Category: Christian Leadership

Twelve Extraordinary Women

This has been quite a month. On January 25th, Jennifer and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary; and we celebrated her birthday just last week.  Jennifer is an extraordinary woman (see my previous posts on “Jennifer: A Leader After God’s Heart”; 4 Leadership Jewels from my wife, Jennifer; and my family life).

So, it’s appropriate to turn our focus to twelve extraordinary women of the Bible, and what God wants us to learn from them. All these women ultimately became extraordinary not because of any natural qualities of their own, but because the one true God whom they worshiped is great, mighty, glorious, and awesome, and He refined them like silver. He redeemed them through the work of an extraordinary Savior—His own divine Son—and conformed them to His image (Romans 8:29).

In other words, the gracious work of God in their lives made each one of these women truly extraordinary. They therefore stand as reminders of both our fallenness and our potential. Speaking together as one, they all point us to Christ.

As you consider their examples, John MacArthur’s prayer for you is that you will share their faith, imitate their faithfulness, and learn to love the Savior whose work in their lives made them truly extraordinary. As MacArthur puts it, “Your life can be extraordinary, too, by His wonderful grace.”

Click here for more from John MacArthur about 12 Extraordinary Women

The Quest for Meaning

In the first chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon pursues intellectualism.  In this second chapter, he moves to hedonism and on to materialism.  Pastor Tommy Nelson argues that this is the same pattern followed by many college students.  In their Freshman year, they pursue intellectualism.  As Sophomores, hedonism.  Then, as juniors, Materialism.  Hopefully, they, too, learn that none of these pursuits will lead to “a life well lived” (the title of Nelson’s book on Ecclesiastes).

According to Hebrew scholar Walt Kaiser, the term “better” should not be in Ecclesiastes 2:24. It should read, “There is nothing for a man, or nothing in a man, to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good.” In other words, there is nothing that man can do that is ultimately going to make him happy.

As men and women affected by a sinful nature, we all struggle with “chasing after the wind.” Whether it’s hedonism, materialism, or intellectualism, we tend to fill the “God-shaped vacuum” in our heart with empty pursuits.

What are you chasing that ultimately won’t satisfy you?

Click here for more from Pastor Tommy Nelson on Ecclesiastes 2