The Reason for the Season: A Selfless Gift

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." –Matthew 20:28

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” –Philippians 2:3-10

“While they were (in Bethlehem), the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” –Luke 2:6-7

Men, did you know that some of the most happy and peaceful people in this life are those who serve others and give of themselves to help those people around them? Christ came to this world in one of the most humble ways to be born. Can you imagine the innkeeper, “Um, I’m sorry the God of the universe sent his son to be born at my inn but I have no rooms left so just go ahead and sleep in the barn, ok, thanks.” Talk about a missed marketing opportunity for his business! Can you imagine? He could use the advertisement, “God decided to stay here so you should too!” Well, of course he didn’t realize the Savour of the universe was in the form of a small baby to be born that night but the point remains, God knew this would be the way it would take place and allowed it.

Typically when a king or a royal baby is born there’s a huge announcement and the red carpet is rolled out and the finest bedding is put down to welcome their birth. Not in the case of Jesus though, no he came quietly in anything but a spectacular setting. But the beauty of it is he did that for us to serve and NOT BE served. He was the perfect example of humility and followed this example all through his ministry here on earth. Can you imagine the most famous person in the world today having the ability to decide where he’d be born? Can you imagine anybody choosing a barn full of animals to enter the world? Even if that was possible for someone to decide where they’d like to be born it would fail in comparison to THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE choosing this for his beloved, perfect son who was given as a gift to us sinful, non-deserving people! How easy it would have been for him to say, “Forget that! I don’t deserve that kind of treatment and they certainly don’t deserve me! I think I’ll have the royal suite and special treatment with room service please.”

If God did this for us certainly we can humble ourselves and not demand our way in everything we do in relation to our interactions with others. Certainly we can learn to take the high road when we feel wronged by people throughout our life. We certainly don’t have to be a pushover but we must choose our battles and what’s worth letting fall off our back and what's worth standing up to. Christ stood for righteousness and justice but didn't let the small things and people's opinions bother or sway him in his ministry. We as men have got to learn to stop being so selfish and demanding our way. We must follow Christ’s example and look to the interests of others while not losing sight of our mission and our own path. Christ came to serve people while here on earth and didn’t demand to be equal in his royal stance as God. No, he gave up his right for royal treatment and obeyed his Father God and was born into a lowly manger and allowed himself to be sentenced to a horrific and excruciating, painful death for ungrateful, sinful people. The sad thing is we most likely would have gone along with the crowd if we there 2000 years ago. My pride would like to tell me I would of took a stand to help Jesus but chances are I would of let it happen and been just as guilty as the rest of the crowd. It’s a humbling and sad thought. The good news is that through Jesus’ humility he was exalted to where one day everybody will bow to him. Herod, Hitler, Stalin, Capone, yes everybody will answer to our loving God Almighty. Certainly we can learn from Christ’s example and humble ourselves to take the attitude of a servant and look to meet the needs of others. There’s no better example of humility than the Christmas story we hear during this time of year. Forget “Happy Holidays,” that takes the focus off my Lord, rather, “Merry Christmas!!!”

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Men of Courage

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” –Deuteronomy 31:6

Men, does this verse sound like God created us to be pushovers as men? How about in our faith? Absolutely not! He commands us to love others, yes, but with strength and courage. Where are the men today standing up to the crowd and determining to be different in a courageous way for righteousness. You have been given an incredible platform in your life to make a difference and stand for Christ. It could be at school, in your job, at home, on the court or field, or in your dating relationship. All of us have a platform to point others to Christ.

You have nothing to fear because God has given you everything you need to win the battle in your life. He is behind you supporting you the whole way! Sure, you may not always feel his presence but he’s definitely there. We live in a society of lost boys who roam throughout life following the crowd and blind to what truly matters in life. It’s not about how many girls you can get to fall for you. It’s not about how much money you can make or how many toys you can get. It’s not about how many friends you have around you. That’s all fluff and will never bring lasting joy, peace, and fulfillment.

Are you going to stand as a man of courage and have integrity and character while being a man of your word at all costs? This is what a true man looks like! Satan has used society to lie to us to try to get us as men to follow our flesh, please ourselves, and do only what feels good. We take. We hurt. We steal. We’re selfish. No, this is not authentic manhood. Who suffers for this? The woman, the children, our families, and our relationships that are dreadful because we have lost our way as men! Start with being a leader of your own life standing on the Rock of Christ! Draw your line in the sand today and determine with God’s strength that you will be different and a real man of strength and character as you obey God’s word. I’m right there in the battle with you men! Let’s require more from ourselves as Christian men desiring to please God.

Many will hear the call to be more. Few will answer.

Feeling Alive with a Heavenly View

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” –Philippians 4:13

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” –Matthew 6: 19-21

This world is full of people telling you that “you can't do it” or that “you’re not good enough.” It’s filled with people who tell you to stop; to give up on your dreams. We live in a society full of people walking through their lives living in a cage in their mind. God has made millions of unique people with beautiful minds who are held back by their own self-limiting beliefs about themselves and their own abilities. Many people try and fail and never see a project through because they hit opposition. But what if you knew you couldn't fail so you took the risk to pursue your dreams and vision for your life? What if you chose to live your life with this mindset even when you hit a dead end? What if you lived with a heavenly mindset instead of just an earthly one?

God has equipped you with amazing abilities and spiritual gifts as a Christian. He's made you in his image to be unique and he's given you dreams to pursue with your life. He's given you visions for your life and he's asking you to step out of your comfort zone and move away from the ordinary “day to day man.” What if we as men pursued the dreams God has put on our heart? What if we were brave enough to step away from our comfortable life, cushy job, and 401k to go do something “dangerously awesome” for Christ? What would happen if we as men started a revolution and set the world on fire? Many would say, "It's too tough. People just don't change. It's a lost cause for men to change and live lives of purity and integrity." Maybe so but I read in the Bible where it says, "We can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength!" What if we took that serious and had the faith to live our lives by that verse to please God and fulfill our mission in this lifetime? Do you remember married men when you first saw your wife or first love and you were speechless to approach her? Do you remember the rush you had when you found out she liked you? Remember that feeling of "feeling alive" that came over you when you stepped out of your comfort zone and did more? What if we did that in our spiritual life?

Men, I've always been my worst critic from grade school on especially when I played sports. I would miss a free throw in basketball or a penalty kick in soccer and I'd drop my head and get all down on myself. My dad pointed this out to me at a young age and exclaimed to me how I hold myself back when I beat myself up on the inside. It's tough, yes indeed, but anything worth doing is going to come with setbacks, opposition, and some self-doubt. When we determine as men we can accomplish something with a full head of steam, a goal in our heart, a commitment to doing God's will in obedience out of surrender to him, determination in God's strength to not quit when it's tough, men, we can be untouchable! A man's persistence tells a lot about him as a man and his character. How much grit do you have men? Are you a quitter? Think about it, you have a responsibility to our God to reach people as you store up treasures in Heaven, sending the building materials on their way for your mansion up there with every decision you make for building Christ's kingdom with your life here on earth.  Don't sell out for a measly 100 years at best living for this lifetime alone. You'll sell yourself short! We can set the world on fire one man at a time. We may not be able to save them all, but we can save as many as we can along our life's path. It'll matter to the ones we touch. What has God put on your heart asking you to take a leap of faith and get a little “dangerous” in life for him to make you feel alive again? Whatever it is, go for it! Ask God to direct your steps. Watch out though, you may start living for the very first time!

Take a leap of faith as you consult with God and step towards his calling on your heart to come alive.

Off in the Distance a Fool Laughs

"Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour." -Proverbs 14:9

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." -James 4:4

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." -John 15:18-19

"Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." -Luke 9:23

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and man" -Matthew 6:24

Men, have you ever had a friend or person in your life who scoffs and laughs every time you bring up God, the Bible, church, or a Biblical truth? The Bible tells you to expect this from people who don't know Christ as personal Savior and who don't follow God's truths. Often times you will be persecuted and looked down on if you claim to be a follower of Christ by those who don't understand why you do what you do in your obedience to God. Look at the disciples in the Bible days; they were persecuted and some killed for being associated with Christ. Jesus Christ was killed by his own group of people in his blood line. Why would you expect an easy path or anything different from the people of this world who don't know Christ nor hold to his principles? Keep in mind Satan has blinded the people of this world's eyes. He's their master and this world belongs to him. We're strangers and missionaries in this lifetime if we call ourselves a true Christian and Follower of Christ.

Jesus basically says, if you're a friend of his, you will be an enemy to the world. You will be an offense to them because you are called to raise the bar and set a higher standard for human kind. Many people don't want to admit there's a God because they don't want to answer for their sin or live up to the Bible's standard set by God. Many people want to pick and choose parts of the Bible to obey. Jesus tells us to "Die to self, pick up our cross, and follow him." My question for you young man is, can people tell that you're a true follower of Christ or are you hiding your Christianity and birthright given to you from your Heavenly Father? You come from a royal heritage by accepting Christ. Why would you hide it or try to compromise your stand and follow the lost like the society we live in full of "the blind leading the blind?"

I have to admit for years when I was younger and even traces of it today in my life I hid my sonship of God. I try to get as close to the world's line while still calling myself a Christian. You know this leaves my walk in shambles and keeps me unstable as a Christian man and leader. The Bible says, "No man can serve two masters for either he will cling to one and forsake the other." We have a world full of Christians forsaking their Godly heritage to believe the lies of Satan thinking the world has something better than God to offer them. I tell you what, you have a choice but you will find if you decide to follow the world's standard of living then you will be sadly unfulfilled and left feeling empty. Don't turn your back on God and your sonship! You're a son of the King! Embrace it! Be it! Live it! The world is lost but you have the answer that can open up their eyes. Stop letting the scoffing fools hold you back by what they think and say. They're on a path to destruction. Don't join them. Go forward with the things of God! Expect the "haters!" Don't let them get in your head or take you off your path as a man of God!

People will try to cover the light that the Holy Spirit illuminates in your life. Don't let them take you away from your royal right to shine as a son of God.

The Wrong Side of the Bed

"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" -Psalms 139: 23-24

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." -Philippians 1:6

"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." -Ephesians 5:15-16

Men, if you're anything like me you have those days where it feels like it would have just been better if you would have stayed in bed and not talked to anyone. Yeah, those days come up for everyone. We can't stay on a spiritual high 24/7 expecting ourselves to just free flow on a cloud of happiness every day of our lives. Let's be realistic. We're flawed humans with tons of chemicals running through our bodies keeping us balanced or unbalanced at times. We are unique specimens that God created in amazing complexity. Some days we just feel "off" and not like our usual self.

Recently I called my accountability partner to tell him I felt unrest in my heart and body. It was like the feeling of having a tiny pebble in my shoe, the kind that just makes your regular steps a bit off. Nothing major to point the finger at really, but just a feeling that there's a bit of unrest in your inner workings. The kind of feeling you feel when starting your day off  by getting up on the wrong side of the bed. The kind of day where you're more irritable and grouchy with a quicker fuse when somebody does something that bothers you. It's a feeling of frustration and annoyance. We all know this feeling we have on certain days. I typically feel this anxious feeling when I'm stuck trying to figure out my future instead of being present in what God has called me to do today.

So what do you do on days like that where you just want to go crawl back into bed and sleep the day away? Well as my buddy expressed to me, typically that feeling of unrest is an issue of the heart where there's a matter of sin that hasn't been addressed. I took his words and decided to go get alone with God and pour my heart out to him telling him how I feel and to forgive any sin or wrong motives of my heart. It's interesting how when we drop our guard with God and express how we feel as he covers us with his peace. The Bible tells us to ask God to search the inner workings of our hearts to shine his light on any wrong motive or action we are holding onto which can cause unrest and frustration which can lead us to lash out at others and even ruin our testimony. So the next time you feel this way, get alone with God and put yourself on his altar for mercy with all of your unanswered questions, prayer requests, fears of the future, and anxiety. This all needs to be thrown at his feet as you surrender to his leading and hand him back your cares and concerns. Doing this along with confessing your sin and asking God to show you your wrong motives in your heart will prepare you to finish the rest of your day strong for the Lord. Please don't let one bad day ruin what you've spent so long trying to build up with your testimony!

God can take your unrest and give you peace.

Stuck in God's Waiting Room

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.” –Psalms 40:1-5

Waiting on God can be one of the most challenging things you will constantly have to do throughout your life. There’s a funny saying that goes, “Don’t ask God for patience because he will answer you by making you have to wait for something.” Part of waiting on God to act on your behalf is being able to completely trust him that he knows what is best for you. When you can see God show up in your situation, it can really strengthen your faith and spirits, especially after sitting in his waiting room for a while. It’s almost a revelation that what the Bible says can ACTUALLY come true for you. It will give you hope and strength in your faith and give you some much needed resolve when you see God's moving on your behalf.

There is a peace that comes over you when you give God all your cares and worries to work out as he sees best. The main thing is to be present with what God has called you to do today and let God reveal what the next step is to take and what door to walk through. Sometimes this does mean taking a step of faith while looking up and asking God if this is his will. Go ahead and ask God to close the door if it’s not his perfect will for you. He will show you and get you through the uncertainty. Just be ready when the Spirit asks you to move and step out in faith even if you can't see the whole picture. Men, to be a truly strong leader in your life, one must trust God wholeheartedly for his direction and leading. He promises to come to your aid if you will trust!

Psalms 37:23 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way.” God will lead you today in what he has for you and will give the direction, leading, and strength you need for today. Tomorrow’s strength and leading will come tomorrow but today stay present to fulfill what God has given you to do in this moment in preparation for a better tomorrow and future centered in God’s will.

Let go and let God do his work on your behalf. Stay present and jump when he says jump.

Submit to Find Peace

“Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you. Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored— so clean up your life.” –Job 22:21-23

One of the toughest challenges we face as men is with our pride and ego and submitting them to people in authority.  I remember growing up, many times I would buck my father’s authority thinking I knew best and disrespectfully fighting to get the last word in the disagreement. Young man, if you find yourself making this same mistake with your dad, just stop. Submit to his authority and remember that you’re under HIS roof. A general rule of thumb is if you’re under your parents’ roof, it’s their rules. You only have to live under their watchful eye a few years then after that you have every right to make your own decisions. If you have constant tension in your house because of this, just drop your pride and your demanding to be right. Try to understand that your parents have been there and done that. Stop and take a word of advice. We can learn so much from the people who have gone before us and learn from their mistakes so we don’t have to repeat them and mess up our lives. If I can encourage you in any way I would tell you to please ask Christian people who are older than you who you respect for advice on life. Pick their brain to learn how to avoid the mistakes that they made along with how to make the positive choices that helped improve their life. Then, most importantly, see if the advice they give you aligns with obedience to God. Also, if you’re seeking to be wise, read the Proverbs daily. It’s filled with great advice.

The passage above tells us that if we will submit to God’s leading, we will find peace and that will lead to finding good things in our life. This also relates to submitting to your parents, your teachers, and your bosses’ authority. Simplify your life by just humbling yourself and listening more. God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. If you listen, you will save yourself a great deal of heartache and trauma. I implore you to please learn from my mistakes I made by not listening and disrespecting my father’s words of advice. I understand that many young men are trying to find their footing, their place, and their voice in this world and it’s a very challenging time but it would be in their best interest to listen more and talk less especially when communicating with an adult. You will only be helping yourself. Ask God for his proper view on the advice you receive to form the right stance to form your opinion. No person regardless of age is always right. You need wisdom to discern their words but still remain respectful even if you don’t agree with their viewpoints. Bite the bullet and still submit to their authority.

If you’ve found yourself going down this path of disrespect and tension with an authority figure in your life then it’s time to ask God for forgiveness and wisdom on how to change your approach. God put those people in your life for a reason and your job is to learn what God has for you to learn through them. The way you treat people in authority in your life can be a direct correlation to how you view and obey God as an authority figure. The Bible says that if you will return to God and his authority you will be restored and have peace. Young man, this is your opportunity to clean up your life and get back on track. Humble yourself today and take some advice to enhance these opportunities in your life. At the end of the day having peace is one of the most important gifts we can receive in this life and having peace of mind will help you to be a better leader as well as a man of God. Practicing this kind of humility will enhance what God wants to do in your life as you learn to be molded to help you grow into a better man.

 If your life needs peace start submitting to God’s authority and listening to get back on the right track.

Extra Grace Required

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” –Romans 12:18-19

"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” –Matthew 5:44

“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” –Proverbs 16:32

We’ve all had that one person in our life that we need a little extra strength not to knock them through a wall or push them off a cliff, right? Maybe it’s a brother or sister, an ex, or a co-worker at work who just says the wrong thing at the wrong time and gets under your skin a little easier than anybody else. You know that person who causes you to have to leave the room and take several deep breaths before you unleash fiery venom of nastiness at them. Yeah, we all have a person come to mind when we read this. God knows I’ve had certain people in my life that have required an extra measure of grace.

I remember a kid when I was in high school who was just the most annoying person I’ve ever met who would poke at me all day when I was trying to study just trying to get a rise out of me so I’d want to beat the tar out of him. I wasn’t the only one who he’d do this too either. Many times a day this kid would take a beating from people for doing the same thing to them. It was definitely a big cry for attention, that’s for sure! So how can we handle this kind of person in our everyday lives so we don’t lose our cool and ruin our testimony? Well the truth is we can learn a great deal about ourselves when we’re pressed by these kinds of people. God is very possibly teaching us patience to react out of a spirit of kindness instead of vindictiveness. Believe it or not these kinds of people who require a lot more grace are actually helping us become more Christ-like in our walk as Christian men.

It’s easy to love the people who are nice to us but it requires a whole lot more from us to love the unlovely people who are unpleasant and mean-spirited to us. God has commanded us though to show his love to these people and “kill them with kindness” in order to reach them. Many times these people can be won over by our kindness while there are some people who may never change but the only thing we can do is control how we react to them. We are responsible for own actions, not theirs. Have you ever seen a football player get tripped or their jersey grabbed by an opposing player so the player who had it done to them gets up and pushes the offender only to have the referee throw the penalty flag at the second offence costing his team 15 yards because he didn’t see the first penalty? A general rule of thumb is that the reaction to an offence will be what gets caught. Men, learn to keep your reaction in check and don’t lose your cool. You’re the one who loses if you don’t react in the correct way. God is using the difficult people in your life to teach you more about yourself. You can’t escape it, these people are out there. You must learn to go through life to be stretched so you can learn better self-control. You don’t grow in your walk as a Christian man if everything is easy and you only love the people who are good to you. Embrace the challenge and love the unlovely people around you. Don’t go into shut down mode with these people and hide. Instead, ask God for strength to keep your cool and to practice good self-control. This is manly behavior. Anybody can react negatively but a real man responds well.

The hard to love people around us can be as unpleasant as a rock in our shoe but God asks us to embrace the challenge and step forward anyways to show them love.

The Day of Reckoning

“Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away.

Like spring flowers, they soon wither.” –Psalms 37:1-2

The verses above are so great because it reassures us as men that following Christ is indeed the right approach to life. If you’re anything like me, sometimes you have to find out the hard way to realize the world has nothing to offer you and that God’s way is best! We don’t have to worry about what the wicked are doing, men. We are called to be set apart and stay on the path that God has called us to do living a life of obedience. This passage tells us that eventually the wicked around us who look like they’re living it up will eventually have their day of reckoning.

Do you ever ask yourself why certain evil-spirited people have so much success or the people who misuse others always seem to get their own way? How about the person who gets away with cheating on a test when you had to study your behind off to get the grade or the person who gets away with murder or stealing and never gets caught? Well, the Bible says that we don’t have to worry about it. God is the Judge and Jury and he sees all. He can deal far more severely than we ever could. Leave it to God. He knows what he will allow and what he won’t. Everyone will have to answer for their actions!

This passage tells us we don’t have to envy those who are caught up in the worldly lifestyle. God has made us to do more and be more in our walk with him. He wants us to take the high road and trust him. We must keep our eyes off those around us who seem to be getting away with living a “free flowing lifestyle.” Remember, sin is fun for awhile but it ends eventually and brings a great deal of hurt, sorrow, and pain with it. Men, don’t evaluate yourself to the men and standard of this world. Compare yourself to Christ and what he asks of you. He won’t let you down. Your reward is coming either this side of heaven or beyond where you will live forever.

The day of reckoning is coming. Whose example are you following?

Leading with Humility

“Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” –Proverbs 16:18

 The sign of a good leader is one that can take constructive criticism from the people around him while being able to bring each individual’s strengths to the forefront to improve the whole group or team. Each person brings some talent to the entire group and a good leader will see it and take advantage of it to bring success to all in the group. This may mean that the leader may have to swallow his pride and see what he can learn from those around him as he leads. Effective leadership will get the best out of each individual and allow them to use their unique shape and strengths to maximize their efforts. Every person has unique skills to help drive the success of a team. Just like a car not everybody on your team is designed to be the steering wheel. Some people are designed to be the cruise control, the power window, or the break. Don't stunt the growth of your team members or micro manage them. It holds them back from their full potential. At the same time you have to set proper boundaries as you manage and stay on top of the unique dynamics of your team.

We as men have some serious pride, ego, and most likely some stubbornness. It would be wise to realize though that we never stop learning and that means that sometimes we have to be a sponge and soak up life lessons and learn from the people around us to better ourselves. We should never feel like we’ve “arrived.” A fall is coming when we start believing this lie. The Bible predicts it. Leave your pride at the door and practice humility. It’s such an attractive trait to have in your life. There’s always room to grow and improve in your life. Stay humble men.

Men, if you want to be an effective leader in your life then show love to the people that may be looking to you for guidance. Help bring them along to grow as a person by showing care, love, and compassion while keeping their best interest in mind. The mark of a great coach is how much he can get out of each individual player to help benefit the team. The mark of a good teammate is how much better he makes the guy next to him play. This is what made Michael Jordan so good back in the day. He made his teammates better around him. This goes the same for you as a leader in your everyday life. Lift up your head and encourage that person around you that needs a helping hand. Get your eyes off yourself if that's all you’re focused on. Who right now do you need to call or text to encourage? Maybe it’s the guy at work struggling to keep up with the workload, or a freshman struggling to learn the playbook on the field, or a classmate struggling with his math homework. Start today helping someone as you develop effective leadership skills and do it with humility. Your giving back will be rewarded and it’ll make you feel good too.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Who do you need to help strengthen?

A Living Sacrifice

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” –Romans 12:1

You want to talk about a Spiritual challenge?! Living your life as a “living sacrifice” is so tough! The biggest reason is because “a living sacrifice can crawl off the altar,” as my pastor likes to say. It’s so true though. How many times do you say, “Ok, I’m going to sell out completely to God now and totally go a 100% in and obey him?” Then, flash forward about 3 or 4 hours and you’ve already made a decision completely based on your own wants and desires regardless how it affects your spiritual life. Yep, been there a million and a half times myself!

The verse above tells us it’s our reasonable service to God to present our bodies as a sacrifice to him. But “how,” you might ask? “How can I present my life as a living sacrifice daily?” It’s pretty simple in theory but so hard to follow through with the action of doing it. Guys, we MUST get over ourselves and expecting God to give us what WE want out of life! We have to get past ourselves, sell out, and go all in for him. We must stop expecting God to be our personal genie and stop thinking that God owes us something or that he’s just here to bless us. On the contrary, we are to be his servant letting him use our life for HIS glory, not ours. This involves every decision we make every day of our life. Just as a diamond seller looks through the lens to see the cut of the diamond so too we must live our lives examining our actions under God’s lens of surrender and obedience to him.

Men, do you want to do great things in this life for God? Do you want to be blessed more wildly than you can ever think or imagine? There is no greater joy than to be used by the God of the universe in service to him and others around us! Trust me! If we can just get past ourselves and what we want out of life and ask, “God, what do you want for my life?” This may mean crawling back up on the altar every hour of the day but make a concerted effort in your walk to do this moment by moment with every decision you make. I’ll tell you right now, if you do this you will become a greater man and more effective in your walk, your ministry, your business, your relationships, and the list goes on and on. God isn’t going to fail you gentleman no matter how many people have let you down before. You’re safe and can rely on him as you drop your pride and allow him to rule your life. Commit today to doing this and watch the stress and burdens of your life slowly fall off your shoulders. God’s got you in his hands and he’s not letting go anytime soon. Too many Christians “think” they’re living a sacrificial life but their actions don’t measure up. I struggle with this myself all the time. Let’s make an effort in God’s strength to life a sacrificial life in the decisions we make and our actions. It’s as simple as saying, “God, here I am, your servant, please use me.” And then walk the walk and make decisions based on that surrender to the Lord and his leading on your life. Always be comparing your actions to what God would want you to do in that current situation.

As many times as it takes, crawl back up on that altar out of surrender to YOUR God.

A Bold Swagger

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” –Isaiah 41:10

“David said to Saul, ‘Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.’” –I Samuel 17:32

Christian men can have a pep in their step and swagger in their walk too. This isn’t just reserved for the unsaved man. It must be handled differently however in what a Godly man puts at the center of his life and what his focus is on. The word “swagger” is usually self-centered on a “me-me-me” mentality but God wants us to carry ourselves uprightly and confidently centered on him. The sad thing is many Christians live in a repressed state of mind thinking that God wants us to be "good lil church-choir boys," but actually God designed Christian men to be his bold warriors. He wants us to be his confident yet selfless leaders with a wild streak like John the Baptist or David from the Bible times. The Christian men I read about in the Bible were bold, daring, charming, loving, & confident, yet obedient to God. Remember how little David slayed Goliath? Follow David’s example in your life and the “giants” you encounter daily. God said he’ll go with us and will strengthen us. Why live a passive lifestyle based out of fear? If your personality is naturally to be quiet then that’s completely fine. What’s not fine is if you’re a Christian man called to be more bold by God who can’t get past your fear and timid nature in order to go on to do bigger things in this life for God.

Too many Christian men have been “tamed” by society and appear boring and passive. We have a generation of boys raised by their mothers while their fathers have come up missing. Not only does God want more from you, so too single Godly woman are wishing a bold Godly man like this would appear and sweep them off their feet. You don’t have to be a “bad boy,” no, that’s immature and selfish but you can have the swagger and confidence of this kind of man with a selfless love for your fellow man, surrender to God Almighty, and a bold confidence to take on what life brings, which includes approaching the Christian woman God puts in your path. Don’t you want to be a man of character and integrity with a swagger in your walk? You don’t have to sit on the sideline and settle for second best in your life. You don’t have to be the “bad boy” either. Many times women go for this kind of guy because they are attracted to his confidence, his boldness to pursue them, and the challenge he presents. Keep in mind though, the kind of woman who goes after this kind of “bad boy” man tells you something about her inwardly and her potentially not knowing her own self-worth and value to settle for this kind of behavior from a guy. Sure, these kind of guys can be wild and exciting but so can a Christian man and he needs to be somewhat but with character and integrity to him, not the selfish, immature, sinful ways of the “bad boy.” Christian men, step up to the challenge and be bold, daring, confident, and walking with a swagger centered on love for God, not yourself.

Society needs strong leaders like this today who can be adventurous and walk with boldness, character, and integrity. God doesn't want "good lil boys," he wants real, authentic, daring, confident, Godly men to serve him! The Christian women are begging for a man like this to approach her and prove that he’s a true man but who also finds his value and identity in God. It’s sad to see so many good Christian men fumbling around and lonely Christian woman settling for less than God’s best in their relationships because the Godly men won’t step up to the plate and be more bold and confident in pursuing them. Rise up men! Stop living a life of fear! There’s no greater feeling than conquering your fear to receive God’s blessings in your life. Determine today to start practicing being bold and fearless as you live in God’s will. Stop letting yourself be so attached to what people think of you and the fear-filled “what ifs” of life. “What if” God wants to do bigger things through you but chooses not to until you get your fear handled and confidence from him? The rest of your life is waiting on it. Start today men!

Being bold, confident, and willing to be used by God makes a man feel alive in his life.

But How?!

 

“Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us strip off and throw aside every unnecessary weight and that sin that so easily clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us.” –Hebrews 12:1

“There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said (thought, done, etc.) will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” –Luke 12:2-3

“It is God who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.” –Daniel 2:22

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” -2 Chronicles 16:9a

As men we hear it said often that we need to be men of character and integrity keeping ourselves pure in our attitudes, thoughts, and actions. We hear how we need to stay away from pornography, lust, pre-marital sex, lying, stealing, cheating, gossiping, fighting, partying, etc. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, “But HOW do I stay away from that and how do I get back up when I fail miserably in one, several, or all of these areas?”

The great news for us as men is that God is very forgiving! He knows we were formed from mere dust so he knows we’re not going to always be on-point in our obedience and he has made provisions to work through our shortcomings and wrong doings. However, God calls us men to live lives set apart from the world’s view and style of living. You may ask, “But how do I get on track with having the right motives and how do I live a God-honoring lifestyle when I’m pulled in so many directions in this lifetime?” It’s true, it’s very counter-cultural living the lifestyle God is asking us to live to gain victory as Christian men. It’s a huge struggle for me as a man to stay unblemished from the world. I know there are even times that I allow myself to take pleasure in a sinful lifestyle around certain people while God looks down at me in compassionate-disappointment for allowing myself to go there at all. Men, being a true man of integrity and character means living this way 24/7, 365 days a year and when you fall, repent, turn away, and get back on the right path in God’s will. We don’t get a free ticket to sin based on the company we keep in certain settings. This is very hypocritical and gives Christians a bad name. I struggle with this all the time too guys.

So how do we do this? “Where do we start,” you may ask? First off, we start with prayer. Ask God to expose those hidden motives and agendas that are deeply rooted in your heart, keeping you from getting victory over your sin. Secondly, repent! Ask for forgiveness and run away from that sin that keeps tripping you up! Take that beast of a sin and cast him out into the street and expose him for what he is! A thief of your purity, a liar, and pure demonic evil! Thirdly, ask God for wisdom to see when and where your “trip-ups” are coming and ask for strength to not only see them coming, but for strength to walk away from them and to take a new path away from that sin that trips you up. Knowing something negative is coming and being prepared is half the battle! This could mean putting a parental block on certain late night channels, not going on the internet when nobody is around, not sitting next to the kid who helps you cheat on the test, avoiding that guy at work who’s always putting a bug in your ear about how badly your company is treating you as an employee, or setting boundaries with your girlfriend. Fourthly, get in the Word. It’s your strength and shield to defeat these sins. You may be like me when I used to think, “Oh, I can pray but don’t ask me to go too crazy and read, study, and memorize the Bible all the time.” Well, that was just foolish on my part because that is our sword and shield that gives us wisdom to get victory over the sin that takes us away from the things of the Lord. Men, striving to be men of obedience, character, and integrity to fulfill our responsibility to be obedient to God needs to be our number one priority each day! God is looking for men like this with a heart centered on him to do great things through. So stand up and obey so he will see the sacrifice of your heart contrary to the ways of the world and will shine his bright light on your life. He’s waiting and looking for you men. When you fall as I do daily, get back up! Don’t stay down! He’s going to use that shortcoming for his glory in some way, shape, or form but you are called to get back up in his strength so he can rebuild you more firm and deeply rooted in him so you don’t fall so easily the next time. Learn from your mistakes men or you’ll keep repeating them. This is the path to leadership and manhood, one step, stumble, and fall at a time. Don’t give up!

Everybody falls but those that get back up again persevere to greatness.

Passing the Blame

“The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” –Genesis 3:12

Isn’t it so typical that a guy like Adam in the Garden of Eden would blame his wife for something that was clearly his fault as well? I mean, how low do you have to be to put mankind’s downfall and entrance to sin all on the shoulders of the woman God made for his companionship to honor, cherish, respect, and protect? Sure, she messed up, was deceived, and was guilty too but he didn’t show much courage to take responsibility for his own actions and the choice he had made, even if she did persuade him to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. Why was he not helping to protect her as he was called by God to be the head of the relationship? Where was he while the serpent was manipulating and deceiving his wife? Will you be the guy that leaves his wife to take the lead and all the blame in your relationship? Please don’t do this man of God!

Men, there is going to come a time in your life that you will get busted for doing something wrong. Will you be the guy who cowardly looks around for someone else to blame or the one making up a half-truthful story to take the negative spotlight off of yourself?  Please don’t be this guy! This guy lacks character and integrity and this has no business being in the life of a true man. This is boyish and cowardly. Keep in mind there are many guys in prison today still pointing the finger at someone else for their actions even after they’ve been caught. They lie to themselves and try to convince everybody else their innocent. This is a messed up way to live, especially believing their own cowardly lies.

Men, you’re going to mess up from time to time. It happens. Apologize and own up to it. Accept the consequences and try to make it right. What’s not ok is when you don’t accept responsibility for your actions and try to put the blame on somebody else. God is not honored or glorified by your trying to avoid the blame. There are so many people in society today that do this and it’s a horrible way to go about their life! This is not noble. This is weak and shameful. This is a good way to give up your “man card” so-to-speak. Be of noble character and please God regardless of the consequences. God will honor this as you do the right thing. Embrace the struggle of doing the right thing as you move one step closer to true manliness and leadership under God Almighty. Do not go through life as a coward. There’s no honor in cowardly behavior! God holds us responsible. Let’s stand tall and embrace the challenge as men of God!

You make your bed. You lie in it.

The Importance of Our Reaction

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” -Romans 12:18 (NIV)

“A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.” –Proverbs 15:1 (NLT)

There is a principle to life called the 90/10 rule. What it basically says is that 10% of what happens to us in life is completely out of our control and that 90% of life is how we react to the 10% that is out of our control. Say for instance you’re on your way out the door to school and your little sister spills milk all over you at the breakfast table and you lose your temper and yell at her and make her cry which causes her to lock herself in her room which ends up making you late for school because she had to be convinced to come out of her room so you could get in the car to leave for school. Then since you were late you get called into the school principal’s office to be informed that you have to attend after-school detention causing you to miss the big game that you were supposed to participate in causing you to lose the championship game for your team. Talk about a bad day huh? See how if you would have just calmly handled the situation at the beginning, you could of avoided the downhill spiral that it caused. This may be an extreme example but this kind of thing happens.

What if this happens on a daily basis where you have the choice to control your reaction to a negative situation and go on with your day in a positive way? How about if we take it a step further and we would cut that sin out that we continue to do now instead of let it take us down a long landslide of sin and consequences for the rest of our life? We have a choice now! The decisions we make right now has consequences on the rest of our life. There are many guys sitting in prison at this very moment that wish they could have reacted better to a situation or that they would of cut a certain sin out of their life which lead to their getting caught and locked up.

Men, learn to chill out and be gentle with pure motives with the people you’re dealing with when something doesn’t go your way. It doesn’t make you manly to get all upset and yell and start punching things. It makes you look like a dumb, ignorant cave man. Be better than this! You ARE better than this! Count to 10, take a step back, take a breath, bite your tongue, and avoid a quick remark back to the person who offended you. Remember, a general rule of thumb is that if it feels good to say in the moment as a quick response back, it probably isn’t the right thing to say and you’ll probably end up regretting it. Don’t be so quick to rush to judgment and LEARN TO LISTEN! Get the facts first. Remaining calm in a troubling situation is a true sign of leadership and people will look to you for leadership in those moments while the people around you race around distraught, falling all over themselves. Remember, nobody wins or listens when you just start yelling out of anger back and forth. Actually, people go into “shut-down” mode. This kind of behavior only gets you into trouble. Remember, even in a court room the cross examination takes place to tell the whole story, not just the one side of the first person who tells their testimony to the jury. Be willing to put yourself in their shoes and try to see their viewpoint of the situation. Show them the respect that you would like from them and apologize if you’ve been offensive. This doesn’t necessarily mean your whole argument or viewpoint is wrong, but if you said something offensive to them or could have handled it better then take the high road and offer an apology of “I’m sorry,” NOT “I apologize.” The words “I’m sorry” just mean more than a generic apology and when you say it, MEAN IT. Maybe you weren’t wrong and you don’t have to apologize for that, but if you didn’t handle the situation with grace and love then you need to make it right out of respect and obedience to God. This is learning to be humble and selfless instead of demanding that you’re right and it’s “your way or the highway.” Learn to step back, take a breath, and wait to respond so you don’t respond out of anger. This applies to your text message conversations and work emails too, guys. Being able to control your reactions to negative situations is a huge step toward leadership in your daily life.

React right. The rest of your day and relationships depend on it.

What Are We Focused On?

“Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ ‘Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.” – Matthew 14:25-33

Peter had a choice when he decided to follow Jesus out of the boat and onto the water. He could look to Christ and do an extraordinary act of walking on the water as he fixed his eyes on the One he walked towards who kept him from sinking or he could drown by focusing on the deep sea around him. Knowing Christ approves of you and that you are looking to him for strength gives you courage to take on the things you didn’t know you could accomplish. You think if somebody had told Peter at a young age that one day he would walk on water that he would have believed them? I’m going to guess, probably not. But the great thing is when we look to Christ, he can use us to do monumental tasks.

Now look and see what happened to poor Peter though. As soon as he started focusing on his current circumstance instead of Christ, he began to sink. Of course when he realized that he had taken his eyes of his Protector he cried out for mercy and Jesus caught him. How often do we as Christian men lose sight of what we should be doing in our walk with God? Daily we must choose to look to Christ to sustain us as we put our hope, faith, and trust in him to keep us from sinking into the abyss of our life’s challenging circumstances. It’s a daily choice we must consciously choose to seek Christ’s power and strength in our life to accomplish big things that are far too complex for our ability alone. Men, let this story inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and do bigger things in this life! Don’t get comfortable with just existing. Satan has so many of us Christians living in a comfort zone and what God really wants is for us to stretch out to do more with our lives. After all, God isn’t all that concerned about our comfort and we should never feel too comfortable living in this world of evil. We are to be missionaries in this foreign land preparing the way for others to know Christ as we long for our home in Heaven. This world is not our home! We are ambassadors for a greater calling and purpose, men. Don't fall into this false sense of comfort and walk blindly through life. God wants more from us as his children and leaders. We have a huge responsibility to lead others as men of God and live a faith-filled, God-centered walk each day. What a challenge! It's possible though if we keep looking to Christ!

Men, look at this passage and notice that Christ said at the beginning, “Take Courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” The reason we can accomplish extraordinary feats in our lives is because we focus all of our attention on Christ who will use us to accomplish things we never thought possible in this lifetime. You think the courageous men of the Bible or the men you hear about today that go on to do huge things for our Lord ever thought it was possible to accomplish such great tasks? No, but they put their faith in the Lord and he lead them though life to complete huge tasks. He uses imperfect, small men who have extraordinary faith in him. We need to do our part men to accomplish what God has put before us today as we put your complete faith in Christ. Then, we can watch what he can accomplish through our faith-filled existence! Why doubt, men? God wants to use us to accomplish his mission to reach others with his love and give our life purpose and meaning. Every day we can look at the deep sea around us or we can fix our eyes on Christ to lead us across our circumstances to what he wants for us as our faith grows in him, not ourselves, and to keep us from going through the motions of being a comfortable Christian. Are you too comfortable in this life, men? Has life gotten stale because you’re too concerned with yourself and what you want out of life? God is more concerned with stretching us and helping us grow. It is when we’re being stretched that we grow the most and experience blessings we never thought possible. Every obstacle and challenge in life is an opportunity to increase our faith and trust in him as we grow to new heights in our relationship with God Almighty.

If you’re waiting to have all the answers and waiting before you’re “perfect” to step out in faith, then you will never get anywhere. Faith is believing even when you can’t see.

Soar Above the Storm by Looking to the Source

 “(A storm broke out while the disciples were in the boat and the men feared so they woke up Jesus who was sleeping) He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’  They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” -Mark 4:39-41

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:30-31

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?” –Matthew 6:25-31

“Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it (the demon) out?’ 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.” – Matthew 17:19-21

Gentlemen, how strong is your faith? The Bible says in Matthew 17 as Jesus was talking to his disciples about why they couldn’t get the task at hand done, he told them in so many words, “Men, your faith is too small!” What if we took Jesus’ words at face value and actually believed what he said he will do on our behalf if we will activate our faith in the area of the answers we seek? Why do we limit our faith of God’s all consuming power? Why do we box ourselves in instead of realize how big the God we serve really is?

The passage in Matthew 6 tells us that we don’t have to worry about our life because worrying is useless. God takes care of his children. No, this doesn’t mean we as Christians are exempt from bad things happening to us but it does mean that God holds us tightly in his hands and will work out his will in our lives. Nothing happens to us that God doesn’t allow or control. He has a good plan even in the bad things that happen to us when we don’t understand why it is happening. He can still use it for good! I once heard the saying that said, “Worry is temporary atheism.” That may be a little intense but it does make you stop and think about how strong our faith and trust in God is when we encounter life’s struggles.

When life’s storms rage and bad things arise in your life, you have a choice to focus on the storm’s waves and wind like the disciples did in the passage in Mark 4 or look to the Source who controls the storm. You can limit your faith by focusing on the bad of the present challenge or you can choose to rise above like an eagle and trust God to work through it according to his will. Guys, just look to God and ask him what he wants you to learn while you go through the current challenge so you don’t have to repeat the same lesson again later on in life. Every tough challenge is a learning experience. Whatever you do though, choose to activate your faith completely on God and not the problem. Put all your hope in the Lord and watch him turn a hairy situation into something great. Simply trust and look to him to work it out.

When the winds and rain of life arise, choose to soar above the storm like the eagle by looking to the One who controls it all.

True Confidence & Small Slivers

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ’Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence,’ The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’ Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." –Hebrews 13:5-7

“But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” –Matthew 19:26

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 1:6

“My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” – I Corinthians 4:4-5

Men, when you wake up in the morning and prepare your mindset to take on the day’s challenges and the people who will come across your path, who are you putting your confidence in? Are you putting it in your thoughts and good feelings to motivate yourself to reach your full potential? Are you the main source of finding your inner confidence or are you relying on the God of the universe for his strength and leading on your life each day to give you your confidence as he imparts his power to you as his son to accomplish his plan for your life (Philippians 1:6)? I used to wake up in the morning and read some motivational thoughts I had posted on the mirror but my question for myself looking back is, “Were you trusting and relying on your own strength or God’s supernatural strength by embracing your personal relationship with Jesus Christ?”

Too often as Christians we go through life’s motions and live “half-hearted, faith-filled” lives. We limit God’s power he wants to impart to us because we don’t activate our trust, surrender, or our faith in the area we are struggling with and don’t have the answers to. We limit ourselves! Guys, we need to get our eyes off ourselves! This day isn’t about us! It’s about being a light, shining God’s love and truth into people’s lives! Don’t let these just be meaningless, cliché words that you hear. No, activate your faith and gain your confidence to take on life’s challenges today by complete surrender and trust in him to work everything out for good. Let him use you today! You don’t have to fear men when your confidence is found solely in Christ (Hebrews 13:5-7)! Think about it, the God of the universe wants to speak his truth to others and impart his power to them through little ol’ us (Matthew 19:26)! How awesome is that? Please, don’t put God in a box and limit yourself to just your own good intentions with trying to find your inner confidence. By doing this we are relying on a weak-minded, short-sited, feeble, accident proof god, ourselves! Don’t be your own life’s god. No, instead put your complete, 100%, surrendered, passionate confidence in Christ! We are selling ourselves and God short by not doing this. He has the strength to do it so why are we not activating our faith and our confidence in him? God wants to work through your trust in him, not your unbelief!

I want to leave you with one more thought. The closer you get to Christ in your walk the more you can feel the Holy Spirit’s leading power on your life and throughout your day but Satan wants to creep in and destroy your walk by using that one little sin that you struggle with that takes you away from your strong relationship with God. We all have one and Satan knows exactly each person’s weak point to get us away from our proper walk and surrender to Christ. For many of us men it’s the sin of lust, sexual temptation, or pride. It’s like having a small sliver in our foot that unless we take care of and ask God for strength to overcome it, it can turn into an infected wound and if we ignore it, it can take over the whole leg and lead to amputation. So it is with that “little sin” in your life that nobody really sees but you know it’s there and maybe you’re in denial about it being really all that serious. Well, let’s real quick relate it to lust and pornography. Let’s say you dabble with bad thoughts or looking at pornography once in awhile. Ok, so that’s the “small sliver” in your foot. But then let’s say there comes a time later on when it starts becoming more apparent to you and others around you that your dabbling with this “small sin”  has started to grow bigger to where you’re not hiding it as much anymore and maybe you’re even going to strip clubs, or watching inappropriate videos with your friends. Maybe you’ve decided to start acting out more physically in your relationship with your girl. Now, that “little sin” that started out as a “sliver” has infected the whole foot crawling up your leg. Guess what guys, it can lead to amputation and kill your “walk” with God! All because you ignored the warnings and let that small sliver manifest into so much more as it cripples you. God wants to expose that sin in our lives that is dangerous territory and can amputate our walk (I Corinthians 4:4-5). What “small sin” do you need to address today to stop the infection from growing into the other areas of your life? Think about it! I’m right there with you guys! Let’s put our complete surrender in the Lord, which gives us confidence and strength as we ask him to expose the areas of our lives that need to be completely cleaned out before it leads to our down fall as a man of God. Don’t stop fighting men! Satan has so many men lost because they look to our culture that is ok with rampant sin instead of God who wants to open our minds to the lifestyle he wants us to live.

If a sliver is left untreated it can lead to an infection of our whole body which can lead to amputation and even death. Stop living in denial. Address that “small sin” issue today and put all your confidence in Christ to live a life set apart!

Plugged Into God's Holy Fire

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." -Hebrews 12:1-3

"He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevere because he saw him who is invisible." -Hebrews 11:25-27

"Our God come and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages." -Psalm 50:3

Men, if Christ could suffer punishment, pain, and people's hatred for doing the right thing, certainly we can attempt to live this kind of a lifestyle as well. We need to stop playing this life safe. God isn't concerned with our comfort. No, he's stirring a fire inside our hearts to reach the lost and help the people heading down the path to hell without Christ. This passage says to let go of everything that entangles us and holds us back. He tells us to persevere by keeping our eyes on him and going forward in his strength. We do this by constant prayer, Bible study, and surrounding ourselves with positive friends, mentors, and accountability partners. Don't get tired living this lifestyle! Activate your faith and trust God that he will keep his promises that relate to your life and his specific plan for you as a man of God.

This second passage is powerful men! Could people say this about you in your walk with God? Could somebody say you are deciding to sell out to God and live dangerously as you risk it all for God and his best for you? I promise, he will take you places you never thought possible if you surrender, obey, and trust him as you activate your faith in his truths of the Bible. He said it so we MUST believe it and not let Satan tell us differently. Satan knows if he can get us to doubt God's promises we will become ineffective as obedient men and leaders in God's army. Look forward to your reward by trusting in the invisible God. He'll break down walls in your life! Remember, we serve the God of the Bible today that once parted the Red Sea to protect his children. He made a way when there wasn't one. He's still that God, men. Surely, he can take care of whatever you're struggling with today if you will trust him 100%.

How powerful is this verse in Psalms that says that God WILL NOT be silent because he is consumed by a holy passion and fire that he imparts on behalf of his children, us. This life isn't about us by any means but we serve a God who is crazy about his love for us! Embrace his love and care as you surrender completely and you plug into God's holy passion and fire. It's available to you if you will put your whole trust and faith in Christ. Surrender all men! Not 99.9% but 100%. He will work through your life to reach others and will give your life so much fulfillment, joy, and purpose! If you don't know how to surrender a 100% of your life then go get on your knees and tell God you want to do it and ask him to show you how. Ask him to break through your ignorance of what surrender looks like and how to live a lifestyle completely surrendered to him. Do this and let him do the rest!

"Dear Father, please consume me with your holy passion and fire to reach others with your love."