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Moses, an anointed and dynamic leader, who has much to teach us today, is also a man who is prepared to listen to others and learn from others. Now, there’s a lesson for each of us. These recent articles are based on the Old Testament book of Exodus and we are presently reading and studying in Chapter 18.

Moses’ father-in law spoke to him, and he took the matter to the Lord God Almighty. Moses is open to hear and learn, and the work load is to be shared.

Verse 7. Do check out the actual text. Note the attitude and respect – the warmth and the love – and Jethro is delighted.

On we go to verses 13 and 14. Moses was doing far too much, and it took his father-in-law to see this and advise him. He noticed it immediately.

Verse 17 – what you are doing is not good. If you go on like this you will wear yourself out. Moses was trying to hear all the complaints, grumblings, and whinings of the people!

Moses appoints some 78,000 to assist him in this massive task – 78,600 to be exact and precise, and they are to do the job he was trying to do on his own. This is remarkably similar to Acts Chapter 6 in the New Testament when a problem arose and the spiritual leaders would not be sidetracked. They refused to be diverted from their main task.

They must be men of ability – godly men – integrity is important – and they are to be impartial. If gifts are to be developed in these men they must have the opportunity to develop their gifts.

We so need leaders with integrity in these present days. They appear to be a very scarce commodity.

Every 10 to 12 people should have someone to look after them pastorally and personally. If a man does not have a covering he is in trouble. He can wander off and so easily become a loner. Such a person is in great danger.

There is spending and being spent – II Corinthians Chapter 12 verse 15. Paul was so willing to spend and be spent, but remember that when Paul returned from his journeyings preaching the Gospel and teaching the believers, he always took time in his home church at Antioch to rest and recover and be refreshed, and that is always vital.

In Mark Chapter 6 at verse 31, we have these words of Jesus – come away from the crowds – and from the hustle and bustle – and rest awhile.

It has been said that if we do not come apart we will come apart!

What followed was amazing, and without this advice from Jethro things might have been very very different.

Moses was left to receive and teach the general principles of God’s law.

What a sensible arrangement. God organises our time so much better than we can.

There are things we have to do – things to which we have to say “Yes” – and things to which we have to say “No”.

But can you imagine some people saying – “Well I used to be able to get through to Moses with my problems – and now I have to go to just one of these elders – my problem needs Moses – my problem is special! Well Moses hasn’t been dealing with the things he used to deal with – it has all changed since his father-in-law got him to introduce this new system.”

Moses learned that to delegate is important, or else you will impair your long term usefulness.

There is another side to Jethro which needs to be seen.

Jethro was a man who never got to the Promised Land. He rejoiced in what God was doing for His people. He was glad about what God was doing in the life of his son-in-law – verse 9.

He rejoiced. He was so sensible and practical but he never fully identified himself with what God was doing, and that is always sad. Jethro acknowledges and even sacrifices – but that is not enough – he never went along with them. He didn’t take the vital step of being one of the people of God and following the Lord God Almighty.

He was helpful and positive and practical. He was what the world might call a good man, but the most vital thing in life was missing – commitment to God.

We seek to be fully committed to Jesus Christ – and to what Jesus Christ is doing – and to be overflowing with the Love of the Risen and Living Lord Jesus Christ, even when we wonder what might be around the corner.

We seek to be identified with the purposes of God – and with Christ Jesus – and with the Moving and Leading of the Holy Spirit.

Personal experience, of the Power of God, is a potent means of bringing others to acknowledge the saving Grace of Jesus Christ, and to revealing His Glory.

We seek to have a testimony that is real and living – and to witness and to be a witness in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.

I was reading a blog the other day written by a woman who was livid, positively livid, that a prospective employer had made a comment that she says alluded to her less than stellar wardrobe.

I don’t know what the comment was. The post was a rambling invective against the interviewer – another woman – that referenced the jealousy of females in general, the rudeness of that particular interviewer, and the unfairness of being judged by one’s looks.

So, I – intrepid I – dared to ask the question that just had to be on everyone else’s mind: what did she wear to her job interview?

Nice new T-shirt, aqua. Capri pants, aqua stripe. Sandals, aqua. New straw tote bag. She had done her research on the company, and she knew it was Casual Friday. Her outfit was completely appropriate, and moreover, it was brand-new.

So I sit here, hands above my keyboard. I want to ask for her phone number, because there is nothing I can type that will express the depths of my internal screams. NO! It was not appropriate!

The fact of the matter is that we are judged by the way we present ourselves. With just a resume and a browse through our networking sites, an employer has just a few minutes in an interview to determine whether her company is going to spend the time and money involved in hiring us. Why risk putting any doubt into her mind by showing up in clothes that are too casual, poor-fitting, poor-quality, or just plain inappropriate?

A Friday job interview does not qualify as an excuse to meet your interviewer in flip-flops and a Hawaiian shirt. Casual Friday is for employees. They have earned it by working at the company. The employer knows what they look like in their workday wardrobes.

You, as the candidate, however, have just one chance to make a good impression. Yes, your resume is perfect, it’s posted in all the right places, and you’ve got a terrific homepage. I guarantee you that all the effort of intelligently marketing and branding yourself flies out the window when you show up – stupidly – at your interview in an inappropriate outfit.

Dress for your job interview as if you were meeting your company’s most important clients for the biggest deal in industry history. If you don’t know what the company dress code is, go sit outside their door and watch the employees going in and out. The ones in the best – most professional – outfits are the ones you should emulate.

A suit is never a bad idea for a man. The level of formality should be equal to the industry. If you are applying for a job in a law firm, a well-cut dark blue or gray suit that fits well, with a complementary shirt and tie and black shoes is the only way to go. Actually, if you are a woman applying for a job in a law firm, that would work for you, too. Suits should never be tight-fitting, loudly patterned, or made of shoddy fabric.

Jewelry should be minimal. Nothing throws off an interview like the jangling of earrings and your grandmother’s charm bracelets.

If you are in a more creative industry, you have more leeway to show self-expression through your wardrobe. Don’t get nutty with it, though. If you have a tendency to flamboyancy, edit yourself four times before you leave the house. Jewelry, funky hair, short skirt, torn clothes, and too much make-up are all deal-breakers. Picking a neutral suit or pants or jacket or skirt and jacket combination and popping it with one color is never a bad way to go. It also allows you to buy a very good piece for your interviews – which you can carry with you into your professional life – and accessorize it in several different ways.

And as for Casual Friday – hmmm. I had a boss once who, when asked if our company could adopt a Casual Friday policy, said, “We’re professional the rest of the week. Why would we not be professional on Friday?”