May God bless you this day...with Godly counsel!

Below is an article by Charles Graham of Ciloa (Christ is Lord of All) Ministries.  Ciloa.org

This article nearly took my breath away!  It fits me to a tee, and I believe it might apply to many other brothers and sisters that I walk with.  The question is, "Who do I go to for counsel when I am in a 'tight spot.'"  Sure I have my pastor, but he doesn't know the things I deal with on a daily basis.  He knows me only at my best - I make sure of that.  Plus, he likes me and thinks I'm a prophet of God (if he only knew the truth).  He would never want to dampen my spirit or holler, "slow down," when I am frantically spinning all over the map with the "I gotta do's" of my powerfully prophetic ministry.

It is so easy to be respected most by those who know us least.  They really believe that I am hearing from God, whether or not I am hearing from God.  Oh, the sycophantic joy of becoming "like God!"  What a disaster! 

On the other hand, it is very difficult to be respected most by those who know us best.  They know when it is God speaking or just me shooting off my big mouth again.  They are not afraid to say so either.  I need these kinds of friends and counselors for I will surely crash, burn, and die without them.   

  ~Flip

May God bless you this day...with Godly counsel!

A few years ago I spoke to a group of about 5000 Christian leaders of churches and ministries.  They were a fun group.  As I was introduced, they playfully pointed out that they had obtained the rarest of speakers, a “Christian” lawyer.  Ha, ha, everyone laughed.  I told them I'd pray for their souls.  They loved it.  Then I launched into my topic...Christian leadership.  It began like this.

John must go to London, but he has his own jet.  As he boards the plane, he asks the pilot what route they'll be taking and what all the switches and buttons in the cockpit are for.  The pilot patiently answers, then to his surprise, John dismisses him, saying that he'll fly himself to London.  What do you think of John?   The men laughed and shook their heads.  A few shouted out, He's an idiot.   I moved on.

Carol goes to her doctor and learns she has high blood pressure.  The doctor gives her a list of things to do, saying that if she doesn't follow his advice, she could die without warning.  Upon leaving the doctor's office, Carol tosses the list into the trash, convinced she can take care of herself.  What do you think of Carol?   Some of the men laughed as a few shook their heads.  Many looked uncomfortable.  I moved on.

Alan is a godly man and has a lot of godly friends with wonderful spiritual gifts, talents, insights, and wisdom.  He's convinced God has given him a vision for a ministry, which he shares with his friends.  He asks for their prayers, but never their gifts, talents, insights, and wisdom.  Though they have much experience, Alan never seeks their counsel.   Then I looked at my audience of Christian leaders.  What do you think of Alan?   No one laughed.  No one answered.

There's a serious problem in the Body of Christ and it affects each of us.  Every week I see it in the emails we receive.  I read it in the Christian publications I pick up and I hear it in the Christian media.  Men and women receive a vision, an opportunity or a decision that God sends their way.  It may concern a church, ministry or some new Christian effort.  It may be a personal opportunity, a career change, or major life decision.  They pray, they analyze, they plan...and then they go mess it up.

They become single-minded.  They pray, read their Bible, ask others to pray for them, but mainly sit around and wait for that writing on the wall.  They don't fully trust God.  Oh, they think they do.  Just look at all that time praying and reading.  But what they really trust in is that fire from the sky.  If they fully trusted God, if they truly believed in His word, they would not ignore His simple caution:

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22

Each day we get the same message over and over, Please pray for me as I seek to do this.   Very seldom is the request, Please pray for me and what do you think of my direction?   It isn't that people should seek our counsel.  There are many gifted and experienced people in Ciloa, but we certainly don't know everything.  Yet far too many make decisions without ever seeking Godly counsel at all.  They have good intentions but not enough knowledge, good hearts but not enough understanding.  So they fail even to realize that they don't know what they're doing.  And what does God say will happen to our plans when we choose not to get Godly advice?  They will fail.

Are you a Christian leader?   Seek out Godly counsel.  Are you trying to find out what God has in store for your own life?  Seek out Godly advisers.  Listen to different perspectives.  Gain a better understanding of what's going on.  God's wisdom rests in His people, too.  Then when you pray for His guidance, you'll discover how much easier it will be to find.

He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident of his own mind and heart is a self-confident fool, but he who walks in skillful and Godly wisdom shall be delivered. Proverbs 28:26 (AMP)

Take care and be God's,

Chuck