A Call for Men

07/13/2022

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” Exodus 19:5.

God calls us to live holy lives. “Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well with you.” Deuteronomy 6:18. Yet in our attempts to obey this command, we often commit to change our behavior, only to fail a few days later. The problem is that we’re starting at the wrong place. No matter how hard we try, we can’t walk holy in our own strength. But when we are one with God, with His character, and with His way of thinking, then we will become strong spiritually. So, we must “[l]earn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve Him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek Him, you will find Him.” 1 Chronicles 28:9.
Ungodly actions flow from ungodly thoughts and attitudes, like: unforgiveness, selfishness, greed, jealousy, resentment, and anger, These can be changed only as our mind is renewed by the Holy Spirit. As we spend time each day in the Word, the Spirit transforms our mind and begins to strengthen our inner being. But when we neglect God’s Word, we leave ourselves open to the influence of the world and our “flesh,” both of which oppose godliness. Then, if we try to change our behavior without adjusting our thinking, we’ll find ourselves doing precisely what we want to avoid. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Romans 7:15. In contrast, Holiness encompasses our entire being, which is why Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30. It is a lifelong process that requires learning God’s thoughts and adopting them as our own. Then, as the Spirit helps us develop Christ like thinking our actions will become increasingly holy. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. ... .” John 16:13. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for guiding us into Truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

07/07/2022

Haste in the name of urgency may be deceptive, may indicate a lack of balance between awareness of the need and confidence in God’s adequacy. Jesus never wasted time, but he never allowed himself to be pressed into panic either. He bore man’s burden, shared man’s suffering as no other, but he trusted implicitly in the father‘s timing. Our day demands greater emulation of our Lord in this respect. Give us men, who, realistically awake to the explosive issues and to their obligation, nevertheless demonstrate unbending faith in the unalterable integrity of God. “He that believe it shall not make haste.” Isaiah 28:16.blessings

07/06/2022

“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:43-45.

How many of us can really say we speak life into others? “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21. Who we really are on the inside will at some point be revealed on the outside by our words. According to Scripture, all of us make mistakes in what we say—it would take a “perfect” person to always bridle the tongue and thereby control the body as well. “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.” James 3:2-3. Yet bits do not work with us. In fact, no one but Jesus is completely successful in this way. But to the degree that we walk closely with Him, the more our speech will be evidence that we follow Him. In today’s Word, Jesus expresses it by means of a metaphor about good trees and bad trees. He makes a distinction between the people who believe in Him and those who don’t. He classifies us-those who believe in Him-as good trees, through whom the indwelling Holy Spirit is working to produce His good fruit. But those who do not or have not accepted Him cannot generate any good fruit on their own. That’s because even mankind’s most virtuous deeds originate from the flesh and therefore are unclean to God. “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6. But, just because we are “good trees” doesn’t mean that good words will automatically come forth from our mouth. We need the Holy Spirit to help us use His guidance to have us speak only that which edifies, is gracious, is wholesome, and is true. “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Ephesians 4:29. May we all make it our ambition to abide in Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to steer our tongues and bring honor to Christ. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

07/05/2022

As we have finished our Fourth of July celebrations. And some of us have thought about how hard it is to have had to fight for liberty and freedom. So many are still in bo***ge and our human nature continues to be a fight. Seems the world takes one step forward and two steps back. We continue to educate ourselves in so many ways but it doesn’t resolve the problem. What is the answer? The answer is the “gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ which is the power of God until salvation every one that believers, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16. Don’t sell Christianity short. There is not a problem besetting the world today, nor has there ever been, that does not have its solution in Jesus Christ and His gospel. Christendom has failed, the church has failed, Christians have failed, but Jesus Christ will not fail, and as the world and the church take him seriously and look to him for the answer, the dreams to which the whole created universe languishes will be forthcoming. Jesus Christ is the Lord of the universe. Jesus Christ is the Lord of history. Let Jesus Christ be your lord and let His solution for man begin with you, now!!

07/04/2022

The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:37. David knew that he was not alone, that God was with him in his life. We must be assured of the same. So today we must also celebrate our dependence—our reliance on God. We know that this is the only way to truly live. It changes our lives and the lives around us for the better. We need not think that we are alone in this world, but we should instead perceive that we have companionshiptrue and honest. God walks with us every step of the way. He catch’s all our tears, shares each laugh, steadies us when we stumble, and offers advice when we are confused. In the end, we can count on His advice and that He will always be there. Today, lets remember
our dependence on God as we celebrate our independence as a nation. God is our Joy, our Grace, our Cause, and our Honor. The Lord is our provider, our enabler, our reminder, and our paramour. Everything we go through, He goes through, and there is nothing He does not share with us. Today, lets relearn to live by the grace of God and through the grace of God, thereby, becoming a bright and shining beacon of God's mercy to the world! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

06/28/2022

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16.

Be guarded my friends. The devil presents us with false promises and never delivers, but God keeps His Word. “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15. We have all occasionally fallen for a lie, whether it was something as trivial as false advertising or as serious as a scam that corrupted our computer. Whatever the trickery was, it can be traced back to the Father of Lies—Satan. “... When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44. And his deceptions are those that lead us into darkness and away from light. This is why it’s vital to be guarded and to be aware of the devil’s pattern of deceit, which goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. Satan’s first move was to entice Eve to doubt God’s Word, and his strategy was to ask, by means of the snake. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?’” Genesis 3:1. People have been falling for this deception—doubting God’s Word—ever since. Sometimes, when we hear one of God’s clear commands, we rationalize that it’s not really what He meant or it doesn’t apply in our case. My friends, be aware of this strategy and don’t let it deceive you. Next, the devil directly contradicted God’s Word and impugned His character by denying that Eve would suffer any consequences for sin. Instead, the enemy promised her some amazing benefits if she’d eat the fruit. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5. He is still deceiving us in this way today. When temptation comes, don’t believe Satan’s lies. Sin always has repercussions. Seek God first, ask Him to give you wisdom and discernment. Then, ask yourself if the temporary gratification of a wrong choice is worth the consequences that are sure to follow. Don’t let yourself be deceived. “Stand firm, and you will win life.” Luke 21:19. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

06/24/2022

In the western civilization today we enjoy the fruit of the Judeo Christian tradition, a faith which made men strong and courageous and free. The root is faith in God and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But we in the West have forsaken God. Not theoretically, we still say we believe in him, and we pay him lip service. But we leave him out of our plans. We live as though God was meant only for Sunday mornings and even that at times we leave. We have become preoccupied with the idols of success or fame or wealth or popularity or drugs or prestige. We cannot have the fruit without the roots. We forsake the benefits ultimately if we reject the One who is the source of those benefits. Either man will worship God, or he will embrace false beliefs. And they lead in only one direction, destruction!!! Where is your heart and where is your truth?

06/23/2022

You eat three square meals a day, try to get proper rest and exercise for the sake of your body, but you leave your soul under nourished and weak? Bodily health is important, but soul health is infinitely more so. “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his own soul?” Psalm 42 is the cry of the soul for the only One who can satisfy it. God!! Modern man is so easily absorbed in the physical, so prone to be indifferent to the spiritual. He is apt to major in the temporal and ignore the eternal. Get Wise man! You were made for fellowship with God. Life begins with Christ. “Blessed is the man that hungers and thirst after righteousness. He shall be fully satisfied.” Matthew 5:6 Blessings 

06/22/2022

Man was made in the “image of God.” Obviously the more godlike man is, the more man like he will be, and conversely, the less like God he is, the less of a man he is. One of the most ridiculous and diabolical lies ever portrayed on humanity is the insinuation that God likeness mean’s shallow, bluenose piety. Jesus was perfectly godlike, and he was a man of men, a man in the fullest sense of the word, a perfect man. In fact, he was the only normal man who ever lived. Exactly the way God created man. Men out of fellowship with God is subnormal. Jesus Christ was normal. In the strictest sense of the word, the grace of God works in man to make him more like Jesus. The more like Jesus a man is, the more manly he will be, and the less like Jesus, the less of a man he is. It takes God to make a man. Blessings 

06/16/2022

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go.’” Exodus 7:14.

It almost doesn’t need to be said, but a reminder is always helpful: “Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.”
Sometimes it really is a sacrifice to offer praise and thanks. We may not feel like it. We’re struggling. We're weary. Or maybe, we feel like God let us down. We think God seems like He is distant, like He’s far away, or doesn't really care about what's troubling us. Painful life blows might have recently sent us spiraling. But here’s what can make a lasting difference. We have a choice, every day, to give Him thanks. And with a heart of thanksgiving, we realize that no matter what we face, God doesn’t just work to change our situations and help us through our problems. He does more. He changes our hearts. His power, through hearts of gratitude and focused minds on Him, releases the grip our struggles have over us. We're strengthened by His peace, refueled by His joy. “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful." Colossians 3:15. If it were possible to dissect the heart so that we could see what is hidden therein, we would be shocked to see unimaginable things. The heart is the most vital part of our body. It has been said, “When we go to heaven, we will go heart-first and not head-first”. This saying underscores the importance of the heart in our relationship with God. And, todays passage illustrates that God knows all hearts. Before the Lord sent Moses to request that Pharaoh let Israel go, He knew the state of Pharaoh’s heart; that it was hardened. Many peoples hearts are hardened today. Lord, help them to soften their hearts. Lord, manyseem to engage more in an outward show of religion, but their hearts are far away from God. A heart set on a multiplicity of pursuit and goals, drawn apart by diverse issues of earthly cares cannot find the peace to offer a consecrated and committed service to God. God desires that our hearts be filled with sacred affection and love. Our emotions, purposes, thoughts, and minds should unite in surrendered devotion to Him. He will reward those who sincerely seek Him with all their hearts. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13. Today, seek Him with all your heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

05/26/2022

05/25/2022

A call for men, will be hosting a six week class on “Man and his Marriage”. The class will start the week of June 5. The cost of the class will be $10 which includes all supplies, books and handouts. If you wish to attend please text 205–2 99–0866.