Y'all get tired?

 

I get tired.  Tired of fighting for a living.  Of scrapping by and longing for peace and rest.  Tired of fighting a system that was supposed to be designed to help children that are broken.  Tired of seeing men who need to be more for themselves and their families, but are unwilling to do something about it.  

There are so many things in this world that need to change.  However, there are only a few men who are willing to stand up and make those changes.  I want to increase that number.  I want to hold men accountable to what they are needing to do.  I want this world to be better, the men to be better and by extension, our children to be better.  

I know that we are tired.  Life runs us down and fills us with aches and pains at a young age.  But we have to press on.  We cannot leave it to others to do because it will not get done.  Delegating this type of thing will make the situation worse.  It is how we got here in the first place.  "Someone else will do it" is not the answer.  We have to step up and not only run the race, but finish the race.  2 Timothy 4:7 Paul not only ran the race, he states, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  He finished the race.  Now it does not say that he finished it at a dead sprint, or even at the same pace he started.  But he didn't give up.  

Father, I thank you for all that You have done for the people reading this.  I thank you for the specific blessings that you have bestowed on us.  I ask a blessing to come upon all those who are tired and needing peace and rest.  I ask that we can become world changers and by our faith in You we can make the devil tremble.  In Jesus' Name, amen.  

Do hard things

There are some things in life that are necessary, but hard to do. Things that we do not like to talk about, subjects that we avoid or actions that we do not do even when asked.  Christ did hard things.  He did not shy away from them.  We need to take His example and model ourselves after Him.  

Talking to someone about the gospel is a hard thing.
Raising your children to follow Christ is a hard thing.
Showing up for church every Sunday is a hard thing.
Mentoring children who look up to you with your words and actions is a hard thing.
Taking a stand to defend something that you believe in is a hard thing.
Caring for the widows and orphans is a hard thing.
Honoring God with all that we do and say is a hard thing.  

Doing hard things make us better people, better men of God.  The journey that we are on is going to be full of hard things.  Hard roads, potholes, road blocks and other obstacles.  Some of those obstacles could be other people.  Coworkers, family, friends, or strangers that you are trying to help may not want your help.  We cannot give up.  

Christ has set the example for us, so we try and set the example for other people,  an example for our children and their friends.  And who knows, through our efforts, maybe this nation will return to God.  

Go and do.

Matthew 28:16-20

After we come and see, we must go and do.  

When Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He met with his disciples in Galilee.  What He said there we too often take for a suggestion, but it is a commission, an active commandment.  

Merriam-Webster defines commission as: "an authorization or command to act in a prescribed manner or to perform prescribed acts."  Have you ever wondered why the book right after the Gospels is called "Acts"?  

Matthew 28:19 Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations...".  Go and Do.  As followers of Christ we also have this commission of bringing the Word of God to people who have not heard it.  Not everyone is supposed to be a world traveling missionary, or a T.V. evangelical.  But there is always something that we can do.  We can live it.  

In Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  We can help by blessing and helping and teaching the people around us by the way that we act.  We can help those in need, visit the sick and the hurting, and teach our kids the gospel.  

Actions speak louder than words, and let's face it, action scenes are better than monologues.   Go and Do.  Go and help build something someone needs, mow a yard, pray in public at the restaurant before you eat, ask people to church with you, give out books that have helped you.  If God has called you, go and be a missionary, mentor a child, foster, adopt one if God has laid it on your heart.    

Our actions are loud.  Go and Do.  

Come and see

One of the very cool things that I love about the journey to become a man of God is that you start where you are now.  You do not have to clean yourself up, or get rid of all your possessions to follow Christ.  You start where you are.  One step in front of the other.  That is how you climb a mountain.  That is how you run the race and fight the good fight.  No where in the bible does Jesus say, "Clean up your act first, then...".  

Instead He says "Come and see".  (John 1:39)  In this passage of scripture, John the Baptist is talking with two of his followers when Jesus walks by.  John says, "Behold the Lamb of God!" and those two leave John and follow Jesus from a distance.  When Jesus turns and asks, "What do you seek?"  They answer and Jesus' reply is "Come and see." (John 1:35-39)

He did not say to go fix themselves up and find him later.  Or to leave him alone.  John knew that there was something different about Jesus and told his followers.  They were curious about a man that they did not know much about and what followed turned them into world changers and planet shakers.  

If you know Christ and have a relationship with Him, you should be living a life that others can see as different.  And when asked why you are different, you should be willing and able to say "come and see".  Help that person on their own journey to start where they are and get know God.  

If you do not know Christ, please come and see what He is all about.  Ask me, ask a church member or a pastor.  Ask someone who you can trust to give you the correct answers.  

Even as believers, we can set our focus on something other than Christ for a time.  Setting our eyes on careers, family, friends, hobbies or habits.  But when we realize that we have focused on something else for a time, we should repent and return to Him.  

We should come and see.     

Can't Quit

We cannot quit on this journey.  It will be hard and some days we feel like giving up.  The battles we fought yesterday will not be the same ones that we face today, but quitting is not an option.  Even when the hits keep on coming. 

But no princess wants a knight in shinning armor.  They have not been tested in battle.  Our Armor of God should be dinged up, chipped and bent .  Dented by the flaming arrows that the enemy shoots our way.  We can be pressed on all sides, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) That is why He has given it to us, and we should not ever throw in the towel. 

We cannot quit because we have eyes on us.  Not the eyes of this world, they don't matter.  We have our wives and children, nieces and nephews.  Younger siblings looking up to us to see how we act.  Children that we mentor even if we don't see them.  The kids down the street, or the ones at church.  We may be the only reflection of Christ, the only christian influence in their lives.  We should be able to say, "Imitate me, as I imitate Christ", (1 Corinthians 11:1) if only with our actions. 

One of the best quotes that I have heard is from St. Francis, "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words".  We have all found out that our actions speak louder than our words.  This confirms it. 

I want to leave a legacy for my children.  Not material things, though that would be fine too, but a legacy of them knowing how to worship God.  Of how to pray and how to listen for prayers being answered.  I want to be able to pass down my Armor of God 'know how', so they do not have to try and figure it out on their own.  But to be able to do that, I cannot quit.  I want to show them by my actions that when the devil throws punches, my God blocks them for me. 

We can't quit.  There is too much to lose.     

Can you see Him

Can you see Him hanging on the cross?  Bleeding while people mock and scorn Him.  Their hate and lies flying past their lips to strike Him.  Hanging there, dying and doing nothing worldly to deserve it.   Can you see the compassion and love in His eyes as He says, "It is finished."? John 19:30

But what is "finished"?  Death is finished.  Jesus knew that he would rise from the tomb after 3 days.  Hell is finished.  For those who have accepted Jesus into their hearts and have a relationship with Him, will not see hell.  The veil is finished.  The veil that separated us from God was torn.  

Can you see Him buried in the tomb?  Wrapped in burial cloth, they placed His body in a borrowed tomb.  Lying there for three days as the people who killed Him or had Him killed celebrated His death.  The ones who loved and followed Him weeping at the loss of Him.  The anger and frustration felt by them that Jesus did not rise up and stop the crucifixion.

Can you see Him?  As Jesus talks with Mary at the side of the tomb where the stone was rolled away, the look of shock, amazement and joy on her face.  As He walked beside two of his disciples who had no idea of who He was on the road to Emmaus.

Can you see Him?  As He sits on the throne at the right hand of our Father.  Can you see the look of love and compassion in His eyes as He looks at you?  The look that says, "This, all of this was for you."  

Can you see Him?  In your everyday life He is at the grocery store, in the parking lot with you.  He is in the car beside you an watching over you as you sleep.  "All of this was for you".  

Can you see Him?