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dc 04/24/08 |
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Daily Courage Devotional
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See to it brothers, that none of
you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living
God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called
Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's
deceitfulness.
HEBREWS 3:12-13 NIV
In his book FINISHING STRONG,
Steve Farrar identifies ways for men to do just that in this
life...finish strong. One way is through a real relationship or
relationships with other men:
"Stay close....to a friend you
can't con. Stay close to a friend who loves you enough to tell you
when you're screwing up. Stay close to a friend who will never
violate a confidence. That's the kind of friend we all
need......One of the primary ways that the enemy keeps a guy from
finishing strong is isolation. Instead of being close to anyone,
you become distant. Instead of being gut-level honest, you begin to
shade the truth. And instead of following Christ you begin to act
like you are following Christ. That's what happens when a guy gets
isolated and tries to go one-on-one with Satan."
Can anyone relate? I was going to
say, Can I get a witness? Send your responses/reactions to this to
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K
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dc 04/23/08 |
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dc 04/21/08 |
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Daily Courage Devotional
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written by Nate Pruitt
"Where there is no vision the people perish" Proverbs
29:18a (KJV)
The Hebrew word for vision in the verse is chazown,
(starts like Chanukah/Hanukah with that horrible phlegm-y sound,
ends like "zone"). The word means vision, but more than vision it
means a God-inspired vision, or word of God. Vision is an
interesting thing, either you have focus and clarity and you can
see well, or you don't and you are out of focus. I don't know
about you, but my vision is poor enough, in a physical sense, that
when I don't have glasses or contacts in use the simple task of
walking becomes difficult. I am much more prone to tripping in
those times, or being off balance in general- not to mention the
occasional misjudged wall or doorframe I may "physically re-direct"
myself off (that was code for run into). Having
good vision can also be unbalancing. I remember when I got my first
pair of glasses that were the actual prescription I needed- the
clarity of the world was almost unnerving.
So here's where this becomes applicable to our lives: do we have a
clear vision in life (a God-vision) or are we stumbling around
blindly ricocheting off of each obstacle and occurence with little
to no clarity? Is there a clear vision for you at your job? God
isn't wasteful of resources, so He clearly has a purpose for you
where you are, and sometimes His clear vision is for you to be
somewhere else, but often His vision is for you to see with His
focus what is in front of you. God has a plan, do you? Are they the
same? Are you willing to have your vision corrected, even
if it's ever so slightly?
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dc 04/18/08 |
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Daily Courage Devotional
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written by Ken Mitten
Very short and sweet for your
Friday......
This is my command: love one
another the way I loved you.
JOHN 15:12 THE
MESSAGE
We have been talking about
covenants. For those of you who are married, or have been married
and are now divorced and/or re-married. (Just trying to cover all
the bases here). Isn't this scripture exactly what we pledged (or
should have pledged) to our wives on the day we were
married/when we took our vows? This is God's command.
K
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dc 04/17/08 |
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Daily Courage Devotional
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Written by Ken Mitten
"Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand
on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you.
Even my father Saul knows this." The two of them made a covenant
before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at
Horesh.
1 Samuel 23:17-18 NIV
Can you make a covenant with another man? Jonathan and David did
just that here. Elsewhere in 1 Samuel Jonathan essentially pledges
his life to His friend though Saul is intent on killing
David. Jonathan tells David that he would essentially
throw himself in front of enemy fire to save his friend because of
all that he knows God has in store for him.
The friendship between David and Jonathan detailed in 1
Samuel is one to be emulated. You may have men in your life
that you like having around, that encourage when you need it. Do
you have a friend that you would literally, die for or believe
would die for you?
I suppose the obvious argument to this concept is that there are
few scenarios, short of military combat where this applies in
today's culture. All right. That said, what about friends that you
would figuratively die for or would
figuratively die for you?
What do I mean by figuratively die?
Who would you be willing to make sacrifices for? Sacrifices that
may not immediately serve or satisfy or benefit you but might very
well bring a brother closer to God. Sacrifices that put
another man and ultimately God first.
K
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dc 04/16/08 |
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Daily Courage Devotional
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Written by Ken Mitten
Yesterday I began talking about
covenants we enter into with God. Oaths that we take.
This weekend I had the honor, as I
have for the last six years, to take part in St. Jude's annual Day
of Remembrance event. The parents and siblings of patients who have
died over the last two years are invited back to St. Jude. There is
a reception on Friday, where photos and other personal memorabilia
are displayed. Saturday morning is a parent panel discussion,
moderated by, this year, myself and another colleague. The parents
on the panel have at least three years distance from the death
of their child and questions are solicited from the other
parents, There is a 30-minute break designed to help parents
connect with one another and then the second part of the panel
discussion which ends with viewing a video of St. Jude staff
talking openly about how they have been changed by working with the
precious children and families of St. Jude. We then eat lunch
together and then convene in an auditorium for a memorial service
for the children who have died. The day ends with a symbolic
balloon release (one for each child) outside.
During the memorial service I
usually stand at the back of the auditorium and lean against the
wall. It provides me a measure of privacy, particularly during what
I refer to as the "roll call", which is a slide show of the
children. Their photos have been arranged in alphabetical order and
a slide with each child's photo and printed name stays on screen
for about six seconds or so, until another one pops up. At
one point I became aware of a couple and their two children sitting
on the back row. The man was tending to his son and his wife
was taking care of their daughter. Their kids were too young to
stay focused on the screen and were both doing things that
distracted throughout (as children will do). At one point,
a photo of a child I was not familiar with, appeared on
the screen, just as it did, the man on the back
row raised his arm with an open hand.
He was giving the glory to
God. I do not know this family's story/or religious beliefs
or commitment but I am certain that this man was praising the
Lord.
Talk about a challenge to a
covenant. I love and trust you my Lord with all my
heart!
Your seven year-old daughter dies
of cancer. Think of the doubt and anger and questions that bubble
to the top of your life when this happens.
Up shot his hand. Like he was in
church. Like he was worshipping and praising his Heavenly
Father.
I believe that he
was.
-K
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dc 04/15/08 |
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Daily Courage Devotional
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written by Ken Mitten
The people responded, "In view of
all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing.
On this sealed document are the names of our leaders and levites
and priests."
NEHEMIAH 9:38 NLT
The document was ratified and
sealed with the following names......Then the rest of the
people--the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Temple
servants, and all who had separated themselves from the pagan
people of the land in order to obey the Law of God, together with
their wives, sons, daughters, and all who were old enough to
understand---- joined their leaders and bound themselves with an
oath.They swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the
Law of God as issued by his servant Moses. They solemnly
promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and
decrees of the Lord our Lord.
NEHEMIAH 10:1; 28-29
NLT
Previous to the document being
ratified, Nehemiah has led the reconstruction of the city wall
of Jerusalem from the rubble it had become, Ezra has preached
in the oral tradition of the time, reminding the Israelites of
their history of disobeying God despite how He has provided. They
are moved greatly by this and then in a group of thousands bow down
as Levite priests pray in unison, " May your glorious name be
praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!" (NEH 9:5
NLT). The Israelites who have both returned to and been
brought back to Jerusalem, pledge an oath to obey the Lord. This
solemn promise includes making significant sacrifices including:
paying a Temple Tax, providing wood for burnt offerings, not
farming every seventh year, observing the Sabbath and offering the
very best of whatever crop they harvested as offerings to the
priests.
Tremendous sacrifices for these
people in their time. What sacrifices are you making for the
Lord? As we discussed this in our Sunday group the discussion led
to the making of oaths or covenants with God
today.
Have we entered into a covenant
with Him? Was it immediate? Did it happen over the course of our
walk or better said, did we make a covenant early and grow into
those promises later/eventually? Are we still growing into
those promises?
Tithing is most certainly coming
to mind.
In upcoming encouragements we will
look at the covenants we make or don't make with
God today.
K
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