、どうするかを話し合います。（弁償するかなど）
  7. iPhoneを使って人に嘘をついたり、悪いことをしたり、 騙すようなことをしてはいけません。まず良い友だちでいることを心がけて、そういう会話には参加しないこと。
  8. 公共の場では電源を切る、またはマナーモードにしておくこと。特に、レストランや映画館、教会、そして誰かと喋っている時には切っておきましょう。iPhoneを持つことによって失礼な態度をとることがないように気をつけましょう。
  9. 写真やムービーを撮る時には必要かどうか考えて、残しておきたいと思うものを撮りましょう。すべての瞬間を収録、保存する必要はありません。自分の体験、経験を大切に。それらはあなたの記憶の中に永遠に残るでしょう。
  10. たまには携帯を家に置いて出かけましょう。iPhoneがなくても物足りないと感じないようにし、楽しいことを見つけましょう。 窓の外を見ましょう。鳥のさえずりを聞きましょう。散歩に出ましょう。人と会い、相手に感謝されたり、うれしい気持ちになったりしてもらえるような話をしましょう。
  11. 流行りの曲だけではなく、違うジャンルの新しい曲を見つけ、視野を広げましょう。
  12. 脳を全く使わないゲームをするのではなく、言葉や数字を用いた、脳を使い考えるゲームやパズルで遊びましょう。
  13. iPhoneはすぐにインターネットが使える便利なものですが、それだけに頼り、何でもインターネットで検索して世の中を見るのではなく、あなたの周りで起こっていることにも目をとめましょう。インターネットを使わずに、自分の周り、また世界で起きていることを思い、考えることも大切です。
  14. もしあなたがiPhoneの使い方を間違えたなら、一緒に話し合いましょう。（一時的に取り上げるかどうかなど）お互いにiPhoneをよく使えるように一緒に学んでいきましょう。
  15. iPhoneがあなたの生活の中心にならないようにしましょう。iPhoneを使うのはあなたです。賢く使う方法を身につけましょう。
  16. ポルノ（性的画像・映像）を見てはいけません。 他人に自分の裸の写真を送受信してはいけません。（笑わないで。大切なことです。）いつかあなたが大きくなり高い知性をもったにもかかわらず、そのような写真をやりとりしたくなる時期がくるでしょう。それはとても危険なことで、あなたの青春時代、大学生活、大人になってからの生活をも破壊しかねません。とても悪いことなのです。インターネットの世界は大きく、あなたよりも強いものです。 そしてこれほどの規模のもの、またあなたの悪評を消すことはとても難しいことなのです。

The River of Life International Christian Church

Wear all of the Armour (Part Two)

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If we are going to ‘stand our ground,’ as Christians, then we need to recognize what it is we are meant to be standing up to: ‘Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes’ (.v11). The Christian life is not a passive life – it involves ‘standing up’ to the devil’s schemes. ‘The devils schemes’ can also be translated to mean ‘craftiness’.

Paul uses this same word, ‘craftiness’, in Ephesians 4:14: ‘Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.’ In this verse Paul stresses the importance of growing up and maturing as a Christian – no longer being shaken every week by every little problem or scheme which comes against you.

Unfortunately, there are people today who listen to television, watch movies, read books and talk with friends, but they cannot discern when something begins to move away from the truth contained within the Bible. However, a mature believer we will not allow themselves to be tricked or led astray by false teaching, by momentary pleasure – or other forms of craftiness.

Here is one of three things which will help us to mature as Christians and stand up to the devil’s schemes:

①   wear all of the armor

How can we stand against the devil’s schemes? By putting on the whole armor of God explains Paul (v.13). It is vital that we wear all of the armor God has given us, and not just some of it. If we don’t use all of the equipment God has given to us, then Satan will attack us at some unguarded place.  Christians can sometimes become complacent, and they fall into the trap of thinking they don’t need a certain piece of armor – they have that area of their life sorted. But have you ever noticed that when the great men and women in the Bible sinned, they always fell in the areas of their greatest strength?

□         Abraham’s greatest strength was his faith – this is where he failed. He lied about his wife (Genesis 12:10-20).

□         Moses’ was the meekest man on earth. But he lost his temper and hit the rock instead of speaking to it – then he took the credit for producing the water (Numbers 20:7-12).

□         Peter had plenty of courage. Enough to get out of the boat and walk on water towards Jesus. But his greatest failure was when he denied Jesus three times, in order to save himself (Matthew 26:69-75).

□         David was known for his integrity. He was known as a man after God’s own heart. But that was the very place where he failed. He moved into a double life (2 Samuel 11).

When you begin to believe that you have conquered a certain area of your life – you then forget to seek God for protection in that area – and that is the moment that Satan finds an unprotected spot and attacks. He often begins by getting the thin end of the wedge into your thinking – and then, little by little he taps away until those thoughts are big enough to cause you to crumble. Prayer and journaling are not religious traditions – they are part of the armor of God, and they help us to stand strong and stable during the course of our lives.

REMEMBER: You need a firm knowledge of the fact that God has removed all your past failures, if you are going to fight those feelings of guilt that Satan tries to place on your shoulders.

REMEMBER:  You need to value and maintain your integrity if you want God to raise you up into positions of leadership and influence.