The Way of Jesus

This morning I was taken back by the daily Bible readings in Exodus 24 and 1 Thessalonians 5.  In the Exodus passage, Moses and his leadership team actually hang out with God!  Then, Moses gets some special time with God up on a mountain.  I read it several times and am still blown away by the interaction recorded!  

Then, in the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, he wraps up with a pretty powerful summation of walking in the light and following the way of Jesus.  Here is how the ESV renders it:

12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,[c] encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.  23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Lord, help me as a leader to encourage the idler, lift up the fainthearted, strengthen the weak and overall, be patient!  Help me rejoice always, keep to praying and give thanks always...

So help me God!

Recent books I've read...

I just finished reading Thomas Merton's book New Seeds of Contemplation which he wrote in 1961.  Among the many quotable passages, I really resonated with his thoughts on humility.  He wrote, "When a proud man thinks he is humble, his case is hopeless." (p49)  Not seeing one's own pride is dangerous indeed!

I also am in process of reading through J.R. Parrish's 2009 book You Don't Have to Learn The Hard Way which is written from a business man's perspective on success through great human relations.  Its a great perspective on how to be a person that other people are drawn to.  On being an unnecessarily difficult personality, he writes, "Generally speaking, if you are contradicting, you are losing." (p39).  He speaks of taking ownership of how you react to stress and to people - good practical stuff like:

• Be on time.
• Send hand-written thank-you notes.
• In the presence of others, turn off your cell phone.
• Smile.
• Return calls promptly.
• Compliment.
• Use people's names when addressing them.

And so much more...