All Been There

Worry. Fear. Anxiety.

Good morning men. These are things all of us have experienced at one point and probably experience on a more regular basis than we care to admit. As a small business owner, I know experience anxiety more than I should. Not because my business is doing okay, but because I have a savior who says it’s going to be okay regardless of how my business does. Often times I’m concerned with where our next big account is coming from, the next job in general, do we have enough in sales this month, how are we going to grow over last year, etc. There’s one answer to all of these questions: Take it to Jesus. I have to lay it down at his feet and trust in him. He holds the answers but more importantly he can handle the burden that I cannot. This morning he used my son to help me. As we were going into my parents house, my 2 yo held my hand as we walked in. That brief 10 seconds made my day men. That child didn’t have a care in the world. He trusts me, just as we should all trust our father. I know I have touched on this message before men but I know it’s something ever prevalent in my life so I pray it helps someone else. Have a blessed day in the trenches.

Philippians 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Matthew 18:3 “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Character

The passage I share below deals with character and faith in the face of suffering. I want my attitude, my words and my actions to always point to Christ and bring glory to God no matter what the circumstances. We do not know what each day brings, but we do know the One who does and that is who we put our faith in. The world is broken and unfair, but the Lord is sovereign and rules over all of it and uses all of it to grow his people; his church. How do we respond when things don’t go our way? Or when we feel we deserve something different?

1 Peter 3:8-18

Suffering for Doing Good

8Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

10For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.
11They must turn from evil and do good;they must seek peace and pursue it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats ; do not be frightened.” 15But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

My hope is that my wife and I have parented in such a way that our children experience & rejoice in the good news of Jesus Christ and that their faith and love for Christ shows in everything they do. We pray that they trust in the Lord no matter the circumstances. This past week my 2 daughters were very busy performing in Peter Pan (put on by Christian Youth Theatre here in Kansas City). My oldest daughter Paige, 15, has been in several shows over the past 8 years and growing in her theater experience and skills; and especially these past 2 years. She was really looking forward to Peter Pan and prepared hard to earn a leading role. Several friends commented how well she did in her audition and her hopes were high. All of her friends got major roles, yet my daughter didn’t and she was not happy. In some way this was a moment of suffering for my daughter and it showed in her attitude the next few weeks. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t stand that attitude and nor could my wife. But the Lord was working on Paige as she resolved to stay committed to the show. Her attitude changed and she was determined to be the best warrior & dancer she could be. She worked hard.

Which brings us to this week: show week. On opening night one of the leads got sick and could not do the next show. Paige’s attitude and hard work during the past 3 months was noticed. The creative directors running the show called for Paige and asked her to fill in because they felt she was reliable and best able to handle this on such short notice. Suffice it to say, she was thrilled and accepted the challenge. The directors said she could even use a copy of the script while on stage, but Paige poured over it late that night and the next day and didn’t even need the script sheet. And she nailed the performance! On top of that she won a post show award for being the most reliable and for standing in the gap when called upon. We were so proud of this character building moment for her and pray that it will be a life stake moment: something she can build upon; look back upon and grow for the future and that it would point those around her to Christ. May we show this faith and character in everything we do: 1 Peter 3:15-16: But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander

What Will You Do With It?

1 Chronicles 4:10

10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

Pastors, let the Lord speak through you today. Let your message ring loud, ring clear and ring true.

I don’t use the King James Version with my scriptures much, but I feel that this version of the scripture takes us more in depth of what we can ask for and what we can do.

I don’t know the situation of every man reading this message, but I know a few. What I do know is this scripture can apply to any man who is seeking something from God.

I feel like asking is only half of the process. If God chooses to answer a prayer of yours in the way that you had hoped; what are you going to do with it? What blessing will you spread with your blessing? How will you “pay it forward?”

The next time you are in prayer and asking God for something, let Him know what you’ll do with it. How will you grow His kingdom?

Make it a great week in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey

Happy Anniversary to the Manly Message

Titus 2:10-15

10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

Today is the three year anniversary of the Manly Message. I was not on the message at the very beginning, but I was added shortly after and then Dustin asked me to write one. This message is such a great example of God not calling the enabled, but enabling the called and I feel that it has been a blessing to many men.

As for the scripture, the word that caught my attention for this message was attractive. It caught me so off guard that I reviewed it a couple of times. It was good to hear a word like that used to describe spreading the word since we know how difficult being a follower of Christ can be and was on some of the people in the Bible. Some lived in difficult circumstances in life and some died horrific deaths.

I also like this passage because it ends by saying don’t let anyone despise you. It’s not bad to be a Christian in any way. Times can be difficult, but those are the times our faith grows the most.

Men, I hope this scripture is as uplifting for you as it was for me. I’d really recommend reading all of Titus 2. I found it quite motivating.

Make it a great day in the trenches. If you have rough weather, be careful. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey

Family Friday 2/15: It Takes a Village

Good morning, men!

Earlier this week I had to have a talk with my 9 year old ball team. A few of them had gotten in trouble at school for how they were talking to other students. One in particular had made some comments to a female classmate that were very hurtful. We sat down before practice and here was the message…..

“Words matter. What you say can either make someone’s day or ruin it. Our team is going to do things the right way, and if you don’t, there will be consequences in the form of playing time. If it becomes a pattern and the behavior persists without change, we are going to have to examine how much you want to be on this team.”

I explained to the boys that this may seem unfair. That other kids can say or do whatever and nobody cares. I told them choosing to be a Lumberjack, in a way, is like choosing to follow Jesus and His example. There are some really neat rewards, but we are held to a different standard with higher expectations than the rest of the crowd.

We will see where it goes from here. I just pray that we can use sports to help these boys draw closer to Christ as they mature.

Have a blessed day and a restful weekend!

M.I.T.T. ~ Runyan

Sons and Daughters

This is how we know that we really love the children of God. We know it when we love God and obey his words.
1 John 5:2

In our daily marriage devotion, Gary Thomas, made a point that I feel is worth sharing. We know as believers we are children of God, Sons and Daughters. If you have children I am sure you can relate to this, but even if you don’t it’s not hard to imagine.

One of the best ways to earn my favor is to treat one of my children right. For example, there are already quite a few educators, neighbors and family members that will forever be loved and respected by me because of the way they handle one of my children. On the flip side of that (right or wrong) there are also those who have immidiately been put on my bad list because they mistreated or wronged one of my children (there really aren’t that many, and I assure you I’m not a helicopter parent thinking everyone’s wronging my kids).

The point of the matter is this: if we are all children of God, isn’t it best we treat our brothers and sisters in a way that we can glorify God?

One time I heard this statement: the next time you are mad at your spouse, or anyone for that matter, when you look at them and begin to tell them how you feel, picture Jesus standing beside them with his hand on their shoulder. Wouldn’t that make a little more difficult to not show grace, mercy, kindness, forgiveness and love.

We are all sinners in need of a savior. Jesus, showed us all how to honor God by treating others, he humbled himself at all times. He didn’t even respond to His accusers as they marched him up Calvary carrying a tree that He would eventually be nailed to and left to die.

So surely we can Honor our Father by treating others the right way.

With love, dlp

M.I.T.T.

Follow the Spirit

Chang vs. Lendl

Good morning, men!

The above link is to a short video about the 1989 French Open at Roland Garros. I was only 7 years old, so although I know the names associated, I don’t remember the match. It was between 17 year old American Michael Chang (a devout Christian) and #1 in the world Czechoslovakian Ivan Lendl.

The world said Chang had no shot. He was a 135 lb kid against a 6’2″ man who had won the tournament three times previously. On top of that, about 2/3 of the way through the match, Chang developed debilitating cramps that forced him to eat bananas center court!

In the 5th set, Chang headed towards the chair ref with the intent to quit when he says he came under massive conviction from the Holy Spirit. The world (particularly China) was on fire over communism. Chang felt God tell him to remain in the match…..that He had placed him there for a greater purpose.

Chang went on to win the finals and thanked Jesus in his speech. He was booed at large by the secular French crowd.

When I heard this story I had 2 major takeaways:

1. The courage of Chang to follow and proclaim Jesus.

2. His obedience to a heavy and immediately present call from the Spirit.

Both of those actions are examples we can follow this week!

Have a blessed day!

M.I.T.T. ~ Runyan

Equal

Good morning men.

“All men are created equal.”

This has been one of the most famous lines in US and probably world history. Our forefathers of the United States had some great insight to look after this country.

I want to look at this from another point. The Christian believer stand point. Again, all men are created equal. God loves each of us the same. To piggy back off of what Yancey said on Sunday, I am the worst sinner. We are ALL the worst sinner. We’ve all fallen short of the glory of God for we have all sinned.

Woah. Talk about a way to humble yourself. That’s what Christ wants from us though. To humble ourselves before him and know and admit that we need him and then to trust in him. We are all equal men. We all are in need of a savior and since we are all equal, we all can be saved in the exact same way. Submitting our lives to Jesus. Admitting he died on the cross. Knowing that we are sinners and only through his salvation can we be saved.

THIS IS TRUE FOR ALL PEOPLE.

That is absolutely beautiful to me. Have a blessed day in the trenches men.

The Worst of Sinners

1 Timothy 1:15-16

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

Pastors, it is your opportunity to make it happen.

As you probably know, today’s message is from Paul who began life as Saul. This is a powerful verse in that Paul says he was “one of the worst” and yet he was still forgiven. Paul was used as an example of mercy.

These types of verses remind us that no matter what, Jesus died for us. The fact is that our faults can glorify Jesus and all of his incredible goodness. Share that good news with someone this week.

Make it a great week in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey