Stop outsourcing your self worth

Rom.6:6

I often outsource my self-worth to other people. A client, a friend, social media, my kids, a political candidate, a football team win (in a game we aren’t actually participating in), etc.

Seriously.

But while some are quick to say "I don't care what other people think," you then see that same person trying to boost their self-esteem through other things. Through success, their work, another sale, a physical challenge accomplished, another product sold, a car purchased, a kitchen remodeled, an award won. Now, I’m not saying those things are bad to pursue. In fact, those are great things. But I mean when we use those things to create self-worth in front of others, that’s when we find ourselves running hard on the Treadmill of Self.

Let’s face it. We all try to boost our self-worth with things we shouldn't. The world says you aren't good enough. Every. Single. Day.

So what do we do to compensate? We artificially shine a light on our makeshift lives to make us feel better about ourselves. While in reality, we are in fact insecure, fearful and in need of real affirmation of our true identity.

So what do we do with a false self-worth? We chase after awards to be recognized by our peers, our friends, maybe even our spouse who is also looking for affirmation in all the wrong places. We create stages and lights and award shows and retweet our own success. We write books to prove we are a success and show others how they can be just like us. We even create our own quotes to post on Facebook pages and promote them in hopes of it going viral. We market the content of our lives to win approval. We have become experts at trumpeting our own glory while saying with our lips, "So humbled to win this award." Yet, our hearts are brimming with selfish pride.

We offer up our unique identity at the price of becoming like everyone else. We chase affirmation like a drug. We conform to a way of life prescribed to us like a pill we don't want, but we believe we must take to be a “success.” We are willing to swallow it whole at the price of family, health, life, friendships and our eternal soul. We leave our wives waiting, and our kids screaming for our attention, so we can book another meeting and post another update to people who are consumed with their own issues.

So what now? It’s about time you stop outsourcing your self-worth to things that will lie to you. Time to draw your self-esteem from something outside yourself. Are you ready to hear what your heavenly Father has to say to you? Join us for the next few days and reclaim your identity in Christ.

Come and See why your story matters

John 4:27-30

I love this story and its many implications. In today’s passage, we see how the living water the Samaritan woman received from Jesus IMMEDIATELY became an overflowing fountain in her life. Suddenly, this woman who undoubtedly had a less than sparkling reputation in her community and who avoided her neighbors and townspeople out of shame and fear, found both the belonging she needed in Christ and the boldness to be His witness to the very people she had avoided. 

“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, . . . They said . . . ‘Now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world’” (John 4:39, 42 NIV). If it wasn’t for this woman’s witness, her neighbors may not have come to know Jesus. 

Through this, we see an amazing truth that with Jesus, our most profound hurt can become our most powerful story! Our greatest pain can be used to bring about great victory, and our deepest shame can be redeemed and repurposed as a tool for His glory and the salvation of many! We see this with the Samaritan woman, we see it with the blind man who said, “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see” (John 9:25 NIV), we see it with Paul, Joseph, Job, and Peter, and I’ve seen it in my own journey. 

At 11 years old, I was sexually abused by a relative. I didn’t tell anyone for more than 20 years, not even my wife. But a few years ago, I felt the Lord calling me to share it, so I told my wife and friends and I’ve been able to forgive the person and move forward through the Lord’s healing. After that, I was able to share my story during a sermon and was able to pray with and help several people with similar stories. Since then, I’ve also been able to counsel young adults in this area. I’ve seen firsthand and know that if God can use my story to help others and draw them to the living waters of Jesus, then He can do the same through you!

Just like this woman, there’s incredible power when you share your God-story with others; sharing what He’s done in your life. More than anything else, the evidence of a changed life speaks to the glory and grace of God’s power. And in the same way that this woman became the first missionary to the Samaritans, you can be a missionary in your community. You can boldly proclaim with your life and story, “Come and see!” 

Pause: What does the woman’s story teach us about how Jesus works in our lives and how He uses our past?

Practice: Your story matters. God wants to use your life and past and your story to reach people with the gospel of Jesus! Today, write down what God’s done in your life! Write out your story, your testimony, share it with someone, and thank the Lord for all He’s done.

Pray: Father, thank You for redeeming this broken sinner. Thank You for taking me as I am and making me new. I know I’m still broken and not perfect. I know I’m still in the process; that I have not yet “arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12 NIV), and I thank You for all You’ve already done in my life. Thank You for how You’ve worked and woven redemption, reconciliation, healing, help, hope, peace, strength, identity, belonging, and purpose into my life and story. I pray that You would use my story to reach others for the gospel, that as I have experienced the fountain of living water, that I may be the vessel You use to spring up the living water of Jesus in others. Amen.

The Mountain and the Messiah

John 4:16-26

In yesterday’s passage, Jesus informs the woman He has better water—living water—that produces eternal life. She doesn’t fully understand what this water is, but she knows she needs it and she senses He can truly provide it! 

Knowing her willingness, Jesus tells her to get her husband, knowing she didn’t have one. Here we see Jesus hone in on the woman’s deepest need; to be cleansed from sin and shame. To do this, He gently exposes sin in her life, but she chooses to conceal it by giving an answer that’s factually truthful, but functionally dishonest. So, Jesus reveals His omniscience by laying out this woman’s past and the reason she’s an outcast; she’s had five husbands and was living with her boyfriend. Why did He do this? Because one way or another, sin must be brought to light and dealt with by Jesus. And that can either be done in forgiveness and grace—as He did here—or in judgment upon death.

So now, the woman concludes Jesus has divine knowledge. He is, at the very least, a prophet, but maybe He’s the Messiah. So, she brings up differences in doctrine between Jews and Samaritans, the issue of the Gerizim vs. Zion. But Jesus shatters that notion, telling her that a new day had dawned when He said, “a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth.” 

Now, she has to know who is standing in front of her, so she casually brings up Messiah, likely hoping for some sort of confirmation. And in verse 26, Jesus actually gives it! Did you know that the Samaritan woman at the well is the first person Jesus outright declared Himself as Messiah to? This is a truly significant moment in the Gospel of John. Miracles and signs are one thing, but a Messianic proclamation is truly game changing. 

The ramifications of this kind of proclamation were enormous. Jesus declared Himself, before this woman, to be the One who would reveal all mysteries and restore all things. The Messiah had come to a non-Jewish town inhabited by the enemies of the Jews and proclaimed Himself Christ the Savior. Before the enemies of His people, Jesus demonstrated in no uncertain terms that He had truly come, as He told Nicodemus in John 3:16, to bring salvation, peace, redemption, restoration, and eternal life to all who believe in Him. 

May we remember this beautiful model for personal evangelism that Jesus has given us here. May we remember to build relationships with people, to look beyond worldly differences because Jesus shatters them all, to share truth in love, and to clearly present people with the gospel truth that leads to salvation. 

Pause: What does Jesus’ interaction with this woman reveal to us about personal evangelism? What does it reveal about worldly ideology, politics, race, ethnicity, gender, class, past, and any other criteria we often use to build walls of division amongst ourselves?

Practice: Consider how Jesus dealt with the sin in this woman’s life. He exposed it, but in love, with gentleness and compassion, and free from condemnation. Now, consider how you confront sin in your own life and in the lives of others. Does it line up with Jesus’ way? If not, what can you do in this season to change that?

Pray: Father, give me eyes to see people the way Jesus did and does. By Your Spirit, give me the gentleness, compassion, love, grace, and mercy of Jesus so I may do the work You’ve called me to, the work of making disciples and reaching the lost in Jesus’ name. Help me show the truth of Jesus and lead people to the worship of Jesus. Amen.

Thirsty for Living Water

John 4 ;11-15

What’s the thirstiest you’ve ever felt? As a kid, I watched cartoons where characters in the desert became so thirsty they began hallucinating. I’ve never been that thirsty before, but after running sprints in the dead of summer at baseball practice, I remember feeling like I was going to pass out without a drink of refreshing water! 

As we saw yesterday, Jesus, thirsty from His journey to Samaria, asked a Samaritan woman for water, which shocked her because she’s a Samaritan woman. Jesus responds to her saying if she knew who was asking she would have asked Him and He would have given her living water (John 4:10). Notice how Jesus completely ignores her hostility and takes the conversation to a different place, leaving her dumbstruck. 

Did you know that the expression Jesus used (living water) was actually a common term used for running water, as opposed to water in a well? Not surprisingly, the woman thought Jesus was talking about water from the spring that fed Jacob’s well, wondering how He could draw water from this over 100-foot deep well without a bucket. In response, Jesus explains that all who drink of the water He gives would never thirst again. As F.F. Bruce wrote, “Jesus now speaks of a greater gift of God than the purest earthly spring can supply . . . the gift of the Spirit, life eternal.”

The thirst Jesus is talking about isn’t physical, it’s spiritual—it’s that longing, yearning we all feel that needs to be filled. Often, we spend years trying to fill it with other things—money, power, relationships, addictions, work, etc. Yet, we always come back thirsty. It’s only in the living water of Christ Jesus, the eternal spring which overflows into our lives and never stops flowing, that we can find true satisfaction. Paul testifies personally to this in Philippians 3:7–9 (NIV), saying, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.”

As Christians, YOU HAVE THIS SPRING OF LIVING WATER! “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17–19 NIV, emphasis added). And as you are filled to overflowing by Him, I pray you would be attuned to the Spirit who desires to use you to pour into the lives of others. 

Pause: What is the significance of water in your life? Why does the Bible so frequently connect the grace of God to water? What does this teach us about our lives?

Practice: Read through John 2 and 3 today, then re-read John 4:1–19. Notice the constant use of water in describing our spiritual lives, eternal lives, and the power of God to save us. Then spend some time in prayer for someone you know who needs to experience the fountain of living water spring up in their heart! 

Pray: Father, I pray for ______ today. I pray that _______ would drink of the better water that Jesus offers, the water that produces eternal life and abundant life! I pray that ______ would stop seeking to fill his/her life with the still and unquenching water this world has to offer and instead experience the ever-flowing spring. And Father, I pray that You would use me in whatever way You see fit to reach him/her with the truth, grace, love, and power of the gospel. Amen.

The Gifts of God

John 4:10

“Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’” John 4:10 (NIV)

Imagine for a moment that I gave you a brand new and very expensive car as a gift. It’s a beautiful car that can carry other passengers, transport you from one place to another, and fit all of the gear that you’d need to take with you. But instead of using the car as it was designed to be, you parked the car in your garage and never drove it. You kept the car safe. You protected it for yourself, but you didn’t use it as it was intended.

In today’s passage, we see the word “gift” mentioned, both in the context of the woman at the well and in Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. The Greek word for “gift” here is dōrea and is derived from the word dōron, which is found in Ephesians 2:8. Dōron has a deeper meaning, as a present offered as a way to demonstrate honor.

In light of this understanding of gift, let’s dig into the context a bit more. In John 4, Jesus encounters the woman who comes to draw water from the well in the middle of the day. She has a complicated past, and Jesus meets her where she’s at. He tells her He has a source of living water far greater than the water from the well. This source, Jesus, is the gift of God. 

In John 7, Jesus further elaborates on this concept of living water as He teaches in front of a divided crowd of people in the temple courts. Some wanted to seize Him, and others put their faith in Him (John 7:30–31). His proclamation is an invitation for anyone who is thirsty to come to Him and that those who believe in Him would have living water flowing from within.

In Ephesians, Paul writes of God’s intent for the Church, and how believers ought to work with each other. In chapter 2, Paul writes that salvation is a gift from God. It happens by God’s grace and through our faith in Jesus. 

We can see a pattern that God gives us gifts. Specifically, we see the gifts of living water, salvation, and Jesus Himself. Just like the car that is meant to be driven, these gifts are meant to be used and not hidden or hoarded! Jesus is the ultimate gift of God, and He demonstrates what it’s like to give freely. The gifts we’ve been given are for us, but they’re also for others. Share your gift with others. Your life has a purpose! You are called to reach your city!

Pause: Read John 7:37–38 and Ephesians 2:8. Are you “driving the car” God gave you, or do you have it parked safely in your “garage”? How might you get in the car and start using the gift He gave you?

Practice: When was the last time You thanked God for the gifts He’s given you—the car you drive, the bed you sleep in, the job you have, the clean water that comes from your faucet. Take a moment to thank Him for good gifts!

Pray: God, thank You for Your generous gift of sending your Son to die on the cross for my sins. Thank You for the gift of salvation and the promise of living water. Help me to use and share the gifts You’ve given me with others who might need them today! Amen.

Divine Appointments and Disciple Makers

John 4:4-9

“Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)” John 4:4–9 (NIV)

Have you ever had an appointment you couldn’t miss? Maybe it was a big job interview, a test, or an important doctor’s appointment. Whatever it was, I’m sure nothing was going to keep you from it! Today, we begin a multi-day examination of an appointment on Jesus’ itinerary with eternal implications for one woman, an entire town, and all of us!

World history tells us Jesus did not have to go through Samaria. In fact, because of the relationship between them, most Jews avoided the Samaritan route and went the long way around from Judea to Galilee. Jesus, however, had an appointment.

When He arrived at the well in Sychar around noon, He encountered a Samaritan woman. Two notable things: Women usually came to draw water 1) in company and 2) at a cooler time of day. This woman came alone because either 1) she didn’t want the company of others or 2) they didn’t want hers. So, she chose a time when no one would be there. In the coming days, we’ll learn more about this woman’s story.

Tired and thirsty from His journey, Jesus asks her for a drink. While Jesus’ request seems fairly unassuming by today’s standards, and would have been normal from a Gentile traveler, it surprised the Samaritan woman because Jesus was a Jew. Most Jews would never have asked a Samaritan person for something, especially not a Samaritan woman. Why? It would make them ritually unclean. Thus, Jesus’ request truly astonished and shocked her. But this is the very reason Jesus had to go through Samaria, to meet this woman. 

In the coming days, we’ll get a deeper look at this appointment, but for today I want to leave you with this challenge: Be attuned and available to the Holy Spirit. Let Him lead you, because He has a few divine appointments on your life’s itinerary! 

Sometimes, we wonder why God isn’t using us, but are we actually leaving room for Him to work in us? Are we leaving room for the Spirit to direct our steps, or are we so busy and consumed by what’s going on in our own lives? Have you ever felt the tug to take a certain route, speak to a certain stranger, reach out to a friend, and ignore it? Just maybe that’s the Spirit scheduling an appointment for you!

Being a disciple maker means leaving room in our schedules for the Spirit to work, to move us to action, and to direct us to fulfill His purpose. As strange as it sounds, that means writing our schedules in pencil, not stone, and being okay with that. Why? Because we never know when the Spirit will move and lead, so we can’t be so rigid and immovable with our time.

Look at your schedule today. Is there any room at all for the Spirit to move you where you need to go?

Pause: When was the last time someone’s need interrupted your plans? How did you respond? Did you respond like Jesus, or did you see it as an inconvenience to your plans and an interruption to your schedule? In contrast, when have you interrupted others with your needs? How did they respond? How did their response make you feel?

Practice: Pray the Spirit will move you where you need to go to reach the people He’s calling you to reach. Pray the Lord would use you to accomplish His great plan and purpose, and then let Him work. Find times throughout the day to quiet your mind, to cut out distractions, and to tune your frequency to the Spirit’s so you can hear from Him. The more you do this, the easier it will be to recognize when the Lord is leading you to your “Jacob’s well” moments.

Pray: Father, I ask You to move in me and through me. I pray that Your Spirit would guide me into divine appointments, that I may be open and available to Your direction, and that as those moments arise, that I may not shrink back but by Your Spirit walk in boldness to proclaim Your truth and the gospel of Your Son! Amen.

You are God's Answer

2Tim.1;6

Habakuk 2;14

Eph.3:20-21

You are the solution to a problem in the world! When God fashioned you in your mother's womb, and numbered the hairs on your head, the intentionality He put into your design was on purpose. God saw a problem in the world and a need among His people, and said, "Let us make INSERT YOUR NAME HERE." 

My brother, you are RESPONSIBLE, not just for an assignment but to a people. There is a need that you have been especially equipped to meet and a void that you are needed to fill. God calls you to a partnership with Him in His redemptive effort to bring heaven on earth. You can't do it without Him, and He won't do it without you. The task is on you to identify what this responsibility (purpose) is, to stir up the gifts of the Holy Ghost that have been placed in you for your assignment (2 Timothy 1:6), and to make yourself a useful vessel through which God makes His glory known to the world (Habakkuk 2:14). 

This is no small task. God has made you responsible for the souls of people. God has called you to much greater than what you see or experience now. Answer the call and truly submit your heart to Him today. Watch Him accomplish through you things that are beyond your wildest dreams (Ephesians 3:20-21).

NOT TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE

Mathew 20:28

Gen.12 :11-13, 17-19

Like Jesus, you are called to live in a posture of servitude, sacrificing your own comfort for the protection and integrity of those in your care. While Jesus shows us a prime example of what this looks like, a famous Bible character named Abram (later known as Abraham) shows us the opposite. 

When visiting Egypt, Abram devised a plan with his wife, Sarai, to lie to the Egyptians, that she was his sister and not his wife, from fear that he would be killed for her beauty so that she could be married to the pharaoh (Genesis 12:11-13). At first glance, this might sound like a wise idea. 

What Abram failed to realize was that in his efforts to preserve himself, he actually put Sarai, his wife, in danger. Abram left her in the hands of the pharaoh, who intended to marry her and then have her reject God to conform to the customs of the Egyptian land. Fortunately, God stepped in and protected her, letting the pharaoh know that Sarai was actually Abram's wife and not his sister (Genesis 12:17-19). In his effort to save himself, Abram lessened the identity of Sarai, from being his wife to his sister, making her available to be purchased by the pharaoh. 

As men, when we behave in ways that are self-centered and selfish, we fail to confirm the valued identity of those around us and even knock on the door of dehumanizing them. For example, when we watch pornography, we gradually solidify in our hearts that women are disposable and exchangeable objects of pleasure. When we are silent and complacent in response to the suffering of women and children in our society, we communicate with our inaction, that they are not worthy of our attention and active response.. 

May God have mercy on us and make us aware of the call to rise up and to be His hands and feet of purity, protection, and provision here on this earth.

START A PURITY OUTBREAK

Matthew 1:25

Ephesians 5:25-27

As a man, God calls you to lead in purity. This is simply presenting the discipline you practice privately, publicly, so that it positively affects those around you. Let's look again at Joseph. 

Joseph was instructed by an angel of God to go ahead and marry Mary, after receiving assurance that she was not disloyal to him and was actually impregnated by God Himself. After marrying Mary, Joseph abstained from sexual relations with Mary until Jesus was born (Matthew 1:25). 

Notice, Joseph is married to Mary and has legal and divine permission to have sexual relations with her. Instead, Joseph chooses to abstain, sacrificing his own satisfaction and pleasure to keep Mary and Jesus pure. We need the grace of God to get to this level of selflessness. 

If you are in a romantic relationship that has not yet graduated to marriage, the woman you are courting may not be pregnant with Jesus, but she is surely pregnant with purpose. If Joseph could lead in purity and abstain from having sex with his own wife to keep her pure for her divine assignment of giving birth to Jesus, then you have certainly been equipped with the grace to lead the woman you are courting and/or will court in sexual purity. 

As married men, we are called to sacrifice ourselves in whatever way is necessary for the benefit of our wives (as Christ gave Himself for the church). As married men, the call to live and lead in purity is one of the ways we give ourselves to our wives. This is why it's much better to start practicing purity before marriage than to have to learn while on the job. When our wives don't desire sex because they feel sick, tired, or are not in the mood, we should not hold it against them or guilt them into sexual submission. Rather, we ought to show patience and self-discipline by demonstrating unconditional love for them and concern for their needs. 

Married or not, sexual purity and discipline are a must!

Beware: Danger ahead

PUT THE SEX TOYS AWAY

Gen.2 : 16-17

Prov.5: 18-20

When God says, "here, you can have this," He expresses His love for us. When God says, "no, don't touch this," or "don't touch this right now," He gives us an opportunity to show our love for Him. Men love and respect God. Do you? Where's your evidence?

As men, we get into trouble when it comes to sex. God has given us the gift of sex, and we have the ability to use it the right way or the wrong way. It's simple, the right way glorifies God. If we use it the wrong way, we disobey God, misrepresent Him, and hurt ourselves. Sex is great. But when sex is done outside of marriage, there are physical and spiritual costs that don't seem like a big deal until the bill comes. It's like going to a restaurant and ordering everything that sounds good and the menu doesn't show the price of heartbreak, an unhealthy soul tie, or even an unplanned/unwanted pregnancy.  

To avoid such heart and head ache, God calls all men to walk in sexual purity. Although you may have access to things that produce lust in your heart, such as pornography, masturbation, and your imagination gone wild, God provides the grace to say, "no" to these illegitimate pleasures. When it comes to sex, God very seldom says "You can never have this," but when He does, in cases when he has called a man to lifelong singleness, He provides the grace needed to fulfill this expectation. For most of us, God simply says, "you cannot have this yet," as He desires to be glorified in our obedience and intends to protect our God-given sexual appetites for our wives when a marriage covenant has been made.

Security through maturity

John 8:4-5

Mathew 1:19

An immature man is a pain to society. Those who trust him are familiar with hurt and disappointment. Until we learn to be responsible and trustworthy, we are not even useful in God's hands. 

When Joseph, Jesus' earthly father, learned that his fiancee was pregnant, he was shocked. He probably suspected that Mary had been promiscuous during the period when she should have been keeping herself sexually pure for him. Joseph must have been deeply hurt, as any man would have been. Although he felt the marriage could not continue, Joseph determined in his mind that he would still protect Mary and the child. Rather than publicly disgracing her, as the religious leaders intended with the woman who was caught committing adultery (John 8:4-5), Joseph decided that he would break the engagement, "quietly" (Matthew‬ ‭1:19). Sometimes some situations will occur, and our initial reaction is to react to feed our disappointment and anger but like Joseph we will have to handle things quietly. Don't be afraid of looking weak, but know that The Lord honors men who protect others more than they protect their ego.

By his decision, Joseph put aside his ego and pride, and prioritized the safety of a woman he believed had betrayed him. Joseph showed us that to be a man we must embody godly maturity. Although, he no longer planned to go through with the marriage, Joseph felt responsible for the well-being of this woman and her unborn child, and to avoid adding stress to an already messy situation. 

Today, our world is in need of men who are willing to put aside their ego, sacrifice their comfort, and get off of their high horse, in order to care for the needs of those around them. Look around. Who are the people who need you? How can you be more mature and responsible today?

Unwrap the man in you

John 8;31-32,38

“What does it mean to be a man?” Some will argue that your manhood is based on what you do for a living, or having a certain number of sexual partners, or being "strong" and not showing emotions, or knowing what to do in all situations, or being able to protect and provide for your family, some say it's just a label. Depending on who you ask, you might get a different combination of these or an emphasis on a few over others.

Nevertheless, God's Word shows us a clear picture of what it means to be a man. It is first and foremost important to know that manhood isn't a final destination, but an ongoing journey. With each passing moment, we have the ability to grow into the men God has called us to be.

To the Jews who believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” John 8:31-32. The freedom Jesus speaks of requires some unlearning; unlearning a lot of things we think we know about manhood, in order to make room for the truth He set in motion from the very beginning. 

Jesus goes on to share that He learned the truth He shares from His Father (John 8:38).

 In order to make room for the Father’s teaching, we must do away with some of the “lessons from our fathers” (media, music, society, culture, well-intending models with misguided information, etc.) If there was ever a time for men to heal from the sickness of false ideologies, it's now. Let's dive in and unwrap the man in you!

Make Disciples

Mathew 28:18-20

 The Great Commission is simple in nature, yet difficult in execution.

Matthew 28 clearly tells us that we are called to make disciples and that we have the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this mission. Leaders recognize this charge and embrace it with reverence.

Never hide or be ashamed of your Savior. God wants you to hold your head high and be ready to share your testimony with others. Wherever you are in life, whatever your past is, God is ready to use you right where you are. Look in the mirror and see the man that God has called to be a witness so that He might save others.

You must own this and always be looking for opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus with others. As a spiritual leader of your home, one of the most powerful things your family can see is how on fire for Jesus you are. Your service of others will show them how seriously you take the Great Commission to heart. Be the leader you are intended to be by serving God every day as you lead your family and others to the wonderful salvation that is found only in Jesus.

Question to Consider

What effect does the Gospel have on your life?

Do you love others enough to share the Gospel so they can be saved from an eternity separated from God?

What actions will you commit to today to be the leader God intends you to be?

Spiritual Mentors

1 Peter 5 :1-3

Mentors are important in all walks of life.

Spiritually speaking, finding a mentor can be the best step you can take to grow as a spiritual leader of your family. 1 Peter 5 tells how elders have so much wisdom to share and it behooves us to seek out that counsel to grow in our walk. So, how do you find spiritual mentors?

You first need to know what to look for in a man before you ask them to speak into your life. What you need to be looking for is the fruit of their life. Do they treat others and walk in a way that showcases love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? That should be prevalent in everything they do.

Once you feel they would be a solid mentor, have the courage to ask him to speak into your life. This can be intimidating. If you have selected the right man, they will treat such a request with kindness and humility. If they say, “I’m not sure if I’m qualified,” that’s a good indicator you are on the right path!

Once found, a spiritual mentor is someone you can go to on a regular schedule or as needed for guidance with your walk. It could be weekly or as infrequent as quarterly. The main thing is that you have a direct line to a man of God that is willing to take the time and speak into your life. Take this step as of absolute importance and seek out a spiritual mentor to help you grow.

 Question to Consider

What characteristics do you look for in a spiritual mentor?

How visible is your fruit if others wanted to seek you out as their mentor?

What actions will you commit to today to be the leader God intends you to be?