Playing with Fire

“The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden? ‘Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,’ the woman replied. ‘It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat.’ God said, ‘You must not eat of it or even touch it; if you do, you will die. ‘You won’t die!’ the serpent replied to the woman…The woman was convinced.” –Genesis 3:1-4, 6

Men, what have you been doing in your life that God has clearly said in his Word or in your inner conscience not to do? Notice how God told Adam and Eve not to even touch the fruit! God knew that the temptation would be too great if they were that close to it. God tells us not to even toy with sin because he knows how easy it is to compromise our stand and fall into it. This could be your temptation to look at pornography, go hang out with the “easy-girl,” do drugs, drink alcohol in excess, cheat on a test at school, etc. Are you playing with fire and seeing how close you can get to the flame without getting burnt? God wants us to not even go near the flame. He knows sins power over us but the good news is he has already conquered sin so we can overcome it's grasp.

It’s so like the devil and his crafty, deceiving ways to tell us, “It’s no big deal! God is old fashioned! He just doesn’t want you to have a good time!” Don’t listen to him, guys! Notice how Satan twisted God’s words to Eve when he originally asked, “Did God really say not to eat ANY of the fruit of the garden?” Oh he’s crafty! Manipulation of words at it’s finest. Eve caught on but still entertained the thought which lead to mankind’s fall. God wants to save you from sin’s pain, anguish, and captivity.

This relates to the parent who tells their child not to touch the hot stove in the kitchen. Did they say that because they don’t like their child or because they don’t want them to have any fun? Not at all! They said it for the child's personal protection and that’s all God is doing for you when he tells you to stay away from sin and was doing for Adam and Eve in the garden. He wants to protect us from ourselves, sin's grasp, and our own sinful nature. He knows it’s powerful! Stay as far away from the edge and the fire as possible! You know exactly what comes to mind in your life that you should stay away from as you read this; run away from it! Take a step away from the edge towards God's way. This is the path to true manhood in obedience to God.

It's not how close you can get to the edge, it's how far can you can stay away from it.

Growing Tired

“Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” –Matthew 11:28

There comes a time in every man’s life that he needs to let his guard down and realize it’s ok that he doesn’t have all the answers to life. So often us men have large egos and are full of pride but we need to learn to let go of our pride and admit that we need God's help to take care of our worries and anxieties and to give us the right answers we need throughout our life.

This not only applies to your relationship with God but also in your relationship with the lady in your life. God created her to want to be your teammate and help-meet and if she is truly a God-honoring woman she will be this in your relationship and she will want to be desired and feel wanted by you. By you letting her in deeper to the inner workings of your life and your shortcomings as a man and dropping your guard down with her, it will help fulfill her God-given desire to help you and in so doing you help make her feel validated in her roll as a woman and feel fulfilled in the relationship just as you feel like a better man when she gives you respect and when you feel desired by her. Don’t be afraid to be tender to her needs and in who she is as a woman of God. God tells us to protect the women in our life as if they were a sister. This is noble and heroic manhood. Any guy can just use and mistreat her while shutting her out. God wants more from his men.

Do you need to just take a moment and quiet your mind and seek rest today? Remember, as bad as we want to think of ourselves as superheroes, we are only human and we all have a breaking point. Yes, we carry the burden of being a rock for our family and this is noble but be flexible to let the right people into your inner workings, especially God. Don’t forget to bend before you break. Adapt and adjust while staying true to what is right before God. Even Christ took a moment to rest. You need to recharge your battery and there’s no better charger than going to God to renew your strength as you let your guard down and admit you need his help.

Peace comes from resting in God.

Self-Defeating Lies

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." -Philippians 4:8

Men, it's so easy to go throughout our busy day with a negative attitude and a defeated mindset as life's problems and worries seem to mount up to the high heavens. It gets hard to maintain a good attitude as we try to fulfill our responsibility each day. Don't feel like you are alone in this fight, even Jesus when he was here on earth grew weary and tired. He understands your struggle to maintain a positive mindset.

The good news is you have the choice to choose if you will listen to Satan's self-defeating lies that linger in your head. There's always that constant voice telling you that you're no good, that you don't measure up, that you're the only one that feels insecure, that you'll never amount to anything, that you'll never be able to get over this hurdle in life, that you'll never have victory over a sin, and the list goes on and on. Guys, these are all lies from the pit of hell and it's up to you to squash them by speaking the truth of God into your life on a regular basis! As soon as Satan tells you a self-defeating thought challenge it head on with a Bible verse that speaks truth into your life in that moment. If you're not memorizing Scripture then you don't have the proper ammo in your day to defeat these lies and you will take on a defeated attitude. Make it your mission to memorize at least 3 Scripture verses that you can use in the heat of the battle to fall back on to gain victory against the enemy.

Men, you are good enough! You are more than conquerors in Christ who loves you deeply! Christ tells us to think on whatever is good. Start by talking positively to yourself instead of listening to the constant barrage of negative thoughts and words! What do you think about throughout your day? Do your thoughts and inward self-talk bring you up or down? This is very important to consider to get victory and go through your day with self-confidence that comes from your core of who you are as a man of God. I have struggled my whole life with being my own worst critic whether it was on the court or in my personal life so I understand the pressure negativity brings to your life. Yes, it's always good to critique oneself but not to the extent of it becoming self-defeating. God has so much truth in his word to share with you. Study it so you can defeat Satan and go throughout your day with a positive mindset as you think on things that are lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Your relationships around you and with God depend on it as well as your future path and how much joy you have in your life. Choose to be joyful by brushing off the negative.

You become what you think about as you combat the negative lies with Christ's truth found in Scripture.

Commit to the Task at Hand

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might." -Ecclesiastes 9:10a

 

Commitment is one of the biggest struggles for so many men today whether it's in a relationship, staying with a job, a sport, fitness, to a diet, etc. We live in a fast paced world where we have so many new things at our disposal that makes it so easy to leave one thing and jump to the next big thing. Our society runs on the notion of the next big thing, going bigger, faster, stronger, and better.

 

As men we have to learn to commit to what God has put in front of us on our path and not just up and jump to the next big idea or next best thing without some serious consulting with God. We need to learn to bloom where we're planted as if we were a tree waiting to produce fruit. It doesn't happen overnight to produce good fruit and we need to learn patience and water the seeds of our life by developing character and perseverance. Fruit picked too early isn't near as good as one that has taken time to fully ripen. Men, take care of your responsibility that God has given you to do today. Don't live in tomorrow. God has a plan for you to do today so that you will be ready to receive tomorrow's blessings for being faithful now. Don't rush God's timing. He knows what he's doing in and through you this very moment. He's preparing you right now. Be present.

 

God has given you today to deal with what needs to be done today. Tomorrow will be a new day. If you don't commit to the task at hand, you'll miss what you need to learn and you will continuously fail until you finally learn the lesson that God wants you to learn in this situation. The Bible says, "Let your yes be yes, and your no be no." Don't waste time having to go through the same test over and over again. Learn from it the first time around so you're ready for the next test God has for you to develop your character. Lack of commitment will rob you of joy in your life today and you will feel like you're wandering around lost in life like a ship with no dock. Be interested with what needs to be done today. This is necessary on the path to manhood.

 

If you can't commit to something, don't expect to find fulfillment in your life until you do.

Feelings Lie

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” – I John 3:18

It’s true that actions speak much louder than words. It’s easy for us as men to say something but it’s an entirely different thing to back up what we say through our actions. Often, we may not feel like doing something we know we should do such as working out, praying, studying, etc. Keep in mind that action invokes feelings, meaning if you take action even though you don’t feel like it, the feelings can grow.

Take for instance the marriage that’s on the rocks because the man doesn’t feel love for his wife anymore. Well, if he would get his eyes off other women or pornography and start acting in a loving way toward her such as buying flowers for her, taking her for a walk, holding her hand in public, doing something romantic for her, listening to her, etc. those feelings for her are bound to start coming back inside. If he will starve himself from fantasizing about other woman as well, she will become more desirable to him, even if she’s not as pretty or skinny as when they first met.

A fact of life is you cannot trust how you feel! Many people will tell you to follow your heart but that many times results in disaster because your heart’s feelings will lie to you. This is why you need to be wise and think through every situation and weigh it with fact, truth, and what’s right before God. I know, not as fun but much better for you moving forward as a wise man. Take action to do what’s right before God and look to him to bring the joy that comes from living an obedient life. Many men today don’t live their life in this fashion but this will set you apart as a man from the crowd of followers. Going through life with just good intentions isn't enough. You must do the right thing following after character, integrity, and what's right before God. This is a huge challenge and very difficult but God promises to bless your obedience. It's one of my greatest struggles but I know God is ready to forgive when I fall and get me back on the right track and let my actions match-up with my good intentions and words.

Action invokes feeling.