MM: The Type of Man

What type of man needs to be a Maintenance Man? Anyone? Every man!

No man is ever finished being worked on. No man is ever finished learning new things. Each day is a new opportunity to learn, grow, fail and succeed and so on. We all know this and are aware of this, but how do we take all of those examples and truly learn from them? How do we use these daily things to help us mature and move on? If you haven't been successful in learning from these daily things, than maybe you need to approach life a different way. Maybe instead of trying to tackle these issues by yourself you consider asking for help. You consider finding a way to keep track of some of these things and find a way maintain your knowledge.

A man has to be WILLING. 'Psalm 119:36'

From my personal experience, the most freeing decision I have made is giving my life over to Christ. Doing that allowed me to take the focus off of myself. When the focus is "clearly" on yourself, it is so difficult to see what is going on around you. You have a harder time considering other people's decisions, situations and feelings. There is a simple term for this sickness and it's called selfishness. Selfishness can become a black hole for men. I didn't realize how it was affecting me, until I snapped out of it. Things seemed to get so clear all of a sudden. I was finally willing to give Christ the time He deserved; the time He wanted me to give Him for so long. There was no question, I was willing.

A man has to be OPEN. 'Ezekiel 36:26'
Following Christ for real, for the first time, meant new things. It meant meeting new people, exploring new ideas, changing habits, finding desire and just plain talking to Christ more. A man that finally takes the leap of faith or the man that has had the faith for a while has to stay open to what Christ is doing or may have planned for you. As a new Christian, I knew there would be things that I had never experienced before, but I knew in my heart that I had to keep climbing. A man that has been a Christian for years must still be open to new ideas. He must not get stagnant with his ideas, beliefs and values. He must learn to be open and maintain that trait.

A man must learn DEPENDENCY. 'Exodus 15:2-3'
Being willing has broken your selfishness, being open has helped you adjust to new practices, but a man must learn that giving his life to Christ means a new dependency. It is no longer "me", but Christ in me. It is He who gives me my money, and it is He who makes my path straight, and it is He who provides a way out of temptations, and it is He who died for me. There is no shame, no weakness in being dependent on Christ. For me, it has been one of the strongest moves I have ever made in my life. It made me realize that my dependency on other people gave me no strength compared to Christ's strength.

Maintain. Sustain. Guard. Keep On. Nurture. Manage. Preserve. Save. Retain. Repair. Renew.

Some say it is easier to maintain a bad behavior than it is a good behavior. I say, give me their names and let me meet them. I say, don't let what others say dominate your opinion. I say, go to the sources, go to Christ and ask Him how to maintain. Ask Him how to be a man. And you know what, He will show you. He will give you all the tools you need....

Challenge yourself to be a Maintenance Man for Christ! 

Share some ways on how you maintain your walk!

The Pressure of Desire

So often I am tempted by my old desires or my false lovers. They come each day in the form of a poke, a nudge or a push. Some attempts by the enemy are stronger than others and some are just a quick memory. The memories of the old desires are still alive and the enemy loves to insert them whenever possible. He comes with comforting lies and soft tones, trying to speak to us in our language. This is the language you use to speak and the enemy knows it very well. He knows what made you fall before and he knows the temptations are still a chance to get us to go back to the old ways, or our old desires.

Take a can of soda for example. If you were to take this can of soda and shake it up, assuming it is caffeinated, the pressure would build inside of the can. If you were to open the can, the contents would come gushing out suddenly and there would be a mess to have to clean up or cover up. Now let’s say you shake that can of soda, but you do not open it. Sure the pressure is still there, but the contents are left inside to settle down.The same is with the temptation of our old desires. The enemy is still around and we are still human. When we are tempted, the pressure will rise and we will have to make a choice. If we make the choice to indulge in the old desire, the contents of our actions will come bursting out! We will be left with some sort of mess to clean up, or even worse we will have the guilt of trying to cover it up. If we can have the courage to stand up and avoid the temptation, the pressure will go away and the contents will calm down.

If we are recognizing our old desires and changing our habits to get our desires more in line with Gods, than we must be strong. We must be able to stand up to the pressure of the enemy, other people and so on. The false desires will tempt us; there is no question about that. But by knowing this type of thing is at work in us, we can be ready. We can have faith that God will provide a way out for us. Proof is in the His words below.

1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.