ACCEPTING THE PAIN!

Pain is part of the package of life. We can hide it or ignore it, we can wallow in it, or we can embrace it.
      Acknowledging and embracing pain are the skills of a spiritually healthy person. In Psalm 42, the psalmist comes to grips with his deep pain and discouragement. He remembers better days and describes the depths of his grief.
On several occasions, Jesus also acknowledged and expressed painful emotions. His cry of loneliness from the cross (Mathew 27:46) was the ultimate expression of his personal suffering for our sin.
    God wants to touch our spirit in the midst of our deepest pain & loneliness to bring comfort and hope. He is a loving father who grieves with us. His presence has sustained countless believers in times of suffering. Even when we can't feel him, we know God is near because he has promised never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5).
          No pain lasts forever. The psalmist reminded himself to hang on for the good times to come.  We, too, know that God will see us through to the other side, stronger and with even more proof of his faithfulness. Pain or struggle can be traumatic, but let's not be afraid. Jehovah is with us!
  Let us pray to God today, to grace & strengthen us in times of our struggles and pain IJN. Amen.
-Olu Akpata (Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

A RADICALLY DIFFERENT KIND OF LEADERSHIP.

From its central plaza the Romanian capital of Bucharest appears to be one of the richest and most magnificent cities in the world. Everything is built on a grand scale ,calculated to impress even the most widely traveled visitor. But a closer look reveals a tragically different reality. Behind the facade of grand public buildings, there are crumbling slums & crushing poverty.
   Nicolae Ceausescu paid for this "movie-set"  city by enslaving his people and robbing them of their dignity. As Romania'sCommunist dictator, he ruled for decades, becoming progressively more obsessed with his own power and reputation. Eventually, his people overthrew his government and executed him. Ceausescu's leadership style represents an extreme example of "the kings of the Gentiles"to whom Jesus refersin Luke 22:25.
Thankfully, most of the excesses of leadership we see today aren't so hash. But all leaderships are susceptible to the same human tendency to put pride, position and power before the good of the people they lead. Jesus observed this disposition in his disciples and countered it with strong correction. He thought them a radically different style of leadership, and more importantly, he modeled it for them.
      Although Jesus possessed awesome powers, he didn't use it to impress or lord it over anyone. He lived in quite the opposite spirit. Day after day, Jesus sacrificed his own comfort and desires to serve the people to whom he was sent. He wanted to show his disciples that leadership in God's kingdom was all about servanthood and not power.
     Yet after nearly 3 years of living with Jesus, the disciples still hadn't fully absorbed this important principle. As they were eating their last meal together,(John 13:1-7),Jesus humbled himself to stoop down and wash their feet. This act was dramatically inappropriate for the culture of that day. It embarrassed the disciples-but it helped Jesus finally get his message of servant leadership across to them. He concluded by saying, "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
We also will be blessed if we do these things. Those of us with leadership responsibilities now should be continually modelling our leadership after that of Jesus and other godly Biblical leaders. For those who are not leaders yet,the study of the principles of servant leadership could be part of God's preparation in their lives.
  When God does move us into places of leadership, we need to be on guard against the sin of pride. There is an element of dictatorial tendency in all humans,which only surfaces when we begin to think of leadership in terms of position, power & recognition. Those who lead with this kind of spirit will soon stir up jealousy, division and all kinds of abuses.
By contrast, "Jesus-style"leadership is humble, loving and focused on the needs of others. When we follow God's models, he makes us channels of his blessing to our families, friends, neighbors, communities and our nations at large.
  Let us pray in unison today as Africans (especially My 9ger brothers & sisters) to Jehovah for an immediate intervention into the hearts of our leaders.
May their leadership style begin to tilt towards "servantism" rather than dictatorship & oppressive rule IJN. Amen
   -Olu Akpata (Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

MIND TALK

YOU CAN MIND TALK YOURSELF OUT OF ANY BAD HABIT!