Not all the crosses are on hills. And the heaviest cross that Jesus bore was not the wooden cross He bore to Calvary. A heavier cross was the fact that He was so largely misunderstood by those whom He sought to save. Jesus did not weep on Calvary, but on Olivet He wept!

His parting gift to the disciples was peace (John 14:27), but coupled with the gift was the commandment to love (John 15:12). This commandment carries with it several imperatives.

It is imperative that we strive to understand. "Love is kind --thinketh no evil--believeth all things--hopeth all things." Much of the beauty of our fellow beings lies undiscovered, waiting for our understanding to open the windows for it to shine through. Much of the strife that has ravaged the earth has resulted from misunderstanding. Most of our harsh judgments would be mellowed if we only understood.

It is likewise imperative that we strive to be understood. We owe it to ourselves and others to "abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22). The appearance of evil is often as deadly as the actuality, to our reputations, our usefulness and our aspirations. If misunderstanding provokes wrath, which "worketh not the righteousness of God" (James 1:20), a serious injury has been done, and the cause of Christ suffers.

It is imperative that we strive to be Christlike when we do not understand. Love is generous in its judgments. Perhaps our principal sins are sins of the disposition. Of these, none is greater than the sin of ungenerous judgment. It is far better to be too trustful than too suspicious, and far more profitable to the soul. Love is patient in its misgivings. What losses, griefs, and disruptions would be avoided by the exercise of love and patience in the face of misgivings!

It is imperative that we strive to be Christlike when we are not understood. To be misunderstood is the penalty of individuality. The strong misunderstand the weak; the rich misunderstand the poor; the old misunderstand the young--and vice versa. Yet, each one needs the other, and we must live together.

To be misunderstood is often a penalty of discipleship, and particularly is it one of the penalties of leadership. But to be Christlike when misunderstood is one of the most beautiful evidences of having been with Jesus.

Article by Lee Grady

The church today faces a serious leadership crisis. The only way to solve it is to embrace three forgotten virtues.

The people of Israel faced a leadership crisis during their sojourn in the wilderness. From morning until evening, dozens of people would line up outside Moses' tent to ask him to resolve a dispute. When his father-in-law, Jethro, saw the crowds outside his door, he pulled Moses aside and gave him wise advice that ended up being recorded in Scripture.

Jethro warned his son-in-law that he would burn out if he continued to govern the nation by himself. He told Moses: "You shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens" (Ex. 18:21, NASB).

In the middle of the Sinai desert Jethro taught the first management seminar. But his counsel was not just about the principle of delegation; he was also stressing the importance of godly character in leaders. In fact, he makes it clear that people who lack character should be excluded from leadership positions.

Jethro could have identified other qualities as prerequisites for leadership. He could have mentioned charisma, sex appeal, preaching ability, musical talent, intellect, organizational skills, business know-how, wealth, pedigree or high ratings in political polls. But none of those are God's requirements. Jethro mentioned three qualities that we desperately need in the church as well as in mainstream culture.

1. Leaders who fear God. A person who fears God lives in a continual attitude of reverence—whether he is alone or in front of a crowd. He is aware that God is watching his actions and weighing his words. Because this person cares more about pleasing God than people, he takes God's moral standards seriously—and he depends on the Holy Spirit to help him make right choices.

You don't have to look far to see that the American church has fallen short when it comes to the fear of God. In 2008 one popular charismatic preacher led a series of revival meetings and then ran off with another woman after four months. Another popular minister from Atlanta assaulted his wife in a parking lot and was arrested; after his divorce he cavalierly announced that he wanted a new wife who was "sensual." Another preacher in Baltimore fathered a child with a mistress and then bragged from the pulpit that he was "still the man" even though he had committed adultery. And one preacher in Florida carried on an affair with a stripper and then divorced his wife when she found out about it.

If we apply the Jethro principle, every one of these men should be out of the ministry today. The sad truth is they are all still preaching—and they have large crowds following them.

A person who fears God is never flippant about morality. Because he keeps his conscience clean he is immediately convicted if he makes an unkind remark, entertains a lustful thought or sets a bad example. He's also aware that if he doesn't quickly repent when he grieves the Holy Spirit, his conscience could become callous. So he regularly examines his motives, conversations, appetites and relationships to make sure he's not veering off-course.

God, give us leaders who fear You!

2. Leaders who tell the truth. In 2008 we heard the tragic story of Australian worship leader Mike Guglielmucci, author of the popular worship anthem "Healer." He told audiences that he wrote the song after he had been diagnosed with cancer. He even performed on stage with an oxygen tank while telling his fans that he was in intense pain from his treatments. But he admitted last summer that he made up the whole story to mask a pornography addiction. Today Guglielmucci faces a possible criminal sentence for fraud because he used the bogus story to raise money.

We live in a dishonest culture. The current financial crisis was triggered, in part, by people who lied when they applied for home loans. Bank executives have admitted that mortgages were even granted to people who worked service jobs and yet claimed six-figure salaries. When people who lied about their incomes couldn't pay their mortgages, they defaulted on their loans and the system imploded. The greedy financial sharks who sold those loans lied too. Now taxpayers are paying for the ensuing meltdown.

Our moral system will suffer a similar collapse if we don't return to truth. The church should set the standard for integrity—and that includes honest accounting practices, full financial disclosure and an end to the "evangelastic" stretching of the truth that is so common in our ranks. If we realized that heaven keeps a record of "every careless word" we speak (see Matt. 12:36), we would stop exaggerating our ministry reports.

God give us leaders who tell the truth!

3. Leaders who hate dishonest gain. Most of us breathed a collective sigh of disgust last month when we heard about Gov. Rod Blagojevich's outlandish bribery scandal. After being arrested for attempting to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat, the embattled Illinois politician dug in his heels and insisted on appointing state Attorney General Roland Burris to the vacant spot. Blagojevich turned the evening news in December into a three-ring circus.

You know it's bad when the governor of a populous state gets caught telling people that he wants a wad of money in exchange for a political appointment. It shows how deep moral corruption has infected our system. What's worse is that this corruption is mirrored in many of our churches.

Greed has actually been morphed into a virtue in some charismatic circles, where pastors take hourlong offerings and guest speakers require limousines and five-figure honorariums to maintain their celebrity lifestyles. It's especially bad on some Christian TV channels, where spiritual extortionists sell medieval-style indulgences disguised as "Day of Atonement offerings" and use other ridiculous ploys to rob Christians.

God give us leaders who hate dishonest gain!

It's time for a leadership reformation. God requires us to drive the greedy moneychangers out of His house. True spiritual revival will not come to the American church until we take Jethro's counsel seriously, remove corrupt leaders from their positions and replace them with those who match the biblical standard.

First, there was the earthy smell of a barn. We don't know what Jesus' birthplace looked like, but we imagine it was an open stable or cave full of animals. Some scholars believe it was a simple room inside a house where animals were allowed to stay with humans during the night. Since we know Jesus' first cradle was a manger—a crude feeding trough—then we can assume it had the faint odor of hay, wool, goat hair and cow manure.

The New Pastor

The candidate chosen by this pulpit committee perfectly matched their list of qualifications. When he preached, there was little of the irritating emotionalism they had so wanted to avoid, and the congregation seemed amazingly docile. The committee found the peace quite refreshing. One irritation did remain, however. The former pastor's most faithful (and elderly) intercessor continued to rise from her pew at the end of the service and kneel down on the carpet at the same two worn spots where her fragile knees had knelt for so many decades to plead for the souls of the lost.

The new pastor was quite uncomfortable with the intercession of this elderly saint. Indeed the altar call, when this godly woman began to intercede before God and publicly travail—"My God, send us revival. My God, give us souls this morning. Don't let souls leave here and go to hell!"—was the most difficult part of his duties. So disturbed was the new pastor that he was strongly considering discarding this politically incorrect and somewhat primitive religious ritual from the order of service. He felt that there was something spooky about it all. The former pastor, on the other hand, had looked forward to this dear saint's prayer, knowing that it poured from the heart of God. It was the Spirit of God praying and travailing through this godly woman. Unfortunately, no one in Bible college had ever covered these subjects with the new pastor of the church.

The young pastor endured this public spectacle for almost six months, but one Sunday morning after he had finished his sermon, he took action. As usual, the dear old sister was down on her knees, travailing. So lost was she in intercession that she didn't even realize that the pastor had ended his sermon without giving an altar call. "Oh God, oh God," she cried, her little wrinkled face wet with tears.

The young pastor tapped the elderly intercessor on the shoulder and said, "Honey, there won't be any more need for that. We don't want that in this church because it hinders newcomers from coming. They just don't understand it." The pastor didn't know it, but by his ignorant actions that day, he posted an ancient Hebrew name "Ichabod" over the front door of the church. This means "the glory of the Lord has departed."

 Christian Martyrs Song

I'm reading Bro. Yun's Book: "Living Water" which I highly recommend.

Bro. Yun is a Chinese preacher and evangelist whose life had been marked with both persecution and miracles through his intense desire to reach China with the Gospel.

I put below one of the powerful songs they sing in their services. It's called China's Christian Martyrs by Paul Hattaway.

Read/meditate on this song and compare it to the songs we sing in our churches today, you may weep and repent as I did while I was reading it…. ~Igy

....What are you feeding on??

(Yes you are free to use this poem...Blessings to you all)

David Wilkerson is a man of God I respect and consider a true leader in the body if Christ. Recently, the Lord spoke to him on the troubled times we are currently living in here in America most specifically in regards to the economic situation. Below is Bro. Wilkerson sharing that word from the Lord. ~Igy

David Wilkerson comments on the Economic Situation

David Wilkerson:

Were facing floods in America, naturally and spiritually. The floods represent the rising waters of afflictions, the overwhelming crises that are coming on the earth affecting multitudes. This is the flood of unemployment, housing nightmares, ever-growing financial difficulties. We now face a great flood of fear and confusion about what to do to survive the storm.

It tears my heart to have a single mother stop me on the street weeping, "Pastor, what am I going to do? I lost my job, and I may lose my apartment. I have nothing to live on. Where will I go?" Top-level executives are being laid off with no warning. Workers tell me they see bosses crying at their desks, asking, "What will I do? I'm broke. What about my mortgage? I have no benefits."

Some terrible things are happening, even to some of the godliest believers. I ask God, "Lord, what do I tell them? They are in the flood." I know these saintly people pray and read God's Word. Indeed, they have learned to trust the Lord. But now their faith is being tested to the limit. I get calls from some who are soon to lose everything. I can't just give these people a pep talk and a few Scriptures and ask them to cheer up. I am not suffering the way they are. I still get paid, and I am not in danger of losing my home.

I ask you, please, hear my heart as I say this: The time is not far away before we all will be deeply affected by the economic flood coming to the whole world. Great trials are ahead for all of us who deeply love the Lord. Here is what I am led to do by the Holy Spirit. I ask it of my family, all of whom work with the church body. I urge you to pray to see if the Lord is leading you to do the same: No more buying of luxuries. Cut all spending except absolute necessities. Sell every unneeded item. Turn it to cash and give it to ministries to the poor and needy. Downsize as much as possible. Be willing to let it all come to this: "Having food and raiment [covering], let us be therewith content" (1 Timothy 6:8).

Build up your faith by reminding the Lord daily of his promises: "The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever" (Psalm 29:10). "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness" (Psalm 31:1).

In Christ,
David Wilkerson
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