The Inspired Leader: 101 Biblical Reflections for Becoming a Person of Influence (24 page)

Then there was
Lazarus
. In the past, Lazarus had attended meals with Jesus, but we never hear about his having a positive effect on others. But he, like Martha, had experienced a life-changing encounter with Christ. Jesus had saved his life! Now people were placing their faith in Jesus because of what He had done in Lazarus’ life (John 12:11). In fact, now Jesus’ enemies wanted to kill Lazarus because the divine transformation in his life was drawing many people to Jesus (John 12:10). What a difference time with Jesus had made in Martha and Lazarus’s lives!

When we spend time with Jesus, we are changed. Scripture notes, “
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord”
(2 Corinthians 3:18). The longer we fellowship with Christ, the more we take on His character and perspective. His personality is so pure and dominating that to be exposed to them, our sinful habits and attitudes are quite naturally discarded. But the key is spending time with Christ. He was willing to leave heaven and come to earth to fellowship with us. He returned to Bethany though He knew His enemies waited for Him, to enjoy His friends. What are you willing to do, to spend time with Him?

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. Consider your service for Christ. Are you serving Him in the same way, and with the identical attitude you were last year? Or, has your service for Christ matured? Is your service bringing more glory to God than it used to?
   

2. Consider your witness for Christ. Are more people being drawn to Christ because of you than were previously? What might Christ need to do in your life so you became a more effective witness for Him?
   

3. The longer you are in Christ’s presence, the more like Him you become. Consider your current Christian character. What does it reflect about your time spent with Jesus? Do you need to invest more quality time with Him?
   

IN DESCRIBING THE deeper Christian life, V. Raymond Edman once wrote, “The deep dealing of God with his children varies in detail, but the general pattern seems much alike for individual cases. Into each life there arises an awareness of failure, a falling short of all that one should be in the Lord; then there is a definite meeting with the risen Savior in utter surrender of heart, which is indeed death to self. There follows an appropriation by faith of His resurrection life through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. As a result there is realized an overflow of life likened by the Lord Jesus to ‘rivers of water’ (see John 7:37-39)” (V. Raymond Edman,
They Found the Secret,
17). Edman traces the stories of Christian leaders such as Hudson Taylor, D. L. Moody, and Andrew Murray to see how God took their ordinary Christian lives and led them deeper into a relationship than most of their contemporaries had gone. It began at a point of absolute surrender where the individuals became convinced that there was far more to be experienced of God. Realizing that, they could no longer be content remaining where they were spiritually.

As we have seen in John chapter 12, Martha and Lazarus were friends of Jesus. But, after having spent time in His presence, both moved to deeper levels in their walk with Him. Martha’s
service
became more Christ-centered. Lazarus’s
witness
was magnified until many people believed in Christ because of what Christ had done in His friend’s life.

Also attending the meal in Bethany was
Mary
. Mary was a person of
devotion.
In a previous encounter, she had quickly found a place at Jesus’ feet and basked in His presence (Luke 10:38-42). It would seem that Mary had fully arrived in her devotion to Jesus. But as she spent time in His presence, she came to realize that there had to be greater ways still to express her love for Jesus. So she took expensive spikenard oil, and poured it on Jesus’ feet (John 12:1-8). This may well have been her most valuable possession. Perhaps it had been saved for her future dowry. Yet she spent it extravagantly on Jesus, perhaps lessening her chances of finding a respectable husband one day. Further, she humiliated herself by letting her hair down and washing Jesus’ feet. No dignified woman would ever let her hair down in public. Even Jewish slaves could not be made to degrade themselves by touching someone’s filthy feet. She had taken her devotion to an entirely new and unprecedented level that would be celebrated for over 2,000 years.

Each of these friends of Jesus had seen his or her relationship with Jesus deepen over time. But there was one more companion who is mentioned in this account.
Judas
. He had also walked with Jesus throughout most of His earthly ministry. He had spent more time with Jesus than had Lazarus, Martha, or Mary. Yet he had remained unchanged. The Bible says that rather than being impressed by Mary’s act of devotion, Judas grumbled about the extravagant waste. This was
“because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it”
(John 12:6). Judas had been a materialistic, greedy, thief when he began following Jesus and three years later, he remained the same. He had identified himself as a follower of Jesus, but he had never given his heart to his Lord. He had refused to change. His heart remained hardened and impervious to the Holy Spirit’s work. The result was disastrous.

Identifying yourself as a Christian is not enough. You must remain in Christ’s presence and allow Him to change you. How long have you been a follower of Jesus? Have you gone deeper? Or, have you remained the same?

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. How would you rate your devotion to Christ? Has it gone deeper? Are your worship experiences more powerful and deep than they once were? Do you enjoy Christ’s presence more than you used to? Or, has it remained the same?
   

2. Consider some fresh, new ways to express your devotion to Christ. Perhaps meet with Him in a new venue. Try reading a different translation of the Bible. Use a new devotional book. Try praying out loud. Write down your prayers. Take more time to remain silent and listen. Consider fresh, new ways you might enhance your devotional life.
   

3. Have you been in some ways like Judas? Have you been a follower of Jesus but remained the same? Do you have the same sinful habits and attitudes you have always had? If so, take time to fully surrender your life to Christ. Open your heart to Him so that when you draw near to Him, you are changed.
   

Lynda Pitts

CEO, Legacy Marketing Group

IN RECENT MONTHS, I’ve found myself increasingly in awe at God’s faithfulness. It is a marvelous mystery that God created us for His good pleasure so we can be in relationship with Him. He sent His Son, who knew no sin, to pay the price for our transgressions so we could experience a personal relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is truly too much for my mind to comprehend and is impacting me in a deeper way every day.

Maybe it’s because the world seems to be spinning more and more out of control—with the shaking of everything from the land itself to our economic structure—that I’m increasingly aware of God’s faithfulness exerting an increasingly dramatic impact on our lives. We’re blessed to have our Scriptures to study, with many examples of God’s steadfastness to his people: Moses, Abraham, Joseph, David, Ruth, and Esther to name a few. But to
personally
experience that faithfulness is something that continues to be truly life changing.

The faithfulness of our Lord is certain: “
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”
(Deuteronomy 7:9
NIV
).

But will
we
be found faithful by
Him
? The Lord says, “
I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is on my heart and mind”
(1 Samuel 2:35 NIV).

As a leader, how are you doing in your resolve to fight “the tyranny of the urgent” in order to press in and stay close enough to hear what is on His heart and mind? For me, I know that to be near Him is life itself.

Our faithfulness to the Lord has an impact on those around us, both believers and non-believers. As a believer (14 years), I have been impacted by the faithfulness of His saints, having witnessed

• Nancy, who prayed for her husband for 50 years, and who saw him accept Christ the year before she died.
  

• Kathy, who battled cancer for seven years, faithfully praying for her estranged husband, who returned to love and attend to her before she died. After she died, he accepted Christ, as he could no longer deny the love he saw in her and her Christian brothers and sisters.
  

• Two pastors, from different denominations, who 20 years ago began an interdenominational weekly prayer time to pray for one another and our city. Twenty years later, the Kingdom of God of the city worships together, prays together, and serves our city together.
  

I encourage you to take time to reflect on the Lord’s faithfulness and how it has impacted you personally, and to realize the influence of your faithfulness on others. Let us steadfastly strive to be the Lord’s faithful priest and to understand what is on His heart and mind.

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. Make a list of the ways God has demonstrated His faithfulness in your life over the past year. What does it reveal to you?
   

2. In what ways are you presently watching for and depending on God to express His faithfulness to you?
   

3. How does the way you are living demonstrate your confidence in God’s faithfulness?