Good morning men. This past week my wife and I have had the wonderful blessing of being able to travel and visit my brother. We made the trip without our kids and this is he longest we have been away from the two of them since they were born. While we have enjoyed our trip, we have missed our kids dearly. They are the biggest blessings in our life without question. The joy they bring us is immeasurable.
Psalm 127:3 “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.”
We are also children of God. We bring joy to him as well. We bring him joy when we witness for Him be it in a kind act, prayer for someone, sharing the good news with someone and countless other ways. Bring joy to the Lord and try to walk in step with him. It is something we must work at each day. I hope each of you are a blessing to someone today.
We all face trials throughout our lives. Living for the glory of God each and every day is a challenge. Thankfully we already know the end result, but we still need to live in the present with eternity in mind. The challenge is seeking Him and trusting in him daily to give us strength to stand firm and Honor him through both the peaks and valleys of this life until Christ returns. Right now it seems like the people I know are going through the trial of needing a good job. My cousin-in-law Ian Steedman, just got let go from a really good position with Hobby Lobby in Oklahoma City, OK. Please be in prayer for Him, my cousin Angie Steedman and their lovely family of 5 girls. They all love the Lord and are such a beautiful family and God’s timing has it that we will be visiting them while on vacation in a couple of weeks. Pray for the Lord’s provision for them and wisdom and clarity for the next steps in their journey. Pray we can be a blessing to them while in OKC. I taught Sunday school this morning and the lesson had a really good verse about God after Daniel cried out in prayer about his dire situation. God answered in a vision and here is Daniel’s response.
Daniel 2:20-23” 20Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 23To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”
God knows what we need and knows what is best for us, even when we can’t see it. Cry out to Him, asking for wisdom and provision. Trust that God works everything out for our good and His glory even in the darkest times.
Romans 8:18-30:18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, becauseg the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,h for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
2 Corinthians 4:13-18:13Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
16So we do not lose heart. Though our outer selfd is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.17For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Pastors, it’s the perfect time for your congregation to hear your message. Just know that your words are going to be exactly what one or more of your members need to hear.
Men, I really like the fundamentals of this verse.
Devote – give all or a large part of one’s time or resources to (a person, activity, or cause).
Love – an intense feeling of deep affection.
Honor – high respect; esteem. Adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct.
I don’t feel like I need to expand on these fundamentals. They truly speak for themselves. What I do hope is that this scripture serves as a guide for today, this week and beyond.
Speak volumes with your actions. Put others above yourself. Be exceptional at being you.
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Men, I’ll be honest, on different days I’m not the good soil. I let outside factors control too much of what I think and do. I have to adjust my perspective to a more thankful and appreciative perspective. I bet we all have to do that from time to time.
We have to focus on the simple blessings that some people don’t have like warm water, silverware, air conditioning, electricity and various other things we take for granted sometimes.
I think that we can easily fit into verse five. Shallow soil with plants that sprout quickly, but have no roots or substance. They look good for a little bit, but they wither away.
Work to be a man of substance. In short, be good soil. Let the seeds of the Lord grow. Be exceptional at being you.
The day before yesterday I took the day off to drive my family to Little Rock. My uncle from CA was in town and we rarely miss an opportunity to visit with Rick. He is a former FBI agent and full of all kinds of knowledge and interesting stories.
While we were there, the boys and I jumped in the pool for a couple of hours. My youngest, Jase, is still in floaties and WOULD NOT go off the diving board. After some bribery with baseball cards (parenting fail, I’m sure)….he ventured out and jumped off for the first time ever. He landed in my arms, and came up obviously surprised that he was safe and sound.
After that, it was on like Donkey Kong! I couldn’t get that kid off the diving board and he pouted and fussed when I made him go in. His lack of understanding and misguided fear had kept him from venturing into something that brought him ultimate joy and excitement.
What fear is it today that is keeping you from jumping to the Father? He is waiting with outstretched arms for all of us!
Isaiah 41:10 says:
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Head out this weekend not shackled by fear, but liberated by the faith that your leap will end in the arms of a loving father who won’t abandon you!
Darkness is not always a bad thing. This is a summary of a short piece I listened to from Steven Furtick. We have all had those times in life where we do not feel as close to God, or that something is missing. This really spoke to me and challenged me to think outside the box.
In Stevens words he asks that you should almost welcome these times, because the greatest proof of the power of God is when Jesus wasn’t there. Think about the ressurrection for a minute. The women (men are missing from this) go to Jesus’ tomb, when they arrive the stone that covered the grave was not covering it any longer so the entry way protection was missing, when they peaked inside Jesus was missing, his physical body was gone.
Here is how I tie this to our manly message today, what is it that is missing in your life that you feel is not fair? Is it a lost or difficult relationship, a role at Church that hasn’t showed itself yet, a set of numbers at work that have not been good for sales, a bank account that never seems to satisfy you, the inability to purchase your dream car/home, etc, etc, etc.
Whatever it may be that is missing in your life I challenge you today to not view it as a darkness that you cannot be in, but a period of time that God actually planned for your life so that He could work in you and use you even more. He is pruning us all the time in an effort to make us more humble, more gracious, more serving, and eventually bearing more fruit. Think outside the box and Understand that if something is missing God has a great plan for you!
I grew up my entire life listening to coaches and teachers say, “when you point a finger, you have three pointing back at you.” I always thought it was super corny, didn’t apply to me, and just brushed it off. Want to take a guess why? As a young adult I found myself super judgmental, egotistic, and always on my “you need to fix you” high horse.
This past Sunday, we had a guest pastor, and his message included the title of this message. It wasn’t the focus, but it rang true with me. We have heard our entire life, “love the sinner, hate the sin” in regards to people in our community who live outside God’s will.
Here’s the question for the day:
What if WE spent as much time communicating with God and asking him to help us swith our own sin, as we did judging other people for theirs.
I don think this would “fix” a fallen world. Pretty sure that’s only possible in one way, and it has nothing to do with our timing. What I do think is it would make us more humble…more approachable…..more loving as Christians and give life to far more Gospel opportunities.
Good morning men. I pray this all finds you well. Last week we wrapped up VBS. Those that have worked VBS before know how exhausting but rewarding it is. We had a great turnout and I’m hopeful that seeds were planted in the kids that we will see grow over time. Many times we only see some of these kids at VBS so we do what we can when we can to teach them about Jesus.
Many times though we will run into people and that may be the only opportunity we get to show them Jesus. I say show them not tell them for a reason. Actions speak louder than words and this is particular true for Christians. Another way I’ve heard it is “I can’t hear what you’re saying because of what you’re showing me.”
Men we should always be good stewards of Christ for we know not who is watching and we need to be showing them what they need even when we don’t know they’re watching. Someone is always watching.
As we see in the news and what we see & experience each and everyday; we live in a broken world. Jesus said there would be trials and persecution. The Bible says though, that we are not alone, that we don’t have to “man up” to face these trials but rather we need to lean into Jesus and His body of believers, the church. I don’t have time to share all the references and descriptions where the Lord says he is our refuge, our strong tower, our redeemer, our counselor, our helper, our overcomer, etc. but I have included a few.
Hebrews 10:19-24: “19Therefore, brothers,c since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 9:8:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
1 Peter 5:6-11:6Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,7casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Romans 8 http://biblehub.com/esv/romans/8.htm
Cling to the promises above and lift up our brothers who are in need and or/struggling whether it is something small or big like marital strife, cancer or job loss. I encourage you to reach out and encourage each other, to be the hands and feet of Jesus helping each other and those around us.
One way is to lift up my friends and former colleagues at Purdue Pharma who eliminated their entire sales force: Chad Becker, a man I have added to the list today, gave Purdue close to 20 years of outstanding service. He is looking for a good pharmaceutical job in the Denver, CO area. If you know of a good opportunity please reach out to Chad via email at beckerfive@gmail.com. Another one is Kevin Jenkins, who was at Purdue for 21 years. And Dustin Pfieffer (whom you already know). Please lift these guys up and keep praying. Reach out.
And please keep Alex Phillips in your prayers as he has 3 weeks until he goes to MD Anderson in Houston, TX for surgery to remove his brain tumor.
With all that I leave you this song that spoke to me in light of all that is going on.
Darkness is not always a bad thing. This is a summary of a short piece I listened to from Steven Furtick. We have all had those times in life where we do not feel as close to God, or that something is missing. This really spoke to me and challenged me to think outside the box.
The Manly Message 
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