Home  Men at Calvary
Men at Calvary
I am free to run. (I
am free to run)
I am free to dance. (I
am free to dance)
I am free to live for
you. (I am free to live for you)
I am free! I am free!
I am free!
These are the lyrics to a worship
song that Mark pulls out now and again and we sing as a church on
Sunday mornings.What better words are there to reflect on on
Independence Day? The tremendous freedom inherent in our obedience
to our Heavenly Father.
Sweet freedom indeed!
K
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written by Ken Mitten
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting
that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make
the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the
one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same
family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
He says, "I will declare your name to my
brothers;
in the presence of the
congregation I will sing your praises."
And again, "I will put my trust in
him."
And again he says, "Here am I, and
the children God has given me."
HEBREWS 2:10-13 NIV
For many years I saw Jesus
Christ as merely a concept and an outdated concept at that. I
knew people who said that He was their Lord and Savior. I met
people who told me that they had a personal relationship with Him
and I thought they were crazy. I thought that they were leaning on
a lie. The teachings of Jesus were quaint, maybe even wise and
insightful sometimes but how could one have a personal relationship
with Jesus? What was that all about? "Fairytales and mythmaking"
was how I used to respond to that question. Opiate of the people
and all that. Crazy talk.
Of course now..... I am the
crazy one. One of the crazy
ones....
The scripture above ties
things together for me.
Meditate on "The one who
makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.
So Jesus us not ashamed to call them brothers."
K
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written by Nate Pruitt
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things,
and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to
perfect the author of their salvation through
sufferings. Hebrews 2:10
Therefore, He had to be made like his brethren in all things,
so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in
things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the
people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has
suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are
tempted. Hebrews 2:17-18
What an incredible thing we are shown here of God! Perfection is an
impossible thing to grasp in a finite mind, many men prove
themselves (at least partially) insane in the pursuit. However,
God's perfection is not just a standing perfection, but a growing
perfection. Only God could be perfect, and still raise the bar on
perfection. That is a glimpse of what is being explained to us by
the Hebrew writer here. God was, is and ever will be perfect.
However, perfection isn't just a state of being, it is also
ability in each instance of life. At the coming of Christ God as a
whole was perfect, He had no need to change anything about His
relationship with humanity, yet He desired to do so. That being the
case He gives His Son for this cause, not just to die, but
to also live the human life- to face temptation (temptation far
greater than any of us will know in our lifetimes, no less) and to
the live through this perfectly, sinless, triumphantly. Why? So
that He can be a great high priest, interceding on our behalf.
Situational perfection is the kind of perfection God pushes us
toward. He works to prepare us, often long before the situation
arises. Ever hear a sermon on handling conflict, or read scripture
on forgiveness, and think, "Well, I didn't really need this right
now," only to find that the very next day that became your
reality? Situational perfection is obtained by obedience to God. We
are taught that His Spirit is here for us, to dwell in us, as a
guide. That is another level of perfection God didn't have to
aspire for, but from the time of Pentecost He has done it
perfectly. In each of our lives He is perfect, addressing us all
individually. The path to salvation for me was undoubtedly
different than your path, yet He was perfect in each call to us, in
each plea for our repentance. God is immensely perfect, and
continually perfect in each "new" thing.
To only begin to grasp this is to be moved to worship. How
great is our God! (Sing with me) How great is our God! And all will
see how great, how great is our God! He's acting perfectly in
your life now, even if that seems more than unlikely based on
circumstantial evidence. Can you worship Him in all circumstances
knowing that the PERFECT God is working, in love, on your
behalf?
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Today's encouragement is from Gary
Malyjurek. Gary runs a separated men's group at Saddleback Church
in California and the encouragement below is primarily directed
towards separated men. That said, you may catch a glimpse of
yourself and your behavior towards your wife, whether you are
separated from her or not. Are you on your knees before your
Heavenly Father asking that he eliminate your pride/break you of
behaviors which belittle your wife? -K
1Corinthians
13:4-7 Love is patient, love is
kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. 5 It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in
evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always
hopes, always perseveres. Over the last few years, many men have come
to the Separated Men’s Group. The first
couple of months are interesting in that, like myself, I considered
myself a strong Christian, tried to follow God’s commands,
etc. Truth is, I did not see how I controlled
people. I did not see how I rationalized in my
mind that I was right. I didn’t see my
pride.
So where are these words
going? Ask yourself; Do I silently snicker
when I see my spouse have little troubles; Do I
often think that she will fail without my
instruction; Do I say snide remarks to
delicately put her down, and see myself as the “glue”
that holds all things together? When I speak
with a neighbor, a relative, a co-worker, do I say things that
elude to my wife not being as capable as I in many
areas?
Be honest.
These thoughts and actions are not following 1 Corinthians
13:4-7! These actions are self
serving. These actions are filled with
pride.
My prayer today, is for each
man to honestly ask themselves these questions, and to ask for
God’s help to work on eliminating the pride one may have in
their heart.
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