Posts Tagged ‘New Zealand’


“We are labourers together.”                                                           1Co 3:9

A cartoon shows an executive sitting forlornly behind a big desk. Standing meekly on the other side of the desk is a man dressed in work clothes who says, “If it’s any comfort to you, it’s lonely at the bottom too.” The truth is, you’ll meet lonely people at the top, on the bottom, and in the middle. Loneliness is not a positional problem, it’s a relational one. The Bible says, “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly” (Pr 18:24 NKJV). The saying, “It’s lonely at the top,” was never made by a great leader. Stop for a moment and think about that. If you’re all alone, nobody is following you. And if nobody is following you, you’re not really leading. What kind of leader would leave everyone behind? An ineffective one. An insecure one. A dysfunctional one. Effective leadership is about lifting people, not elevating yourself. And to lift people you must get close to them. As a leader you must always remember these three things: (1) To have credibility, you must make it to the top. Many folks are willing to give you advice on things they have never experienced, but credibility comes from paying the price to achieve personal success. (2) To have respect, you must acknowledge that you didn’t get to the top by yourself. Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest because he had the right team. You need one too. (3) To have fulfillment, you must take others to the top with you. “We are labourers together.” True success is shared success, and it only happens when you’re willing to invest in the lives of others.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/growing-into-leadership-1/


During Oswald Chambers’ service as a YMCA chaplain in Egypt (1915–1917), he touched the lives of many soldiers who died in World War I. On November 6, 1916, Chambers wrote in his diary: “We have a letter from a New Zealand friend telling us that Ted Strack has been killed. And so Ted Strack has ‘gone to be with Jesus.’ That is just how he would have put it . . . . [He] was a rough beauty of nature and of grace, a fearless, loveable little saint. Thank God for every remembrance of him . . . . So they are gathering one by one.”

As we grieve the death of those we love, we cling to Jesus’ promise of life beyond the grave. The book of Revelation records John’s vision of a great multitude from every nation, tribe, and language gathered around God’s throne in heaven (7:9). The overarching truth of this passage is a glad, eternal reunion when “the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd [us] and lead [us] to living fountains of waters” (v.17).

The passing of every believer in Christ foreshadows the day when we will join them with the Lord. In our sadness today, we are hopeful as we see that “they are gathering one by one.”

Beyond the sunset, O glad reunion With our dear loved ones who’ve gone before; In that fair homeland we’ll know no parting— Beyond the sunset forevermore. —Brock
Goodbyes are the law of earth; reunions are the law of heaven.