Becoming the man you were born to be

Isiaah 62;1-2

Rev..2:17

We are all under the same mental calamity; we have all forgotten our names. We have all forgotten what we really are. – G. K. Chesterton

Who am I becoming?

What if, in the details of our image-bearing, we have been formed and forged as a unique masterpiece? What if we have a destiny to reflect aspects of God’s heart that no one else exactly reflects, a destiny to offer a unique strength to our community and beyond? In the book of Revelation, John describes the vision of a white stone with a new name written upon it, a true name from God, a name that expresses the totality of who we are, before and beyond this age of history. If we are ever to become who we were meant to be, we must become our true name. Through recovering our name, we can shift from withering in the angst of our unvalidated soul to recovering a true and genuine strength to bring to the world.  

Reflection Questions:

Describe your true self. Who is the man you are meant to be but are not yet? What is he like?

Let’s risk exploring your name in God’s kingdom. What makes you come alive? What stories? What adventures? What roles? What experiences have moved you most in your life? When have you felt most you?

What do you hope people would say of the man you are becoming and your impact in the world?

Closing Prayer

God, I consecrate this journey to you. I bring every aspect of this experience under your care and into honest and transparent connection with you. I declare your rule and authority over my life and over every man participating in this adventure. I pray that you would make known your true heart. I choose to give you permission and access to my heart. I pray that you would raise up prayer warriors on my behalf, led by the Spirit of God, to agree with the full portion you have for me as a man in this. I choose to risk engaging with curiosity, an open heart, and an honest desire to become the man you meant when you meant me. I open my soul to you and ask that you break every limit I have placed on who you can be, what you can do, and how you can do it. I agree with who you are, what you are doing, and how you are doing it. I want more of me to be given more fully over to more of you. I choose to give you a chance to speak and move and breathe your breath into me through this experience. And I am asking that you would lead me as I consent to a process and choose to respond to your invitation to risk in courage, vulnerability, and love. I want my whole heart back. I invite you to anoint this time with your presence, your power, and your favor. And I ask that you reveal where and how you are leading me to become the kind of king to whom you can gladly entrust the care of your kingdom. Amen.

Becoming True

WARNING!!! This is powerful, dynamite!!! BE READY!!!

John 12;24

There are many people who think they want to be matadors, only to find themselves in the ring with 2,000 pounds of bull bearing down on them, and then discover that what they really wanted was to wear the tight pants and hear the crowd roar. – Terry Pearce

Who have I become? After the fall of man, Adam confesses, “I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid.” Adam’s story is every man’s story. We have become who we are not. We are haunted by fear of failure and the taunting of that which we find lacking within. In response to our terror, we form caricatures to help us deny our vulnerability and independently survive. Yet the self-protective man we have become is not the truest us. The truest reality of the masculine soul is that we are inheritors of original goodness, magnificently crafted in the image of God. As Jesus promised, from putting to death the false within a man, a greater life emerges. It is here we are welcomed to risk engaging in the extraordinary process of recovering an indestructible life, a life of ever-deepening union with God. A life worth living.

The context of the journey of deliverance from the false self and restoration of the true self is unique, but the process is universal. It begins with awareness. The first step to becoming true is becoming aware of the false. 

 Who am I in my false self?

 What version of myself do I present to the world as a mask in order to self-protect?

 What is my effect on people?

 What do people feel when they are around me?

You’ll want to get to know the false self and get very familiar with him. We must become students of the person—the self—we have become. We must watch the false self at work and see how he expresses his self-protection by avoiding shame and acting out of fear through his predominant style of relating. We must become keen observers of his impact on others and how that relates to the story of their souls, so that we might allow God to continually expose the parts of our heart and our soul that have yet to be integrated into wholeness. Only by coming to know the false self can you engage in the slow and steady process of putting him to death so that the true man might be resurrected in his place. It is only in consenting to the excavation of the masculine soul that we can become the kind of man and the kind of king within whom God can build a lasting kingdom.

To put to death the false self and invite God to restore the true self is the gate along the narrow path that can lead us deeper to coming to know the man God made us to be. Let us venture around the next turn along the ancient path and wonder together about this hidden treasure that can be found only through participating in God’s excavation of our masculine soul.

 *Reflection Questions* 

 _When are you most operating out of the false self?_ 

 _What false names and false identities have you come to believe about yourself and_ now live under?

 _Where are you bringing your question “Am I a real man?” to be_ answered by the people and roles you have within your kingdom?

Closing Prayer

Jesus, the apostle Paul declares in Ephesians that through your death and resurrection there is incomparably great power at work in our land. It is a mighty strength that was released when you conquered death for our sake. Scripture assures us that you, God, are seated far and above every ruler and authority of this world. You are seated above every power and dominion of this world. And you hold the power to name us, above every name or title that can be given, not only in this world but in the world to come.

Jesus, you alone have the power to bestow my true name. I am asking to participate with you in the courageous work of dismantling my false self and recovering my true self, the true name you intended since before the creation of the world. God, I want to become the kind of person who can declare with confidence, I open my soul to you and you alone to receive my true name. And I ask you for the grace to participate with you in the life-transforming process of becoming my true name.

Becoming a son

Gal.4:6-7

Rom.8:12-16

How have we learned the Father? It would be better for us to know nothing about him than to have learned him wrong. – George MacDonald

The first doorway we must travel through on our path toward becoming a king is to choose sonship. It is a choice. Are we willing to become our Father’s sons again? 

Will you open your heart to unlearn the Father as you have learned him and instead learn him as he truly is? The Father is pursuing you. He is opening up his heart and his kingdom and his treasures to you. He is asking, Son, are you ready to become who you were born to be? We can finish this together.

If we are ever to become the kind of men to whom God can entrust his kingdom, the journey must begin in the most unlikely of places. We must choose a spirit of sonship, taking the place set before us as the greatest gift of God’s heart, receiving the identity against which every war has been waged by our enemy, who knows who we are and fears who we could become.

In many ways, to consent to being a son is the hardest and the easiest of the narrow gates through which we must enter. It is easy because all it requires is a genuine turning of our souls to receive the lavish love of the Father. Yet it is the hardest because it will require us to begin forsaking the many other places in which our wounded hearts have sought the independent and self-sufficient life for so many years.

It will require relearning everything, throwing out our former map and receiving a new one that outlines a reality more dangerous and more joy-filled than we have ever dared to dream.

As George MacDonald said, “Since we are the sons of God, we must become the sons of God.” Whatever else we encounter when we engage the life of Jesus, we encounter a person living fully as a son. Sonship is the truest state of being. It is the epicenter of Jesus’ life and it is the epicenter of ours. And only from an ongoing experience of sonship can we bring our strength—rather than our question—to the world. 

If we live from an ever-expanding reservoir of sonship as our primary identity, we will become the kind of person who can prevail in any circumstances, no matter what the cost. Even more, we will recover the lost treasure of deep and lasting joy.

 *Reflection Questions* 

 How have you learned “father”? Take an honest inventory. Think of the male figures in your life growing up—the good and the bad, including your father and/or stepfather, your coaches, teachers, pastors, men held out as role models in media, perhaps fathers of your friends. Call to mind and make a list of the men who surrounded you. Without editing or filtering, what words would you use to describe the traits you found in those men?

How has God raised the condition of fatherlessness in your heart? Notice “what is not working” in your life as a signpost to the feeling of fatherlessness. What have you done with this part of your story?

 Pause for a few moments and think back over the last decade or so of your story. What are several examples of ways that God was working to father you, even if at the time you may not have had the capacity to receive or respond as a son?

Closing Prayer

Jesus, by your power and authority I break the agreements I have made with the lies in my story that are set against the truth of who you are. I break agreement with the lie that I am an orphan, that I deserve to be alone, that I am too weak of a man to be desired as a son, that I am a disappointment of a son to my Father in heaven. 

[Pause and observe what other lies come to your mind that you want to renounce.]

In the place of these lies, I agree with the truth of who you truly are and who you long to be in my life. I receive afresh a spirit of sonship. I crucify the self-sufficient life, and I crucify independence. I choose instead to receive the resurrection life of Jesus Christ and union with you. I choose to become what I already am: your beloved son. I choose to receive you as my True Father. I unite my heart with your heart and receive the full portion of my inheritance as your son. In the place of fear, I receive an increase of faith. In the place of scarcity, I receive your abundance. In the place of self-sufficiency, I receive the strength of total dependency upon your Life rising up within me. I choose to be infused with the same love you offer your son, Jesus Christ. I am your son. You are my Father. I receive you as my Father and ask that you would father me today and every day going forward. Amen.

Becoming a king

Jeremiah 6;16

The great problem of the earth and the great aim of the masculine journey boil down to this: when can you trust a man with power? – John Eldredge

When can you entrust a man with power? It was 20 years ago that this question erupted for me. At the time, looking around me as well as within, what I mostly saw was evidence of men being entrusted with power and it bringing harm to themselves and others. Is there another way? Is there a path to becoming the kind of whole-hearted man who can be entrusted with power and have it turn out for good? Through leaning into the wisdom of contemporary sages as well as the wisdom of sages from millenia past, a path began to take shape. And that path is a process, a process of transformation to become the kind of man to whom God can entrust his power. 

The Imago Dei

The desire to be powerful transcends both social constructs and our boyhood dreams of becoming firefighters, policemen, NFL football players, Olympic athletes, fighter pilots, or soldiers. This longing transcends because it is the image of God in us.  

We need to look no further than the opening chapter of Genesis for this reminder. God formed us from soil into his image, then breathed us to life in order that we might rule and reign under the authority of his goodness. To share valiantly and effectively in God’s power was the first mission entrusted to humankind. 

With deep anticipation, God declared to Adam and Eve, “I want you to rule.”  

When we strip away the religious veil, this command is more rousing than we might first think; it is the invitation to become who we were meant to be. As bearers of God’s image, we were meant to embody God’s heart, character, and power, partnering with God to fulfill his purposes in our days. As John shares in Waking the Dead, we were meant to rule, “like a foreman runs a ranch or like a skipper runs his ship. Better still, like a king rules a kingdom, God appoints us as the governors of his domain.” A kingdom is, as Dallas Willard pointed out, simply the range of our effective will. It is where we have say, where our will is done. It is within the context of kingdom-language and kingdom-thinking that we must reconsider God’s design for effective power-sharing with created-yet-creative human beings.

 Reflection Questions

 Think of a childhood moment when you were entrusted with power. How did it feel? How did it go?

How is your kingdom? What is a specific aspect or dimension of your current kingdom where you feel lack and are in need of God’s particular intervention and care?

Closing Prayer

God, to be entrusted with power is a sacred responsibility, fraught with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Thank you for leading me to this journey and assuring me that there are other like-hearted men who want to become the kind of man to whom you can gladly entrust the care of your kingdom. I consent to this process. Reveal what is next and align me with your pace and portion as we dig deeper. I consecrate my masculine soul to you. I celebrate that the most important thing about me is that I have been created as your masterpiece, from your image. I am made in your likeness. And you are inviting me to partner with you in the process of the restoration of my heart as a man. I give you permission and access once again. I want my whole heart back. I choose to trust your leadership. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart filled with courage to go with you, wherever you want to lead me. Amen.

Restored family

Deut.6:4-9

Eph.6:1-4

Have you ever considered the lengths you would go to in order to protect your family from harm? What would you do if you came home to discover a burglar in your bedroom? What would you do if the man in front of you in the bank line pulled a gun?

The adventurous side of a man wants to believe he is ready to act, able to protect, and always empowered to win and save the day. When it’s regarding the safety of your family or children, real men would stop at nothing to ensure their safety. What about the attacks of the Evil One? Are you ready and willing to fight or are you asleep at the wheel? Do you recognize the spiritual attacks of your enemy to be as dangerous or even more so than being kidnapped or mugged?

Married men should consider the role they play in the leadership and protection of their families physically and spiritually. Unmarried men may consider the role they play as sons, especially the sons of aging parents. They should also remember that the decisions they make now as a single man will have a profound effect on their potential future as husbands and fathers.

The breakdown of the family in our world is overwhelming. Fathers are abdicating their roles and responsibilities and mothers are left with burdens too difficult to bear on their own. Families are under attack and must be protected. 

The concept of family is woven throughout Scripture. God issues a call and a challenge to a special people, to create for Himself a family. He instructs them on how they are to relate to one another as His representatives. He disciplines them when they sin. He uses the image of fathers and children while offering the world a picture of His divine love. How we operate in the context of our families says much about how we follow God. 

This world is so distorted. God’s Word tells us that training and instruction are the alternatives to stirring up anger in our kids. The world’s methodology would have you believe that an overdose of training and instruction angers kids most. The world says to let them find who they are. God’s Word tells us to teach them who to be. The world says that discipline harms their esteem. The Bible says that discipline demonstrates love.

Restored Vision

James 1:5-8

 Are you one of those men who attempt to put things together without using the instructions? You realize that says something very telling about you, right?

Manuals typically begin by instructing you to verify that you have all of the parts and tools necessary to complete the project. They recommend that you read the entire plan before beginning. They tend to feature step-by-step images so that you can visualize where you are and what needs to happen next to finish the piece.

If this sounds like a metaphor for life, that is because it is. A vision is a picture of where you want to be. It’s the ultimate goal statement. Churches, corporations, and organizations all have vision statements that communicate their mission and their values. Even individuals and families can have vision statements that illustrate their commitment, purpose, and life goals.

A good vision statement should govern decisions. It is the first filter for any choice that a company, church, or individual Christian must use. If an option isn’t in keeping with the vision, nor helps further the cause of achieving it, the answer is clear. Vision directs decision.

Many Christians are crippled today when it comes to making decisions. Their view of God’s leadership in their lives forces them to sit idly on the sidelines waiting for specific revelation in every area of life before making any sort of decision at all. What they fail to realize is that God doesn’t desire to give us every answer, but instead to grow in us godly wisdom so that we make wise decisions. 

God’s plan for us includes maturity. Spiritual maturity includes the ability to discern, decide, and ultimately make the wise choice. Giving you wisdom is different than giving you answers. 

Following God’s plan for your life doesn’t mean you get a step-by-step blue-print, but it does mean you are blessed with an incredible picture of the end goal. It means you are endowed with the tools to cast a vision and build a life modeled after God’s design.

Vision requires wisdom and wisdom comes from the Lord. It is yours for the asking (see James 1:5). Scripture says that without vision, people run wild (see Prov. 29:18). This reference is about prophetic vision, which, in this case, is about instruction from the Lord. Without it, people lose. We need God’s Word in order to live godly lives. God’s plan is to grant us the wisdom and discernment necessary to develop a vision motivated by faith, hope, and love. No one said this journey would be easy. It will, however, be rewarding.

Restored sexuality

Eph.5:28-33

Gen.2:18-25

1Cor.6:18-20

Have you ever been to New York? Naturally, you assume that this reference is to the city. Statue of Liberty. Times Square. Rockefeller Center. Broadway. But New York is also a state. You see, while New York City is certainly the brightest part of a New York experience, there is more to New York than one island or even five boroughs for that matter. 

The same is true of sexuality. Sexuality is much bigger than sex. Now, marital sex is certainly the brightest part of any discussion on sexuality, but it is by no means the only consideration. 

Pornography is a now multiple-billion dollar industry. Young men view pornography is staggering numbers 

But what if pornography is a symptom, not a disease? What if the real problem is a lack of biblical manhood and distorted interpretations of what intimacy with God and intimacy with one wife really are? What if the key to harnessing all the issues associated with sexuality is really a focus on holiness and wholeness in Christ?

God’s design was one man and one woman for life—man has so distorted this image and created a false ideal where men base manhood on sexual conquest. The solution to the problem is Jesus, of course. But the real issue at hand is a lack of intimacy with God and a distorted image of what intimacy with one wife can and should be.

God’s design for man includes the committed, monogamous union with a wife. Oh, how this image has been distorted in our world! Adam and Eve enjoyed an unhindered opportunity to explore the joys of sex in the context of their marriage relationship with no fear. Remember, they were naked and unashamed. There was no manipulation or exploitation from either of them before the fall. 

While most worldly images about sex regard selfish desires as normal, the Bible paints for us a picture of selfless sex. Sex is designed to be between one man and one woman within marriage. Anything outside that is outside of God’s plan. Even self-gratification is a selfish act outside the bounds of God’s design for sex in the context of marriage.

Sex is God’s gift to us for pleasure and procreation. Abusing or misusing that gift has powerful consequences. How we understand the ways that God made us has an impact on how we respond to the opposite sex and how we function as image bearers in Christ.

Restored world view

Morning everyone!!!

Have a wonderfully week guided by God's wisdom and obedience to His Word!!!✝️🙌🏽

 *Restored Worldview* 

Rom.2:1-2

Eph.4: 22-24

Remember when you learned in school that people used to think the world was flat? That if you sailed too far you might fall off one side of it? Worldview is much more than knowing that the earth is actually a globe that rotates on an axis and revolves around the sun. Your worldview includes, but is certainly not limited to, what you know about science or history.

Remember when your hero was invincible and perfect, a man who could do no wrong? Then he let you down and you realized that he too was flawed and made mistakes. Worldview is much more than your understanding of the human condition. It includes your knowledge of the widespread nature of sin and also the way you have been shaped by sin’s harmful effects, both your own sin and the sin of others.

Worldview is how you look at everything in life. It’s the filter that you use to view the world. There are several significant questions that have a profound impact on the development of a biblical worldview.

The development of your worldview may be the most important facet of who you are as a man. Put on a pair of red-lensed glasses. Everything you see will be tinted red. If you are to be a man of God, how you view the world and everything in it will be colored by the truth of His Word and His Son. With a biblical worldview, your views on sin, marriage, parenting, careers, money, power, and everything in between will be bathed in what you know to be true about God from Scripture and your experience as a disciple. That word, disciple, is paramount to the shaping of your worldview. 

As you become a disciple and put on the new self through the renewal of your mind, you look more like Jesus. The mind of Christ affects your values first. Your values are what you know to be true and what you believe to be important. Next, the mind of Christ shapes your desires. It is not enough to know that God’s Word is important and to value obedience. You can be obedient begrudgingly. Your desires must register for the change as well so that you love and enjoy obedience. Finally, your will is altered. When you have the mind of Christ, you no longer fight to do the wrong thing. You actually will and choose to do what is right because of the change He has wrought in you.

God’s desire is to be Lord over every facet of your life. His plan for you is that His Word directs the decisions you make, relationships you engage, and course your life turns. Your worldview was likely fully formed as a child. Perhaps it was formed biblically because of Christian parents, mentors, and a loving church family. Perhaps it was formed outside the context of Christ and Christian community. In that case, your worldview needs to be altered as you take on the mind of Christ and apply biblical truth to each area of your life.

God's Solution

Rom.5:1-21

Col.1:19-22

Jesus was not God’s backup plan. His coming was always God’s perfect plan of redemption for fallen, flawed, sin-sick man. Before man can be fully redeemed, however, he must fully recognize the terrible predicament he is in. He must admit his rotten nature and come to grips with his need for forgiveness.

Jesus did not come to entice people to make a decision. Scripture says that all men are sinful (see Ps. 14:3). Wicked mankind is incapable of making the right decision anyway. Jesus came to make disciples. A disciple is a follower. He came to create carbon copies of Himself. In that, He would restore what was broken by sin. 

Jesus mends man’s relationship with God. As Christ followers, men are filled with the Spirit and endowed with spiritual gifts. In Jesus, a man is fully able to fulfill God’s distinct purpose for his life. 

Paul explained to the believers in Rome that in the same manner as sin entered the world through the act of one man, Adam, forgiveness would enter the world through one man, Jesus. Man’s connection to God and the restoration of the image-bearing relationship that God birthed in Eden is only possible in Christ. If that initial relationship between God and His creation is a picture of God’s intent for manhood, Christ is the method of returning to God’s plan. 

While the world teaches that independence is a marker of strength, Scripture teaches that dependence on God is an indication of true strength for the believer. Jesus, the ultimate man of strength, submitted to the authority of God the Father in His life. The world views submission as a sign of weakness. Scripture teaches, however, that submission to God is Christlike and an indication of significant strength.

Jesus came to make disciples. Following Him closely may not have you labeled and characterized by your worldly manliness. Looking like Jesus, however, is the mark of true biblical manhood.

You are His servant

1 Peter 2:16

When you surrender to Christ, you become His Servant — you belong to Him. When you surrender to God, you do not have to bow to the power and entanglement of sin — you are His. When you are in Christ, the power of sin no longer has authority over any area of your life. 

When you are in Christ, your members belong to Him. Every part of your body belongs to Him. When you are in Christ, you are no longer a slave to sin, but a slave to Christ. When you choose to surrender to Christ, you have the choice to either serve sin or be set free through the shed Blood of Jesus Christ. You choose — freedom is a choice. 

When you were in the world, sin had a stronghold on every part of your heart. Now, when you are in Christ, you wear the cloak of His Liberty — you are completely free from the bondage of sin. You were bought with the Blood of Christ. You were bought with a price. You were bought from the bondage of sin and brought into the freedom of Christ. Choose to live free in Christ.

When you were in the world, you were bound to the entanglements and chains of sin. Now that you‘re in Christ, you have the authority to command sin to leave. When Christ lives in you, sin and every aspect of it is trespassing. When you are in Christ, sin has no authority to rule in any area of your life. When Christ is your Lord, you do not have to bow to sin. 

Christ overcame the bondage of sin so that you might be free — forever. Choose to submit to Christ. Pattern yourself after His Word and redirect others to back to Christ. There is a better Way. There is One who came that is stronger than the bondage of your sin. ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬ declares, “For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.” When Christ lives in you — you have the power to resist Satan. Resist the enemy and he will flee. When you are in Christ, He has given you the authority to tread on Satan’s head and all the power of the enemy. Sin has no authority to rule over you. Choose to surrender to Christ. 

1 Peter‬ ‭2:16‬ ‭MSG declares, “Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules.” Exercise your freedom by leading a life that reflects Christ. Choose to lead others back to God. Let your life reflect God’s Way of doing things. Choose not to be held captive by the bondage of the past. When you belong to Christ — sin has no power. Choose to be set free. Choose to lead others to the Bondage Breaker. Choose to lead others to the Yoke Destroyer. Choose to lead others back to the only One who can set the captives free — Jesus Christ. You are no longer held captive by the grip of sin — you are a Servant of God.

Act now!

Ps.119:16

2 Cor.6;2

Ezra.10.4

1 Cor.16:13-14

As a boy, there was nothing better than waking up on a Saturday morning and running into the kitchen to find the largest mixing bowl you could find and filling it to the brim with one of those super sugary yet super yummy breakfast cereals. You know the one with the Captain or the colorful toucan bird on the front of its box. Then you would plop down in front of the TV set and get lost in hours of Saturday morning cartoons, it was almost a ritual.

As you pick up the bowl and slurped down the sweetened milk you hear the cartoon say "stayed tuned kids, we'll be right back" as they went to a commercial break. As you sat there on the carpet with a milk mustache, a commercial for the latest and greatest new toy pops up on the screen as the announcer begins enticing you as he describes it in great detail with this almost eerie excitement in his voice that makes you think I need this in my life, and I must ACT NOW and do whatever I need to do in order to get it. The TV announcer propelled us into a place of urgency to do what it took to get that new toy. We, however, are no longer boys, but we are men.

As grown men, perhaps we have lost that sense of urgency and have deafened our ears to the call for action to be godly men. 

Let this then be our WAKE UP CALL to ACT NOW as the men God needs and wants us to be, the men that our country needs and wants us to be, the men our church needs and wants us to be, the men our families needs and wants us to be and finally the men we need and want to be.  

It will not be easy, and it will take everything you have, there will be an Enemy that is seeking to end us and landmines along the way that he wants us to step on and destroy us with; so we must BE ON GUARD. There will be opportunities to give up and give in and surrender, DO NOT my brothers STAND FIRM IN THE FAITH. 

There are too many grown men that are still boys on the inside making childlike choices NOT YOU, you man up and ACT LIKE A MAN. 

When you feel weak and tired because you will and do not want to press on, PRESS ON anyway and lift your head to heaven from where your strength comes from and BE STRONG in the Lord and the power of his might, put on the full armor of God and GO TO WAR.  

We will win this war, and we will overcome when we let all that we do be DONE IN LOVE. Now is the time brothers rise up and march and act like men, not any ordinary men but as MEN OF GOD!

 *ACTION QUESTIONS:* 

 1: What area in your life do need a sense of urgency for?

 2: Where do you feel weak and defeated in your life?

 3: What is the one next action step you need to take in

order to act like a man of God?

 We hope this plan encouraged you!

All in love

Morn everyone !!! Very strong word this morning !!Praise God!!!!

John 15:13

Col.3:14

John.13:35

Eph.4:15

1 Cor.1613-14

When I ponder love, I think about G.I. Joe, yes that "Real American Hero."

Of all the nostalgic toys my brother had, this would have been his prize possession, a full-size, fully uniformed G.I. Joe man that came with his own machine gun and helmet. The most impressive feature he touted, however, was that he had 21 movable parts on him. Yep, you guessed it; I broke that one too. Sorry, bro! My brother's G.I. Joe wasn't the G.I. Joe of my childhood; mine not only had cool action figures but it's very own cartoon. Sure, all the amazing battle scenes in the cartoon I remember, but what I remember most is the 30-second public service announcements that the different G.I. Joe characters would present at the end of the show. Some of my favorites included "What to do if you catch on fire," featuring Spirit, and "Don't pet strange animals" featuring Mutt. You see, every time I saw one of those G.I. Joe PSAs, I thought to myself, those guys really care enough about me to tell me the truth.

That is exactly what this Bible plan is; a PSA of truth to men. The truth of the matter is, and if we are completely honest with ourselves, we are losing the battle. The world has yet to see what a true man of God looks like. Yes, there may be a few good men out there, but there are legions upon legions of other men who are silently sitting on the sidelines and playing the part of the passive nice fellow. The silence will kill us. We can not be afraid to speak the truth in love when we see something that does not honor God. Yes, we speak up and against it, with love, always in love. Acting in love does not mean that we endorse or condone others' dishonorable actions; it simply means that we will live out the truth and clothe ourselves in love in all we do and say. 

Sometimes people are just watching and waiting for someone to stand up for righteousness and point them in the right direction and, in doing so, very well may save their life. That is what a real hero does; he lays down his life and pride, and he points. He points to the Great General of Generals, the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

That's how we will win the war by living lives of love, and now you know... and knowing is half the battle. 

ACTION QUESTIONS:

 1: Why will silence and passivity destroy us?

 2: How can we share truth in love with someone who may not want to hear it at first?

 3: Where do you need to stand up and walk in love?

Be strong

Joshua 1:9

Isiaha 40;29

Eph.6:10-11

Phil..4:13

1 Cor.13-14

"I HAVE THE POWER!" would be the potent proclamation of one' Prince Adam of Eternia as he forged his seemingly cumbersome sword towards the sky, and it would make contact with an intense bolt of lightning delivered from Castle Grayskull. He would then commence transforming from a polite prince into his alter-ego and true identity as He-Man "Master of the Universe," an extremely muscle-bound mighty warrior. He then would point his sword at his cowardly ol' kitty and shoot a bolt of lightning at him, and he would transform from Cringer to the mighty "Battle Cat," and they would ride off together to fight with the other masters of the universe in epic battles against Skeletor and his diabolical crew. 

Now He-Man was one "action figure" I did have the privilege of owning that my older brother did not. However, the whole collection of toys was quite large, and I lacked quite a few items. My best friend in elementary school did have the complete collection, all the heroes, all the villains, and most accessories. I remember one day going to his house to play "He-Man," and I brought the one He-Man figure I had in my lunch box that day, and after school, I went to his house to play. As he brought out his whole collection, I thought this would be fun, and it was for a while until this little voice crept into my head and heart and said, take Battle Cat, he will never know it was missing, and so I did! That night I couldn't sleep. I was feeling guilty for "borrowing" Battle Cat. 

So the next day, I asked if we could play again, he said "sure." So once at his house, I knew it was time to own up to me taking his toy; I remember my heart beating, and I began to sweat a little, I was going to "chicken out" until I heard another voice telling me, "Be Strong" and do the right thing, so I did; I gave Battle Cat-back to my friend. He was mad for a while, but he got over it, and we kept on playing He-Man. 

There will be times in every man's life he has to be strong and do the right thing, no matter if it is a fun thing or the popular thing to do. God's word is full of the "right things" we are called to do. The Spirit of the Living God gives us the power to choose the right choice. To be a strong man is to be a decisive man to know which battles are worth fighting and which are not and to stand our ground against the evil forces both within and without in the world. 

We will often feel weak and not want to make the Godly choice and we will surrender. 

We must remember we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us, and we yield the most powerful sword in the universe, the Word of God, which when proclaimed can help us win every victory.

ACTION QUESTIONS

 1:  Why do men pursue a sense of power?

 2:  What areas in your heart are you weak in?

 3:  What is the one "right thing" you need to do?