“Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God
thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and
took upon him the form of a servant…and being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross…. Be
subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and
gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of
God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
Featured Scripture: PHILIPPIANS 2:5–8; AND 1 PETER 5:5–6
Background Scripture: PHILIPPIANS 2:1–11; PROVERBS 18:12
To find true examples of humility, we don’t have to look to prophets,
disciples, apostles, or slaves. We can simply look to the Savior Himself. Christ
demonstrates how humility and selfsacrifice unleashes God’s providence and
power. Christ emptied Himself from His rightful place of heavenly glory and took
a frail human form. His humility...read more »
To find true examples of humility, we don’t have to look to prophets,
disciples, apostles, or slaves. We can simply look to the Savior Himself. Christ
demonstrates how humility and selfsacrifice unleashes God’s providence and
power. Christ emptied Himself from His rightful place of heavenly glory and took
a frail human form. His humility and obedience to the call of God
forever
changed the eternal relationship of man to God.
Honing our humility means becoming more like Christ. It means shunning the
outward trappings of power in order to more intimately know and love those we
are called to serve. It means subjecting our own ideas and good works to the
scrutiny and criticism of others. It means putting the rights and welfare of
others before our own. Honing our humility is a process whereby we constantly
resist sin and destruction through our pureness of heart and intention.
Leaders of faith must work at humility. Success and accolades showered upon
leaders can bring satisfaction and a sense of well-being. But too much
self-congratulation can bring overconfidence and pride. We can lose our mooring
to God’s throne of grace when our humility vanishes. Unfortunately, many leaders
must rediscover their humility through a defeat or setback. Misfortune and loss
of status are tools in which God teaches humility.
Honing our humility does not have to come through setbacks. True leaders of
faith can cast their crowns of success at the feet of God and lay all our skills
and talents upon Christ’s lap. Love and humility are inseparable. In love, we
lose ourselves as we serve others. And in service to others we lose selfish
desires. Honing our humility therefore requires that we love others more
intensely and serve others with greater passion. As we hone our humility, our
power and influence over persons and situations grow exponentially. Humility
disarms barriers and conflict. Humility does not suggest the lack of authority
or blessing; it declares and magnifies it.
Christ could have come to earth as a conquering king or upon the flaming
wings of judgment. Yet He came as a lowly child born to a virgin and grew up a
carpenter’s son. His stature and manner was humble and measured. But in all ways
and in all things, Christ was victorious. Christ showed us how to hone our
humility by pouring ourselves into the service of the Kingdom
with pure love
and purpose.
Throughout generations people have combed the Holy Scriptures in search of
meaning, purpose, solace and forgiveness. Its words give us new understanding
of creation, history, prophecy and revelation: therein, we find the promise of the
soul’s salvation.
But my own burden and calling that led me to the writing of this book,
Leading
From Our Knees, revealed to me that the Holy Scriptures are also the ultimate collection
of timeless leadership precepts. From Genesis to Revelation we encounter those many
reluctant and imperfect characters that God chose to become leaders for holy tasks.
God worked His providence and purpose through each of them and bids you also as a
leader in this time to become a partner in building the Kingdom of God.
read more »
Leading From Our Knees is a daily roadmap to guide you as you tackle the tasks of
leadership that God has given you to do. It will help you identify and understand your
own calling more clearly and help you gain confidence from the fact that whatever situation
or challenge you are going through in these days, the great saints of the faith
experienced also.
Leading From Our Knees lists for you forty-seven categories of the faith experience
with their corresponding lessons found within the book. Use this category listing as a
resource to assist you in your own special time of need.
Special occasions of the calendar-year are noted and cross-referenced by page number
so that you can find inspiration and new meaning for each of those notable dates.
Virtually every leader and supporting character of the Bible is portrayed through the
daily lessons and can be located through the character index in the back of the book.
Use this book as a teaching or study guide or as your own personal daily devotional.
Use it as a quick desk reference to help you confront and overcome the spiritual burdens
that will arise in the course of your own leadership responsibilities.
Each daily lesson has its own title and sub-title that will provoke your spiritual curiosity.
Every lesson is anchored in scripture. While the lessons were not written in
chronological scriptural order, they are listed in sequence by chapter and verse in the
book beginning with Genesis and proceeding through Revelation. This sequential placement
of the lessons allows you quick access to your favorite character, story or scripture
and gives you a chance to read a leadership lesson from all sixty-six books of the Bible.
Note that for each day’s lesson there is a written featured scripture and a referenced
background scripture for you to look up in your own Bible. By reading both the featured
scripture and background scripture for each day, you will substantially read through the
entire Bible over the course of the year.
The text of each lesson ties the scripture to an appropriate biblical precept and
leadership lesson of faith. At the bottom of each page is a suggested prayer that relates
to the day’s lesson. Allow this daily prayer to unlock the Holy Spirit’s voice within you
as you read it. Each daily devotional can be read in as little as five minutes or when
meditated upon and cross-referenced with your own bible, can be completed in about
twenty minutes.
The creation of Leading From Our Knees was God’s call to me and was written over the
course of six and a half years. Many days I felt as if God was the author, and I was merely
His scribe. As I studied and wrote, I could feel God extracting and intertwining the
lessons I learned through forty years of Christian lay-study with my own personal leadership
experiences. Insights for the lessons were drawn from my own leadership success
and failure as well as from my observation of the hundreds of diverse leaders that I have
encountered throughout my life.
I feel a kinship with so many of the characters and situations in the book. Some days
I am that fallen and repentant leader and other days I am the brave warrior equipped
with new hope and confidence. But in every circumstance I am a leader in constant need
of Christ’s daily power and special provision.
Often we are called to leadership battles for which we will never see the earthly
victory. Yet through it all we have a holy obligation to serve others. And as we serve others
faithfully, God affirmatively moves each of us into new roles of providential leadership
for Him.
We are all imperfect and fragile. We will fail and make mistakes, even as we disappoint
others and fall short of our goals. But we are capable of accomplishing so much
more than our human mind can comprehend. For the God who calls us to our task of
leadership is awesome, powerful, loving and redeeming. The Trinity of God is active in
our life today and can be found in every human event and circumstance.
It is through the actions of leaders of faith, great and small alike, that the holy work
of the heavenly purpose is unveiled. And if all that you do in your journey as a leader is
grounded in humility, devotion and pure love towards our Savior and His children; then
it will surely yield those fruits of eternal success and reward.
I give thanks and praise to God for allowing me to be part of this project. It was a
humbling and life-changing experience for me to be the vessel that brings Leading From
Our Knees to you today.
It is now my prayer and great hope that something in this work will comfort you,
inspire you and lead you towards finding God’s peace in your own life and leadership
journey. Let each of us as leaders of faith allow Christ’s love to be manifested in us so that
we can shower it upon others through our humble acts of service each day. Remember,
that as leaders of faith, we bring our sweetest praise to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
when we are obediently leading from our knees.