How many make it their aim and goal to be sober and self-controlled and watchful or careful and vigilant and awake and alert? The fruit of such investment can be most highly rewarding, in all kinds of ways. If we try to separate these then both may die. These guard the heart. We need our hearts and lives garrisoned by faith and love. It is like two sentries on permanent duty. If you are wounded in the head, it is unlikely that you will be able to use the other pieces of the armour. The head represents the mind and the thought life. This is a sinful, fallen, unfriendly, warring world, and that is why we need the protection which Almighty God provides. When sin barges in, it is not very easy at times to have sin cast out, but it is possible.

Managing a group of people is not about calling yourself a manager. It's about being a leader, that inspires and motivates a team for success. I expand on this important aspect of management to succeed in your business.

When this leader and he was very much a leader, spoke to those around him, he referred to them as 'brothers'. The way leaders treat others, no matter what line of business they are in is crucially important, and much more important than we sometimes realise. Wherever you are, whether you are a boss or a leader, or working away under bosses, give 16 ounces to your pound and 12 inches to your foot, and do not try to short change Almighty God. Again, we learn that good leaders are clear and precise. People need to know and to know exactly. It is good to share and speak and teach and inform. This is all part of leadership, no matter where we are. In how many scenarios at work do people wonder what the leadership is doing and what decision the leadership is making?

This world is blundering on in a morass of sin and sorrow and sadness and suffering. Here and there, there are lights shining in the darkness, and, please God, may we be one of these lights. A missionary came home from an overseas field, having been away for five years, and spoke, describing how he had led one man to faith in Jesus Christ, but only one man. The Chairman announced at the close of that 'Missionary Evening' that he would rather have been able to do that. Leaders in particular need understanding and comfort and encouragement as they serve and lead with integrity and honesty using whatever skill Almighty God has given them. Of course, over these most recent years, there have been leaders in the financial and economic and banking world, and their misbehaviour and mismanagement have cause appalling trouble and distress worldwide!