Raising the Responsibility Index for the Nations

BAGHDAD (Reuters) At least nine Iraqis were killed and 16 others injured in fierce clashes between U.S. forces and gunmen overnight in Falluja, west of Baghdad, a doctor said Friday(sic)Critics say the city has since become a safe haven for guerrillas and kidnappers. In recent months U.S. forces have attacked buildings in the city they say were being used by militants linked to al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Terrorism, whether it be within a family, classroom, neighborhood, city or nation is the leadership of hypocrisy unveiled. As we see the city inhabitants of Fallujah torn apart by those who exalt hatred over brotherly love we see that the concept of hypocritical leadership forces us to look at the double sided nature of God"s leadership; that of Judge and Father.

When nation"s in the past refused to hear the prophetic utterances of men sent to them to turn their nation around, God ended up using another nation to subdue it. The fatherhood principle lay within the years of sending prophetic men to offer solutions and exposes of the nation"s problems; the judge finally had to appear when those nations refused the invitations to change. Parenting is no different. A child will continue with a behavior which demands parental attention. The parent intervenes with questions, proddings and pronouncements all meant to change the child"s behavior. When nothing works Mr Paddle comes down from the top of the refrigerator and extracts certain behaviors in a new way.

Marvin Marshall (note that his website is included near the google search) delineates the 4 basic steps toward democracy or effective leadership, by the identification of raising the responsibility index within a community of students. I will quote them below, all work is Marvin Marshall"s:

THE RAISE RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEM
The Raise Responsibility System handles disruptive behavior simply and easily. In the process, the system builds self-discipline, respect for self and others, and both individual and social responsibility. It also reduces stress for both adults and young people.

The three phrases of the system are (A) teaching the developmental levels, (B) checking for understanding, and (C) guided choices.

Phase I-- Levels of Development (TEACHING)
FOUR LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT ARE TAUGHT
A Anarchy
<> Lowest level of behavior

* Absence of order
* Aimless and chaotic
* Absence of government

Anarchy is the fundamental enemy of civilization.

B Bossing/Bullying
<> Neither appropriate nor acceptable level of behavior

* Bothers others
* Bullies others
* Breaks laws and standards

Obeys only when enforcer shows more authority.
Must be bossed to behave.

C Cooperation/Conformity
<> Appropriate and acceptable level of behavior

* Considerate
* Complies
* Cooperates
* Conforms to peer pressure

* NOTE: Conformity does not mean regimentation.
EXternal motivation

D Democracy
<> Highest level of behavior

* Develops self-discipline
* Demonstrates initiative
* Displays responsibility
* Democracy and responsibility are inseparable

INternal motivation
The difference between levels C and D is often in the motivation, rather than in the action.

It is in teaching leadership to a populace and modelling it, that a family, class, city or nation is changed.

Searching For Truth

These additional search areas are helpful and liberating:
www.jdm.org a man taken up into heaven a live account
www.bennyhinn.org a man annointed largely for the healing of the nations
www.tdjakes.org.org a real man with a real message for real people
www.marvin marshall.com a teachers teacher
www.wired@injoy.com Leadership training "Excellente"John Maxwell
www.tbn.org Christian TV worldwide
www.daystar.com Christian TV Worldwide
www.woh.gospelcom.net middle east fellowship
www.arabic-church.org Pastor Nabil Asaad
www.extremeprophetic.com
www.elijahlist.com keeping up with the prophetic flow across the nation

Dead Men Walking

From God"s first prophetic words: let there be light, down through time and the lives of prophetic men leading to Moses; the prophetic mantle of truth had sought ways to weave its way back into the fabric of Life on earth. Life, whose spirit had been snuffed out by a cunning adversary, no longer had light. So quenched was relationship in the spirit with God, that men were literally starved for spiritual freedom. Living in bondage of slavery under a demonized ruler, symbolizing the ruling spirit of oppression and witchcraft the early Hebrew children exemplified to the world the overall spiritual bondage and bankruptcy mankind had foisted upon itself. Separation from God; i.e., the inability to walk and talk daily with The Creator of The Universe; once this relationship was removed, darkness encompassed the earth. God removed paradise and Satan FURTHER darkened the circle of the world by his manifest legions of angels, fallen from heaven. A Third of the host of heaven flocked eagerly, like vultures, around earth’s spiritual atmosphere; waiting with gleeful anticipation for the souls of dead men walking. Man became and still is spiritually dead. Wonderfully, he can achieve empires, foster generations and sit back relaxed with a good book and a favorite food, with children gleefully playing at his feet; but he is dead. And once mortally dead awakens to the eternal results of his deadened spiritual decisions. The spiritual aptitude of mankind was declined at Adam’s fall. The mental aptitude of mankind was inclined. Adam asked God what to do in the garden, Adams since, tell God what they are going to do. Thus the first law of the Spirit aptitude for intelligence is to apprehend the saying: He has shown you O man, what is good; and what does The Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Isaiah 6:8

First lessons in leadership: Find out how to walk and talk with God. First question: How do I reinstall that which was lost to Adam; how to hear from heaven. What is the microchip that must be retrofitted back into my harddrive? Is it religion? No, it is an experience with a Holy God, which puts a new Spirit into you. It is a washing and an implanting within the spirit of the man, which renews what was lost. Then the navigational guide for living is handed to the person to read. The instruction manual is put into the steersman"s hand and the boat may be directed into safe harbors. There, unfortunately, is no heavenly hereafter for the hypocrite.

God's Leadership Profile

66 Books of Gods Love
Consider the themes of the sixty-six books:
In Genesis, He is the Creator God.
In Exodus, He is the Redeemer.
In Leviticus, He is your sanctification.
In Numbers, He is your guide.
In Deuteronomy, He is your teacher.
In Joshua, He is the mighty conqueror.
In Judges, He gives victory over enemies.
In Ruth, He is your kinsman, your lover, your redeemer.
In I Samuel, he is the root of Jesse;
In 2 Samuel, He is the Son of David.
In 1 Kings and 2 Kings, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords
In 1st and 2nd Chronicles, He is your intercessor and High Priest.
In Ezra, He is your temple, your house of worship.
In Nehemiah, He is your mighty wall,  protecting you from your enemies.
In Esther, He stands in the gap to deliver you from your enemies.
In Job, He is the arbitrator who not only understands your struggles, but
has the power to do something about them.
In Psalms, He is your song-and your reason to sing.
In Proverbs, He is your wisdom, helping you make sense of life and live it successfully.
In Ecclesiastes, He is your purpose, delivering you from vanity.
In the Song of Solomon, He is your lover, your Rose of Sharon.
In Isaiah, He is the mighty counselor, the prince of peace, the
everlasting father, and more.  In short, He's everything you need.
In Jeremiah, He is your balm of Gilead, the soothing salve for your
sin-sick soul.
In Lamentations, He is the ever-faithful one upon whom you can depend.
In Ezekiel, He is your wheel in the middle of a wheel-the one who
assures that dry, dead bones will come alive again.
In Daniel, He is the ancient of days, the everlasting God who never runs
out of time.
In Hosea, He is your faithful lover, always beckoning you to come
back-even when you have abandoned Him.
In Joel, He is your refuge, keeping you safe in times of trouble.
In Amos, He is the husbandman, the one you can depend on to stay by your
side.
In Obadiah, He is Lord of the Kingdom.
In Jonah, He is your salvation, bringing you back within His will.
In Micah, He is judge of the nation.
In Nahum, He is the jealous God.
In Habakkuk, He is the Holy One.
In Zephaniah, He is the witness.
In Haggai, He overthrows the enemies
In Zechariah, He is Lord of Hosts.
In Malachi, He is the messenger God.
In Matthew, He is king of the Jews.
In Mark, He is the servant.
In Luke, He is the Son of Man, feeling what you feel.
In John, He is the Son of God.
In Acts, He is Savior of the world.
In Romans, He is the righteousness of God.
In I Corinthians, He is the rock that followed Israel.
In II Corinthians, He is the triumphant one, giving victory.
In Galatians, He is your liberty; He sets you free.
In Ephesians, He is head of the Church.
In Philippians, He is your joy.
In Colossians, He is your completeness.
In I Thessalonians, He is your hope.
In II Thessalonians, He is your patience and discipline.
In I Timothy, He is your faith.
In II Timothy, He is your stability.
In Titus, He is the truth.
In Philemon, He is your benefactor.
In Hebrews, He is your perfection.
In James, He is the power behind your faith.
In I Peter, He is your example.
In II Peter, He is your purity.
In I John, He is your life.
In II John, He is your pattern.
In III John, He is your motivation.
In Jude, He is the foundation of your faith.
In the Revelation, He is your coming King.

A New Land

You are The Lord God, who chose Abram, and brought him out Ur of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name Abraham; you found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give him the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites-to give it to his descendants. You have performed. Your Words, for You are righteous. Nehemiah 9:7-9

Abraham passed the leadership test in this last passage. Can you perceive what the test was? A faithful heart towards God. Do we see any religion mentioned here? The problem with religion is that people get in the way and hypocrisy starts to weave itself into the process. God was looking for a character quality not a religion. Abraham then becomes the father of the faithful, or father of all those who have a true heart towards God. A seeking heart. A heart though ridden with weaknesses still longs for something better, deeper and more meaningful. A heart, which knows its own frailty and yearns for the Creator to lead it back home. A faithful heart longs for healing and deliverance and senses that it is incapable of helping itself. A faithful heart is willing to throw itself down on the ash heap of despair and be willing to be lifted by the hands of a loving Father who has nothing but compassion strength and power to restore the hurting heart. A true leader is one who recognizes that he is nothing without God’s intervention in his or her life. A true leader understands that God will lead him into a new "land", whether that be a new business venture, a move across the city to a new neighborhood, new relationships based on purity, or whatever, but that the initial placing of unconditional trust towards God will preclude a leading towards a "new land". God never leaves a person in the place he started from. Trust and faith in God will lead the individual into a "new land of promise". Gives pause for thought; am I stuck in the same old patterns of thinking, am I stuck in the same circumstances; am I trying to do everything by my own capacities or do I have the inward "ghanis"( as the South American would say) or inner strength to lay myself aside and put my faith in the hands of The One greater than I. That was Abrahm's defining first step towards leadership; it should be ours if we are called to lead others.

Leadership Connections

One might wonder why all the connections to Jesus born in a city called Nazareth and a man called Abraham from a city called Ur of the Chaldees? So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. Matt 1:17 God does nothing by chance; so, we might ask ourselves are we at a fourteenth generation point now as the world is focused upon Iraq or Babylon, again. Are we blaming men and nations for something that may be the hand of God, at work? Do we understand that God has placed Abraham as the father of many? The He (God) brought him (Abraham) outside and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them. And He said to him, so shall your descendants be. And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Then He said to him, I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” Gen 15:5-7 As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendents after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to God to you and your descendents after you. God was in the process of making a leader but the primary factor for success was placed in Abraham"s ability to have faith in a God who led him.

Leadership lesson # 1 to be a Godly leader, which means being a highly effective leader, one must learn to listen not to others but to God first, then turn and listen to others as you meet their needs by hearing God"s heart for them.

Leaders avoid Sticks and Stones

July 14th an article appeared in Reuters regarding the clash between Palestinian Muslim and Christians over a "Peeping Tom" who was discovered in a clothing store near Bethlehem. The result of this discovery sparked a night of rioting, quelled only by police intervention. Hmmmm, I believe this might serve us well at this point to consider the vast misinterpretations of love, dressed in the clothes of religion. To say that "peeping" is an acceptable procedure; definitely not. To take the instance and produce from it an entire night of rioting; not a positive solution, rather a case of spiritual appendicitis. Here is humanity, caught in the throes of the melodramas of the human soul. Mental bitterness"s precluding forgiveness and emotional reactions contributing to the loss of peace. Only the Mind of God can overcome the natural human instincts of mankind. Law results in only punishment without hope of mercy; the entrance of God"s Spirit brings life, both to the sinner and those sinned against.

Quote Luke7:36-50 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and He went into the Pharisee"s house and took His place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that He was eating in the Pharisee"s house brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind Him at His feet, weeping and began to bathe His feet with her tears and to dry them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, He would have known who is touching him-that she is a sinner. Jesus spoke up and said to him, Quote: Simon, I have something to say to you. Teacher, he replied, speak. A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts from both of them. Now which of them will love him more? Simon answered, I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt, replied the Pharisee. You have spoken rightly," replied Jesus.

In another account on leadership with Jesus, we see Him entering the temple early one morning. John 8 records:" all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. (Now we see hypocrisy entering stage left). Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. (Pride, here-adultery police, my comment) Now Moses in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned, but what do You say? This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them. He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more. The Jesus spoke to them again, saying I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

Mankind is not low on or slow to the sin factor. Yet no one who wishes to improve himself in leadership potential can afford to dig a large hole of self-contempt at his own stumbling. Rather, a leadership potential looks for light in the darkness of his own hole. The hole was evidence of negative thinking. Can't we express negative numbers in math as one hole dug; negative one?

Mankind shifts the paradigm of negativism, legalism and hypocrisy by looking to God"s truth in every situation or circumstance. A light illuminates my book, so I may read more clearly. God"s truth illuminates the proper course of direction I am to take, regarding any situation. "A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention" Prov. 15:18. Leadership among any populace of any nation must first look to truth. Many books espouse truth only one book states that what it says:" is purified and true; a perfect shield to all who put their trust in it". Psalms. I would think any leader would require a perfect shield, for certainly he will be surrounded with many enemies!

Abraham's leadership Examples

Thank you Abraham for showing us one of the prime steps in obtaining leadership. In order to transform others, we must first, transform ourselves. All change begins in the interior of the heart. Abraham turned his heart toward God and then allowed God to transform his heart, through faith. All leaders must first, address the hidden sins of their own heart and cleanse the heart from its past behaviors and proclivities. Desires for the negative rather than the positive. A desire to serve, not oppress, a desire to lift up one who is down trodden rather than trample, a desire to roll up the sleeves and help the other person gain their desired victory. The desire to give, rather than take. The desire to dream the impossible dream and know that impossibilities are God's definite possibilities; that indeed, nothing is impossible with God. Mark 4 Successful leaders depend not on their own wit and wisdom, but on God. Jeremiah confesses both the sin of the people and that God reigns forever and will ultimately restore what has been lost. Leaders act according to their gifts and calling, but trust God to bring about the desired results. Love is the gauge for any kind of effectual leader!Maxwell p 963,1543