The Helper

This weekend I took my boys to see Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War. Wow. I will not spoil anything, but will give you a heads up if you have younger kids – it is a fun roller coaster of a movie with a wild finish. There was a 12 year old boy sitting next to my 17 yr old son. At the end of the movie the 12 year old was crying. I was next to my 11yr old son who was shocked but still loved it.

The culture of this world has gone wild. Whether these are the last days before Christ comes backs who knows,  but it sure seems like it. The end of Romans chapter 1 is a picture of our world today.

Romans 1:18-29: 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^g in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

The disciples felt there world was crashing down around them when Jesus died. I can’t fathom what they were going through for those 3 days He was in the tomb. But then Jesus rose from the dead, appearing to over 500 and let the disciples know His awesome plans (Matthew 28:18-20). He was going to the Father, but was sending The Holy Spirit to guide & empower them until He returns. And the promise of the Holy Spirit applies to us as well as believers and disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ! Take in deeply the following verses. We are not alone. The Father first sent Jesus then the Holy Spirit. 

Ephesians 1:13-14: 13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee^d of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,^e to the praise of his glory.

John 14:25-26: 25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

John 16:13-15: 13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Meditate on the meaning & power of the words in those verses:

• sealed
• guarantee of our inheritance.
• He will teach you ALL things and bring to remembrance ALL that I have said to you.
• He will guide you into ALL the truth.
• He will glorify Jesus, for he will take what is Jesus’s and declare it to us, and all that Jesus has comes from the Father

Go out men, listen to the Holy Spirit and follow where He leads. Have a great day Men!

 

Second Chances

Luke 15:11-32

The Parable of the Lost Son

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Pastors, make today your best … it is your time.

The movie The Natural was on recently. It is about a baseball player who finally gets his chance in the majors after some misfortune. Then he falls prey to a woman and a corrupt owner then almost messes up that chance. That is a very vague description of the movie. Robert Redford stars in the show.

My point today is that it is never too late to come back to God and even when you make a mistake during your 2nd chance, stay true to your faith. Keep working to be a good example, keep working on strengthening your relationship with our Savior.

You are loved and cared for. Be a warrior of faith. Be exceptional at being you and have a great week in the trenches.

Love,

Yancey

Gaining Good Fortune

Matthew 16:26-27

26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Hello Men,

I spent a little bit of time watching the NFL draft. It got me to thinking about how drastic changes in the lives of those young men. I can’t imagine being having a fortune in a matter of minutes. I know that those guys have worked to earn their opportunity, but still.

It got me to thinking that these young men truly should have no more financial troubles. After having watched the ESPN 30 for 30 Broke, we know that isn’t always the case.

We also have a good bit of fortune. What are we going to do with it? How will we share it? How will we humbly preach our good fortune? Keep in mind that our fortune isn’t monetary and it isn’t stuff. Our good fortune is our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Keep your soul in he right spot men. Make it a great day in the trenches and be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey

Family Friday 4/27: Stage Fright

Good morning, men!

Yesterday was my oldest son, Derek’s, Arkansas Day at his school. They do state related activities, wear locally inspired clothes, and play state history trivia. He was so excited on Thursday night that he went to be early so Friday “would get here sooner.”

Derek is a pretty smart kid with a good memory, so he was chosen to be one of the three kids from his class to be on the trivia team. Sarah and I went up and watched the preliminary round and they won by one point. My wife left to get her hair done, and I went to a meeting. When I came back for the finals in the cafeteria, D was a ball of nerves. He was crying and rubbing his eyes. I asked him what was wrong and he wouldn’t tell me.

Finally I said, “Bud, are you scared you will mess up?” He said he was and was nervous about playing older kids….they were facing the mighty 3rd graders on the big stage! We talked for a bit, and I asked him, “If you don’t get a single question right, do you think Jesus still loves you?” Of course he agreed, we talked a little more, he calmed down, and went out and did great.

When I was driving home I thought about how often I forget the lesson I tried to impart on my kid. I constantly worry about outcomes I have no control over. I lose sight of the fact that Jesus loves me unconditionally and He is right beside me always. I plan and try to manipulate things to my fitting, just so I can avoid failure.

Head out this weekend confident in your identity as a son of Christ, whom he loves and cares for, regardless of your successes and failures.

Have a blessed day, men!

M.I.T.T. ~ Runyan

Lessons From a 9 Year Old

Last night I walked in the kitchen and found my son Andre, writing a letter to his buddy Abe, back in Kansas City.   I saw the that he had an envelope ready and setting  next to the envelope was a $20 bill.  Andre, just turned 9 on April 9th, and as far as I know that’s the only money he got for his birthday.  I asked him if he was sending it to Abe, and he told me he was because Abe was trying to save up to buy a nerf dart gun that he wanted very bad. This is not the first time Andre has done something like this. I don’t think he cared what the money was going to buy, he only cared that Abe was saving up to get something he really wanted and he truly wanted to help.

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:41-44‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How much are we giving? You know, giving to your church and to those around you in need is important.  The church should be first, it costs to run a facility, bring in spiritual leaders, and continue the mission of growing the kingdom of God.

The other side of this are the people around you who are in need.  It could be a homeless person on the street, it could be a relative or a friend, it could be you buying someone’s meal or fuel.  There’s is someone in your life today that could use a surprise gift of money from you. Trust God and give in faith.  Do not condemn or judge the person and do not be concerned with how they spend the money. Just do your part. A little can go a long way in peoples lives and show someone that you are Christ like.

If a 9 year old can do it than so can we.  Find someone today to bless.

M.I.T.T.

dlp

“It’s Going to Get Worse Before it Gets Better”

Good morning, men!

Recently, my wife challenged me with fixing our broken mailbox. It was never anchored and strong storms blew it over to the point where the soil couldn’t support it anymore.

My youngest loves digging in the dirt and planting, so after I concreted the base, we set out to Lowe’s to build a flower box around the area. As we were digging (on yet ANOTHER wet day) my son stepped back and said “DAD! This looks awful!” He was right. Mud all over, asymmetry, torn turf. It was a mess. I told him “Yeah, buddy….it will be fine. But it’s gonna get worse before it gets better.” I didn’t say it but I was asking for his trust.

Immediately I thought about my own walk with Jesus. Weak foundation rocked by strong storms that nearly did me in. All the while, God had the materials necessary to build me back stronger and even better than before….but at times it was so messy I had ZERO clue how in the world it was going to work. In the end, faith in God and his divine plan delivered me to a future I couldn’t have imagined.

When we finished, Jase was so proud of the work he had helped complete. It was a great father/ son moment, and one that stirred my love for Jesus even more. I know it’s not going to win Yard of the Month, but it was perfect for us!

Have a blessed day, men!

M.I.T.T ~ Runyan

Revival Night

Good morning men! Last night our choir got the privilege to sing at a local church during one of the nights of their revival. What a blessing it was to get to be a part of that experience! Getting to sing afforded us the opportunity to stay afterward and listen to Brother Mike talk about following Jesus. The spirit had given him some wonderful points to share with us. Some of them are basic in a sense but unless you study they word and really look at them, they could be easy to miss. Especially those who are early in their walk.

The key takeaways were:

1. Obey his teachings 2. Follow his example 3. Follow the spirit.

All pretty basic but it’s how we practice them that makes the difference and the one that stuck out was his preaching on number two. Jesus was the only preacher EVER who practiced exactly what he preached. In fact, his examples and practice was even greater than his teaching. (I am paraphrasing brother Mike but that is extremely close to what he said). We need to follow his examples on love, compassion, and prayer to name a few.

Prayer was the other we talked much about. Christ entire life was all about prayer. He made time each day to spend with the father praying. Not just a few minutes, often times an hour or more. Wow! Christ, God in the human form, took out an hour each day to pray to God. What does that say we need to be doing in our prayer life? Follow his example. When he had a big decision to make, he took it to God in prayer. Follow his example. He found a quite place and went alone to be with God when he prayed. Follow his example.

I will leave you with this quote from brother Mike that he gave us last night

“You cannot follow Jesus well and not be a person of prayer.”

Have a great day in the trenches men.

2 Ears, 1 Mouth = James 1:19

 

James 1:19-21 (NIV): “19My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

This verse was a strong reminder to me after a day where my wife and I in a nutshell lived out the infamous movie quote: “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” And it happened over what was supposed to be a date out shopping and grabbing a bite to eat.

Bottom line was that both of us were quick to speak and not to listen, which then led to both of us becoming frustrated and then angry. We failed to communicate our expectations clearly, but as spiritual leader of the home it falls on me. I need to take it to the Lord, trust Him, listen to the Holy Spirit, follow and obey. And then love, lead & live with my wife in an understanding way (1 Peter 3:7)

Like the expression in the picture states, God gives us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason. We need to be listening more and talking less. And by listening, I mean listening to understand; not listening with intent to know what & when you can say something else.

1. I failed to listen to my wife’s cues that plans might have to change.  (I wasn’t quick to listen)
2. I was quick to speak: I was in mission mode so my speech and tone was quick, short and to the point and definitely not gentle, kind or understanding. I was trying to get her to the point verses letting her explain what she was going through at that time.
3. I was quick to become angry. Bottom line, it was pride and selfishness. It was about my agenda, my expectations and so suffice it to say it didn’t go well.  After the Lord smacked me with this verse, I had to repent and apologize to my wife.

There are some really good principles with this verse that applied to my situation and also apply to how we deal with our current culture and shining the love of Christ to those around us even when we disagree.

1. For sales professionals, this verse can best be summed up as: don’t be the rep who shows up and throws up. Be the rep who gets to know their clients, what challenges they face and what they want & need. It will make a bigger impact as you are selling to meet those needs as opposed to just throwing up knowledge and hoping it pertains and sticks.  People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. And the best way to do that is to ask about them, their situation, what they like and what is most important to them.
2. In talking with anyone and getting to know them, we seek to listen to understand even when we don’t agree, we need to show respect and love. Be quick to listen and slow to speak.
3. Anger doesn’t accomplish the righteousness of God. It just burns us up and others around us.

Some other key verses:

Ephesians 4:29: 29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

2 Timothy 2:23-26: 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.  25Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Titus 3:1-10: 1Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,2to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

9But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them.

It’s About the Arrival

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. – Augustine

God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile. – Max Lucado

Pastors, what you do is incredible. Writing the Manly Message every weekend is truly a blessing and a challenge. Trying to write something meaningful inspired by God’s Word that applies to all of us isn’t easy. After those thoughts, I remembered what you do every week. On top of meetings, talking to people about their problems, going to hospitals and all of your other duties, you write a sermon/message for every Sunday. Pastors, you are exceptional with an exceptional gift. Share your message today knowing that you will inspire the members of your congregation.

Two more quotes today, men. God loves us like we are His only child. How amazing is that? Sometimes what we’d like to have happen takes place and sometimes it doesn’t. That doesn’t change that He listens to us and loves us.

Remember, when things get tough, it’s the end game that makes it all worth it. Tough times strengthen and build opportunities to grow our faith. That isn’t always easy to see from the inside of those tough situation. Keep walking the walk.

Men, have a great week in the trenches wherever you may be. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey