Tag Archives: Christianity

Man to Man…Living a life wothy of your calling

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I do prison ministry a couple of times a week at one of the local prisons, working with the men in the pre-release program.

We have been studying Ephesians ch. 4 over the last Month.  God has so much for us to learn here. Not the least of which is found in the very first verse. Paul issues a challenge as he begs his new converts in Ephesus to live a life that is worthy of their calling.

For me this is one of those verses that bears repeating every day. So when I rise up in the morning, one of the things I do now, is ask myself this question…Am I living a life worthy of my calling? What is the evidence? and how can I do a better job today? As I pray  after spending time in God’s Word, I ask God to help me live my life worth of my calling, that I may continue to become the man He is calling me to be.

I believe spiritual transformation, at least our part of the transformation process, is gradual and will not be completed until we leave this corrupt body of flesh and walk the streets of heaven. So we are all in different places along the process. That is one of the reasons it is so important that we mentor one another  as men.

The process begins at conversion, new converts are described by Paul as babes in Christ. We need to be nurtured and assisted through the infant stages of our transformation process. God’s part of the process is given at the point of our faith in Christ as savior, or as Jesus describes it to Nicodemus, at the point of the new birth. We are spiritually quickened or made alive in Christ, forgiven , justified, sanctified, a personal relationship with God, all of the promises to believers are passed to us immediately,and more.

Now the transformation process begins,  by the renewing of our minds, that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom.12:2)

In this process God will use His Word , people and circumstance to transform us.  As men of God we need other men to assist us in this transformation, men who have experiences outside of our own, to help us navigate the traps and snares the enemy lay’s before us;  Keeping us from reaching the fullness of God’s plan for our lives. Sometimes He will bring people into our lives that seem to be very abrasive, they just clash with who we are and can be difficult to get along with. I believe these people are given by the Grace of God to build character in us that conforms us to the image of Christ, much the same way our trials and sorrows do.

Life can be so much clearer when we have positioned other Godly men in our lives to help us see and understand what God is doing with us.

We were all created for relationship. It is in our DNA. We seek it and need it whether or not we realize or recognize it. It is God-given. When we isolate ourselves and try to do it all on our own, or even just us and God, there is something missing.

Ephesians 4: 3 says…Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.  vs. 16.  He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and  growing and full of love.

In Psalm one, Solomon, David’s son proclaims the Joys and Blessings to those who seek out Godly council. Even the great Kings of  Israel, David and Solomon, surrounded themselves with Godly men like Samuel and Nathan to speak truth into their lives and assist them in their quest to live their lives worthy of their calling, because just as they were, WE are called by God.

Be a man after God’s own heart…

Be a Man like David…

Man to Man….When life ovewhelms

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holding on

This week has been a bit trying. I feel I have been under attack, not from a temptation to act perspective, but a weariness of life perspective, spending all my energy just in hanging on.

There are times when the every day can be used by the enemy to discourage and dampen the call of God on our lives. Often it can be due to the expectations we put on ourselves. Expectations based on our own perspectives and not prayerfully set by God through daily communion and fellowship with Him.

There are times when it seems it takes everything we can muster  just to make life work, and it leaves us feeling empty and unsatisfied. No time spent on realizing any of our dreams, All of our time at work and away from our family and friends, it just feels like we live to work, and that gets depressing very quickly.

So what do we do, how can we get some measure or sense of control back into our lives? What is the solution to having to spend hours and hours working with no time for anything else?

Having asked the question, I don’t know that I have the answer. I think it may be different for each man.

Here are a few things that might be worth considering.

First the obvious. Am I fulfilling God’s call on my life?

Joy for us comes from relationship with God first and foremost. Family follows close behind, but our relationship with family will never be right if we do not put God first in everything. Spending time with Him, in relationship and communion is essential to getting the right perspective on every other thing that fills your day. Do you have  KIROS (God’s Time ) time in your daily schedule? Make the time, even if you have to get up earlier, or go to bed later, or find a quiet place on the way to work and leave a little early, what ever you have to do to create that time alone with only you and God, do it.

Next, maybe take a look at your work week. I know it may sound a little simplistic, but creating an ideal work week, that is, setting certain blocks of time down on paper, that lay out each day and week for you, can help you regain some control over your time. One of the things I took away from my time in sales was to put together an ideal work week. I thought it was silly, and a waste of time until I sat down and did it, refined it a few times and suddenly there were hours of time in my week for things I had not seen before.

Hopefully your spouse is a believer and is on board with working together to help create balance in your lives. You are blessed if that is the case. If that is not the case, one of the things you and God can begin working on together is seeing that change. You need your wife to be your partner in this and in most cases, only God can give you the wisdom and support to bring that to life. I can tell you that having a spiritual partner as well as a life partner is more precious than anything I can imagine, there is nothing that can stand in your way when you are in relationship with God and have a wife that is a spiritual partner. What a blessing.

I believe when these things are in place, everything else will follow. Matthew 6:33 says….But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Jesus is speaking to those worried about the needs we all have in this life, and makes it very clear that God will provide for us if we put Him first.

Psalm 3:

5. I  lay down and slept,
yet I woke up in safety,
for the Lord was watching over me.
6. I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies
who surround me on every side.
7. Arise, O Lord!
Rescue me, my God!
Slap all my enemies in the face!
Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
8. Victory comes from you, O Lord.
May you bless your people.
David not only had his house to worry about, but the whole house of Israel. As King this was his responsibility, but he wasn’t foolish enough to take it all upon himself. He had relationship and communion with God daily, and there he found solutions, and strength to handle the daily, sometime overwhelming events of life.
The same God want’s relationship with you….
Be a man after God’s own heart…
Be a man like David.

Man to Man …Becoming the man Part 3

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we had no freedom untill Jesus Christ made us free indeed.

We had no freedom untill Jesus Christ made us free indeed.

Knowing who you are affects everything. For we who have put our faith in Christ as Lord and saviour, it changes everything. Once we were lost but now we are found. Once we were blind but now we see. Once we were dead and now we live. Discovering who we are in Christ, is like waking up in prison one morning, with the guard tapping you on the leg saying, come with me. Following him to the warden’s office you find out that you have been pardoned, and that you are free to journey home where you are part of a royal priesthood. An adopted son into the royal family, with the same inheritance as the Prince of the kingdom.
I Peter 2:9….But youare a choice race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired, that the excellences ye may shew forth of Him who out of darkness did call you to His wondrous light; Rom_8:17  And if children, also heirs; truly heirs of God, and joint-heirs of Christ, if indeed we suffer together, that we may also be glorified together. We are Chosen by God , a people acquired by the blood of Christ, to be His Holy Nation, conformed to the image of His son Jesus Christ, and given the same inheritance. God loved us so much, has given us so much in Christ, and we walk around as if we were spiritually bankrupt, paupers and powerless.WAKE-UP!!!!Stop living a life in bondage, a prisoner to sin and the flesh, and step into the life God has provided you in Jesus Christ, with the ability to walk humbly with God.I have been involved in prison ministry off and on for probably 25 years and the one common denominator with all of the believers in prison, is that they do not know who they are in Christ. Some can say the words and verbalize it to you, but it has never been realized in their lives. One of the first things I like to do, and this is so exciting to watch, is to introduce them to themselves, that is who they are in Christ. it takes a few meetings for it to begin to sink in, but when it finally breaks through to them, it changes them forever. They are the personification of all of us who even after coming to know Christ, remained in bondage to some degree to the old nature, living to satisfy the flesh and it’s desires. But God’s promise is that all who come to Jesus Christ by faith believing, will by divine order be made to conform to the image of Christ, and when we finally get it; when we finally see who we truly are, we are finally set free.

freedom to become

We come to the realization we have the freedom not to sin.

Before we Came to Christ by faith  and began a personal relationship with Him, we only had one place to go with all of the things, the drives and needs, God created into each of us, that place was to the flesh. But Now We are Spiritually alive having had our spirits quickened  or made alive in Christ. This gives us an alternative,not taking our needs to the flesh, but to God.

Eph_2:1

  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Col_2:13

  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

My prayer is that we as men of God awaken to the truth of who we are in Christ, so that we live as priestly kings, that is our lives reflect the abundant spiritual wealth we share together. Making the eternal things of our home in heaven the priority, as Husbands,fathers,employees,friends,church members. Serving and mentoring those within our circles of influence to also come to the same revelation of who they are.

Mat_6:33

  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Knowing who you are in Christ…what obstacle is too big for you to move out of your way to be the man God is calling you to be? What task is too difficult for you to accomplish? What force too powerful for you to overcome? Do you understand that the only thing that can limit you or hold you back is you? Step out of your little box and trust God. Remove the training wheels, take down all of the barriers you have erected to protect yourself and walk by faith, trusting God as He leads you to become the man He is calling you to be. May God bless you and give you courage and peace to follow Him….Jesus loves you and so do I.

 
 

Man to Man …becoming the man part 2

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WHO AM I?

In part 1, we looked at this question and why we ask it. We looked at some of the answers found in God’s word that point us to the answer. As we continue to look at this question, may we pray together for God to open our spiritual eyes, so that we may see ourselves through the eye’s of God and catch a glimpse of who we are to Him.

II Kings ch. 6: 8-17;  Here is an example of being spiritually blind to the presence of God around you.

8. When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, “We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place.”

9. But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, “Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there.” 10. So the king of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he would be on the alert there.
11. The king of Aram became very upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, “Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?”
12. “It’s not us, my lord the king,” one of the officers replied. “Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!”
13. “Go and find out where he is,” the king commanded, “so I can send troops to seize him.”
And the report came back: “Elisha is at Dothan.” 14. So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.
15. When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.
16. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17. Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.
So I have prayed, and I encourage you to pray with me…Lord open my eye’s that I may see who I am in you!
We live in a world of flesh and blood, of touch and sight, action and reaction,logic and reason, where reality is what you see and feel. But that is just a portion of the truth of life.
As adopted sons of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, The redeemed who have been purchased with his own blood, There is so much more, here, now, as we walk in this flesh with all of its imperfections, desires and limitations, there is more for us to see if we would just open our eye’s.
It is important for us to see our worth and value from God’s perspective because how we perceive ourselves to a great extent dictates how we live in this life.
I remember a movie from years ago. They made several sequels to it. Tom Barrenger  played an ex special forces soldier, who took a substitute teaching position in a high school, for I think his sister. You can begin to see the plot, even if you have not seen the movie right? Well the Principal of the High School was dealing drugs  and Barrengers character eventually takes him down …..you know. But one of the lines that the principal spoke has stuck with me all these years, he said… “Power perceived is power achieved”.
There is a lot of truth in that little phrase. One of those truths, an antithesis to the phrase, You will not achieve powerful things until you perceive yourself as powerful. Not in your flesh or your own strength, but as you, in humility embrace and even boast as Paul did, in your weakness, that God’s power may manifest itself there.
I believe it is Chris Tomlin who has a new song out..”WHOM SHALL I FEAR”  some of the lyrics say…I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind, the God of angel armies, is always by my side. The one who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine, The God of angel armies is always by my side…..Whom shall I fear?
Untill we get who we are we will always settle for less than what God has for us!
Think about it, what challenge would be too great for us? What calling of God on our lives impossible, what vision for our mission in life too daunting…..if we could just see who we are, if we would only open our eyes and see those chariots of fire, out numbering and way more powerful than that which stands against us. If we just had a perception of our enormous power, wrapped in humility, as we walk with our friend and the lover of our souls. If we only fully understood Who We Are in Christ.
How would that perception effect how we meet life. How we manage our time and lead our families. How we serve God and others. How would it effect our choices and determination.  What could possibly limit us or hold us back. How could we perceive ourselves as less than who we are in Christ.
This changes everything from how we father our son’s to how we fight against those principalities and powers, those rulers of darkness in this world that come against us in our spiritual warfare.
Who I Am is tied to Whom Shall I Fear.
God help us to open our eyes to Who we truly are in you, and to fear nothing…..

Man to Man…Becoming the man Part 1

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WHO ARE YOU…..?

How many of you have asked yourself that question? I know I have. I believe we all have at some point in our lives.

It is a question worth asking. We have been asking that question of ourselves since Adam fell in the garden, and a part of us died in Him. Becoming the man God has called you to be in this life is determined to some degree by how you answer that question…. or if you even ask it.

I believe even my brothers and sisters in Christ, in many cases have failed to ask , or have been blind to the answer to this question. I do not mean that we do not see our position in the righteousness of Christ or that we fail to be thankful to God for Grace and Forgiveness. What I believe we fail to see sometimes is WHO WE ARE.

For most of us, even before we came to understand the gift of salvation, and accept God’s offer of eternal life, we knew there was something greater out there for us, that we were intended for so much more than what we could see.  Then the offer of salvation came our way, God provided a way for us to live forever in eternity with Him and we received His Gift of eternal life in Christ. We now have a new-found relationship with God that gives us peace and hope, carries us through the trials of life. We are now part of something greater than ourselves.

This new relationship with God began to provide some answers to the question…who are you….?

Life, at least to me, is a process. God gave us immediate access to Himself and all of His promises. All of the truth he has preserved in His Word, and we began a journey of transformation, not for our salvation, that occurred at the time we received His gift. The transformation is about who we are in this life, walking the earth in the flesh, while possessing all of the blessings of grace, forgiveness, and redemption in Christ. We are a walking paradox. We live, now, in the flesh which will not be redeemed untill the judgement, when the adoption will be completed with the transformation of this flesh to a new glorified body like that of Christ .

Rom_8:15

  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Abba translates in today’s english as simply Daddy, which connotes an intimate relationship with God. The same God who created us, who put a plan of redemption in place before Adam was even created. The same God whose Holiness and Justice called for our destruction, but Who’s incredible, unmeasurable love for us found a way to redeem us to Himself.

Php 2:5

  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Php 2:6

  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Php 2:7

  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Php 2:8

  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

He carried out that plan over thousands of years untill the sacrifice was complete in the death of Christ on the cross. He loved us so much that He was willing to suffer and defeat death, hell and the grave for us, No greater love has ever been expressed than God’s love for us. How do we dare value ourselves any less, in humility because the work was all Him, in confidence and power because of His love and forgiveness. We are His.

Casting Crown’s has a song that speaks directly to this subject….

“Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth Would care to know my name Would care to feel my hurt. Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star Would choose to light the way For my ever wandering heart.
Not because of who I am But because of what You’ve done Not because of what I’ve done But because of who You’re
I am a flower quickly fading Here today and gone tomorrow A wave tossed in the ocean A vapor in the wind Still You hear me when I’m calling Lord, You catch me when I’m falling And You’ve told me who I am I am Yours, I am Yours
Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin Would look on me with love and watch me rise again. Who am I, that the Voice that calmed the sea Would call out through the rain And calm the storm in me not because of who I am but because of what You done not because of what I done but because of who you are
I am the flower quickly fading here today and gone tomorrow a wave tossed in the ocean(ocean) a vapor in the wind still You hear me when I call You Lord you catch me when I’m falling and You told me who I am (I am) I am Yours
not because of who I am but because of what You done not because of what I done but because of who You are
I am the flower quickly fading here today and gone tomorrow a wave tossed in the ocean(ocean) a vapor in the wind still You hear me when I call You Lord You catch me when I’m falling and you told me who I am (I am) I am yours, I am yours ,I am yours.
Whom shall I fear Whom shall I fear ‘Cause I am Yours I am Yours”

Rom_8:23

  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

We will be transformed and receive a glorified body. But for the time being, we must, as Paul says , crucify the flesh daily, recon it as dead and walk in the regenerated spirit that we received at salvation.  Romans 8: 29 tells us that all of us, whom God knew ahead of time, that receive Christ, have been preordained by God to be conformed to the image of Christ. Paul said in Romans 12:2; not to conform to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, that is change the way you think. Part of that transformation comes in who we perceive ourselves to be. This is now and will continue to be an ongoing process as we live in this life, pilgrims in a strange land, ” seeking first the kingdom God and His righteousness”.

So, who are we and why is that question so important?

What happens when we fail to see our worth to God and our value in Jesus Christ?

We are willing to settle for less……… how sad.

I’m not talking about wealth or power for this life. I’m talking about how we live this life.

Knowing who we are  will help us determine our values, where we invest ourselves, how we perceive success and failure, how we value ourselves and others.

Start asking yourself some questions. Who Am I Really?  Does my perception of myself as a redeemed follower of Jesus Christ, equal the image of how God perceives me? Do I tend to devalue myself because of sin or guilt issues? What do I need to do to encourage the transformation of my mind and perceptions of who I am in Christ and how that impacts my life in this world?

Man to Man…The Ripple Effect part 2

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So I am Praying about what message to bring when I preach at our midweek service while home on semester break, I have heard through family that there was some kind of trouble brewing in the Church, and the Holy Spirit was leading me to speak on “The Spirit of Unity”.

This message would be as unforgettable as the first sermon I ever preached, but for different reasons.

The Scripture  I used as my premise was I Cor. Chapter 12. many gifts but one body. I knew there was some division and disagreement within the Church  and this seemed an appropriate message to encourage folks to calm down and consider one another. In hind sight I might have better addressed the problem from Galatians 5: 19-21…

“19. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20. idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissention, division,21. envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” 

I grew up fundamental Baptist. I am not ashamed of that. Our Churches are famous for a firm grounding in the Word of God. I can remember my Pastor saying on many occasions to look it up and study it for yourself, don’t just take my word for it. He was “teaching us how to fish.”

I still consider myself a fundamental Baptist in what I believe the Bible teaches. My core values have not changed, but as I have experienced the Word in action where it meets life, I have become less concerned about denominational boundaries and more interested in how to relate Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.

Back in the time this story originates from, fundamentalists were very concerned about the length of Hair on men and hem line on women. If memory serves spirituality was measured by  the % of certain rules followed. In my humble opinion, we were more concerned about outward actions than condition of the heart, ready to judge and condemn as liberal or worldly those who failed to meet our standard. I will not judge anyone’s position in Christ, but we had at the very least, a tendency to be like the pharisees in the abundance of our judgement along with a true lack of love for those we saw as “taken in sin”.

Galatians 5:4;

If you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ!You have fallen away from Grace.

There were those in Corinth who were trying to convince the gentile believers to be circumcised to complete their salvation. Paul is very clear that there is no mix of grace with works that will achieve salvation, only grace through faith in Christ alone.

We were not trying to add works to complete our own salvation, but we continuously judged others by their actions or inactions and in my opinion skirted the edge of falling into the mentality described in Verse 4.  Thankfully I see a more tolerant attitude toward people who are hurting or have fallen, not compromising on sin, but learning how to love the sinner back into a right relationship with Christ.

There was a business meeting scheduled for after the services that night. I preached the message I believe God put on my heart. After the Service one of the men of the Church came up to me and said ” you young guy’s go off to College, come back here and think you know everything don’t you? ” I was stunned, and did not respond. I later realized I had hit a nerve with some of the men in the Church.

The meeting began, and several of the men, most in leadership positions, began attacking my pastor and his wife. I will not share much of this because it is negative and of the devil, and I won’t spread the poison of it even now some 38 years later. That night , in front of teenagers, young new believers, their children, people were hateful, quarreling,outbursts of anger,selfish expressions for their own ambition, dissention, division,back biting, envy, and all sorts of manifestation of the natural man and little or no expression of any fruit of the Spirit.

The Ripple Effect,works as well for spreading poor character and behaviour as it does for good. The effects these actions would have on our youth, on young Christians on the testimony of the Church, on our credibility to share Christ in our community, has rippled out over the last 20 to 30 years in ways we will never fully know. Without God’s intervention it would continue into the next generation and beyond, and may very well do just that in some instances.

The three men who were the primary instigators of this dissention and divisive behaviour that eventually split the Church, were all dead within one year of this meeting. You can call it a coincidence if you want to. I don’t claim to have a hotline to the Throne of God but you have to question why two of these men would die of heart failure and one bleed to death from a GI bleed, drowning in his own blood. I believe we are to love and forgive those who do wrong to  us and the ones we love, but there are some seeds that when sown can cause us to reap destruction. Thankfully that is God’s department not mine,and I leave that to Him..

I would encourage you to be intentional about how you create the ripples that spread out from your life. Taking the attitude of a servant leader and creating ripples that educate, empower and encourage. Ripples that seek justice, love mercy and promote humility in our walk with Jesus Christ. Be vigilant and sensitive to the potential hurt and damage you can do while being oblivious to it. Ignorance is no excuse. walk with someone who has insight where you tend to be blind and trust them to speak truth into your life when you are out of line.

I pray that this story has caused you to consider the consequences of your actions and interactions, that we represent an ongoing promotion of building others up in love to serve the Lord. May God bless you all in your endeavor be the man or woman God has called you to be.