Think Victory! JJ DID TIE BUCKLE -- Judgment

JJ DID TIE BUCKLE - JUDGMENT

Today's Freedom Fighter is part of a series being written my Pastor Mike Woods, Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries for Men at America's KESWICK.

Yesterday, we looked at the first leadership quality of the acrostic JJ DID TIE BUCKLE - Justice. Today the second quality is Judgment. If we are honest with ourselves, this is something we lack in and of ourselves. We need an external standard to instruct us in the area of godly judgment. Another word to consider with DISCERNMENT. Solomon knew this the moment he was crowned King of Israel in his father David's place. His prayer when God gave him the opportunity to "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." (1Kings 3:5).

Think about this for a minute - the God of the universe handing Solomon a blank check per se; and he asks for "a discerning heart." (1Kings 3:9). What would you have asked for? Solomon, despite his downfall with women and his sacrifices to their gods, was still considered the wisest man of all time. His request for a discerning heart - a heart that exercised godly judgment - pleased the Lord so much that He gave Solomon all the material and social blessings he could have wanted.

Here is what the Bible says about Solomon's godly judgment when it was put to the test over two women and a baby. "When all Israel heard the verdict that the king had given, they held him in awe because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice." (1Kings 3:28). It is interesting, godly judgment assists in administering justice.

The Apostle Paul prayed for the Philippians (and for us) that out of our growing love and knowledge of him that we would "be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:10). The question that begs to be asked is "How do I develop discernment or godly judgment?" The answer begins by developing the proper ambition for life. Paul stated in 2Corinthians 5:9 that he made it his "ambition to be pleasing to him..." As I filter my judgments through the grid of my mind by asking myself "will this be pleasing to God?" I begin the process of developing godly judgment / discernment.

We will be faced with leadership challenges regularly, we need God's righteousness and discernment to lead in a way that honors Him and reflects the leadership qualities that Jesus exemplified through His character.

Great Quote: This new strength which God gives in response to faith is graduated to human need. There will be strength for soaring, for a life with wings--elevation, vision, buoyancy. There will be strength for running, the capacity to meet the stress and strain of trying times.
There will be strength for walking, for "The humdrum dullness of ordinary days" with their frustrations and irritations--strength to be steady and saintly in the regular round, to keep on keeping on when the sky is gray and the way is monotonous. If we wait on the Lord, we shall be perpetually reinforced from within with a strength graduated to our needs. --Leo Green