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Men dc 05/13/08 Daily Courage Devotional by Ken Mitten   Colossians 1:16-17 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."   This scripture is still ringing in my head. When I think of all of the things I fret about, all the minutiae (a big word meaning a small or otherwise incidental detail) that I let plug up my life I am comforted by how He does indeed hold all things together.   Regardless of how many times I let this reality slip my mind or how often the little things band together and shoot at me like the fighter planes that eventually kill King Kong after he has climbed to the top of the Empire State Building, Fay Wray in hand (literally) I can still be comforted knowing that "in Him all things hold together."   K   dc 05/13/08 Daily Courage Devotional Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up." James 4:10 nrsv written by Nate Pruitt Every time I think I have a handle on humility God comes along and shows me how much deeper it can go and how stifling my pride is to me. Humbling ourselves before God is such an difficult task when we cling to the selfish desire driven mindset we try to claim as our "natural" state of being. (And we've all heard it, if not said it, too, "Well I'm only human," and we'll just try to ignore the fact that the phrase usually comes as an excuse for the grossly selfish and greedy acts.) This is not the act of humility God cares to hear, and it certainly isn't the kind he seeks to reward. In fact it is the opposite, it is pride excusing itself. To humble ourselves before the Lord is to start to grasp the concept of grace (we aren't just saved by it, we live by it) because our simply saying, "God you are far greater than me," tends to only come as a surprise to us. God is well aware of his sovereignty, although we can forget that we aren't remotely sovereign. After all, we've controlled so many things to make life how it is for us... right? Hmm. To be humble in our minds is to know that God's grace provides the space for us to exist when we cannot control such a thing. To be humble in our hearts is to lower ourselves in reverence (which means to simultaneously lift God up in a life of worship in this instance) and to let our hearts cry out their natural song as creation before the Creator that we long for and cherish the grace that makes each second and each heartbeat available to us, and that we long to use them well. At this point we are most prepared to be a blessing to God, and he will bless us toward that worthy purpose!   dc 05/09/08 Daily Courage Devotional written by Ken Mitten   Colossians 1:16-17 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."   Why should I pray? This is a question that has been popping up again and again for me. Simple question right? Easy answer?   If you do a search online or elsewhere or even just take a quick glance at the bookshelves of a Christian bookstore there appears to be a lot written about being taught how to pray. The truth is some of us are unwilling or afraid to pray (again not because we don't know how) but because we are afraid of what He might ask us to do if we pray earnestly to Him. I can hear some of the puffed-up responses to this already: Afraid to pray? That's ridiculous! Why would anyone ever be afraid to pray. I am not afraid to pray.   Fair enough. For the rest of you...... are you asking Him the following questions when you are struggling:   Where would you have me go? What would you have me do? How will you/can you use me?   Are you able to admit in front of Him that you are struggling?   I will struggle with what direction I should go/how I can impact change in my life for long periods of time and walk away (somehow) amazed that I am spinning my wheels in the mud. This is not amazing. This should be expected. Expected because when I truly examine these wheel-spinning times I have to honestly admit that I am not truly seeking Him. I am not praying about this struggle. Sometimes we have to get stuck over and over again so we can truly feel and understand the difference that seeking the Creator makes in our lives.   He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.   K     dc 05/08/08 Daily Courage Devotional John Faulconbridge responded to yesterday's encouragement in the following way:   Ken, Along with your comments about following through when we tell someone that we are going to pray for them I'm reminded of the references to Christ saying "When you pray" rather than "If you pray."  He (Christ, not Farrar) was being both instructive by offering guidance on the things to pray for and how to approach the throne and directive by telling the disciples (and us) that we needed to pray, that we needed to follow His example, that if He needed to be in close communication with the Father that we must also.  I used to feel like I was copping out if all I could do was pray but the more I learn, the more I realize that prayer is an essential part of God's plan on how things get done and may even be more important than "doing" in some instances. just my $.02.   We really can minimize the power of prayer at times. Minimize the necessity of it. I have often decided as John eloquently points out above that prayer was not enough in certain instances. That more was needed. As John says, I felt that I needed to be "doing" something. This is not to say that we should pray and then sit still waiting for something to happen. We can ask God for answers. We can certainly ask God what He would have us do. We can bring our frustration, our want to help, our helplessness in not knowing how to make an impact directly to the Lord.   The Lord does expect us to pray to Him. When we pray to Him NOT if we pray to Him.....   K   dc 05/07/08 Daily Courage Devotional written by Ken Mitten   As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.   MICAH 7:7   I mentioned yesterday that Steve Farrar identified two types of leaders at his conference this weekend: authentic and synthetic. He used Saul and David as examples of these two types of leaders. Saul looked regal, likely a very tall man, but he unfortunately was ultimately about appearances. David was a teeny-weeny but rose to the challenge of fighting and defeating Goliath while Saul stood by.   Where this division between authentic and synthetic leaders is ringing most true for me is in the arena of prayer. Prayer is food, water, shelter, air. Prayer is necessary. Prayer is not an "option" to be merely considered in the Christian life. Time in the Word and prayer are essential. I am struck by how often I have said to another man, " I will pray for you." or someone has said to me, " We are praying." I need not doubt that if a man tells me he is praying for me that he truly is. That said, we should not take prayer lightly. If I say that I will pray for __________ than I should do just that. Better to not offer prayer if I cannot or will not follow through. Authenticity.   Sometimes this lack of follow through is attributed to lack of time. Time got away from me and I simply forgot to pray for ___________. To combat that, try this. If you are moved to tell a man that you will be praying for him, why not ask him then and there if you can pray together. This can happen face to face or on the phone. I have a friend who shocked me the first time he offered to pray with me right after we had spoken for a while about things that were troubling both of us, things that needed to be lifted in prayer. It brought us closer at that moment and built trust between us. I did not have to wonder whether or not he was indeed lifting me to the Lord because he did it right in front of me/ we did it together. His offer of prayer prodded me to do the same with him and others. Do not ignore the tug of the Spirit to pray for another man. People are not placed on your heart randomly/for no reason. I truly believe that.   We should be looking to the Lord for help every day. This is not a sign of weakness but one of obedience and wisdom. We need Him in all things at all times. Prayer is our lifeline but does not have to happen only when we are feeling desperate. Do you pray every day? Do you talk to Him daily? Are you inviting Him in every day?   K   dc 05/06/08 Daily Courage Devotional written by Ken Mitten 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,        he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness        for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,        for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me        in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me        all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.        PSALM 23 NIV   Christian men's author Steve Farrar was in town this past weekend and spoke at Ellendale Baptist Church. He spent a good amount of time analyzing the 23rd psalm. He began this analysis by referring to it as "dangerous scripture". Dangerous because most know it so well (have it memorized or nearly) that its meaning is often missed. This echoed later in his assessment that there are more synthetic versus authentic leaders in the church today. He was referring to all Christian men, who he was quick to point out are all leaders whether they are in traditional church leadership or not, whether they are willing or able to lead or not.    Farrar shared that mankind is referred to as "sheep" many, many times in the Bible. He offered a numerical count but I do not remember it specifically. It was a significant number. He offered that he had researched sheep and through his "research" determined three things about them. Sheep are: Stupid, Defenseless and Dirty. Warms your heart doesn't it? Sheep do not learn from their mistakes unless they are cared for by an attentive shepherd.   Ever make the same mistake two, three, four times in your life? Ever wonder why? Farrar argues that it is because we are stupid. This is not a self-defeating statement or an excuse for bad behavior/for being stuck. Here I am again. I have made the same mistake again. I am stupid. Instead it truly drives home how lost we remain if we rely on ourselves instead of the Lord.   K   dc 05/05/08 Daily Courage Devotional written by Nate Pruitt Genesis 2:19 "So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name." Creativity is such an amazing gift. Each of us has at least some way we can be creative, and this is intentional by God. Here God allows Adam to name every living thing. God isn't just forcing His views on Adam, He's encouraging Adam to express himself and (when done right) that will glorify God. Creativity has been a consuming thought for me lately, because it seems the generation before me is slowing in creativity, and the generation behind me (for example the teens I am helping lead) have almost lost the ability altogether. These are negative aspects of our tightly packaged, time consumed lifestyles. The truth is that this is a clear and dangerous hindrance to our ability to worship God. He loves to see the gifts He has given us be turned back to His glory. I've found it curious, but for some reason I have never heard Genesis 1:26-27 taught as a passage on how man was also made to be creative. "Then God said, "Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life; the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the livestock, wild animals, and small animals." So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them." From this passage any minister I've heard use it immediately leaves the chapter to go find characteristics of the image of God that he/she can relate to man. There's nothing wrong with that, but it does seem to miss a certain obvious thing- God, at this point in the Bible, has only one characteristic- Creator. Not only that, but the direction Adam is given is not absolute, but open, so that Adam can name the animals as he is inspired, there was probably even freedom given him as to how he tended the garden. This was no prison, it was paradise. I'm sure most of us would view paradise as a place where we have some freedom, and freedom means we can be creative, and being creative means that regardless of what we bring to God (and everyone who reads this will have distinctly different gifts, thoughts and passions) it can be a fitting offering if we have a heart of service and worship before God. My encouragement, then, is that we all seek out the time where we can be creative, be intentional about finding rest, maybe come home and allow your mind to relax, rather than just filling it with the creativity killing fumes of packaged entertainment on the tube. If we allow our gifts to grow, and let them grow with a purpose of praising God, then our joy will increase and maybe, just maybe, someone will look at us and think- "That's the image of love I've been looking for," because we will be aspiring to live in the image of the Creator.   More... dc 05/01/08 dc 04/30/08 dc 04/29/08 dc 04/25/08 << Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >> Results 45 - 55 of 130