"Training Readily All, Immanuel Nurtures! (T.R.A.I.N)"Why bother to let others T.R.A.I.N you when you are already a leader?" By Ramesh C. Reddy

Posted on Friday, June 21, 2013 at 10:56 a.m. (EST) & 8:26 p.m. (IST), JUNE 2013 Edition

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“Training Readily All, Immanuel Nurtures! (T.R.A.I.N)”

Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

Editors Note: This devotional was originally published in Pittsburgh Standard on Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 9:01 a.m. The background songs can be from any era including the present and are accessible using Internet Explorer! Any revisions will be ITALICIZED!

SCRIPTURE:
"Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God's Holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:1-2, NIV)

Approach Question:
"What is your opinion of being trained by others if you are already in a leadership position?"

Observations:
I asked myself how does Paul address those receiving the letter at Philippi?

1. To all God's Holy people
2. To the overseers
3. To the deacons

I decided to focus on points 2 & 3 today!

Interpretation:
I asked myself what do overseers mean?
According to Dictionary.com, overseers mean chief, head, boss, and director.

Interpretation:
I asked myself what do deacons mean?
According to Dictionary.com, deacons mean an appointed or elected officer having variously defined duties.

Interpretation:
I asked myself the significance of Paul addressing the letter to the overseers and deacons too?
What I thought was both the overseers and deacons had leadership positions at the Philippi church and Paul wanted to make sure they were trained well so they could lead the flock of God that were put in their care. As leaders of the Church at Philippi, they needed training on how to live their lives and how to conduct themselves in light of those around them. So, Paul is the one who takes initiative to train them and lead them by setting an example of how he is living his life even amidst persecution because of His love for Jesus Christ.

Implications:
I asked myself what are the implications for my own life?
No matter whether I am in a leadership position or not, I need to always be open to be trained by others whose training is godly and will help me live my life the way the Lord Jesus wants me to live as I allow God's Word to be my main basis for my training. Paul acted as a mentor to the Church of Philippi to the saints in Christ Jesus and the overseers and deacons. I too should look to the leadership of those that the Lord Jesus sends my way to train me and lead me in the Ways of the Lord just as God's Holy people, overseers, and deacons are trained by Paul.

Just as Paul trained the saints in Christ Jesus, the overseers, and deacons on how to live a joyful life amidst persecution through his letter to the Church of Philippi, I am reminded of how the Lord Jesus has been using Brother Paul Bucknell of http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net to train leaders of churches all over the world through the writings our Lord Jesus has blessed him to train others.

My loving wife Chandra and I are going through a small group leaders training led by Pastor Hugo Cheng of Oakland International Fellowship to be better equipped, enabled, and empowered when the opportunity arises to lead a small group. I am also blessed how the Lord Jesus has been been using Pastor Hugo & Edwin Chan to train me personally on how to be a godly husband in light of Scripture. Edwin & Marie gifted me with a book called 'Love & Respect' that I am reading slowly! Recently, I have been reading different books on marriage to be better trained on how I can love my wife the way the Lord wants me to love her. Thank you Jesus. Currently, in June 2013, Pastor Hugo is taking me through the book 'Making of a Leader' that we are going through each week. Also, during Sunday School time at 10:30 a.m., Pastor Hugo is taking the congregation through 'Becoming a Contagious Christian'

There are many more the Lord Jesus has used and will use in my life to train me for His honor and glory. For that I am very thankful, especially for my loving wife Chandra and my mom who lovingly correct me in areas of my life that could use improvement. That in itself is training too! I also loved the 2 sessions of 'How to become a strong community' training that Calvin did for our small group Transformers. I also love the books Kristen (my former small group leader) is reading to be better trained in different areas of her life.

You too can be trained by those the Lord Jesus has placed in authority over you who will help disciple you to live a life worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as you make Jesus your central focus. Never think you do not need to be trained for we all need training.

I ask you now dear friend, why bother to let others T.R.A.I.N you when you are already a leader?
Dear friend, whether you are a leader or not, just as God's people, overseers, and deacons allowed themselves to be trained by the Apostle Paul, we too should allow others to train us in different areas of our lives from a godly perspective. We will never be at a place where we can think, we need no more training whatever our field is. Paul made it a mission and goal to train not only congregation members of the Church at Philippi but also it's pastors and deacons. We too should let others train us.

But most of all the best training we need to take is from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He will train you the best way using His powerful Word to enable, equip, and empower you to do His will! Praise the Lord!

But to have Jesus Christ in our lives, we need to first and foremost acknowledge what a sinner we are and we are in need of a Savior and Lord who will come and transform our lives making us His Holy people. When Jesus becomes part of our lives, we will be seen as a saint in the eyes of God. We can live as saints in Christ Jesus as we receive our help and training from the Lord. The Good News is that we can live a life worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ when we are submissive to His calling, confessing all our sins before our Creator and making Him the Lord and Savior of our lives.

Friend, there will always be someone in your life that you can turn to who God has placed in your path to train you. You and I should seek after those people to train us. Also, Lord uses His Holy Spirit to help people write wonderful books that apply biblical principles to train us in different areas of our lives. We should seek out those books to read as training material. Especially we need the Word to train us as we study and meditate on the Word of God. For God's Word is the best training we can get to live our lives so it should be a daily part of us to start our day.

When we are being trained by God's Word, He will reveal to us the things that we should stand up for without being silent. Thank you Jesus! I am so thankful for the Word of God to transform our lives when we spend time with Jesus and His Word. That is so exciting to know for God promises to train us.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV)

"The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher." (Luke 6:40, NIV)

"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." (1 Corinthians 9:25, NIV)

"If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters,you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:6-8, NIV)

May you know, training readily all Immanuel nurtures!

"Training Readily All, Immanuel Nurtures! (T.R.A.I.N)"Why bother to let others T.R.A.I.N you when you are already a leader?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for loving us so much that you went to the cross to die for our sins and came back to life to give us life, cleansing us by your precious blood. I love you Jesus. Thanks for using the apostle Paul to train the pastors and deacons at the Church of Philippi. You have taught me through this verse how important it is for everyone to get training no matter what position they hold for there will always be something new to learn. Thanks so much Jesus. But most of all thanks for training us by your Word as we spend time with you studying and meditating on it. Oh Lord, help us to always depend on you Lord knowing you train readily all imparting nurture to those who yield to you. Help us to learn something new everyday. Thanks so much Jesus. Thanks for hearing our prayer and answering. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

"May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)

Lord Jesus, You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace, Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case. Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN! (Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)

If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart.

Prayer:
God I am a sinner. I am invaded by this deadliest virus. Many times I feel so guilty and yucky inside. I need forgiveness. I am so sorry for my sins. I have not obeyed you with my whole heart! I have gone my own way and done my own things. I still struggle with sin. I need you Jesus in my life so I can receive forgiveness and a new beginning. In the process, I can forgive others as you help me to. Thank you so much Jesus. I accept the antidote you have sent me. I believe Jesus you died for me and your cleansing blood will cleanse me from all my sins. You came back to life to save me. Thank you God I am set free, free from the bondage of sin. Hear my cry Oh Lord. I accept you Jesus into my heart. I make you my Lord and Personal Savior of my life. Thank you Father God for giving me Salvation. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and personal Savior! I can live a life of peace with you on my side. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me! In your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you when you give Him your heart! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help by His grace alone!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-641-9426

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

Express Your View

2013 DEVOTIONALS:

Philippians 1:1-2: "When do you B.L.E.S.S others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 20, 08:33 a.m.)

Philippians 1:1-2: "Who will you be a S.L.A.V.E to in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 19, 1:26 p.m.)

Philippians 1:1: "Why should you believe you are H.O.L.Y instead of a sinner?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 17, 11:38 p.m.)

Psalm 46:1: "Where do you need R.E.F.U.G.E from?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 14, 08:30 a.m.)

Proverbs 14:12: "Why seek God's R.I.G.H.T over our right?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 14, 08:30 a.m.)

Psalm 42:5: "Why H.O.P.E and praise the Lord in your distress?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 13, 01:36 p.m.)

Psalm 40:1-5: "Where do you need to be L.I.F.T.E.D up in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 13, 01:34 p.m.)

Mark 9:28-29: "What can P.R.A.Y.E.R to Jesus do in your friends lives?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 11, 07:53 a.m.)

Mark 2:2-5: "What kind of F.R.I.E.N.D will you be thought of as?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 10, 07:03 a.m.)

Mark 3:14-15: "Why S.P.E.N.D time with Jesus daily?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 08, 11:07 a.m.)

Psalm 34:4: "What can you do with your F.E.A.R.S in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 07, 2013, 8:43 a.m.)

Psalm 33:4: "What will you do with F.A.I.T.H in your classes?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 05, 2013, 9:31 a.m.)

Mark 1:43-44: "What does your disobedience C.A.U.S.E for others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 03, 2013, 2:57 a.m.)

Mark 1:41-42: "What past do you need to be C.L.E.A.N from?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 31, 2013, 10:54 a.m)

Proverbs 29:25: "Where will you take a S.T.A.N.D without wavering?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 30, 2013, 07:43 a.m)

Matthew 18:21-22:"Why F.O.R.G.I.V.E when it will happen again?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 29 2013, 09:35 a.m)

Psalm 27:14:"How do you C.O.P.E with your hurt?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 27, 2013, 11:13 a.m)

John 12:24:"Who do you remember physically and spiritually on this M.E.M.O.R.I.A.L day?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 27, 2013, 11:13 a.m)

"What has the law P.E.R.M.I.T.T.E.D you to do but it goes against the Lord?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 09, 2013, 6:57 a.m)

"Who do you become an A.T.T.R.A.C.T.I.O.N to and why?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 08, 2013, 6:58 a.m)

"What has A.N.G.E.R done to your relationships?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (April 29, 13, 1:28 p.m.)

"How can the L.I.G.H.T impact your life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (April 06, 13, 11:48 a.m.)

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