1 Corinthians 15:33
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Psalm 9:9
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Pastors … your day. Make it happen.
Men, two scriptures today. I went to high school with a man that lost his son last Wednesday to a suicide. I can’t imagine that pain. Please pray for his family as they need help from people they have never and may never meet.
This particular boy was apparently bullied at school and that led to his decision to take his own life.
I say this to you, if you see non Christian behavior from people you are around, please do something to put a stop to it. You never know what people are going through. If you see someone who looks down, say something to brighten their day. You never know what a person’s plans are or what will alter them.
Be someone’s light this week … you never know.
Make it a great week in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.
Love,
Yancey
Take a good look at this picture … specifically the door. What do you notice? What’s missing?
The answer is the handle. That door must be opened from the inside.
I cannot take credit for this post. Our sermon at church was about this last Sunday, but it made an impact on me and I hope it does on you, as well.
We have to not only allow Jesus into our lives, we need to invite him in.
A good reminder.
Make it a great day in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.
Love,
Yancey
Good morning, men!
We have all heard Proverbs 27:17 at some point:
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
….but do we really buy into this? Do you have strong, close relationships with other faithful men who pour into you? Do you lean more towards the “lone wolf” philosophy and subconsciously maintain superficial relationships with the men around you in fear of them getting to know your true self?
If you want further proof of how poorly men handle this, just google “best friend” and see the ratio of pictures of two guys vs. two women. In my humble opinion, women are TYPICALLY much better at building true, deep, meaningful relationships. BUT the scripture tells us directly that we can SHARPEN each other if we choose to.
As I write this, I think back on all the years that I played sports and how many opportunities I had to build strong male relationships. Outside of just one guy, I was in my 30s before I realized I needed men in my life that I talked to regularly about more than ball and comedy.
Recently I changed jobs in sales. In my previous job I was out by myself 90% of the time. Over a five year period, I found myself professionally successful, but increasingly bitter, unfulfilled, and searching for more. When I came into my current job, another man from my church had recently been hired just ahead of me to work in commercial insurance as well….but with a different specialty.
These days, we ride together and talk about our families, aspirations, God, our past….you name it. Troy lifts me up and on some days, I can tell I do the same for him. I can’t tell you how much my perspective on my profession has changed just by choosing to push IN to a relationship that would sharpen me, as opposed to running AWAY from it and pursuing my solo agenda.
I pray that all of you have relationships that fulfill you in this way. I hope that this Message can serve that purpose in a small way.
Have a blessed day, men, and don’t shy away from the men in your life who sharpen you!
M.I.T.T. ~ Runyan
Eric King added that D’Eriq is “not real comfortable” with the decision, “but he knows his opportunities are greater later … at the end of the day, sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish and take care of you. He played hurt, he played wide receiver, he played punt returner, he played kickoff returner, he played quarterback, he played running back. He’s the most unselfish kid there is, but sometimes you got to be selfish to get what you want to get in life. There’s only one you. There’s only one life. So you’ve got to make sure you’re good.”
These quotes are from the father of D’Eriq King. He is currently a senior at Houston University and their Quarterback on the football team that’s started 1-3. He also, just broke a record last weekend that was held by Tim Tebow. This message isnt to argue whether he made the right decision to redshirt (he claims hes staying at Houston through this process), it’s really about the worldly view that his father showed in the interview and the pressure and influence it must have had on his sons decision and his entire life.
I’m not accusing anyone here, but if we looked at the exact same situation and changed the words I think we could find D’Eriq King to live with a servant attitude. What if his dad would have said this: ” I am so blessed to have a son like D’Eriq, and God had gifted him with so many great talents. Even on the football field hes played multiple positions at a high level, and now hes the leader of the team. He has sacrificed and served his team so well. But, in a prayerful attitude, we have made the decision to redshirt the remainder of the year. His true goal is to play in the NFL and we know regardless that he will have a degree from Houston to fall back on, this gives him time to get better at his deficiencies as a football player. He has been through a lot of adversity at Houston, but God continues to mold him and make him stronger!”
I hope you aren’t guilty like me of thinking, sometimes you just have to look out for numero uno. I’m not saying there aren’t times God needs you to individually step up. But, the mentality that we need to serve ourselves and not one another is haunting the USA and the American Church.
It’s also the exact opposite view of what Jesus proclaimed:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 13:34 NIV
How did Jesus show us to love one another? He proved Love is an action by serving all of us through his entire earthly life and taking the ultimate sacrifice for us in a cross. He is the superior form of UNSELFISHNESS.
with love, dlp
M.I.T.T.
Matthew 17:20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
If you’re like me you can struggle with faith, don’t worry, when the Bible was being written and people were seeing miracles happening all around them they struggled with faith. Faith is something that you will be challenged on all the time. Some days its easy some days its hard. I’ve found the times its real hard are times when I’m not in the word, when I get my priorities out of line. Men, work on your faith, lets move mountains together!
Zach
Good morning men. This morning as I was making my wife’s smoothie before, I noticed something about the banana I used. I actually noticed the same last week. The outside of the banana was all beat up, bruised and had dark spots. However, when I opened it up it was just as good as you can ask for. I thought about how this related to people. Some of us have scars, and are bruised and beat up and worn down. Jesus sees us on the inside though. He doesn’t concern himself with how beat up we are. He’s after our hearts. When you see someone who is like the banana I described, remember their inside may be beautiful men.
Have a great day in the trenches.
I have been a Chiefs fan for over 4 decades and now it really is a joy to watch my team where we have a gifted offensive mind like Andy Reid, a truly special quarterback in Patrick Mahomes and a bunch of talented, fast guys who get the ball. You can tell they truly enjoy what they do. They are having a blast.
I encourage you men to seek, use, and enjoy your God given gifts to worship and glorify Him and help others, to shine His light in this world. And do it with a smile on your face. God has richly provided us everything to enjoy.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
James 1:17 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=James%201:17&version=ESV
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”
1 Timothy 6:17 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=1%20Timothy%206:17&version=ESV
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:10-11 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=1%20Peter%204:10-11&version=ESV
We serve an amazing, creative, and wonderful God. He created all things for His glory and pleasure. We are truly blessed that He allows and even calls us to be apart of His work. Enjoy it and worship him with your gifts, talents, and areas of influence in your marriage, your family, your fellowship, your friends, your work, and your community .
John 9:4
4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
Pastors, today is your day to meet your congregation where they are. Follow God’s lead.
Today’s message is about time. I, like many of you, watch College Gameday before the games start on Saturday. This Saturday they did a story on the head coach at Arkansas State because he recently lost his wife to cancer.
The piece was nicely done and it reiterated my feeling that we need to make the most of our time. One thing he mentioned was not leaving anything left unsaid. We probably all have something we should say to a friend or maybe we owe an apology to someone.
Each day is valuable and our time should be used wisely. With that in mind, be exceptional at being you this week.
Make it a great week in the trenches.
Love,
Yancey
The Manly Message 
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