So the woman bore a son, and she called him Samson.

The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him. 

The Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 

The Philistine rulers came up to her and said, “Trick him! Find out about how his strength is so great and how we can overcome him, bind him, and humiliate him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred silver coins.”

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me how your strength is so great and how you could be bound in order to be subdued.”

Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like an ordinary man.”

So the Philistine rulers brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

 They lay in wait in her inner room. She said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson.” Then he split apart the bowstrings like a single thread is split apart at the touch of fire. So the source of his strength did not become known.

Delilah said to Samson, “You have deceived me. You have told me lies. Now, please tell me how you can be bound.”

He said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have never been used, then I will become weak and be like an ordinary man.”

So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them. Then she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson.” For men were lying in wait, remaining in the room. But he split apart the ropes on his arms like a thread.

Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me. You have told me lies. Tell how you can be bound.”

He said to her, “If you weave seven locks of my hair into the fabric on the loom and fasten it with the pin, then I will become weak and be like an ordinary man.” 

So Delilah lulled him to sleep and wove seven locks of his hair into the fabric on the loom. She fastened it with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson.” He awakened from his sleep and tore away from the loom pin and the fabric.

She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me how your strength is so great.” 

Every day she nagged him with her words and pleaded with him until he was tired to death.

When their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson, so he can entertain us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he entertained them.

They placed him between the pillars. 

Samson said to the young man who held his hand, “Let me rest and touch the pillars on which the temple is set, then I can lean against them.” 

The temple was full of men and women, and all the Philistine rulers were there. There were about three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain. 

Samson called out to the Lord, “Lord God, remember me, I pray! Please strengthen me just this once, God, so that I may get full revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes!” 

Then Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the temple was set and leaned against them, one with his right hand and one with his left. 

Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed with all his strength, and the temple fell upon the rulers and all the people who were in it. At his death he killed more than he had killed in his life.

 Then his brothers and all his family came down, carried him, brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the grave of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel for twenty years.

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Do not neglect the gift that is in you.

living water

“God was so desperate to be in a relationship with us, that God would come to us in the form of Jesus and leave us in the form of Christ. And, unltimately, in that leaving of us, sent this Holy Spirit . . . that spirit of fire that sent us back into the world so that we might speak in the tongues of all nations."

And that's another cool thing my Senior Pastor told us.

ARISE
SHINE
SOAR

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"Distrust is: what I have shared with you that is important to me is not safe with you."

There are many types of leadership styles. Twelve is a good number, some more successful or more appropriate than others in particular situations and settings. We'll come to that later.

How about we sit back for a bit, scratch our heads (or each other's), and start on the inside (or us)? Thoughts on becoming a leader!

Something To Consider

* * *

As a leader, you sometimes have to get on board and lead others aboard without having ever yourself been aboard.

Really!

Actually, great leaders are doing that far more often than not! I'm not kidding you. Really! Oh, and very often you'll have to design the train or the trolley. With your bare hands! Don't worry, managers don't have to; they thrive on experience! You - leader - will have to take people into the promise land across a fierce ocean and over the desert with not enough food and lots of crying babies. And that one screamer whose only purpose in life is to prove you are a murderer!

Now, train or trolley?

You spoke to the Big Chief. You were bold. You were enthusiastic. You said, "Here I am, Lord. Send me." And now you are sent!

Some leaders are called parents. Some leaders are called teachers. Some leaders are called mentors. Some leaders are called friends. Many leaders have no idea of the invisible many they are leading by their every step and for whom they are life's very glue.

However, to keep your eyes wide open, you'll probably need these:

• empathy
• flexibility
• integrity
• creativity

You'll probably want to create room for these:

• intuition
• conviction
• communication
• vision

It all begins with trust: trust in yourself, trust in your mission, trust in those who commisioned you. If you don't trust yourself, you will NOT trust anyone else. We have a thick history of those kind of leaders too! Doom!

You are

It's a RESPONSIBILITY