Every Man's Problem with Prayer

We’ve all heard it before: pray more, pray better, and pray continually. What does it mean to pray? Should prayers be verbalized? Does it matter? What does it mean to pray in the Spirit? With all the demands of a 21st century man of God, how do you even start the monumental task of attempting to pray continually?

Certainly there are times throughout scripture where prayers are aloud and in front of a multitude of people: Solomon in 1 Kings 8 (2 Chronicles 6), the priests and Levites in 2 Chronicles 30, Job in front of his three friends, Isaiah’s allusion to aloud prayer in Isaiah 26:16, the apostles together in Acts 4:24, and Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17. According to my research, it is inconclusive as to the expression of prayer through vocal cords for any other prayer in the Bible. Even though it’s written down in verbatim form, surely the Spirit of God that inspired our scriptures knows what each and every prayer said regardless of verbalization.

There are also other times when aloud prayers are discouraged because they can draw undue attention to the prayer issuer rather than the message or intent of the prayer. Such instances Jesus addressed in Matthew 6:5 (Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47) while he was denouncing the teachers of the law who basically were praying just to satisfy the need of themselves or their constituents to hear a prayer. Apparently, the apostles were so confused as to the method of prayer that they directly asked Jesus to teach them how to pray in Luke 11. Even the most pious of the fathers of our Church were clueless when confronted with the example of Jesus contrasted with their societal knowledge of prayer.

There are certainly examples where individuals make known their private prayers to the many for the encouragement of the many: Paul repeatedly informed the churches and various individuals of his personal prayers in every one of his epistles. Surely praying together with the same intent helps in times where we need someone to agree with us in prayer (Matthew 18:19) and for the mutual bearing of burdens with your Christian brothers. As men, we don’t like letting other men in to our personal problems or desires - but there’s nothing wrong with it; in fact, it is right and true and good. And then we’re confronted with the command to pray continually in 1 Thessalonians 5:16. By definition, we physically cannot continually pray aloud since God created us with the need to sleep, eat, and socialize. Therefore, there has to be an underlying coordination with the Spirit of God who prays for you and issues prayers, while coordinating with your soul, when even your mind may not be aware (Romans 8:26).

Praying, by definition, is a communication with your creator - the one who knows you on the level of intent and desires. He knows you past all the external walls we put up as men. He knows what we are really praying for, regardless of any words we may actually be saying, at all times. His Spirit is inside us constantly searching us, discovering our hearts’ desire, and detecting how we respond to various crises of ourselves, loved ones or community.

Jesus repeatedly went off in the wilderness or somewhere else by himself to pray and commune with his Father. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that when he was raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11:41, one of the few times he prayed aloud in the Bible, that he directly told his apostles and disciples that he was praying only so they could hear him. Jesus also indicated that praying by yourself while behind closed doors is acceptable and encouraged in Matthew 6:6. Jesus was leading by example when he went off alone for prayers and fellowship and he actually taught that praying and fellowshipping alone with the Father is pleasing to the Father.

Since Jesus was the firstborn of many brothers (Romans 8:29/Colossians 1:18), we should expectantly follow his example and instruction in order to become the men of prayer that God expects of us. After Jesus, and after we accept him as Lord, the Spirit of God makes his home in us and he continually ushers us into Truth and Goodness.

As we increase and grow regarding maturity in the Lord and spiritual maturity, we are gifted with an exponential increase in ability to engage in successful praying. As we are transformed into the likeness of Jesus, the intents and desires of our hearts are molded to the intents and desires of the will of God. As the Spirit of God groans and intercedes for us when our intents and desires are congruent with the will of God, we issue effective prayers - whether or not we are actually verbalizing them through the linguistic approximations of our minds.

In conclusion, I believe that every man has two choices: to want to be like God or to want to live life your own way. One way leads to becoming mature in the Spirit where you can effectively pray continually and the other leads to becoming further from the character of Jesus where your prayers are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 28:9). Therefore, whichever path you choose, even on a daily basis, depends on whether or not you can effectively pray - let alone pray continually.

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Men, each day you must make a choice that today you want to be a little more like God, that you trust him to mold you into the image of Jesus, and that you allow him to highlight times/people/places where you need to be. If our intents and desires are truly congruent with being like God, becoming perfect even as he is perfect, then our hearts will immediately commune with the Spirit of God to call forth a pleasing spiritual prayer to the Father. When the Spirit of God groans and prays with you, assuredly you should know that you’re partnering with God and that it pleases him.

Then and only then may we rest assured of the promises of Jesus in Matthew 21:22 and Mark 11:24, where we are promised that whatever we shall receive the desires of our hearts. Practically, this means that a little more God comes into our lives or circumstances and results in a little less suffering and pain.

Each day, every morning, make a conscious decision to trust God, to be like him, and to want to become more like Jesus. If you do that, your desires will increasingly be in accordance with the Father’s will, your prayers will increasingly become more effective, and you will see the power of God in your life. Are you ready to become an effective man of prayer?

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This is a Guest Post by a great friend of mine, Ryan E.

Click here to check out more posts by this author!

The Battle for our Desire

Let's not avoid the fact right off the start that the word "desire" is not commonly used in today's culture. But in all honestly the idea needs to be addressed badly.

Let's start things out with a simple game of decision. Imagine standing in front of a table. The table is clear and the man standing beside it has two objects of desire in his hands. On one side of the table he puts down a "Gentleman's Magazine" and on the other side of the table he puts down a Bible. After a few moments, the man asks you to point to your idea of desire. I haven't been able to make a case study of this scenario, but I would think most men would point to the gentlemen's magazine. 

Would we even consider the Bible and its teachings a thing to desire? Culture has brainwashed men to have a certain idea or belief of what desire looks like and it has nothing to do with the Bible. But why would we consider a woman hardly dressed desire? Well, quite frankly, because it's easy. We are simply not in control of what our desire should be in our life. We grab the easily accessible magazine off the rack. We watch the video that the popular guy is showing to everybody. And when we're alone, our self control goes out the door suddenly. We are easily swayed, we know it and we're doing nothing about it. Well gentlemen, it's time to make some changes!

1) STOP!

That's right, stop. Stop falling victim to what the culture says is desire and start asking God what desire is and what it should look like in your life. Stop taking the "easy" route in your life when it comes to the magazines, videos and the people that expose you to those things. Stop thinking you don't have a choice in the matter and choose to make the right decision! Because you always have a choice. 

2) Fill the Gap

So you've stopped? Now you need to come up with a plan; in other words you need to fill the gap. What are you going to do the next time you encounter the dirty magazine, the crude jokes at work or the hot woman walking past you in the store? Don't wait for it to happen, come up with a plan to defeat it! When I was trying to discover the true desire in my life, I decided to read a book titled "Wild at Heart". I hated reading at the time, but I had to fill the gap. I would get out of work early and just sit in my car and read. I would read until I knew I would get home at the same time as my wife. I had to fill the gap, and remove the option.

3) Pray

I don't recall ever saying this process would be easy, but I can assure you it will be beyond fulfilling and life changing. If you were never much for prayer, this would be the time to change that and start praying often. Your desire should be to stop the old habits, to form new Godly habits, and seek God in a whole new way. God is always there to help us and guide us, we just have to give him the opportunity. Make his teachings and his lifestyle your new desire and watch him go to work in your life!

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Your challenge: Read Mathew 5:27-30 

As men, we are all victim to the temptations that the world has to offer. But we have to be stronger and rise above the world and its lies. Share your story or thoughts below of how you overcame false desires and found true desire in Christ! 
Show other men that real change is possible!

Smooth Seas

Smooth Seas do not make Skillful Sailors. 

-African Proverb

I recently started working on a new project for my work. It was an old hospital, so you get to see all of the old rooms from the Psych ward, to the maternity area and so on. I found it interesting that the stairways had pictures of calm scenes and the walls along the steps were lined with quotes. Of all the quotes, this one stood out to me the most. I'm no sailor by any means, although I think my cousin is, but this quote really applies to all of us in more ways than we think. In a lot of cases in life, we learn the most through hardship. Not always, but a good portion. Sometimes we have to be taken down an unexpected path in order to realize something about ourselves. Something that has maybe always been there, but now plays a bigger part due to the 'rough seas' you just encountered. There are other times when we learn some life skills through calm events, but I'd go to say that it is not as often. Here are some areas where the rough seas have taught me some valuable lessons in life.

COLLEGE was not a smooth sea for me. I knew, in the back of my mind (way back there), that the college I chose was the right path for my life. The hardships included; being hours away from home, keeping my relationship with my girlfriend going (who is now my wife by the way), waking up at 6 am to start each day and keeping my grades up. This was not your typical college either; it was actually a trade school for guys only. I went for three long years and it seemed much longer than that. Every so often I would have to remind myself that it would be over soon and it would all be worth it. Deep down I was learning how to handle the rough seas and become my own man, on my own. At the end of the three years, I landed a great job that I would have never imagined and I married my longtime girlfriend a few months after that. I thought the seas would be smooth from then on and boy was I wrong.

MARRIAGE was a sea that I had never sailed before. For years I thought marriage would be the answer; I'd have the woman of my dreams and I would have a great job. We quickly found out how hard marriage was and also how selfish we were, and the storm waters were rising. As we walked out our life, it became more of a blame game marriage. Each month was new problem and a big fight. These calm seas were getting mighty rough, and quick. After a few years of struggling, I wanted out of my marriage. I thought I had got it all wrong and that going back to the single life would be the answer. Low and behold, we only had to look in the mirror to see who the problems were; it was us. It was shortly after this moment that Christ started to intervene in our marriage and started to show us what real marriage meant. Real marriage starts with Christ! It all starts with Him! As the clouds moved away and the waves calmed down, we both realized how wrong we had been for so very long. These were some rough times in our marriage, but it made us stronger and a better couple. We didn't give in like most couples are doing these days and we are better off for it. We have become some pretty skillful "sailors" in our marriage, but it took work to get there and it takes work to maintain. 

The point is that sometimes we have to go through hard times in life and learn from those hard times, before we can really appreciate what life is all about. I always have to refer back to Jesus and all the hard times he encountered during his time here. He was mocked, beat, betrayed, lied to and so much more. But he reigns victorious! He is there during those rough seas and he always will be. Don't forget it.

Share your story of how some rough seas turned your life around.

A Man of Worship

Standing there next to my wife, I can hear her voice amongst the crowds of other voices. We're at Church on Sunday morning and it is the time they call worship. She has such a beautiful voice. I consider that maybe her voice is enough worship for the both us. Excuses. I take a look around the Church at the other men to see what they are doing and find some of the following examples. I'd say most men's mouths never move; they stand there as though they are military and solute the worship leader with a blank face and no heart. I watch some men move their mouth with about as much enthusiasm as driving to work on a Monday morning. And finally I see the men with their eyes closed their mouths moving and their arms raised high. These are the men that get worship; these are the men singing their praises to God.

The definition of worship is this: reverent honor and homage paid to God; formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor. In other words, it is giving honor to our great God. It is a formal way of showing Him our love and respect. It is our way of letting go of all and giving it to him.

"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise."

Psalm 95:1-2

What will it take for you to worship in Song?

A) Pride

You can put on your nice church clothes in the morning. You can shake the men's hands at church and slap that fake smile on your face, but you can't fool God. He deserves our attention, worship and so much more. Your pride puts the brakes on you worship. You're not better than anyone else and no one is judging you. If they are, they have their own issues with worship and so on. Give it up and give it to God!

B) Fear
We're men right? Men are what we are. Sounds like I'm quoting from 'Fight Club'. What are you so afraid of? Feeling weak? Looking funny? Maybe you think that girl you like will think less of you if your arms are raised high and you are actually sincere. Maybe you're wrong; maybe that exactly what she needs to see to even consider you. We are to Fear God, and we can do that through worship. Give it up and give it to God!

C) Understanding
You have to ask yourself 'how am I worshiping God', if I am not worshiping him in song? Is it at work? I would guess not. Is it at home watching the TV? I would assume not, again. If you call yourself a man of God, than worship must be understood and practiced. You should want to do it. You should consider all that He has done for you and sing his praises. I can't say that I always feel like singing or giving Him my all in Church, but I have to remember worship. I want to worship God and give Him my all!

What will it take for you to worship?

A Husband's Struggle

A husband loves.

A husband serves.

A husband protects.

A husband is selfless.

A husband watches his eyes.

A husband struggles?

In my journey to become a better man and greater husband, there are still struggles along the way. I have to say though; I would rather slightly struggle in my walk with God, than struggle in life without him. Before I asked God to truly be in my life and in my marriage, life was hard. It was confusing, challenging and a constant battle. Not to say that life is easy now, but at least I know I have a Savior that has my back.

One of the main issues, as always, is the enemy. His mischievous ways are always at work in our hearts, our lives and, of course, our marriages. He knows that as men, we are the Spiritual Leader and he wants nothing more that to cut us off at our ankles. Before I knew Christ personally, the enemy had his way with me. He could pretty much convince me of anything. I thought I had a good handle on life and common sense. I didn't think doing certain things was affecting me or my marriage, but I was so wrong. I was once told that the enemy knows me so well because he knows my father, he knows my Grandfather and so on. He has had centuries to study my geneology, the men who have come before me and either won or lost the battle against him. This idea was revolutionary to me. It changed the way I thought about the enemy and what he was actually capable of in my life. Accepting Christ was my armor. It was my way of suiting up and preparing for full battle. My eyes were opened and I could see the destruction he was causing in my heart, life and marriage. Instead of getting angry at my wife for things, I began to get angry with him. I would imagine myself in a situation like the movie Gladiator. It would be him and me, face to face, man to man. I could make the decision to give in and let him win again, or I could take a stand against him and fight for the truth. For the most part, the truth was always there if I fought back.

As I said, the struggles as a husband are still there, daily. But I wage war on the enemy and his evil schemes. Here are some of my battle tactics that I use against him....

Prayer

Christ is always there for us. Prayer doesn't have to be anything fancy, it has to be trust. Trust that Christ will bring you out of the situation and give you clarity to see the truth behind the situation. He never will give us more than we can handle. So just pray and pray some more.

 Be Aware

Understanding the forces against your marriage can help you in your battle, but you have to stay aware. When my wife and I have a disagreement, it is not the time to give up and run away. It's when you suit up and begin the war against the real enemy here. Stop. Re-focus. Pray. And resolve the situation with your wife. It usually isn't over something big anyway, he just makes it seem that way.

 Share

This is a great topic to share and discuss with your wife, men. Let her know the types of struggles and battles you face on a daily basis. It will help her better understand your heart and make want to help you in the fight. Have her join in with you in prayer. Remind her about the battle when disagreements arise. This is what the leader does and continues to do. There is no stopping point in this process.

 "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:31-32

On The Floor

My legs were tired from working out the week before. There were 100 other men around me and the last thing I felt like doing was putting my knees on the floor and bowing before the Father. We were all instructed to get on our knees though and that is what I proceeded to do. When I initially went down, I could feel my sore legs cry out and I could feel my bad knee start to sing. I just did not feel it. I did not feel the need or the push. Finally I asked myself, where were all of these excuses coming from? Where was all this selfishness coming from? I finally put my face to the floor.

The floor was dirty, so I put my hands on the floor in front of my face. For a minute, I thought about how dirty the floor was and the fact that my face was only inches from it. It was after this point that I started to get angry. I started to ask myself why I felt this way and why was I letting it dominate my every thought. This should be a moment of pure and selfless sacrifice to Christ. Nothing else should matter at this point. Nothing else should be so important.

With my eyes closed, I looked far into the distance and I could see the enemy. I could see him smirking at me and enjoying every moment of my doubt. I raised my hand and pointed my finger at him and told him to “Leave me” and “Get out of my site!” I could feel my heart beat getting faster and faster. As I battled with him and felt him slowly moving away, I would look to Christ and ask him to forgive me and help me. As I spoke to Christ the enemy would slowly move back towards me; trying to take advantage of my connection with the Father. I would then look back down again and face the enemy straight on and force him back again and again and again. He was relentless.

The Lord finally gave me enough strength to cast him out of my site. With my eyes closed and the vision still very real, I fell to my knees and asked God for his help. I told him that I was tired of the soft food. I was tired of the basics and I wanted to know more. I asked him to show me who he really was and is. I asked him to take away my doubt and free me from the power of the enemy. He has no right in my life and he knows it. Christ heard my prayers and answered my prayers. I had no longer felt the pain in my legs or knee. I could no longer feel the stronghold of doubt and fear inside of my head. I had fought that battle with Christ and he was again victorious. I arose from the floor with a renewed sense of strength and a renewed sense of love for my God. He is strong and He is good.

Again, Christ showed me his strength. He showed me that I can always depend on him and that he will always fight for me. He is on my team.

How has Christ brought you to the floor before? 
How has He protected you in times of need?

MM: The Quality of the Work

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

~Hebrews 6:10~

Having the ability, having the tools and being given the job does not say anything about the work that you can actually do. There is a difference between being new at a job and having done the work for some time. The man who has recently started working in a new career taking on a new project has some mercy. There is an understanding that it will take some time for the beginner to learn the new trade and get use to the tools he is using. I remember when I first started working in construction; there is freshness to it and a desire to want to learn it. I wanted to get better at the type of work and prove myself to everyone that I was capable of the job given to me. It was as though I was extra driven to do a really good job and show everyone. But no matter how hard I could try at the beginning it was very difficult to match the quality of someone who had done the same type of work for years and years. This takes me to my next point about the man who had done the work for years and become comfortable with the work and the final product produced. This type of experience can go one or two ways. The first way is that the man still has a great drive to produce a quality product and is excited to see things completed. This man has found a way to overcome the “comfortableness” of the job and ultimately has not gotten bored with the work. This man truly enjoys what he does and it shows with high quality work. The second man is the man who has done the work for years, but has lost the quality of the work over time. He has become comfortable with producing an “alright” product and ultimately has lost the drive to move forward. He knows the work, he knows what it takes, but he has no real desire left to produce and produce well. So I have to ask, what does this have to do with our walk with Christ? What does this scenario have to do with our relationship with Him that could last years and years?

I remember when I first really felt the power of the Holy Spirit come upon me. It was the most powerful and life-changing thing I have ever felt in my life. It felt as though I was losing everything, but in reality I was gaining everything. Sound familiar “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” Luke 9:24. These are powerful, powerful words that were spoken by Christ himself and they are so true. After that point I had a passion for Christ like I had never had before in my life. I was like the new worker that was learning a new trade, I wanted to learn as much as I could and I wanted everyone to know about my results. The fire was intense and everyone around me could see it and feel it. My pursuit for Christ was of great quality and included reading the Bible, attending Church classes and talking about the subject with friends. This was a time of changing my habits to get more in line with Christ and getting out of my old ways. It included finding desires that God would have for me rather than what the world would have for me. And finally, adjusting the dial on what I allowed to influence me and how much I let it affect me. It was truly a time of high quality pursuit for Christ.

How do I maintain this walk?

How do I keep things interesting and inviting?

How do I maintain my walk with Christ at this level?

How do I become a Maintenance Man?!

I had to ask myself these questions and more. How could I keep myself from becoming the man that had done the work for years and years and lost the desire for it? I know for myself and for a lot of men, this is one of the biggest challenges. I am still young in the faith myself, so in reality I will face this “quality” issue for years to come. I will face the challenges of the Enemy, the temptations of the world and whatever life tries to throw at me.

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Christ has showed me some amazing ways to stay faithful and the ‘Maintenance Man’ series will continue with in depth ideas in the next post.

---Experience---

---Journaling---

---Accountability---

---Desire---

Share some ways you maintain a quality walk with Christ.

The Man In The Glass

As I work on the new series for 2012, I have come across a great poem while cleaning my house. I have a lot of awards from high school and college that I was rummaging through and this classic poem was found. After researching it, I have found it to be written by a man named Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.. And it dates back to 1934. According to the family, the name of the poem has been changed and the author is mostly now know as anonymous or someone else. You can check out the official site for the author and the original poem here. This version and name is slightly different, but it is the one I found so I will post it. It is amazing to read this poem and see how relevant it still is today.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self,

And the world makes you king for a day.

Just go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife,

Whose judgment upon you must pass.

The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life,

Is the one staring back from the glass.

Some people may think you're a straight-shootin' chum,

And call you a wonderful guy.

But the man in the glass says you're only a bum,

If you can't look him straight in the eye.

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,

For he's with you clear up to the end.

And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test,

If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass.

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears,

If you've cheated the man in the glass.

-Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr

The Resolution Battle

A new year means new beginnings. Right? Whether you have publicly stated your resolution for the new year or have kept it private, only you know your resolution. Only you know the truth about it and what it really means. It might be a few of the following; to loose a few pounds, to be a better friend, to be a stronger husband, to get more involved with your Church, to spend more time with your family or kids, or pursue a stronger and more real relationship with Christ. Whatever it may be, you have come to realize that you have a goal in mind. From there you have to decide when are you trying to accomplish this goal? Is there a specific time frame you are setting yourself up for or this a year long activity that will take you to your next resolution? Figure our your resolution and apply a time frame to it. Even if it is just a few months to get you started, you have to have a goal that you are working towards. 

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 

2 Chronicles 15:7

Figuring out the resolution and coming up with a timeframe or goal in mind, in my opinion, are some of the easier steps in the process. The resolution is most likely something you have been thinking of for awhile and you are ready to attack it head on. The timeframe is set as a goal or a target. The real challenge is the daily battle or what I like to call 'The Resolution Battle'. This is the part of the resolution that you have to face everyday. What does it mean or even look like to accomplish your resolution? What sacrifices are you going to have to make to ultimately achieve success? What habits are you going to have to change? What relationships are going to change? What will be your driving force? I had to ask myself these same questions last year and will continue to ask these questions each year. I had to come to a place where my resolution was not just mere words that I spoke, but would become a daily way of life. This type of situation separates the men from the boys, the immature from the mature and, I believe, someone that is serious about growing up in life. Here are a few ways that can help you beat the daily battle of your resolutions. Try them out, follow them, change them, adjust them, but do not forsake any of them. You have to stay true to yourself during this process, you have to find real perseverance and you have to see the victory in the end.

1) Set up Reminders! One of the best things to do when you come up with your resolution is to define the terms. Write down and figure out the daily things it will take to accomplish your goals. If you have a smart phone, set up a reminder to come up a the end of each month. If you use another type of calendar, go through it and mark reminders for every month of the year. Incorporate your terms of the resolution and why you chose to do it at the time of decision. Remind yourself about the why!

2) Tell a Friend! This could be your wife, your buddy, your parent, sister or brother. Let someone know the conditions of your resolution and have them hold you accountable. Offer them the same option if they also have a resolution. Work together on this process and you will be that much more willing to fight for the resolutions! Make them a part of your monthly reminders!

3) Pray! "You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary." Revelation 2:3. The most powerful thing you can do is pray. Pray that God would help you in your resolution. Pray for a clear direction for your resolution. He may have another course set out for you, but it requires perseverance in other things first. Know that He has a plan for you and pursue Him. Make His presence in your life a daily, living thing.

4) Repeat! Do these things and then do them again. The courage and perseverance it will take to accomplish your resolution will not come easy, but the rewards will great. 

I wish you the best for your resolutions this year and pray that you will succeed in whatever goal you set your mind too. Please share your ideas, thoughts and tips on resolutions!

The seed has been planted, now it's up to you to make it grow!

The Right Connection

One thing that always comes along with the Holidays is decorating. I can honestly say that 'decorating' is really not my thing, but my wonderful wife enjoys it so I do my best to help out. One of my jobs this season was the outside Christmas lights. It doesn't sound like a hard project, but I always seem to mess it up. I take them all out of the box and look them over each year. I have learned from the past that it is a good, no great, practice to plug them all in first to make sure they are all still ticking and I proceed to lay them out. This is always the tricky part for me; I try to make sure that the plugs at the end of each light strand are in the right spot so that I can make The Right Connection. I really felt like I had it figured out so I proceeded to hang around the front of my house and thought they were looking great. When it was all said and done, the hanging process that is; I grabbed the extension cord and went for the power shot. It was at this point that I figured out that my calculations were, well wrong. Let's just say all ends coming together will not work. I had no plug, no prongs. I went through it a few times just to make sure and sure enough, I was out of luck.

Isn't that how it goes sometimes? We think we have gone through all the right steps, only to find out that they were the wrong steps or we didn't properly check before we started in our direction. I ended up taking all the lights down and reworking them correctly. It took me a few minutes, but the payoff is lights, that work. I don't think the lights get the full effect any other way....

How many times a day, a week or throughout the entire year do we try to do something without The Right Connection? Or should I say, how many times do we not include God in our decisions? I use to think that I could only go to God for the big stuff or the hard stuff, but the truth is He wants us to go to Him for each and everything. I came to the point of trying to just have a conversation with God throughout my day. I wanted to make sure I was connected and that what I was doing was being considered properly.  I can think of so many past times that, if I had only asked, things would have turned out differently. God wants to stay in close connection to us. He desires for us to keep a close connection to Him. It's about relationship. Just like the cords could not connect, even after all the work up to that point, we can not connect to God unless we stay in prayer.

Make the right choice, make the right connection and it will help considerably!

Do you agree?

The Character of 'Captain America'

I was finally able to watch the story about 'The First Avenger'. This movie was never really high on my list of movies to go watch, but I had some time one night and gave it a chance. One of my social networking buddies also gave me a nice short review of the movie after he saw it and helped convince me.

Right from the start, it is obvious that Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) is not your typical superhero. He is by no means physically strong or very appealing. He is always getting tossed around and made fun of by other men his age. He wants to serve his country, but keeps getting denied. There is a catch about Mr. Rogers though, his character.

Steve faced challenge after challenge, but he never gave up. He pursued what he wanted to do with all of his heart. When he finally was allowed to join the military, it was not because of his physical strength but rather his mental strength. He trained with all of the other men, but showed courage in hard times and displayed knowledge when everyone else was fighting. But his training was for something else, something more. A chance to take the mental courage and combine it with the physical strength. A secret project to make a super human or superhero!

If you have seen the movie, you know the rest of the story. But if you have not, I would highly recommend taking some time to watch this movie. As men, we can learn a lot from this example. It is not always the best looking guy that gets the girl and it's not always most physically fit that is most appealing. What really matters is character and the condition of your heart. Captain America showed courage before he even fully understood it. He thought it was just the right thing to do, so he did it. When he became 'super', he was able to stay humble which only made him stronger throughout the rest of the movie.

Hollywood is Hollywood, but in my opinion this was one of the better movies released this year. It shows us that there is always hope and always a way. If you believe in yourself and can stay grounded in the truth, other people will see it, appreciate it and admire it. This story reminds me of the life of Jesus. He was not a glorified super human and He certainly did not have flashy clothes. But he spoke the truth and He spoke from the heart. His character was what people saw and believed in. As He grew older, His miracles made Him a superhero, but as we all know, there are consequences for such actions. There will always be people against you in one way or another, but we have to stay strong. We have to stay firmly rooted in Christ and follow the example that He has given us. It may not always appear to be the best way, but it will be His way.

  Did you get to see the movie? Post a comment and share your thoughts below.

Check Your Roots!

"He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." -Jeremiah 17:8

This verse is so simple yet packs a powerful message. Where is your seed planted, where are your roots headed and what type of fruit are you bearing?

It took me a long time to discover where I had planted my seed. I thought I was near the stream and I thought the the roots were being fed by a good source, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I grew up hearing about the stream. I went to a Chrisitan school, attended church and tried to keep to a value system. It's not that I didn't believe in God, I just never really knew Him. My seed had been planted in false soil. The world shows us different types of soil to plant our seed in, but doesn't guarantee the type of fruit it will produce. It's a risk we don't  have to take, but many people do. We all remember the first story about fruit.

So let's say we step into the worldly journey of risk. There is no guarantee for anything good to come of it, but it looks like good soil so we jump in. Planting our seed in the soil of Christ also comes with risks, though what grows will never fail to bear good and useful fruit. Once planted in the false soil, the path of the roots are questionable at best. The direction can come from friends, family, work, money, love, sports or anything really. This is exactly the problem, there is no clear direction. This allows for fear to come in, the droughts can become long and hard and the fruit can get real bitter.

Bitter fruit does not sound good to me! The bad fruit is the result of the seed in imitation soils, and the roots not near a stream. The verse is so clear to the willing mind. In order to bear good and healthy fruit we need to be centered, we need to be rooted in something solid, we need to be rooted in Christ. Planting your seed in the soil of Christ is the best place possible. Your will grow strong, you will stay humble and it will tear down your selfishness. By having your roots spread towards the stream of Christ, you can be assured many seasons of growing. No fear of coming droughts or seasons of intense heat. And finally the fruit, the fruit that Christ can bring into our lives is more filling and more delicious than anything else we can ever experience. So I say dig deep, real deep and find out where you are truly rooted and ask your self why.

Root yourself in Christ.

Check your roots!

Strength Over Time

We can never have more than we can bear. The present hour we are always able to endure. As our day, so is our strength. If the trials of many years were gathered into one, they would overwhelm us; therefore, in pity to our little strength, He first sends one, and then another, then removes both, and the third, heavier, perhaps, then either; but all is so wisely measured to our strength that the bruised reed is never broken. We do not enough look at our trials in this continuous and successive view. Each one is sent to teach us something, and altogether they have a lesson which is beyond the power of any to teach alone.  -H.E. Manning

Locking Shields!

Achilles stood at the front of his small ship. His small team of strong and courageous warriors worked together to paddle back and forth. His desire and determination had put them well in front of the other thousand ships. Achilles had his eyes set on the sandy shores of Troy. The shore was littered with men ready for battle. They had their weapons ready to fire, they had their fortress protected and strong, they were ready for the attack. Achilles and his men came upon shore and the war began. All of the men jumped out of the ship as fast as they could and hurried to get into a tight group. At this point, they were banded together. Their shields were up and locked together. Achilles gave the signal and they slowly moved forward towards the enemy. Arrows were being shot at them, spears were being thrown, but they continued to move forward. The locking of the shields and tightness of the group kept them protected and strong. Upon the call of Achilles the men dispersed and went into full attack mode on the enemy.

The example above is a great illustration for how we can stay strong and protected in our walk with Christ. Psalms 28:7 says ‘The Lord is my Strength and my Shield.’ Let’s take a look at the main points and break them down for today’s world.

1) Courageous: This was not a group of a thousand men; this was very small group of men that had great strength and courage. We do not need a huge group of men to make a difference in this culture, we need a small group of men that are ready to stand up and fight. Men that are ready to face the influences of culture straight on and say no!

2) Locking Shields: As the men gathered on the shore, they used their shields to protect them (the group) from the enemy. We can use the same tactics today to stand firm in our faith and using the Shield of the Lord to protect us. Brother to brother, man to man, we must put our shields together and the attacks of the enemy will not be able to penetrate.

3) Pressing Forward, Together: With shields locked, the men slowly moved forward towards the enemy and upon the signal dispersed! Whether we are in a group of brothers or off on our own, we must keep our Shield up. This will take true grit and strength, but our life depends on it. Any lowering of the shield during battle could result in a direct blow from the enemy. We know he is waiting and preparing to devour..

Having brothers that also carry the Shield can help a man conquer the negative influences of our culture. It’s not a matter of if the enemy will attack; it’s a matter of when he will attack. Be Battle Ready!

Have you Locked Shields with fellow brothers? 

Can you relate to these main points?

Under the Influence

Music, Media, Television, Culture, Peers, Family, Church, Past, Relationships

What do all of these things have in common? They are the things that influence our lives, our personality, our money, our faith and more. We are constantly ‘Under the Influence’. If we are not aware of these influences and how they are affecting us, they can start to control us. They can dominate us to a point that they begin to shape a new identity in us.

The last series of posts talked about desire. This next series is based on the influences that fight for our desires everyday. God will give us the desires of our heart, but culture will give us the desires of this world. The more you let the small desires of this world influence you, the more you become of the world. Don’t forget, we are to be in the world, but not of the world. I know some things are unavoidable in this culture. If we, as Christians, are to connect with the world, we have to put ourselves into the influences. We have to be aware of the popular music, we have to know what media and society are now saying is “ok” and we have to be alert to what the enemy is up to. This, of course, leaves us wide open for temptation. But we have to be strong and stand up to these forces. Amongst all of the worldly influences, we have to allow Christ to influence us. We have to be intentional with our time, at all times. Careful to not allow the influence of culture today suck us down with it.

Let’s explore the ways we are all influenced.

So what are some ways you are influenced? Good or Bad?