In Awe Podcast with Sarah Johnson

An Uncommon Leader

I've been reading the book of Exodus lately and thinking about Moses as an example for leadership, but probably not in all the ways we might expect. There's no question that Moses was one of the most influential leaders in all of history as he took a scraggly group of slaves and over the course of 40 years transformed them into a cohesive nation. They lacked purpose, direction and unity when they started out on their own. God chose Moses to lead them from slavery into the promised land - what was it that made Moses such an uncommon leader? First of all, Moses would not have made it through the screening processes we have for approving leaders in this century. Remember, he killed an Egyptian, enacted martial law, became the judge, jury and executioner when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. He ran away and hid for 40 years in the desert before he returned to Egypt again (he probably never thought he was going back). In addition to a...

Acceptance, Validation and Affirmation

In a world where there is an almost greedy grappling for external validation and feedback, I find myself sometimes wondering how to center my identity in Christ alone and not in what others think of me. The acceptance of others can often be dependent upon what they might receive from that relationship while the acceptance of God is unconditional. The approval of others changes from day to day and cannot be a strong foundation for security in my value and purpose. The one thing I truly long for is to someday hear from the only true Judge, "well done, good and faithful servant." This collection of truths from the gospel of John serves to remind me that I find my acceptance, my approval, validation and affirmation from Jesus alone and my identity is firm in the Word of God. John 1:12 I am a child of God - Oh to think that He would adopt me into His family. That He would call me His own dear child, that I would be considered His inheritance, that ...

Prayers for Your Children

My adult children have all left the nest, the last one off to college just this past month. As they find their new independence and live far away from home, I am reminded of my great calling to pray for them regularly. The best way to pray for someone is to follow the models we find in scripture, so I started with this Levitical blessing from Numbers 6:24-27. The LORD bless you... We pray for our children that God would bless their lives, knowing that in this world there are many troubles and He never promised to keep us from them (John 16:33). However, we know that blessings follow obedience and blessings are always found when living in His will. We pray that God's good gifts would come to our children (Luke 11:11-13) because He is a good Father and He loves our kids just as much as we do! May He bless them with peace that is beyond understanding no matter what challenges they face (Philippians 4:4-7). May He bless them with good jo...

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