"Each time you raise the standards for leadership, you bring everyone else in the church along a little bit. As the phrase goes, ‘A rising tide raises all the boats in the harbor.’" - Rick Warren

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached toyou, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
-- 1 Corinthians 15:1

Our hope, our salvation, and our foundation for faith is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Gospel is the same as that Gospel first preached by the apostles and passed on to the believers in the early church. With so many confusing and conflicting ideas present in the world, we need to go back and be reminded of our simple faith in Jesus and his death, burial and resurrection. We need to un-clutter our hearts from all the ideas and issues that so often divide our churches and rip apart our fellowships and hear the words of the old hymn, "Simply to Thy Cross I cling." Today, let's be reminded of that simple Gospel of Jesus and build our life there.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
-- Philippians 4:5

How can we be gentle, how can we restrain from over-reacting
to the wounds, offenses, and slights that come our way? The
Lord is near! He is our vindication. He is our example. He is our
comfort. He is our hope. He is our strength. We are not alone and
our destiny, reputation, and value are not up to us to establish or
to defend.

O LORD, my God, please be ever near me as I seek to be
your person of character in the middle of the chaos and conflict
around me. I ask that your presence be made known and that my
character reflect that presence in all that I do and say today, and
each day that follows. In Jesus' name I pray.