Proverbs 4:23-27 (NLT)

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead, fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

 

For the limited amount of climbing I have done, I have come to appreciate the importance of a good path for every hike or climb. You can get into a lot of trouble if you leave the path, or if the path you are on is not solid. So, what is the importance of a good path?

 

A Good Path is Important…For the Sake of the Journey – A bad path, or the wrong path, can lead to a journey that is more difficult than it needs to be. The risk of injury on a poor path is pretty significant.

 

A Good Path is Important…For the Sake of the Destination – The wrong path, or the wrong direction on the right path, can lead you to an unintended destination.

 

A Good Path is Important…For the Sake of Those Who Follow Us! –   If we are leading (and there are ALWAYS people following us), it is important to be headed in the right direction.  This is to provide a safe path for the people behind us.  They might not have the same strengths or abilities that we have; so we use turn signals, drive slower, and avoid “short-cuts” that they might miss.

The spiritual application to all this is pretty powerful!

 

A Good Path is Important…For the Sake of Our Journey!   We make things SO much more difficult on ourselves than we need to make them. The injury (pain/hurt) we encounter because of a bad path—or the wrong path—really ruins the trip most of the time.

Proverbs 4:26 (NLT) Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.

 

A Good Path is Important…For the Sake of Our Destination!   If our goal is to spend eternity with our Heavenly Father, then the destination (the place the path leads) is REALLY important.  It doesn’t matter if your INTENTION is good.  If your DIRECTION is wrong, you will end up in the wrong place!

Proverbs 12:28 – “In the path of righteousness there is life, but another path leads to death.”

 

A Good Path is Important…For the Sake of Those We Lead!   There are ALWAYS people following us, and we must be careful about where we are leading them.

Proverbs 8:20-21 (KJV) – “I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment; that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.”

Did you catch that?  “That I may cause those that love me… (those that look up to me, imitate me, follow my example, or come after me) …to inherit substance!”

A good path is REALLY important in every area of life, especially in church leadership!  We need to make sure that the path we are following is solid AND is headed toward our intended destination, or the health and well-being of the organization we lead will be jeopardized.

May God bless you on the path to health in your church.

There is—or at least should be—great encouragement in the knowledge that someone is praying for you. Add in the fact that the person praying is someone known for his/her great passion for Christ and His Church…and that is pretty awesome.

Such is the case in Ephesians 1. The Apostle Paul is sharing the fact that he is praying for the people of that church…ever since he heard about their faith in Jesus and love for God’s people. If that isn’t enough, what Paul is praying about for the people of Ephesus is pretty awesome too! Read this:

Ephesians 1:15-19 (NIV)

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

As Christ followers, and co-laborers with Christ, the prayer that Paul was praying for the believers at Ephesus, is also a prayer for YOU. It is easy to get discouraged when we think that no one notices what we are doing, OR that we are alone in what we are doing. Here in Southern Missouri, we DO NOTICE what you are doing for your church! And furthermore, you are NOT ALONE in what you are doing. We are ALL working together to see lives changed for the sake of Christ. Paul’s prayers for the church were RELENTLESS. Please know that our prayers for you are RELENTLESS too! Each week, our Southern Missouri District Staff gather to pray that you are encouraged, strengthened, and blessed in all you are doing to advance The Kingdom of God. Thank you for being RELENTLESS in pursuit of His call for your life!