From the Desk of Pastor Brandon

Good morning, Reader,

Our world can be very relentless these days. There are high demands on everything we do, and it feels like the margin for error is so narrow.

We often translate that into our relationship with God and how we interact daily with Jesus. The pressures of this life, and sometimes our experiences in church, can make us feel as though we aren't doing enough, sacrificing enough, serving enough, being good enough, or anything else enough.

After enough time, we can buy into this lie that Jesus is disappointed in us because we aren't measuring up to what He has called us to be and are diminishing His sacrifice and love in our lives.

Well, I want to remind you, today, of Ephesians 2:4-5. It says,

The plan was never for us to be enough of anything. You are already enough because you were created in His image and walk in His creation. You are already enough because you are His child, and He has made the choice to love you before you ever had a chance to try to be enough.

You are enough because of His great love for you. You are enough because He has chosen to extend the rich mercy He has to you. Your value and worth to Jesus have not increased because you said a salvation prayer or responded to an altar call. Your value was just as high then as it is now.

Our relationship with Jesus is not about gaining His favor and love. We have had that since before we drew our first breath. Our relationship with Jesus is about Him lavishing His love and mercy on us, and us walking in the confidence and security of that love and mercy.

If you are starting today down, frustrated, feeling unworthy, or as though you aren't enough, I want to encourage you to read Ephesians 2. Let the truth of His love and mercy wash over you as you go about your day. :)

For Disciples of Jesus

For Pastors and Church Leaders

As pastors and ministry leaders, our calling is to provide spiritual leadership in various capacities to the people God has entrusted to us.

The difficulty comes in when we struggle with our own confidence. It is difficult to effectively lead God's people when we are compensating for a lack of confidence. We find ourselves fighting for recognition, looking for value and worth from our congregants, or looking for validation from anyone who will give it to us.

I believe this is why we are seeing so many pastors looking to make a name for themselves, failing to lead their people in biblical truths, and falling into moral failures.

Our confidence can be an elusive thing if we don't understand the building blocks that make our confidence possible.

The keys to each of us walking in confidence and serving in our roles as effective spiritual leaders is knowing

1. Ourselves
2. The Holy Spirit
3. Our calling

Knowing ourselves from Jesus' perspective allows us to now be defined by anything outside of His love, mercy, and design.

Knowing the Holy Spirit provides us with clarity in our decisions and the direction we are going.

Knowing our calling provides the framework we need to live a life that is meaningful and fulfilled.

When these three anchor points are secured in our lives, we are able to walk with the confidence we long for, and that our followers wish we had.

This week, spend time asking yourself, how well you know yourself, the Holy Spirit, and your calling. Go as far as to writing down each of them in a phrase or two. This may provide you with the clarity you need to reclaim your confidence and walk in spiritual leadership in a brand-new, more effective way.

Serving With You,