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Bookends
How often do you see things you’ve never seen before? For example, the car you just bought is now all you see on the road even though you never recall seeing it before. The Bible can often be the same way. You read a verse or passage over and over and then out of the blue, something new jumps out at you. It’s one of the many things I love about reading God’s Word. My dear friend and mentor, J. Lee, often reminds me that, “We learn on a need to know basis.”
This happened to me when I was reading through Ephesians chapter 6, which includes the famous “Armor of God” verses that many of us have heard dozens of times. It starts like this:
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
If we break down the Armor of God, it looks like this:
- Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
- with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
- and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
- Take up the shield of faith,
- take the helmet of salvation
- and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
We have six ways to stay strong in the Lord! But look a little closer at what holds them together. The Truth from God’s Word, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God! I’d never seen this before and was blown away!
The first bookend is the belt of truth. A belt is designed to hold things up, like our pants or trousers. Back when the Bible was written, the attire was similar to a long sheet or robe, and the belt held up these long garments allowing people to move quickly without falling. How appropriate that we can use the truth from God’s Word to prevent us from tripping over ourselves. God’s Word is the source of truth for the follower of Jesus!
The closing bookend is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The sword is both a defensive tool and an offensive weapon. God’s word should be used to defend and take ground when our spiritual enemy is on the prowl.
As you see in this image, these books are held in place by bookends. The bookends represent God’s Word and are ways to stay strong. This visual represents our lives as leaders. We should have shelves full of books we’re learning from. These shelves are also full of experiences that have shaped us and education that’s prepared us. Those resources are powerful and useful, and God will use them as He sees fit. But what is mission-critical are the bookends that wrap around those books, experiences, and education.
As leaders, one of the most essential ways to scale up our leadership is to build a solid foundation on the Word of God. All our learning, experiences, and education must be running through the filter of the truth of God’s Word—the bookends. It will shape our perspective, and allow us to process the real truth of situations and circumstances. So when, not if, the going gets tough, we’ll be able to scale our leadership because the truth of God’s Word in us, and it’ll lead us to respond accordingly. God’s Word in us provides the biblical wisdom required to be an excellent leader.
God, I want Your truth to penetrate my heart and spirit. Speak to me and remind me to make the bookends of the Armor of God a regular part of my day.
读经计划介绍
Scaling our leadership is critical today. We must enlarge, magnify, maximize, and grow our leadership capacity to navigate our ever-changing environment. Rapidly evolving technology, changing employee/team dynamics, and shifting economics are just some of the issues we encounter. But don't think scaling our leadership is just for the workplace. We must scale our leadership at home and in our relationships. Dive in today to gain practical, relevant leadership insight.
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