Integrity has become “mission-critical.”

Look at the present national state of hyper-sensitivity to anything that looks, sounds, or smells like corruption.

Integrity is the currency of influence.  Power and success are like paper money but integrity is the GOLD.
    
Job, in the Old Testament, "had integrity."

WHAT ARE THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF INTEGRITY HE POSSESSED?

All of us face hurt.

Some of us choose to forgive. 

The rest of us live in bitterness.

How do you “forgive and forget?”  We have a pretty good Example.

Here are 4 perspectives that will help you to forgive:

Shoelaces are important.

They hold everything together.  When they are tight, they keep you from falling.  No one tries to walk in loose, floppy tennis shoes without good, snug laces.

YOUR FINANCES HAVE “LACES.”  If they are untended, your entire life could come crashing down. 

What are the 5 financial issues you need to keep “tight?”

If you can’t see past the outward appearance of someone, you will never be a great leader.  EVER.

People are cunning and shrewd.  Some have experience with deception.  Others put up a good front.  Discerning the difference between a good talker and a hard worker can “make or break” your organization.  You could even find yourself married to the wrong person.

Here are a few lessons I have learned about discernment:

The world is making a bold bid for the new generation.  They want them.  Satan wants them.  Why don’t we want them? I burn with a passion for this wonderful, beautiful new generation.

What should my attitude be toward this new generation God loves?

Love your neighbor as yourself” (the Golden Rule) is the second great commandment.  It’s easy to say, but what exactly does it mean?  How our nation would be changed if we PRACTICED it! 

This famous law was originally spoken by God in Leviticus 19:18.  I did not know, however, that there are seven applications that lead up to that law:

Fake news” is a big topic right now.  Is the media truthful?  It’s probably a good time for us to ask that of ourselves:  “Am I truthful?”   You will be known by your truthfulness.  You will be respected by your truthfulness.  Your business will be known by your truthfulness.  Your marriage will continue only if you are truthful.  Can you pass the “truth test?”

Here is why you have to tell the truth:

Leadership is all about momentum and focus.  Leading people out of a comfort zone and into a conquest zone takes skill and experience.   Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem to a defeated and discouraged population.  In just days, he turned the same people into conquerors who said, “Let us rise up and build.”  How did he achieve that momentum?

Here are my top 7 things to build momentum:

As a pastor for 33 years, I often wondered why so many new believers drop out of the Christian “race.”  Their conversion is genuine but their endurance is sporadic.  It seems to me that as many as 2/3 of the conversions in our churches never connect or fall back into the world.  Where are we missing it?   

Jesus told the “parable of the sower.”  It gives us the secret to our problem. 

Perhaps we should make this parable into the process by which we help believers to become fruitful disciples:

Your attitudes are determining your altitude.  This phrase tells you if you are headed for the “jet stream” or a “slow crash.” How do you adjust your attitude?  The “Beatitudes” are 8 HEAVENLY ATTITUDES and it is time to “think heavenly.” The Sermon on the Mount is the greatest sermon in history.  Spoken in Matthew 5-7, its theme is “heavenly.”  It describes a mindset on Heaven, a heavenly ambassador who represents how things are done back in his homeland.

God despises pride.  He is all-powerful yet humble enough to wash the feet of His disciples.   He knows that pride was Satan’s downfall.  When I review the history of God’s generals and kings, I come to one grand conclusion:  “STAY LOW.”

Here are 5 ways to guard your humility:

The secret of your success is your ability to organize. A disorganized life is disastrous!  Your family, your marriage, your career, your ministry, your finances all suffer.  You keep trying to get ahead but your lack of organization is keeping you mediocre. I’m not the most organized person in the world.

Therefore, I can help you learn how a disorganized person can become…mainly organized:

Love is the most misunderstood word in the English language.  It mainly represents a feeling.  A “warm, fuzzy” feeling of gushing emotion.   I believe love is practical.  It engages in daily honor, respect, generosity, hospitality, and fidelity.  In Hebrews 13:1, Paul said four powerful words:  “Let brotherly love continue.”  Then, he went on to show us four practical ways that love is demonstrated on a daily basis. 

Try these out and see how your “love” is working for you:

Quick to hear…slow to speak…slow to anger.    Those three phrases in James used to bother me.  I had trouble with all three, especially the first one:  “Quick to hear.”   A better “translation” for me would have been, “Slow to listen…quick to speak…quick to get angry!”    Notice that your “listening” starts and controls the whole rest of the cycle.  First listening, then “words” and then your “emotions.”   

What are the secrets to better listening skills?

Today, I am thinking about the story of the “four lepers.”   I am presently in Asia where masses of people swarm like an ocean of fish.  Each one has a face, a name, a personality, a family, a need.  Jesus.   Why is missions becoming the lost subject in Christianity with these billions yet in darkness?

Now, we come to the “leper lessons.”  They were starving outside the gate of a besieged, starving city.  They represent me, you, all Christians.  Their story should be our story. 

Here are four lessons I learn from them:

"Stuck like Chuck".   It’s a phrase I use to describe the doldrums,  the “dead in the water” times of my life.  Everything becomes same ol' same ol',  acid-cardboard,  plain vanilla,  predictable and passionless. God is a God of endless variety.  His colors, patterns, and shapes are eye-popping. 

How do you get your creativity moving again?

Everyone talks about leaving a legacy.  I want to LIVE a legacy.  Legacy is “when the next generation models their lives and judges their achievements by you.”   

Legacy is about three words:  PURPOSE, COVENANT,  and INVESTMENT.

Everyone needs mentoring.  Mentoring is listening to someone who has made more mistakes than you.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes in 47 years of ministry, and they all boil down to these ten: 

Fear and timidity can paralyze you.   Anxiety can control your every decision.   Confusion can totally derail your life’s focus.   The mind is the battleground of life.  You will inevitably face storms and crisis.   Your mind will be pressed to the breaking point.    How do you persevere until the sun breaks through again?

These three thoughts have always kept me on track:

Water, water, everywhere.  Three times the amount of rain fell on Baton Rouge as fell in Katrina!  7 trillion gallons of water deluged over 40,000 houses. With water comes “mold.”  There is a race against time to remove anything wet.  Hundreds of volunteers are stripping out churches, homes, and businesses before black mold takes over.

Do you have “mold in your soul?”  It is a creeping, silent enemy in your heart.   It is a hidden disease, thriving on the darkness.

Here are 5 basic steps to eradicate it: