Word of God Speak

Other than two songs, I am not a big Mercy Me fan. My favorite song ever is I Can Only Imagine (and the movie about the true story of how that song came to be is pretty good too). But this morning the Lord brought the other song to my heart and it is where I am at:

Word of God Speak
Song by MercyMe

Lyrics
I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it’s okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say
Word of God speak
Would you pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That you’re in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In your holiness
Word of God speak
I’m finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice
I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it’s okay
I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it’s okay

May the Lord speak to you through His Word right where you are at this morning. In Isaiah 55 the Lord reminds us that his ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts. He is higher in everything and His purposes and plans so much better. His word never returns empty; it always accomplishes its purpose.

Isaiah 55
The Compassion of the Lord
Invitation to the Thirsty

1“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
2Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.
4See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples.
5Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”
6Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
7Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
9“As the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish,so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
13Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”

Don’t Be Too Quick to Judge

Pastors, it is your day. Speak the gospel. I would also ask that you pray for our country to listen to one another.

Men, sometimes people have a tendency to fear or judge what they don’t understand. We need to be careful in those situations because God might be at work even where we don’t see it. For today’s message, I want you to think about a young girl who becomes pregnant out of wedlock. She is our starting point today for each scenario below.

I want you to think about a family who has struggled to have a child and is on an adoption list. They are praying and praying for a child to adopt. The young lady, who is pregnant out of wedlock, gives her baby up for adoption and this family’s prayers are answered. The baby became a blessing through the power of God.

The girl above has had struggles in her life and her parents pray and pray that she gets her life back on track. Getting pregnant and having a child makes her realize that she has to make some positive changes. She’s now in church again and reaffirms her faith. The baby became a blessing through the power of God.

And finally, the unwed mother above gives birth to Jesus and He saves mankind. You just never know …

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

Love,

Yancey

Life In Quarantine

Matthew 18:12

12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?

Men, it has been an interesting week. We started school last Monday and it went about as well as it could have. We have a few virtual school but for the most part, everyone is at school.

Let me backtrack for just a second. In the weeks leading up to school starting I went to speak to four or five schools about Trauma Informed Care, Adverse Childhood Experiences, the 5 Love Languages and building relationships. It was a very good experience and I got to meet several new people.

The last place that I spoke was a school about 15 miles from where my school. After I had been there and gone, they had a positive Covid test. On Tuesday morning after school started on Monday, I received a call from the health department asking me to quarantine and my administration agreed. That’s OK, after a day and a half on the job, I was ready for a break …

I have been symptom free, so my purpose in writing this is not to tell anybody that I am ill. this virus has been a rather divisive topic. I am not voicing my opinion nor am I pushing an opinion on you. I have seen the statistics but when I got that phone call asking me to quarantine, I did think for just a second about being on the wrong side of the statistics.

And that led me to the Bible verse above. What if you or someone you care about is the one out of 99?

Make it a great day in the trenches. Be exceptional at me and you.

Love,

Yancey

Family Friday 8/28: They Know

https://manlymessage.wordpress.com/2017/08/25/family-friday-825-they-know/

Good morning, men! This week was the three year anniversary of my father, Pip Runyan, passing due to cancer. On 8/25/17 we posted a blog about his life and some lessons from his time as a father of two. The link to the post is above.

Please read (or re-read) as a reminder to love those around you to the fullest. Feel free to share this today in honor of Pip.

Have a blessed day!

M.I.T.T. ~ Runyan

Clean on the Outside

I mow my yard every Saturday morning (almost anyway).  This last Saturday, after I had finished mowing, weed eating, blowing off the drive way, hanging the flag, and enjoying the fact that we recently had our roof replaced; I took a step back and admired what the home looked like.  Grass freshly cut, sun glistening, the outside of the home looked amazing.

Then, the thought crossed my mind about the inside of our home.  Our weekends are loaded with events for our kids, especially the event of having friends over and gathering.  I knew the inside of our house wasn’t as clean as the outside.  My thoughts then went to us as Christians.  I think sometimes we make a great effort at maintaining the outward appearance of our lives, and on the inside we really experience a much different reality.  The thought that people thinking we shouldn’t experience some of the things we do, such as: fear, anxiety, temptation, pride, dry seasons, hardened hearts, shame and guilt.

These are all natural thoughts for any human, and Christians are not excluded.  In fact, the enemy makes his best effort daily to twist each and everyone of those feelings.  Just know, you are not alone.  We don’t always have to be perfect on the outside either.  Men, if you have something going on you need to discuss or you are feeling stressed, please, reach out to someone to discuss it.  But, first and foremost discuss this with Jesus.  Let him know how you feel like you are putting on a front, a display of perfection when you might feel different than what you really look.  Jesus loves the current, messy, dirty, version of you- He wants to transform your heart.

with love, dlp

M.I.T.T.

Change

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love another.”

Good morning men. I don’t know how many times we have all seen this verse. This was one of Jesus’s most important teachings. Last Friday, we had some events unfold in our town and to say I was disappointed in some members of our communities reaction would be an understatement. I was embarrassed. I saw people angry and upset over a banner that was hung up. A young man was even struck by a counter protester. There was an even an emergency city council meeting last night that occurred out of this event. The point being is that we are called to love everyone. I was saddened to see members of my own community behave in the way that they did. I pray for change in the hearts of those that were there and that were angry and that there will be discussion that helps change their views on the worldly situation and that change will come from within by knowing the love of Christ.

He is our Champion

In these trying times, my flesh wants to fight and work through my problems, yet a big lesson the Lord is working on my heart is to be still, to be patient and let God do the fighting! HE IS OUR CHAMPION! HE LOVES US COMPLETELY BECAUSE OF WHAT JESUS DID THROUGH THE CROSS AND THE RESURRECTION!!! HE GOES BEFORE US AND FIGHTS FOR US FOR HIS GLORY AND OUR GOOD!!!

Deuteronomy 1:29-31 (NIV):  29Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

Exodus 14:13-14 (NIV): 13Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Psalm 46:10 (NIV): He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Need for Friends

Proverbs 18:24
24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Pastors, this is your opportunity to blossom and shine. Be exceptional.

In the past couple of days I have been in touch with several of my friends in one capacity or another. It could have been a one line text, it could have been a phone call that covers several minutes.

The common denominator is the feeling of comradery when the conversation is over. I know that if there was a time that I needed anything, they would do everything they could to help. Conversely, I would do anything for them I could, as well.

Men, we need to have strong relationships with each other. Let’s nurture those relationships and take care of one another.

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

Love,

Yancey

Crops and Faith

Galatians 6:9
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

This photo is one I took recently when I went back to my hometown. I have been fortunate through basketball to get to go to and live in some beautiful places. I coached in Hawaii for two years so I have an appreciation for its beauty. However, this photo is equally as beautiful to me. Seeing crops spread to the horizon was something I took for granted growing up. The picture itself came from the farm of one of the men on our message.

We have many things at our fingertips in today’s world. Encyclopedias are now a search engine, movies or TV shows are on YouTube and complete meals cone out of the microwave in 2:00.

We still need to make sure to value the joy of the journey, cultivating the dream along the way. Crops and harvest hold on to old school traits, just like we need to. Stand firm to your faith in the microwave society. Cultivate your faith, nurture it to help it grow. Spray the weeds out so that harvest time will hold more satisfaction.

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

Love,

Yancey