Lost Pages

The signs were sporadic, like an occasional wave that trickled further inland than the others, but eventually the erosion of Muriel's mind was too obvious to ignore. She repeated the same story to the same people, forgot to serve dessert when she hosted a dinner, jumbled the lines of the script on her radio show, and stumbled over Bible passages she once knew by heart. Still, her diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's shocked her husband, Robertson McQuilkin, who was in his fifties and president of Columbia Bible College. Robertson knew that Muriel's deteriorating condition would eventually require round-the-clock care. Should he retire from his flourishing ministry to provide that care, or should he put Muriel in a nursing home and carry on with God's business? Trusted friends urged the latter, reminding him that we must "hate" our wives for the sake of Jesus and His kingdom (Luke 14:26). Besides, Muriel would adjust to her new environment, and her slipp...

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. [Colossians 1:9-10] Paul wrote Colossians to a church he had never visited before. His purpose was to reassure them that the message of Jesus they had received and come to believe was the real deal. There was no need to look elsewhere or add to Jesus with other religious practices or rules. But how will they know that for certain?

We are all leaders in many areas. And even to our friends informally. Leadership is unavoidable. But how do we know whether we are taking our responsibilities seriously? The Bible is a manual for life and therefore it comes as no surprise that it has a lot to say about leadership directly through letters of Timothy, Titus, Ephesians and 1 Peter. But interestingly enough the overwhelming instructions are indirectly by people who modelled godly leadership leadership. One good example is Epaphras, the church planter of Colossae. Here is what Paul had to say about him in at the beginning of his letter to the Colossians :

Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people....A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days...When the wicked rise, people hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase. (Proverbs 28:15, 16, 28) Lesson: Morality of leaders matters for inclusive economic leadership. When you are poor, the last thing you want is a evil ruler with moral bankruptcy from head to toe. Application: This is exactly the position many poor countries are in. Poor people with evil leaders. Let us keep praying. Copyright © Chola Mukanga 2013

I find that mere change of scene always has a tendency to decrease my faith at first—God is less credible when I pray in a hotel bedroom than when I am in College C S LEWIS I think what he seems to be saying is that community matters for holiness. The more we grow deeper in fellowship with others the stronger our faith becomes. Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire. He breaks out against all sound judgment.

Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don't have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don't have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. JIM COLLINS The corporate management guru has made a gold mine statement! When I read this first time I thought it only related to national and boardroom matters. But as I have kept thinking about it this week, it has struck me this truth holds for every area of my life. It applies to personal, family, church and work life!