Simeon, an effective leader by the Spirit

To kick off our 19th annual Treasures of Hope Christmas Store, we're profiling individuals who played a role in the story of Jesus' birth in #12DaystoTreasures.

Wikipedia: Simeon in the Temple, by Rembrandt van Rijn

Simeon is a picture of the effective leader led by the Spirit of God. Simeon's willingness to devote himself to God and submit to the Lord's guidance placed him in the temple of Jerusalem at a momentous time, when the King of Heaven entered His temple as a babe. It was a must-see time at the temple, and Simeon was there:

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

    “Lord, now you are letting your  servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;
    and for glory to your people Israel” Luke 2: 25-32 (ESV).

    for my eyes have seen your salvation 

    that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 

    a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

The passage says the Lord already had told Simeon he wouldn't die until he saw the Messiah, but if Simeon had had a prayerless day, if he had ignored the promptings of the Spirit and decided to stay home, he would have missed what he had been promised. Being led by the Spirit means showing up at the right place at the right time.

At Dallas Leadership Foundation, we can bear witness every day to the need to follow the Spirit of God. His guidance directs our ministry efforts on projects like the Treasures of Hope Christmas Store. 

Ask us how people received ministry at the store or how gifts from DLF were a specific answer to prayer. Ask us about people who met the Lord for the first time at the store or left full of hope and faith because of someone on our team, or one of our faithful volunteers, heeded the Spirit of the Lord.

 If Simeon hadn't followed the Spirit, he also wouldn't have given the words of revelation to Mary and Joseph, words that have meaning today -- thousands of years later. Luke writes:

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (v. 34, 35).

We don't want to miss our leadership assignment to serve families and function as conduits for the far-reaching purposes of God. During this Christmas season and beyond, may you also stay on course with the Spirit of God. He has amazing encounters in store for you!

If you want to donate toys and other items to Treasures of Hope so that we can make Christmas special for hundreds of Dallas families, please visit  our online store at dlftx.org.

A snapshot of Anna, the phenomenal and faithful leader

To kick off our 19th annual Treasures of Hope Christmas Store, we're profiling individuals who played a role in the story of Jesus' birth in #12DaystoTreasures. 

The prophetess Anna only gets a snapshot in Luke's "orderly account" of the birth of Jesus and His dedication, but that snapshot speaks volumes about the constancy of godly leadership.

Luke describes Anna as the daughter of Penuel, which means the "face of God." She was a descendant of the tribe of Asher, a tribe the rabbis associated with the priesthood, according to chabad.org. Luke also says Anna was a widow of advanced age, but scholars find the text tricky to interpret. When was she married? When was she widowed? Anna may have been an 84-year-old widow when she met Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus, or she was widowed 84 years, as an article in Bible History Daily explains. Either way, Anna was dependable. She found her place in the temple and stayed steadfast night and day, in prayer, fasting and worship.

Anna was a spiritual leader who called out to heaven. Interceding was her life purpose and she positioned herself to fulfill it. Perhaps she drew strength from Psalm 122, which describes a person overjoyed to go to Jerusalem for worship:

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord (KJV).

Commitment is an essential ingredient in leadership of any kind. At Dallas Leadership Foundation, we know how important it is to demonstrate a sustained
commitment to the communities we serve. We work hard to let community leaders and their neighbors know that we'll work alongside them, that we're dependable and accessible.

It's why we have offered the Treasures of Hope Christmas Store for nearly two decades. Eighteen hundred children will receive Christmas toys this year because their parents will shop for toys at a discount of 75 percent or more below the retail price. For nearly two decades, communities have looked forward to our store as a place where they can donate toys or shop for their families.

Like Anna, we want to be faithful at our post. This woman saw the face of God in the face of the Baby Jesus and shared the good news about His birth. We want to do the same. Sharing the presence of the Lord by helping families at the Treasures of Hope Christmas store is a gift we love to share every year.

If you want to donate toys and other items to Treasures of Hope so that we can make Christmas special for hundreds of Dallas families, please visit  our online store at dlftx.org.

5 Things We Are Thankful for This Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we celebrate another Thanksgiving and reflect on what we are thankful for, our list could be endless! But here are five of them:

#1: The call God has given us to develop leaders to serve critical needs facing Dallas communities.

#2: The openness of Dallas schools to allow our youth leaders to engage students and address truancy, poor attendance, illiteracy, and more.

#3: The number of inmates in our prison faith-based dorms who have received Christ, demonstrated their faith through baptism, and are now boldly living for Christ.

#4: The expansion of residential services we are offering to the elderly, veterans, and other homeowners in need in collaboration with neighborhood associations, churches, and businesses that want to address critical needs facing our city.

#5: The expectation that God will continue to transform lives and communities in 2017 as we remain faithful in empowering leaders to demonstrate their faith in word and deed.

But most of all, we are thankful to God for you! The projects above would not be possible without the help of ongoing partners like you. We are so very grateful!

But we can do more with your help! This year DLF is participating in #GivingTuesday with a toy drive campaign we've named #GiveToysTuesday, which benefits children in need as part of our annual Treasures of Hope Christmas Store.

We have set-up a super easy way for donors to help children in need have a bright Christmas byshopping for them using our 2017 Online Christmas Giving Catalog. The catalog can be accessed on our website at www.dlftx.org/TOHStore.

So consider expressing your thankfulness by giving to those less fortunate whether on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or #GivingToysTuesday.


Have a Happy Thanksgiving!