Blog

By Bill Lawrence, President of Leader Formation International

Today I am asking you to pray for a special leader among leaders in Ukraine.
 
I have served with this leader, a pastor of pastors, a trainer of both current and future Ukrainian pastors throughout and now in non-Russian Ukraine. I am choosing not to identify him for fear that the Russians may seek him out at some point in time, which is their pattern, and that would be harmful for him. However, he is a leader among leaders, a shepherd under the Shepherd, and I want you around the world to remember him in prayer and hold him up before the Lord. I have worked with him in Ukraine in the past, have known him as a strong leader, and want him to continue to make a difference for the Lord according to His will. For this reason, I ask you to pray for Him.
 
Spiritually
 
That he will be desperately dependent on the Lord (John 15:5)
That he will influence other leaders to be desperately dependent on the Lord.
That he will constantly be in God’s word and influence other leaders to know the word
That he will consistently call those he influences to walk with the Lord
 
Personally
 
That he will grow in his walk with the Lord in these painful times of Russian intrusion
That he will have discipline in these seasons of uncertainty
That he will have peace and confidence when all he has planned is radically threatened
That those he influences will find the truth of God’s word to be the hope they need
That he will have the strength he needs to lead others forward for the Lord
That he will have the ability he seeks to guide with the certainty of God’s truth
 
Physically
 
That he will have the health he must have to be the husband, father, and leader in these days
That he will have the strength he must have to be the man his people desperately need
That he will have the discipline he must have to be the leader everyone wants
 
Family
 
That his wife will find strength and stability to stand in this uncertain time
That he and his wife can serve together in courage and confidence to honor the Lord
That his wife can be a source of stability to stand with him in these overwhelming moments
That his growing children can speak with him matter what they must bear
That all of them together can be one with the Lord at this time
That they can be one no matter what they must experience before the sovereign Lord
 
Ministry
 
That he can support those who must pay the Russian price, especially in eastern Ukraine
That he can train those who are in seminary to learn to serve the Lord today and in the future
That he an equip those who are writing material so they can stand for the Lord
That those who are primary leaders can guide those they lead in vital ways
 
There is much more I could say, but this is adequate for our purpose at this time. The demands are overwhelming, and I simply want to encourage all I know that there are many who are with you and want to support you in these overwhelming days. Please stand with me as we stand with you and want to support you in your struggles. You are paying prices we can never begin to understand, and we join with you in facing the burdens you must bear. This is the cross Jesus carried up Calvary’s hill. We pay this price with you and want you to know that you are not alone in carrying His cross. Remember, the only way up is down, but the glory of the resurrection only comes this way if we follow the Lord together His way and find His glory through Calvary.
 

By Bill Lawrence, President of Leader Formation International

Exodus 3:14

YAHWEH attracted Moses through the burning bush and directed him to go to Egypt, an overwhelming, impossible task. It is possible that you also have an impossible task for the Lord. Perhaps you have the same question of the Lord the Moses had. Read on and see what he asked and what YAHWEH answered to him.

All right. This makes sense. I guess. You are the God of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I am afraid of you because you have an overwhelming fire that you have ignited to attract me. There are many ways you could have called me, but this is the greatest. I couldn’t resist. I am here. Yet you want the Israelites to trust You and follow me as their leader and shepherd. It’s been 400 years since Israel heard from you. How could they trust a man who had to run for his life forty years ago and a God they haven’t heard from in for- ever?  We all know your name, but what does it mean? Who are you? How can we trust YAHWEH for the future whose history is a story from the past and is not present at all? What kind of a future does this promise mean to us? How can this overcome Egypt and get us through the wilderness to a land we haven’t seen in forever?

The answer that Moses received is that YAHWEH is I AM. That’s it. He never was, He never will be. Everything about Him IS. He is not like any other so-called god, no other power, not one that once was nor one that will be. He is the only God who IS, the only one who is eternal, the only one who can meet our needs, the only one with an amazing plan for us. Nothing is greater that He is and nothing ever will be better than He is. He can do everything He says He will do. He does all He says He will do. He overcomes all His enemies because He is all that they are not. There was a time when they never were and there will be a time when they never will be. He has no weakness, no illness, no failure, no darkness, no shame, no evil. He is totally truly trustworthy. He IS I AM. Do you know anyone else who is like Him? Why do you trust anyone else? How can you possibly trust yourself? Can anyone else do for you what YAHWEH did for our fathers when He delivered them and no one else would? Can we at least trust Him and see what He will do? We can try anyway. Anything else is better than slavery!

Besides,

Who is like our YAHWEH?

by Bill Lawrence, President of Leader Formation International 

David first knew God as Elohim YAHWEH, the LORD God from the beginning, from Genesis 1-2, because that is how Moses revealed God to Israel and to David—and to us. We know Him from Genesis 1-2.
 
In Genesis 1 Moses revealed Him as Elohim, the Creator of all in seven days, the Maker of what exists from the heavens and the earth to man. There were states of reality, the core essence that first came into being with no detail, nothing about how we relate to Him or to each other, only that we are.

In this reality God is the Maker of all, the All-Powerful Sustainer of all, the Ruler of all. At this point, there is no relationship, only simple facts of existence. So we worship Him in His power and honor Him in His glory and depend on Him in His resources. He means everything to us.
 

Yes, He is the all-powerful One, the Sovereign Lord, the One who is over all, the One who created universe after universe, Thus it is that we are radically desperately dependent on Him, over us, but distant from us, not really engaged with us.
 
Then in Genesis 2 we learn to know Him as YAHWEH, the One who relates to us, who reaches out to us, who sustains us, who gives us our very lives, who is sovereign over us, but in a close, , engaging, relating way. He knows us and wants to relate to us in a reach and warm way. That’s what being LORD means to us; not the Boss but the One who cares for us and wants to relate to us, who meets with us at the end of a demand-int day and talk about our lives with us. So David knew Him as the One who worked in his life, who sustained him, who directed him, who protected him, who loved him and had a plan for him if only he would obey him. And He is the same for you.
 
Though He is our Boss, He is far more than that to us. Lord means superior, over us, ruler, in charge of us, the one who tells us what to do and expects us to do what we’re told to do, what we should have done, who holds us accountable, and who comes down on us when we fail to do it. While that is true, the concept of LORD, YAHWEH, as found in the Scripture is far more than this. It is superior, but it is also relational, caring, passionate, compassionate, full of understanding, patient, and also demanding, accountable, expecting, and requiring. Yet it is also providing, meeting needs, understanding, Patient yet holding accountable. There are no excuses yet there is gentleness and long kindness. There is an amazing thoughtfulness as well as a firmness that ultimately refuses to accept excuses. There is patience but also utter expectation when explanations are simply coverups for willful laziness.
 
The LORD is your Shepherd even as He was David’s Shepherd. He has a purpose for you, a plan for you, a hope for you, even when it appears that there is no purpose or plan or hope for you when you are confused and uncertain about your life. Trust Him today. YAHWEH is your Shepherd. Trust Him for your life even though you may not know where you are going or what you are going to do, when all you can see is darkness and even death He is still for you and with you and most of all He loves you. Know that He loves you no matter what you face! After all, Jesus died for you. Yes, and rose from the dead as well. And remember, only the shadow of death and not death can itself can ever touch all of us who trust Him.

By Bill Lawrence - President Leader Formation International

Exodus 3:1-9

How do you respond in times of struggle and stress? Do you turn to YAHWEH in moments of tension and fear? Are you facing such times in 2023? Do you trust the LORD or do you complain to Him and resent Him because you feel He fails you and believe He has deserted you? Is YAHWEH truly your Shepherd or do you feel you have to take care of yourself? Perhaps you are like Moses having run for your life and have no way out or maybe like Israel caught up in slavery in some unescapable control. You may even think He has failed you and you are on your own. Yet this could be the time when you discover the amazing sovereign LORD is for you because He has come to deliver you if only you will trust Him!

Turn now and seek Him to discover if He has come to set you free and give you a new life.

Stop! Stop complaining. Stop crying out to those around you. Stop griping to God. Be silent. Be still. Realize that you are approaching the Holy God, the sinless LORD, the pure Sovereign Spirit, the Son of God who took up the cross for you. It is time to be still and listen through His word. Do not even confess. Just be silent and still and listen for what He has to say when He speaks. It is enough that He will speak to you. Who are you that He would say a word to you? Why does the Creator of all that is bother with us? Yet He does if only you will be still and listen. Could there be a burning bush in your life? Some way YAHWEH is striving to get your attention? Is there anything you have missed? Look and see.

Think about that. Be still. Listen. There might be.

That’s all. Be still. Listen.

by Bill Lawrence, President of Leader Formation International
 

Think of it.

YAHWEH is MY Shepherd.

The Creator of the universe, the Covenant maker, the Cross bearer is MY Shepherd.

How can it be that the One who made multiple universes, who created Man, who brought nations into being, who established major covenants, who lay in a manger, who bore the cross, who arose from the dead, is MY Shepherd? He cared for me when no one else cared for me. I, had neither mother nor father until I was five years old, had no money, and possessed little or nothing for many years of my life. I had no possessions, those who cared for me only had what we needed from week to week, yet He guided me through green meadows and along still waters and even through the valley of the shadow of death in and out again into wonderful meadows and canyons into blessed places of life. That is still true even now during these many years. How can that be? How can the sovereign YAHWEH be MY Shepherd? And YOUR Shepherd too. No one is greater than OUR Shepherd.

Yet He is.

He is radically committed to me and is guiding me through time into eternity. And He does the same for you if you have put your faith in Him. Do you know that? Do you live with that reality in your heart? Are you seeking His guidance? Are you trusting Him for eternal life? Are you calling for His wisdom through His word and from others who seek Him out?  Do you count on Him as YOUR Shepherd? Do you say,

YAHWEH is MY Shepherd?

Is this true of you today?