The Better Wine

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 02:57:00 +0000

DOD 40! SOMETHING AMAZING

Aug 9, 2017

Well done! We have just completed something amazing. We have walked out 40+ days together. Our hope and prayer has been that by participating in this 4- day challenge that you would not just “get a handle” on a sexual integrity issue, but that you would find new meaning and depth of Life in the LIFE of Christ. We have walked this out together. Let me just say that what we have done is special, but bigger than that, YOU are something amazing. In the eyes of the Father, you are unique and valuable and you play an indispensable role in the restoration of all things. And this (the restoration of all things) is what god is about, it’s his purpose. It starts with the Heart. Your heart. The more you get that in perspective, the more you allow Him to restore you into a fully integrated man seeking Life in the Life of God, the more He can unveil your special purpose in this world to bring about His bigger purposes.

Take a listen to this video…it’s less than 20 min. It gives hope and perspective.

https://youtu.be/lFCrhEIb0ng

I have two objectives for this DOD.

1^st) I want you to know this has been an amazing ride for those of us writing the posts. Your engagement and participation has been a huge encouragement and played a part in our continuing restoration. You have done a killer job sticking with it. Celebrate! Congratulations! And Thank you!

But…it is ending today. Take a minute to let that sink in and realize that its ok to be a bit apprehensive about tomorrow. What will you choose when there is no DOD to read in the morning? Take a few moments to “say goodbye”; prepare yourself if you will. God has been repeatedly showing me the phrase “new”; as in “all things new”, “behold I am doing a new thing”. New things can only spring up out of the space that an old thing has left vacant. This 40 days is now over. A new thing must take its place. What will your new thing be?

(This is not to say we will never do this again, or that we won’t all be there on Thursday to love and support one another. It does mean that we can’t trust in the past. Move into the next thing God is calling you to with courage and strength garnered from the last thing he called you to!)

2^nd) let me encourage you not to stop! Definitely find a new thing. The only thing worth “building your life around” is the transformational Love and Life of our Great God and its Manifested in Jesus! So do that, arrange your life in a way that puts you as constantly as possible in the “flow” of transformation. I want to share with you two things (aside from The Mat) that I go to nearly daily to keep me near to Christ and His transforming power in my life. I have attached the links to two resources: Ransomed Heart and Seedbed. I know some of you guys already know one or both of these. They have helped me tremendously over the past few years to keep moving forward into all that God has for me. Scripture says we move “from Glory to Glory”. We have used the title “the better wine” to emphasize how God can always take what we thought was “decent” life and turn it into something better. These two resources have helped keep me moving in that direction.

http://www.ransomedheart.com/daily-reading/wisdom-and-revelation

http://www.seedbed.com/daily-text/

Remember, you are moving that direction too, you’re running a race…not just to “heaven”, but toward something amazing! YOU fully alive Heart, Body, Mind and Soul; fully Alive with Christ. Use this last 40 days as a jumping point toward the restoration of YOU. All of you. Jesus came to seek and to save ALL that was lost. So those places that don’t seem “restored”, those are good places to start talking to Him about…

I’m looking forward to the Fall at The Mat. I’m looking forward to seeing all the Glory God wants to unveil in each of you as we continue to Journey together.

DOD 39 Pray and Get Moving

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 03:41:00 +0000

Tuesday, August 7, 2017

Throughout scripture we hear story after story of incredible partnership between man and God. And in a lot of those stories there are dramatic, supernatural and life changing events that serve as the catalysts that draw men into the adventure. For instance:

Moses and the burning bush, the Israelites being led through wilderness by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night, David being anointed by a prophet as king of Israel, Jacob physically wrestling with God, Peter getting to walk on water, Paul getting struck blind so he would stop killing Christian Jews and come face to face with Jesus, Isaiah hearing the voice of God calling him, Abraham and Sarah hearing God speak directly to them about His covenant with them...and the list just keeps going.

And then there is Nehemiah.

Exercise for the day: read the first chapter of Nehemiah (and then keep going because it is an amazing story we don’t hear much about!!).

Nehemiah’s story is different. He gets news from his brother and friends that the Jews have been diminished to a remnant. The walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and the gates have all been burned. Yet again, the Jews have been brought to the brink of almost complete destruction. Nehemiah immediately mourned and fasted.

What happened next: no angelic visit, no audible voice, no promise or covenant of “Thus sayeth the Lord”.

Nehemiah was so moved that he cried out to God and prayed for forgiveness for himself, his family and for all the Jews. And when he was done, he went before his king that he was the cup bearer for. And what he did was very bold. He requested to leave his position and help his nation. A request that at that time in history would easily warrant death.

Nehemiah was moved, prayed and did something about it. And as you keep reading through the book you see the complete reunification of a whole nation and that nation turning back to God. This all happened through one man being moved, praying to God and doing something about it. And God blessed each step and prayer that Nehemiah took, which seems to be, by his own volition.

I have found myself throughout my life looking at the great stories of men in the Bible (other than Nehemiah’s), and think - I would surely make a move for God if only he would visit me in a cloud of smoke, with a host of angels singing in the background all while walking on water. But could we have the courage, trust and relationship with Father to be so moved with conviction, step out into the unknown, and just do what moves us? Could we do it without calculating risks and benefits?

How about a less dramatic scenario. "God I don't know what to do. I need your direction. Just tell me what to do and I will do it!" And His response: "Son, I love you. I believe in you and I even trust you! How about you decide and I will do it with you?!!!"

Oh, and Nehemiah didn’t demand anything for himself. He did not say, “Look at this great thing that I am doing for my people, for which I should surely have a great reward both here and in the afterlife.” He did what he knew was right, no matter what it took.

For me this story is daring. It is a challenge. It is a challenge for us all. Are you in?!!

Challenge for the day: Be moved, pray and do it!

“Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Howard Thurman

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 00:20:00 +0000

DOD 38

Monday, August 7, 2017

Matthew 13:44-46 - Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!"

What a way to start off the week men!

Can you believe how amazing it is to have a clean slate, to know that you are loved no matter what you've done, no matter how badly you've screwed up? Can you believe that in our sin, in our selfishness, in our utter depravity and addiction, the Father sent HIS Son, Jesus Christ, to pay our penalty on the cross so that we could have relationship with Him and be made whole? The depth of this good news is more than my mind can comprehend, but I tell you what... I'm unbelievably grateful for it today.

We celebrated my twins birthdays with some friends at my in-laws house this past weekend. 7 years ago the same weekend, the nasty truth of my affair came out and I was kicked out of my home. Were it not for the Grace of God and the power of forgiveness, the celebration this past weekend would never have happened, because our precious twins would never have been born. The life I get to live is a life that I don't deserve, with people I don't deserve to be sharing it with, built on a grace and freedom that I could never have imagined or understood on my own. There is nothing worth more to me than my relationship with Jesus.

This is the power of surrender and humility - recognizing that there is something that is more valuable than everything else... this relationship with OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

The story from Matthew above mirrors the gratitude in my heart perfectly. This treasure we've discovered in Jesus Christ is worth selling everything we have, giving up our rights to absolutely anything in this world, enduring absolutely any kind of persecution, hardship, or difficulty for the glory of God. There's no sacrifice to great to hang onto this one thing. And it's worth pursuing and running after no matter what for the rest of our lives.

Men, we run after Jesus, because He first ran after us. No one will ever love us like this. And in this perfect love, He's made a way for us to live as the men we were created to be. Unshackled, free, alive. This is a treasure beyond all comprehension, and I pray that we each understand the value of that treasure in a new way this morning, and also understand the value inside of each of us as a result.

Questions for discussion:

1. Like the parable of the rich young ruler, what treasures of this world are you having trouble letting go and laying down, to run more unencumbered after the One who gave His life for you?

2. What are some of the images that come to mind when you think about things of incredible value to you? What makes them so valuable to you?

3. Do you struggle to believe that you are treasured and valuable?

4. What could possibly be unlocked in your freedom and healing if you understood your value as a Son of the most high God, and also understood the infinite value found in Jesus?

Father, give us a singular pursuit, tunnel vision focus on Jesus this week, and help us to live as men who know the unbelievable value of what's been done for us and given to us in Jesus Christ!

DOD 37

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 05 Aug 2017 10:46:00 +0000

If you could have a private audience with God today and He told you that He would answer one prayer for you today…..what would your prayer be? I don’t mean something goofy like I want a million dollars. I mean based on your life today…what are you desperate for that would improve your life dramatically if He answered your prayer? Ponder that and write it down before you read on.

So many stories in the bible about people coming to Jesus (the living Word) with a desperate need…sailors on a boat scared of a terrible storm, blind people, sick people, demonically oppressed people, hungry people, lonely people, father of a dead child, friends who had a sick friend who then died. What did Jesus (the Word) do? He made storms be still, gave sight, healing, freedom from demons, fed them, raised people from the dead and the bible (the Word…aka Jesus) states in John 21 that if all Jesus did was recorded there wouldn’t be enough space in the world for all the books that would be written!

Has this been your experience with Jesus?

We live in a culture unfortunately that glorifies reasoning and science above all things and leaves little room for faith in the miraculous. I am here to tell you that you didn’t have to be alive in Jesus’ day to experience a miracle. He is just as present now….right now with you and He has power to answer your prayers. But there’s a role we play. We have to have faith to access the power. Like walking in a dark room. There is electricity flowing, ready, available to bring light….but to access it you must flip the switch. The “switch” for us is faith.

How do you get faith so that you can access the miracle working power of heaven? You need to encounter Jesus who is the Word. When you read the bible…think of it this way….this aren’t just some ancient teachings…they aren’t just God’s thoughts…..the are God Himself...they are Jesus….

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word wat with God , and the Word was God. John 1

Today…interact with the Word (meditate on the verses below….really think on them and how they apply to what you need) and this will help grow your faith and then ask big things of Jesus because He has no shortage of power or authority and He loves you!

God’s Word to Stand On:

· So faith comes from hearing, and hearing the Word of Christ. Romans 10:17

· You do not have, because you do not ask God. James 4:2:2b

· Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

· You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. John 14:13

· Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Ephesians 3:20-21

· Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:19-20

Asking / Believing For: (write down again 1 or 2 things you are asking Him for and this time….based on the verses above….believe and get your hopes up for them because God said He will answer them) Tip…don’t stop believing if you don’t see it in a day or a week. Believe you have received some answers take time and the answers are a process. In bible not all answers are immediate for a variety of reasons. Your job is simply trust, be in faith daily for your answers to come.

Listening time. Be quiet for 5 minutes and ask God to speak to you about what you are asking of Him. Write down any thoughts from God / Obedience Steps that He shows you to take and then commit to taking them:

Love you men!

DOD 36

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Krupp) — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 22:05:00 +0000

DOD 36, 40 Day Challenge

Thought:

A couple of weeks ago Jamie had DOD encouraging us to pray five times in one day concerning how we run the race (live life). He beat me to the punch on a DOD I had in mind but I am still going to use it again. That is the five times to pray in a day but I want to take it from another angle. Right below this are two things. A partial sentence about the times of prayer I lifted from an article written by Muslim leader while not extreme some of his comments made me uncomfortable especially a military guy reading them off the internet and knowing anything can be tracked. Not important. The other is thing is a link to a more neutral site that gives more details about how Muslims go about the five prayers. Interesting but not necessary for the DOD today.

once in the early morning (after dawn but before sunrise), once in the early afternoon (after the sun had crossed the zenith but before mid-afternoon), once in the later afternoon (but before the setting of the sun), once after the sun had set, and finally in the early hours of the night (after twilight had ended).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/practices/salat.shtml

Story:

Why am I talking about praying five times for the DOD? June of 2015 is when I was exposed and one of my affairs came to light and eventually all would be brought out into the open including other affairs, pornography intake, masturbation and lying. The first few months while I was scared I might lose my family these things had a hold on me. I wanted so bad for them to be gone. Yet I still viewed porn and masturbated although less it was still happening. I had a couple of contacts with the last person I had an affair with and if presented the opportunity under the right circumstances I don’t know what I would have done. I am glad to say that did not happen. This stuff still owned me. As I struggled and searched for how to get free I realized that while I was afraid to lose my family and parts of my life I didn’t hate my sin because it was sin but because of what the sin may cost me. I didn’t hate it like God did. I knew that was an issue. At times I was horrified by my sin but it wasn’t ingrained in me.

So here is a really cool experience I had. It was sometime in October of 2012, Fall break for the schools. My family and I went to my dad’s home in Illinois. The kids had wanted to go camping and my dad lives on a lake. The compromise was to set up a tent in the backyard the night we got there. My wife, Kylene would be gone with a friend for the night and be back late the next day I think. Point is I was with the kids “camping”. So we put a blow up mattress in the tent (like I said “camping”). Three of my four slept in the tent. I set up a cot outside. In was Fall and the night was cool. I had a sleeping bag, couple of blankets over it and a hat on to stay warm. Plus there was a fire going in the pit. It had been a nice day but got cooler that night. The wind was blowing some all night. How do I know? Because I think I woke up about 8 or 9 times that night. More on that in a minute. So as I lay there after the kids were asleep I prayed. I prayed to God to help me hate my sin to be appalled by it. To be disgusted. I feel asleep praying that. About an hour later I woke up. Fire was low so I got up poked at it and grabbed more wood from the ample pile there and built it up. As I would slide back in my sleeping bag watching the fire, I would begin to pray again to hate my sin. This was my routine all night. Each time I awoke I got up stoked the fire and prayed to hate my sin and feel asleep praying for it. This was not planned just kind of happened. That night was so moving to me. I couldn’t recreate it but I know I will watch for opportunities like that again in the future.

So does that mean I hated my sin with a passion the next day? No but I did dislike it more. I continued to pray for that disgust for my behavior. It started to come more and more. I can say now I am appalled and disgusted by what I did and I mourn my actions. I hate that sin. Because God has helped me to become this there are so many temptations that don’t even phase me anymore. It makes it so easy to turn from the crap the world offers me.

While I did not change overnight I can say the first week of November that year was the last time I masturbated. Also during the last week of October I quit viewing any porn except for two consecutive days in February 2016. I have been faithful. All of that I see as so shallow and makes my stomach turn to think of it.

The point:

I don’t say any of this to say look at me. I tell you this because I know this kind of freedom exists but not without God and effort (seeking God). He changed me. He helped me hate my sin. He helped me see the shallow nature of it. Eventually He showed me the good stuff without all that junk but first He helped me hate it the way He hates. I am sad about it like Him.

Ephesians 5:12 tells us it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do. I wish I hadn’t done the things I did. I wish I didn’t know some of the things I learned while in my sin. I am ashamed to say I even know certain things. I want to keep it that way. It motivates me to stay away. Actually it motivates me to move in the other direction.

The challenge:

Pray at least five times today to hate the sin that entangles you most right now. Pray for a heart like God’s that hates the sin but not the sinner (even if that sinner is you). Here is another point about the Muslims five times praying. Those are prescribed times. They can always choose to pray more. I challenge you to pray at least five times today. If you are moved to pray more, then pray more.

Exodus 27:21 “In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the Israelites for the generations to come.” The tent of meeting is where God’s presence was and it is where the priests could go to meet God. Jesus makes it so the Spirit is in our heart. We can meet with God in our heart. Did you catch that? Lamps were burning from evening till morning. All night long. The light is always on for you to meet with God. Always.

Get on GroupMe and share your thoughts or what you are praying for or where God is leading you today. Just reach out and be community with us.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 02:43:00 +0000

DOD 35, Aug 2 2017

First take a few minutes to listen to this song. Its one of my favorites and gets me in touch with who I am and who God is and what that trusting and intimate relationship can look like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw

Now read this from Isaiah. It’s a bit lengthy, but hang in there.

Isaiah 42:14-43:21

Go back and focus on some specific verses. 42:22; 43:1; 43:18-19

That’s really about it…What does this speak to you? Do you believe it is possible that God would do something new? You know, He already has the something new was Christ! But God is so big that he continues to do new things in our lives everyday if we have the eyes to see. What do you think of the section around 42:22? What does it say about how God sees us and what his “goal” is for us?

Comment on group me if you’d like… be on the look out for the “new thing”!

DOD 34 - What is your normal?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 00:23:00 +0000

I have to be honest starting out here. I am on vacation with my family, and there has been a lot of time spent on decompression. More so this year than I can remember in any previous year. I have not wanted to put much thought into any bit of the day to day that usually is jockeying for position for my attention. This vacation has been a vacation from life for me.

Now for the honest part. I have not wanted to put much thought into putting this DOD together. I have even struggled with the thoughts of: “This DOD needs to so earth shattering that all who read are moved to rousing applause and complete transformation”. Ok. That is me being overly exaggerative. I care less about whether you read this DOD and are impressed. I, however, have continually fought the desire to come up with something that is pretty impactful though. There you go. It’s out. That monkey can go find another back to ride on.

The reason I took time to share all of this, is because it exactly related to what I want to share in a current, personal challenge. I share with you one scripture and one thought/challenge that have been rattling around in my brain and spirit for the last several days.

Scripture:

Psalms 19:14: “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you.”

Thought: “What have you accepted as normal?”

As I stood in front of the toilet when I first had the thought, I know the Spirit was challenging me to consider what I have accepted as normal, but is not. What thoughts or words have easily spilled in or out without the challenge of, “Is this my new normal?” I am not talking about impure thoughts. I am digging deeper and wider. Something like, “my wife and I are fighting again today and….” fill in the blank. That should not be our new normal. Or, “I was completely justified in standing up for myself and the words I used.” Is getting the last word in, though justified, accepted as our normal? Or try this one on: “I guess I have made enough of a mess of my life, and I have ruined everyone else’s, I should consider myself lucky and content just to be able to eat the slop with the pigs”. Or: “This DOD has to be perfect!” Ok...last one: “I am truly alone.”

Here is the simple challenge to consider: Are the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart pleasing to Him? Do you, as His work of art, whom He has said with conviction and unwavering belief, that you are FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE, respond with words and thoughts that bring Him joy? Not for the purpose of just bringing Him joy. I mean that he is so filled with joy because you know who you are and you know what your normal should be?

So...What words and thoughts have you accepted as normal? Ask the Spirit to challenge your thinking, to renew your mind and find your normal.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:25:00 +0000

DOD 33 - Monday, July 31, 2017

I lead worship in church this morning, and we sang a song that I shared with some of you a couple weeks ago in Men's Integrity. If you haven't heard it, it's called Do It Again, and you can listen to it by following this link. Please take a few minutes and do so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOBIPb-6PTc

This was a special weekend for me. While getting to be on stage leading at Quest Community Church, the place where the Lord has met us, healed us, pursued us, and invited us into so much healing and freedom over the past 7 years, I was reminded of the anniversary of this weekend back in 2010, when I was fired from my ministry job in Central KY over yet another layer of my deception and manipulation coming out into the open, and the downward spiral to the end of myself and to rock bottom began.

The song above begins with these words... "Walking around these walls, I thought by now they'd fall, but You have never failed me yet. Waiting for change to come, knowing the battles won, but You have never failed me yet."

READ Joshua 5:13-6:27 - The Battle of Jericho

The song is referring to this story... The people of God, under Joshua's leadership, were approaching a fortified stronghold of a city and Joshua was told by the Lord that HE was going to deliver this city into their hands. I'm sure when the people first heard about this, they assumed, because of previous battles, that it would take an incredible amount of personal strength and intestinal fortitude, with significant bloodshed, lost life, and incredible pain and sacrifice. They didn't know if they would even survive, let alone have success, and I'm sure they were scared.

And then the Lord told them how they were going to do it... this is a paraphrase. March around the city blowing horns for seven days and do not speak or shout a single word. Just be obedient to what I'm asking and create a sound that reaches all the way to the heavens, to remind both you and the enemy that there is a God and I am Him. And then on the 7th day, during the 7th rotation around the city, after having made nothing but trumpet sounds, lift up a battle cry of a shout with one voice among all the people of Israel, and watch what happens when you make yourself available, and trust my unconventional ways, and pick faith and obedience instead of fear and control.

A life yielded to God in faith and obedience and gratitude is a powerful thing. A body of those lives all united in the pursuit of community, having a mutual understanding of the power and presence of God - now that is something that is utterly formidable.

Some questions come to mind that I'd love for each of us to spend some time with the Lord on today:

1. How is this unconventional God asking you to yield yourself and your plans to His greater and better purpose? What are some specific things he's asked of you that might not yet make sense or that are simply requiring a lot of faith in this season?

2. What battle stands before you that you are dangerously close to stepping into on your own power and with your own plan, knowing that God might have a better way?

3. What wall exists in your life that the Lord has already showed you He wants to bring down? And are you in agreement with Him that they need to come down?

4. What does faith in action look like for you this week? How can you grab your trumpet, and take your laps around the city in your own life, knowing that the day will come when He asks you to give a shout and watch the walls come down?

It was just a month after that date 7 years ago this weekend, when I would finally come to the end of myself, humbly take a knee and give my life to Jesus Christ, and pick up my trumpet to begin walking around the walls in my life as a fully yielded follower of Jesus. In the time from then to now, I've seen my shouts of praise to God bring many walls down, and I know there are still many more to trust Him with. But I know He's leading me and is committed to my complete and total freedom. I'm in this one with Him for the long haul.

One final note... the key to this victory is not found in Chapter 16. I believe the snapshot of the success of Joshua is found in the final two verses of Chapter 15 - before the faithful marching and eventual success ever took place. The bible says at the end of 15 that Joshua fell face down in reverence before the Lord on the eve of the marching and when he recognized that he was standing on Holy Ground, he took off his sandals, because he wanted nothing coming between him and the HOLINESS and PRESENCE of God.

Joshua knew The GREAT I AM, and it affected every part of his life, and nothing was going to hinder him from being a faithful servant of the Lord. What a model for us as men to follow. When you live with that kind of posture men, face down in reverent awe before the almighty, no request or command from God is too crazy, or too foolish, or too out there. You can simply trust Him and follow through. Let's be barefoot men this week, creating pockets of holiness ground everywhere we go!

Devotion of the Day - 32

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 10:54:00 +0000

Day 32 of the 40 Days to Freedom Challenge – are you experiencing more freedom / healing in the area of sexual integrity?

Today I want to talk about a person who, like us, needed healing: “Now a woman, having a flow of blood for 12 years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any.” Luke 8:43

You most likely know the story well…but let’s ask the Holy Spirit to show us how it can apply today to any area of our life where we needed healing….spiritual, physical, financial, relational, etc.

God, our Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to save us and restore us into the Father’s arms. This restoration is so deep and so powerful I would venture to say we, the Body of Christ, have only begun to understand the depths of the blessings it provides. Through Jesus, we can literally touch God and experience His glory and supernatural power for healing in our lives!! Just like the woman in today’s story!! This was not just a cool story to demonstrate Jesus’ power….it is a story that spans they ages and is for us today. While we cannot touch Jesus’ robe physically today….it’s ok…we don’t need to. The healing came from her faith that accessed His power and is the blueprint for us today on how we can receive healing!

This woman had spent all her money to find healing to no avail. Then something happened. She heard about a man named Jesus Christ. She received pure, unadulterated revelation of the One called Jesus. The report she heard created a hope so powerful it pierced and overwhelmed her pain, rejection and discouragement. When the day came when Jesus was close enough for her to approach, she was consumed with revelation and faith!

In this state of faith she said, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well” Matt. 9:21 Immediately, when she did, the supernatural power of God was released from Jesus and His power and light overwhelmed the darkness working within her body, and she was instantly healed!

Do we have this same level of expectation regarding Jesus desire and ability to heal us? If we did, then I believe we would have many more of us walking in amazing freedom and healing! I am concerned that we interpret or determine what Jesus will do through either A) our personal experiences or B) religious tradition and both are not the right filter. Our western minds are so inundated with science and reason and we block our own access to the power of Jesus to heal us immediately. The day of miracles has not passed….it is today….it is now! God is the same yesterday, today and forever and He longs to heal us and have us experience freedom and relationship with Him!

Crazy thing to me…this woman didn’t have the bible or church or praise music or devotionals or support groups most likely. She was considered spiritually unclean and probably had very few, if any friends. Today, we have so much that I wonder if it isn’t too much. The simple truth….Jesus Christ, the risen Son of the Most High God is all we will ever need! How then do we have faith like this woman so we can access His power? She didn’t beg Him for healing…she didn’t even ask…she didn’t fast, didn’t read the Word, didn’t get her life together before approaching Him. Jesus also didn’t “decide” to make her well. He said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” Mark 5:34

God had already made the decision to open the Heavens to her and to us when He sent Jesus, and God Himself is now waiting for us to press through the crowd, the noise of our western world, the reason of our minds and receive His Word, Jesus Christ, the One who heals us and delivers us from all our destructions.

Questions for Reflection:

1) What things have you heard about Jesus? Have they come from God’s Word, or have they come from sincere people who have mixed information about Jesus?

2) Has what I know about Jesus caused the kind of faith to well up in me like the woman in our story? Why or why not?

3) What specifically do I need healing in….where I need to press through to touch Jesus with faith?

4) Have I been waiting for God to send help that He has already sent?

Pray this prayer with me:

Father, I thank You that You’ve already made the decision to send Your Son, Jesus Christ, for me! I pray that I fully receive all that is available to me through this relationship. Holy Spirit please give me a divine revelation of who Jesus is and how I can access His power through faith. Help me to move past human reasoning, past religious traditions. I need You to open my heart and mind to the Truth.

I desire to walk in Your supernatural power, and declare that I will get in and abide in You and Your Word like never before. Increase my faith and my level of excitement and expectancy regarding what you are going to do in my life!

I love You!

DOD 31

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Krupp) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 01:38:00 +0000

DOD 31, 40 Day Challenge

The fact you are here reading this I assume you want to hear from God. I know I do each day as I start my devo and even as I start my day. I find myself sometimes mid morning having had my devo and having spent time with God and I have that checked off my list and I neglect to invite Him into my day. Let's start by asking God to be here with us now and to help us hear Him. ...

Now that we have asked God to be here let us begin. For many years I had a relationship with God. I know I did. God has confirmed it in many ways. Yet in all those years of knowing God I never completely believed Him. My pride said I could earn my or be good enough. I couldn't or wouldn't except that I needed God for everything I did. I couldn't accept that I was weak and needed Him and that He loved even weak as I was. I fought that. It kept me from realizing so many things and experiencing LIFE and all God had for me and because of that sin had a foot hold and wrecked my world for years.

Does that sound familiar? Maybe? Maybe not. Probably at some point though for whatever your reason is you did not fully accept or agree with God's word. The word He gave us to tell us what we needed to know about Him and life.

Let me break from that thought there and go into another thought. Today I finish up a military school I have been at for the last two weeks. I missed my family. They did come visit on during the middle weekend and it was great. It will be good to be home tonight. I also told my wife last night how I missed real authentic conversation I share with you guys. There are good people here but there alwasy seems to be this layer where I will only let you get so close. I miss the realness of being known and hearing other guys being real and exposing their stuff because they are not afraid of judgement and want to be known.

So this probably seems like I am all over the place. I am driving at a point here.

Exodus 24:3-4 "When Moses went and told the people all the Lord's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the Lord has said we will do.'  Moses wrote down everything the Lord had said."

What a beautiful picture. Everyone in agreement with God and each other to be obedient. So let us start there today. As bothers today let us be in agreement with God and that we all want to be obedient.

Then let us write down what God tells us today. Yes write it down.  If you journal write a scripture that you are in agreement with or need to be in agreement with. If you don't journal get out some paper or a note card and write.   Use this to help you remember what God has said to you this morning.

Let us share scriptures that are truths we are in agreement about today. Choose one or two and write them down and meditate on them today.

Here a few:

I Timothy 4:8 Let us agree to be strive to be holy. Holiness is not stiff or boring. It is good for now and for heaven.

Galatians 6:9 Let us agree to keep doing good even when it is hard.  Agree it is okay to be rewarded for serving. We are not just servants to God that serve because He owns us.  It is ok to be rewarded.

I Peter 5:7 Let us agree God cares about all our problems. He cares about each of individually.

Hebrews 13:6 Let us agree God really wants to help us. Let us agree He can protect us from man.

If you have one share on GroupMe.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 02:54:00 +0000

DOD 30: Wednesday, July 26, 2017

What is Happening?

Ok, so yesterday (Tuesday)was tough. It started Monday evening, my wife came home really overwhelmed and disappointed with her job, spent most of the night in tears. Then I went to work and got my commercial mower running at about 8 AM. Then it quit again around 10:00. By about 12”30i was frustrated and fed up with this thing that’s been giving me fits since Thursday of last week. Re-grouped, went to another jobsite, got a few things knocked out and went back to work on the mower around 3:30. Eureka, by 4:00 we had it running! Prayers answered. I headed off and cut one lawn, by 5:15 I was at my second (and last) lawn for the day; stupid mower wouldn’t start! Meanwhile, my daughter started Band camp this week and suddenly needs a new flute by tomorrow (which ain’t gonna happen ‘cause money don’t grow on trees and Amazon prime cant ship that fast). Also, Tuesday is my night for dinner at our house, and I had a DOD to write…Not a good place…I was not in a good place.

There is a point here way beyond just unloading to you all about my day.

I want to describe to you what was happening – internally—spiritually while all this was going on.

This is exactly the kind of day that in the past would have driven me to withdraw, pity myself, look for ways to relieve the pain and seek comfort in self-righteousness, pride, defensiveness, porn, video games, all kinds of stuff that covered up the real me instead of bringing Life.

Instead, I spent my day asking and listening for the response from God,” What is Happening here?” “Why is all this going on?” “What are you trying to unveil or work here?” “Is this from you Lord or from the enemy?”. It certainly didn’t feel like I was a beloved son as I struggled with this stupid inanimate piece of equipment that wouldn’t start. It felt bigger than that, something else was going on and I didn’t have the eyes to see it. I got the sense that I was being lured into something. So, I changed my question, “what agreement am I being tempted with”. The response, “don’t fall for ‘unworthy’. Don’t agree with ‘incapable’.” That was it! I felt that down deep. I was being lured into a lie of “I just don’t have what it takes” it seems like an old school trick of the enemy at this point, but it was a real fight for me this time. I spent the rest of the afternoon resisting this agreement. This was a spiritual battle ground. It wasn’t that I was all alone, God was there, I just had to keep looking to him to know where and how to swing my sword, when to put up my shield. It took significant concentration. It took asking for help from trusted friends. It took time, plain and simple for the answers to get through the fog. It took intentionality to not give in. I was still fighting when my wife got home and the mower still wasn’t fixed…

I share all this to lead into today’s DOD. It is simple enough, but vital.

Ask Jesus.

That’s your assignment. Ask. Whatever comes your way today ask for His interpretation of the situation. Ask for his desired outcome for you. Ask for His input in how to respond. I said it was simple, I didn’t say it was easy. Most of the battle I described took place in my thoughts. “I’m alone” I panicked! “No” I had to tell myself, “That’s a lie, hang in there.” “I’m and idiot for not being able to figure this out”. “No, that’s a lie, that’s not how God sees you, hang in there” and so it went all day. It took courage to ask for help, to reach out. “guys, I’m having a tough day, the enemy is pushing all my buttons” it took more courage to hear the truth. “Jamie, you don’t have to cook dinner, just provide it” (my wife and I had a lovely evening out – Grace1). My dad came by after work and helped get the mower running (grace2). This DOD…” Jamie, use your experience today, the buttons” “Jamie, you don’t have to produce anything of your own strength, let Holy Spirit lead –let God stir” (this DOD, take it for what it is – Grace 3) went to a new couple/marriage study group (Grace4). I could have let a piece of my heart die today. I could have handed it over to the enemy and agreed that I wasn’t able and wasn’t worthy. But the sin in that would have been to deny who God has created me to be. We all make missteps here. We’ve all agreed that we are less than we were meant to be.

It’s time to repent of that. Walk out a new way. Follow a new path. Jesus is the way! He is the truth when lies are all around our feet. He is LIFE when all we can feel is pain and the shadow of death.

SO, your DOD for today is to ask Jesus for His perspective today. Do the things he says. If he says reach out, do it! If he says “don’t buy that B.S.” listen to him, find His words of truth for you. (look back at Mondays list). If he says rest, take it as a time to rest, a season for you to rest in him, if its only for today, take it. Let Jesus speak to you about your experience. Let Him interpret your day today. Don’t take for granted that you have it all figured out on your own. You may be wrong, and that may be the biggest gift of freedom you could receive; that your assumption, your interpretation of your circumstance and feelings isn’t the final word. IF YOUR WILLING TO ASK, so Ask.

DOD 29 - One Way To Work Through Burnout

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 02:38:00 +0000

I would like to share a weekly newsletter I get from one of my favorite pastors. It is something I am in the middle of chewing on myself. Enjoy!

http://krisvallotton.com/one-way-to-work-through-burnout/

When was the last time you felt truly rested? I’ve noticed that most people these days have no idea how to rest, and I’ve heard of so many people being diagnosed with fatigue related health issues. It’s becoming more and more common to hear about burn out and I honestly don’t know many people who practice a true sabbath. I think part of the problem is having access to work at our fingertips and emails coming through to our phones every day. However, I think an even bigger problem is that many people don’t understand the season they’re in. I don’t just mean season of life like the difference between being single or being a first-time parent. I’m talking about the metaphorical spiritual seasons that we ebb and flow through life in.

WHY SEASONS MATTER

So many of us have lost a sense of seasons because we aren’t operating in an agricultural culture. In Ecclesiastes 3:1 it says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” It’s so important that we understand what season we’re in, or we will judge ourselves against the work that others are producing in very different seasons than ourselves. If we don’t know the season we’re in we also run the risk of putting our energy in places that won’t produce good fruit. A farmer wouldn’t attempt to grow fruit in winter. It just wouldn’t work. He’d be putting his efforts towards something that the season wasn’t going to work with him in, and likely he’d end up with dead fruit. When you think about the harvest season, it’s something a farmer works hard towards for months of time, but he only has a few days to get the fruit from the trees. He’ll work 24/7 to get everything done in that time. But how are those few days of 24/7 work sustainable? By resting in the winter.

That’s why in the metaphoric winters of your life you must rest, or you won’t have the needed energy in the harvest. So many people are living in a performance driven culture and have lost a value for rest. Maybe we even find our value in being busy and filling up our schedules. I believe in hard work, but I also know there are seasons when we are called to rest, shout grace, and emphasize God’s work in our lives. Other times we’re sitting around waiting for God to show up and do something, but He’s actually asking us to get up and do something with Him.

REALITY OF REST

The reality of rest is that it doesn’t just “happen” to you. You have to guard it and therefore value it. I think this starts with our mindsets and understanding that every season has a purpose. If you’re in a winter season but are comparing yourself to someone who is harvesting, you may find yourself striving to keep up. The truth is that we were designed to need rest; that’s why God commanded us to sabbath. Remember that even He rested on the seventh day after creating the world. Rest looks like knowing your season and living in the grace God has given to you in that season. It also looks like acceptance of the place and time you’re in, and choosing not to worry about the harvest seasons to come. So once we understand the beauty of taking a break and owning our winter seasons, it’s important that we camp out there until the shift to the new season comes. Soak up every good gift that comes with the winter; the quiet, the coziness, unwinding and slowing down. Don’t let other people determine your rest based on their needs, or you’ll be worn out again before you know it.

So, is God asking you to rest in this season? Or is He asking you to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and work? Lean into Holy Spirit to show you your season, and camp out there until He moves you on to something new. Today I pray that the refreshing breath of God would blow over you and fill you to a point of overflow. I pray that any weight you’re carrying that is not for you to bear would fall off of your shoulders. I speak clarity over your spirit for the season that God has you in, and grace to receive every good thing He has for you in this time. Is it hard for you to take a break? How do you work through that?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 00:34:00 +0000

DOD 28 - Monday, July 24, 2017

Who I Am, and Who HE Is.

Gentlemen, here we are on the very front end of another week. We don't have the faintest clue what God has in store for us this week, but we can rest in the knowledge that whatever it is, it will be good, it will be just what we need, and it will product in us stronger faith, deeper passion, greater intimacy, and richer love...

IF WE LET IT.

And that's the kicker.

He's infinite, and Holy, and all-powerful, and He has our best always fully in the center of His plans for us. I want us to be reminded of who we are in Him and who He is to us this morning to set our hearts and minds on a correct course for this week.

Our exercise for this morning is very simple...

Read through this list and identify the statement(s) the Lord is highlighting for you this week. How do your struggles with MI relate to the labels and ideas defined by what you've read? What does God want to say to you this morning about who you are IN HIM?

My Nature In Christ...

I am blameless and free from accusation. (Colossians 1:22)
Christ Himself is in me. (Colossians 1:27)
I am firmly rooted in Christ and am now being built up in Him. (Col. 2:7)
I have been made complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10)
I have been spiritually circumcised. My old unregenerate nature has been removed. (Colossians 2:11)
I have been buried, raised, and made alive with Christ. (Colossians 2:12,13)
I died with Christ and I have been raised up with Christ. My life is now hidden
With Christ in God. Christ is now my life. (Colossians 1:1-4)
I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life. (Colossians 3:4)
I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. (Col. 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4)
I am a son of light and not of darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:5)
I have been given a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)
I have been saved and set apart according to God’s doing. (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5)
Because I am sanctified and am one with the Sanctifier, He is not ashamed to call me brother. (Hebrews 2:11)
I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling. (Hebrews 3:1)
I have the right to come boldly before the throne of God to find mercy and grace in a time of need. (Hebrews4:16)
I have been born again. (1 Peter 1:23)
I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house. (1 Peter 2:5)
I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a People for God’s own possession. (1 Peter 2:9,10)
I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live. (1 Peter 2:11)
I am an enemy of the devil. (1 Peter 2:11)
I am forgiven on the account of Jesus’ name. (1 John 2:12)
I am anointed by God. (1 John 2:27)
I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns. (1 John 3:1,2)
I am loved. (1 John 4:10)
I am like Christ. (1 John 4:10)
I have life. (1 John 5:12)
I am born of God, and the evil one…the devil…cannot touch me. (1 John 5:`8)
I have been redeemed. (Revelation 5:9)
I have been healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
I am the salt of the earth. (Matthew 5:13)
I am the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14)
I am commissioned to make disciples. (Matthew 28:19,20)
I am a child of God. (John 1:12)
I have eternal life. (John 10:27)
I have been given peace. (John 14:27)
I am part of the true vine, a channel of Christ’s life. (John 15:1,5)
I am clean. (John 15:3)
I am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)
I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit. (John 15:16)
I have been given glory. (John 17:22)
I have been justified…completely forgiven and made righteous. (Romans 5:1)
I died with Christ and died to the power of sin’s rule over my life. (Romans 6:1-6)
I am a slave of righteousness. (Romans 6:18)
I am free from sin and enslaved to God. (Romans 6:22)
I am free forever from condemnation. (Romans 8:1)
I am a son of God; God is spiritually my Father. (Romans 8:14, 15 Galatians 3:26; 4:6)
I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him (Romans 8:17)
I am more than a conqueror through Christ, who loves me. (Romans 8:37)
I have faith. (Romans 12:3)
I have been sanctified and called to holiness. (1 Corinthians 1:2)
I have been given grace in Christ Jesus. (1Corinthians 1:4)
I have been placed into Christ, by God’s doing. (1 Corinthians 1:30)
I have received the Spirit of God into my life that I might know the things feely given to me by God. (1 Corinthians 2:12)
I have been given the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
I am a temple…a dwelling place…of God. His Spirit and His life dwell in me. (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him. (1 Corinthians 6:17)
I am bought with a price; I am not my own; I belong to God. (1 Corinthians 6:19,20; 7:23)
I am called. (1 Corinthians 7:17)
I am a member of Christ’s Body. (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 5:30)
I am victorious through Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)
I have been established, anointed and sealed by God in Christ, and I have been given to the Holy Spirit as a pledge guaranteeing my inheritance to come. (2 Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 1:13,14)
I am led by God in triumphal procession. (2 Corinthians 2:14)
I am to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. (2 Corinthians 2:15)
I am being changed into the likeness of Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Since I have died, I no longer live for myself, but for Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:14,15)
I am a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18,19)
I have been made righteous. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
I am given strength in exchange for weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:10)
I have been crucified with Christ and Christ lives in me. The life I am now living is Christ’s life. (Galatians 2:20)
I am a son of God and one in Christ. (Galatians 3:26, 28)
I am Abraham’s seed…an heir of the promise. (Galatians 3:29)
I am an heir of God since I am a son of God. (Galatians 4:6,7)
I am a saint. (Ephesians 1:1; ! Corinthians 1:2; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2)
I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. (Ephesians 1:3)
I was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and am without blame before Him. (Ephesians 1:4)
I was predestined…determined by God…to be adopted as God’s son. (Ephesians 1:5)
I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13)
I have been redeemed and forgiven, and I am a recipient of His lavish grace. I am alive together with Christ. (Ephesians 2:5)
I have been raised up and seated with Christ in heaven. (Ephesians 2:6)
I am God’s workmanship…His handiwork…born anew in Christ to do His work. (Ephesians 2:10)
I have direct access to God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:18)
I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God’s family. (Ephesians 2:19)
I may approach God with boldness, freedom, and confidence. (Eph. 3:12)
I am righteous and holy. (Ephesians 2:24)
I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now. (Philippians 3:20 Ephesians 2:6)
I am capable. (Philippians 4:13)
I have been rescued from the domain of Satan’s rule and transferred to the kingdom of Christ. (Colossians 1:13)
I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. The debt against me has been cancelled. (Colossians 1:14)

Further Exercise:

If you want to, and have time, follow this link to another article with great reading and lots of scriptpure describing different attributes of God's Heart for His kids.

https://www.josh.org/resources/spiritual-growth/attributes-of-god/?mot=J65DGA&gclid=CJHR1JfToNUCFUO1wAodEP4FoQ

Chime in on GroupME with anything the Lord is showing you about your identity in Him, some attribute about His character that stands out to you, and anything else the Lord lays on your heart to share. We can't hear this truth enough guys! Soak it up, and absorb every last drop.

DOD 27 - Make Your Life Count.....1 Second at a Time

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 02:51:00 +0000

Watch this video: The Value of Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue8RSDMZVOQ

Men of Righteousness IN CHRIST

What will you do with the 86,400 seconds you are given today? Yesterday is gone. You aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. You do have today. You do have a choice. How will you spend or invest the time you have that is a gift from your Father today?

In my past….in the darker days...I chose:

· To embrace self-pity, entitlement, lust, anger

· To seek pleasure above all else

· To think of myself first

· To veg out on t.v., drinking, eating, avoiding

All of this and many other destructive choices led to pain, depression, emptiness, sadness, hopelessness….so I repeated the cycle the next day to hopefully avoid feeling these things for the next 86,400 seconds.

Now – by the grace of God I am making more frequent choices to:

· Get in His word

· Enjoy a cup of coffee in peace

· Pray (talk to Him)

· Spend time…fully present with the members of my family

· Spend time with my friends

· Go for a walk / take a nap

· Worship

· Laugh, cry, experience joy and pain and fear and doubt, but I get to experience with God and others I love so even when I am hurting I can’t lose

The DOD is simple:

Invest the next 15 minutes (900 seconds) as follows:

5 Minutes – read and think about Psalm 1 and talk to God about it and whatever else you want or need to talk to Him about

5 Minutes – ask God how to invest your time today and listen

5 Minutes – watch / listen to few minutes (or all) of this and praise God who has blessed us with life, love, Saturday’s and much much more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tax3zND4fTE&t=852s

Go out and do what He tells you when you listened!

I love you men! I count my time with you as some of the absolute best and richest of the seconds of my life!

DOD 26

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Krupp) — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 01:52:00 +0000

DOD 26, 40 Day Challenge

This a quick one today but can be used over and over as you go through life celebrating what God has done for you.

Prep:
Be quite with God for 5-10 min. No guidance here just you being with your Father, your Papa.

Story:
So last week I received news at my job in the next couple of months I will be moving to a new position. This is an answer to prayer and a blessing on so many different levels. If I told you all God did in this situation that started a year ago you would still be reading about this one incident tomorrow. I want to share one sliver of this super cool God story.

So this is the third time I have been up for this new position in the last year. I had 3 weeks notice of when they would make the decision. An opportunity not to sit on pins and needles but to pray and talk to Papa. I found out last Tuesday the decision would be made one way or another Wednesday morning. This is right before I went home on Tuesday evening. So I left excitedly anxious. I made a plan to fast the next morning until I got the decision and to stay as busy as I could at work.

So I drove home excited to tell Kylene. Before I could she told me she had jury duty on Wednesday. We had already decided in advance if she had to go in during her time I would take the day off to take care of the kids. When Kylene heard that a decision would be made the next day she told me she could find someone for the kids. I could go to work. It was clear what God was saying to me. "Matt you are not in control. I am. The decision has already been made. You stay home and take care of your kids. In fact Matt don't even fast. You have no control here. I do." So I did stay home and I didn't fast. Kylene went to jury duty.

About ten minutes before 9:00 AM I get the call from my supervisor that the decision was made and I would get the new position. I am fist pumping as I am driving the kids around and they are asking what it is all about. Just enough time to call Kylene before she is called in and share the news and take the burden off her mind.

Aha moment:
So I am so excited to and want to celebrate and God reminds me of a devotional lesson He had given me a week or so earlier.

Read Exodus 12:17-20. Actually read all of Exodus 12 and focus on those verses.

Did you get that. In order to celebrate what God had done in freeing the Israelites they were to fast from yeast. Nothing was to have yeast in it.

We fast to have God answer prayers and for favor. It is to remind of Him. What about fasting to celebrate. To say Thank-You Papa for what You just did or what You have done in my life.

Your turn:
Our brother Jon just a few days ago called for us to spend the day being thankful and challenged us to live our lives in thanksgiving.

I want to challenge you to find what you are thankful in your life today and celebrate what God has done or given you by fasting.

What are you thankful for?
Being exposed so there is no more secret life.
Being loved by God
Still having your wife.
Your job.
Your kids.
There is no wrong answer here.

Now what do you want to fast?
Maybe it is your lunch meal.
Or chocolate for the day.
could be TV.
Something meaningful between you and God.

As your cravings kick in turn your eyes to heaven and say thank-you Papa!

Share with your brothers what God and you talked about and decided today.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:49:00 +0000

Wed July 19, 2017

DOD 25 -- Are you Scared?

Luke: "I'm not afraid!"

Yoda: "you will be,...you will be"

Mathew chapter 10; take a look at it. It’s an amazing story. Jesus sends out the disciple to do the things he’s already been doing – heal the sick, raise the dead, cure leprosy, and cast out demons. The kicker for us is that they actually do it. They come back stoked that they can literally do these things; RAISE THE DEAD, are you kidding me that rocks!!

Then comes the kicker, the one verse that has tied me in knots over my Christian journey. Vs. 39, “if you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life, you will find it.” (NLT) “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” (NASB).

This verse is tough one. Does it mean I have to give up everything I like or enjoy and toil in the Kingdom of God? Does it mean that heading over to the middle east and standing up for the name of Jesus to the point of taking a bullet is the only way into the kingdom?

If we knew Greek, we’d see that the word used here is referring to the psyche (mind), not the bios (biology). The disciple just came back all fired up over what they could do in Jesus name. And in some way, I think Jesus is saying, don’t get caught up in all the excitement, I’m life, not the signs and wonders. But he also says things like, “those who give up family for my sake…” Romans says to “be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” What things do you think are going to save you? What things do you cling to bring comfort and security?

So, for me, what it has come down to is that I have to examine the things that I love. If I asked the question, “what is the one thing you could never give up?” what would your answer be? I am coming to see that “church” is not the answer. An intimate and loving (both ways, giving and receiving love) relationship with God is the real answer. If your answer is your wife, your job, your ministry, your kids, your drug of choice, your affair, you whatever, then I’d ask you to reexamine what God is wanting of you. Not all these things are “bad”, but if they have taken the place of God in your Heart then we should question our loyalties.

Recently when we were discussing this in group, one of the guys said, “you all will have to help me ‘cause I’m scared to give up those things”. I haven’t heard that type of statement for a while. I want to tell you quite frankly, You Should Be Scared!

If the things your “giving up” don’t cause you a little fear and trembling, maybe you’re not looking deep enough. I am talking about Giving over the rights to the things that have supported you psychologically. I am not suggesting that we abandon our families. I am suggesting the we put God first and understand that He wants to give and show love to you and through you via your family. Its not about them, its about Him. Same with your wife, your job. As for the sinful things, those are just simply stealing your LIFE. He does want you to give them up, because there is no redeeming quality about lust or drugs. They give us a short term fixe to a heart-deep problem, and ultimately steal LIFE from us and those around us.

So what is it? What is it that your scared to give up? What is it that’s coming first in your life that needs to be set back in the Queue? That’s one of the secrets to doing this in community, we are scared, it does hurt. Its hurts like withdraw symptoms hurts. But we come together and fight side by side. We “push on toward the Goal” that deep relationship with our creator.

And lest you think it is all on us or all hard, remember, Jesus also said things like “whoever gives up family or homes will receive exponentially more in return” (my paraphrase). “come to me you who are weary and heavy burdened, I will give you rest”, “my burden is easy and my Yoke is light”

Your assignment today is to ask these questions, and take the chance, the risk, to pray and ask Jesus to help with the answer. Then give Him the opportunity to renew your mind. It will be scary sometimes. You have others in the boat with you. Share. Lets face these things together and get on with the finding of the LIFE part of the equation. Put off all that hinders, paul says, and run the race!

DOD - 24 Faith to Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 02:46:00 +0000

July 18, 2017

“Faith to Fail”

I love stories. Today, I would like to tell you a recent story about my family. This won’t be a standard devotional, but a process of real life that has been sticking with me for the last two weeks. Come join me!

Last month I went camping with my 12 year old son. The goal - “The Talk”. It was such an awesome experience. But it is what happens at the end of the weekend where this story begins.

As part of his big step into his journey of integrity, I wanted to give him something special that would really mean something to him and help commemorate this important passage into manhood. Marcie and I got him a really nice wrist watch. This gift has meant so much to him. It is his prized possession right now.

Fast forward in the story to last week. He was riding on a go-cart with the other kids. He did not want to scratch his watch, so he decided to take it off and put it in his pocket. After a while he busts into the house and tells his mom, “I can’t find my watch”. He was in tears. He was scared.

He had been all over ours and the neighbors’ properties. 20 total acres to lose a watch on.

So as a family we all stop what we are doing and start walking, praying, hoping to find that watch. Slowly walking, staring at the ground gave me plenty of time to process the ups and downs of my emotions. The same for my son. I was at first feeling frustrated that he could be so careless with his watch. He was devastated that he more than likely lost the possession most valuable to him. I quickly reminded myself that it was just a watch and I knew that my words to him during this time could either bring life or tear him down. One minute we have the faith that our prayers will lead us to the watch. But as time goes on, you start to hear the voices of why your prayers won’t find the watch.

I found the watch on the road. There wasn’t a scratch on it. That the watch was not broken, run over, scratched up was a miracle.

My wife and I were really feeling that this was a lesson to be learned. A really good one. My son tends to lose things easily. And with this watch being the most recent victim, it was time for an important talk.

We called my son over and told him to sit down. We showed him we found the watch. I will never forget his face and his tears and the meaning they conveyed. Such tremendous relief, and joy that swallowed up despair and fear.

Over the next several minutes we talked about his propensity to lose things so easily. We talked about the practical steps he should take in the future and other things that could be learned.

But what we talked about the last several minutes I have either thought about or talked about every day since.

We live our lives constantly trying not to fail. We are so failure adverse. We teach and ingrain in our kids on how not to fail, why you shouldn’t fail and by all means, don’t fail! And we even come to their rescue just so they won’t fail. But like it or not, it is through failures where we have some of the greater opportunities to learn and grow than if we had been successful.

As we were talking with our son, we were sharing how this experience of failure could be the perfect example of something he could learn from to prevent an even greater failure.

What if my son was allowed to experience a small failure so that somewhere down the line the Spirit prompts him to remember what it was like to lose his watch so that he thinks twice about putting his wedding ring in his pocket only to find he lost it.

What if we started looking at our failures as opportunities just like this. What if instead of resisting and dodging failure with all that is within us, we started seeing opportunities in failure. What if God is saying, “Son, I love you enough to not save you from every failure. I love you so much that I will allow you to fail in this small thing so that you will not fail in the next big thing!”

That’s is where I am at now. I keep thinking about it. I know that this experience was important to my son, but I am convinced that I am learning just as much as him through this.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 00:43:00 +0000

DOD 23 - Monday July 17, 2017

Gratitude Makes All the Difference

Start by listening to this fantastic classic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq8VP9osGrg

One of my favorite bible stories is found in Luke 7:36-50. The song you just heard and this story tell of a sinful woman who, upon hearing Jesus was in town and eating at a Pharisee’s house, risked life, limb, and all form of human comfort to go and lavishly pour out an offering of praise at His feet simply for WHO HE WAS. The miracle of her healing and forgiveness hadn’t even happened yet. Interesting to note as you read that after she lavishly pours out her thanksgiving and praise, He responds to her faith filled act of worship by healing and forgiving her.

Ephesians 5:20 says this - “Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Seven Thoughts about Gratitude To Consider:

Gratitude is independent of our objective life circumstances - no matter what, you CAN be grateful.
Gratitude is a function of attention - your level of gratitude is directly connected to what or WHO you choose to focus on.
Entitlement precludes gratitude - you can’t expect to get something and still be grateful for it.
We often take for granted that which we receive on a regular basis - familiarity is an enemy of gratitude.
Gratitude can be cultivated through time spent with Jesus and sincere self-reflection - get alone with God and He will remind you why you can choose to be grateful.
Expressing gratitude, through words and deeds, enhances our experience of gratitude - often times, the way we speak and act will greatly impact our experience of gratitude.
Our deepest sense of gratitude comes through the Grace given by Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross, which carries with it the awareness that we have not earned, nor do we deserve anything that we've been given.

Max Lucado has this to say about Gratitude:

“The grateful heart is like a magnet sweeping over the day, collecting reasons for gratitude. A zillion diamonds sparkle against the velvet of your sky every night. Thank you, God. A miracle of muscles enables your eyes to read these words and your brain to process them. Thank you, God. Your lungs inhale and exhale eleven thousand liters of air every day. Your heart will beat about three billion times in your lifetime. Your brain is a veritable electric generator of power. Thank you, God.”

Questions to consider for this day and week?

Are you a person known for and marked by gratitude? Does it ooze out of you? Are others infected by it and lifted because of it?
What is robbing you of your gratitude today? One example sure to steal is comparison… what’s your example?
On what or where or who are you choosing to focus these days, and could that be contributing to how you feel about your level of gratitude?
How does a grateful heart combat the tactics of the enemy and the urges to act out and sin in whatever manner you find yourself struggling against?
What practical and intentional step can you take today to elevate your heart of gratitude to a new level?
When is the last time you went back and remembered you moment of rescue and forgiveness and allowed the Lord to spend some time with you there for you to simply thank Him for who he is and what He’s done.

Men, let’s be the most grateful people on the planet today. Regardless of our circumstances, we have more than enough reason, and being infused with fresh gratitude could be just what your spirit and mind need to experience new levels of victory and intimacy with the Lord this week!

As usual, share your experience and insight from today on GroupME as you're able, and let's infect each other with a deeper sense of shared gratitude over what HE is doing in and through us all!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:07:00 +0000

Sunday July 16, 2017

Men of integrity,

I call down all the blessings of heaven on you and your families as you rest in Him today. In Jesus name, may you have eyes to see the Kingdom coming, on earth as in Heaven, in your life today; ears to hear the voice of the Father, "I love you kiddo".

Be present, be aware, be at peace! Enjoy...Grace, in the name of the King Jesus!

DOD 22

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Jul 2017 00:36:00 +0000

If you could start all over and chart the course of your life…would it look much different than it does today? I am guessing your answer is the same as mine….a resounding “YES”

Well…in a sense you get a chance to do that…start all over today. Can we go back and undo the damage and hurt of the past? No. But what if the very places you find yourself in today could be a spring board to a better life than you can imagine? A little hard to believe, but it is happening in men all around you and you can start today….Saturday, July 15^th and never look back.

Jesus has an incredible way of making things new and the new version is waaayyyy better than the old.

Therefore, if anyone is in CHRIST, he is a NEW creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become NEW. 2 Cor. 5:17

And He who sites on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things NEW.” Revelation 21:5

So Jesus can make us and our lives new and we have a big part to play in how this plays out.

ABOVE ALL ELSE, guard your heart, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23

Above all else - seems like this is pretty important.

Weekends are some of the times I did and sometimes still do the worst job of “guarding my heart”. How can I be so careless when it is so important? Its weekends that I would drink the most, watch terrible movies, go places I had no business being as a married man and on and on and on.

Workout for today’s DOD:

· Ask God how to guard your heart today and then listen. Share what you hear on Group Me to encourage and help others.

· Do what you heard….(i.e. fast from t.v. this weekend is what I heard….so that is what I will do rest of weekend)

That’s it. Easy and short to say. Longer and harder to do, but worth it. Your heart determines the course of your life. Do you want to go to good places, to prosper, to have joy, to experience everlasting peace? That’s where we go when we guard our hearts.

Ideas on ways to guard your heart:

· No t.v. or R movies

· Get internet filter

· Read and memorize some of God’s word to put in your heart, mind

· Listen only to praise music for a day

· Fast from food or something else

· Pray

· Rest and talk to you Father

· Get out in nature

· Many, many other ways – don’t forget to share

Love you men! Thanks for being in the fight!!

DOD 21, 40 Day Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Krupp) — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 22:32:00 +0000

DOD 21, 40 Day Challenge

Warning:
I am back in Exodus. Also this may be challenging.

Prep:
Still your mind. Be quiet for 5 to 10 minutes with God. Greet Him now. Tell Him about your day so far. Not how you feel. Tell Him the details. He wants to here you talk. I can see my kids did something fun or scary on the playground but I still love to hear them come tell me what they experienced and how it went in their eyes. Do the same with God. Listen to what He has to say. Steel your mind. That is right, focus. Block out all else going on and focus and listen expectantly to what God has for you.

Warm-up:
Use your imagination of what it would have been like in Egypt while the Israelites were slaves. Yes it was the most powerful and advanced civilization at the time but still crude compared to us. Not the same kind of climate control. Clothes were not as plentiful. Showers and soaps at their finger tips. Distractions from pain like TV or the internet.
Now God comes in and starts striking the Egyptians with plagues so Pharaoh will release the Israelites.  Starting in chapter seven of your Bible scan through the sub headings and read the plagues. Imagine what it must be like for the river you know so well to be flowing with blood. How that must have looked and how it must have smelled. What about frogs every where. Homes probably did not sell up like they do now so you got frogs in the house jumping on you as you try sleep or croaking making noises all night or in your dishes as you go to cook and eat. Keep going with you what it is like.
So this goes on for year different plagues devastating the land and people and animals. Then God drops the hammer. The Plague of the Firstborn. He firstborn in Egypt dies except those amongst the Israelites. Including in Pharaoh's household. He lost a son or daughter. He lost an uncle, maybe his mother and cousins and nephews and nieces. He lost more than one family member. It speaks of the wailing. Imagine the agony of the cries that night.

Scripture:
Exodus 12:31-32 "During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.'"

Whoa! Did you get that? "And also bless me." Pharaoh has just lost multiple family members, his people are wailing for their dead and the country is wrecked because of his disobedience and he tells Moses to bless him. The arrogance!

Take a break:
So a day or two before reading this I heard on the radio Mark Zuckerberg wanted the Facebook community to be like the church. This comment came to him after spending time with some influential church leaders. His hope would the community would give and do good together. It is a noble desire for good to be done. I admire Mark Zuckerberg for that. The whole comment irked me though. Facebook like the church. I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I read this above and it came to me.  Before I start I am not here to bash Mark Zuckerberg.  He is created by God and dearly loved. He is merely an example. I remembered hearing something about Mark and Buddhism and some other just open believes so I went to Wiki. Read up on his religion. He is Jewish by birth. He had went away from it but has come back to embrace some of it lately. He has dabbled with Buddhism too. He is beginning to lean more towards his Jewish roots. He even says a Jewish prayer when things are tough.

The point:
It hit me. Mark Zuckerberg wants to access God when it is convenient for him. Just like Pharaoh found God convenient when he was hurting and wanted access to His blessings. That's what irked me. Mark Zuckerberg wanted the church and its good without God. What!? The community and good of any group cannot match what a community of God's people can do and the love they can show.

The work:
Are you guilty of this? Are guilty of wanting to access God when things are hard? Are you guilty being obedient after God has kicked your butt but not when things are ok? I am. Where do you need to be obedient? Let list off some options to consider:

Do you need to get off Facebook?
Do you need to get off the internet?
Do you need to get up early to spend time with God or go to bed earlier to get rest and not be tempted while tired?
Do you need to change phones, phone numbers, friends, habits?
Do you need to add something to your daily grind that brings you back to God?
Do you need to be honest with yourself, with others?
Do you need to confess?
Do you need to think about someone else more than yourself?  Your wife? Your kids? Your co-workers? Your fellow drivers on the road? (guilty here)
Do you need to start hiding scripture in your heart? (scripture memorization)
Do you need to listen to Christian radio?
Do you need to text more or seek more community or let more people into your world?

Maybe it is start something or maybe it is stop something. Maybe it is rest. I don't know. This is you and God time. Examine your life. Where can you be more obedient or maybe where do you need to start?

Share:
Share whatever you want that struck you here. Share how you are going to apply this. Share ideas to help kick start the brains of us that are not that creative.

I love you guys. God loves you.  He wants to bless you. He wants to. Hear that. God wants you. He wants to bless your life. Not the same as He blesses mine or Jamie's or anyone else in the group. He wants to bless you specifically for you and your life.

DOD 20

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 10:47:00 +0000

The Lord rewards those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

DOD assignment for the day....come to Men's Integrity tonight for community, brotherhood, fellowship and to get renewed strength and passion for the second half of 40 days to freedom.

God is working...always....no matter your experience the first 20 days....He is at work in your life. He loves you just the way you are and He is eager for you to know Him better as a friend!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 03:55:00 +0000

DOD 19 for July 12, 2017

We are hitting the midway point tomorrow. How are you holding up? Can you feel your connection with the Lord growing stronger? Are you fumbling through still trying to figure out what is going on? Are you giving it a half-hearted effort thinking that will by you “enough” time/recovery/buffer from your mistakes to get you by? Are you hoping no one will notice...Are you hoping someone will notice your efforts? Where do you stand?

The Truth is it doesn’t matter where you are. If you are willing today to start out, whole hearted, and make the journey to Wholeness and holiness. And don’t get me wrong, this DOD is not THE way to healing and holiness. Jesus is THE way. And He will lead you. But perhaps He’s leading you to put your effort into following this challenge. I actually know guys, meet with them regularly, call them friends, who have found other groups entirely that meet their needs and focus them toward Christ. Its where He has called them to be to find healing and to guild others there as well. Go where He leads you, but go with all “gusto”!

I am reading a book right now call The Pilgrim’s Progress. Its old written in the 1600’s. but it is amazingly relevant as the main character makes his way from the city of Destruction to Mt. Zion, the holy city. He meets other pilgrims on the way like Evangelist and Faithful. He also meets advisories like Shame, he must cross the slough (ditch or swap) of Despair, and go through the valley of the shadow of death. He is constantly tempted with opportunities to go back, or to stop short on his journey.

Jesus calls us to follow Him. He doesn’t say how far we are going. Even Peter falls short of following. By denying Jesus. Point of fact Jesus knew this would happen and even told the disciples that they couldn’t follow where he was going (to the cross).

Paul says to “run the race” (Philippians 2; 1cor 9; Galatians 2). Hebrews tells us to run (ch12), even the psalms (ch.19) talk about the sun running a race to tell of the glory of God.

So today let’s build some endurance to run the race well! It has been pointed out (thanks Krupp) that Muslims pray 5 times a day. Not silent little “shout out to God” prayers, or “oh crap, help me” prayers, they stop what they are doing, pull out a mat, kneel down facing a specific direction. What about us, do we “run our race” with such precision and dedication?

Today, stop! Stop five distinct and separate times to pray. Ask for clarity in a given situation, ask for blessing, give thanks, read a psalm, just be silent before our God and let him do the talking. It doesn’t matter. I hope you are reading this in the AM and you can set “appointments” ahead of time to do this. Make each session at least 3 minutes if not 5-10. We are talking about the time it might take to smoke a cigarette. Heck, God showed himself in a column of smoke, tell your boss you’re going for a “smoke break with God” take the time to scan the horizon for a sign from Heaven, you might just be surprised.

Keep in mind that this setting aside of time, this activity won’t change anything. It is the intentionality and the willingness to BE with God that changes things. The act of becoming intimate with Him is what changes things. The Habit is great and will only deepen as you begin to understand how rich this time can be. You will find that you want to do this not that you have to.

Additionally, take a moment or two during these prayer times to ask what might be holding you back from the “race”. Maybe its complacency, perhaps it’s a lethargic attitude. Are you held back by shame, or comparison, or fear? Are you seeking validation and you don’t think God can provide it? I don’t always know what has gotten me stuck or sidetracked, I only recognize that I’ve stopped moving. I have to ask, “Lord, what’s going on here, right now that has me stopped?” “What is it that’s drawing my attention away from you?”

Finally, if this isn’t stretching for you, lets add some “weight”. If you already are used to doing this kind of thing daily, even several times a day, try doing it every hour. Try doing it at every stop light. Set up a marker for you to seek out the kingdom, first, regularly throughout the day today. Listen! Obey! That's how to follow. Like “left, right, left…”; “Listen, obey, listen…”.

On your mark, get set,…Race!

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Krupp) — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 21:13:00 +0000

DOD 18, 40 Day Challenge

Prep:
Take time to quite your mind. Turn your thoughts to God. Take time to tell Him Good Morning or Good Afternoon whatever is the right greeting. Tell Him how you are feeling today. Tell Him if there is anything good about the day so far or what you are looking forward to. Tell Him about what you are not looking forward to. Ask Him for strength and wisdom. Now talk to Him about your devotional time here. Ask Him to for ears to hear and a heart to understand what He has for you.

Confession:
A lot if not all my problems come from my pride. My pride kept me from being honest with anyone about my sin, my struggles and I could not get help. My pride had me putting up fronts. My pride had me seeking to be strong. It was always on me to perform. I put pressure on myself all the time. I was going to be the one that was different.

Even after being exposed I still could not let go. I still was going to kick this issue in the teeth. I told my counselor that I was trying to not be in control. I kept trying harder to not be in control. The irony and contradiction there are laughable. My counselor reminded me that it was not a matter of me working to let go and not be in control but to realize this is the truth. I am not in control.

My pride even had me to say something as asinine to my wife as I will be the model of recovery. How foolish. Even after being exposed and crushing my wife I was going to impress her with my recovery. It's embarrassing to admit that said this and thought theses things.

During my healing there were times I asked God why. Why did I have these temptations come into my life at these vulnerable times? Why did I struggle with loneliness so much? Why could I not be stronger, more confident/self assured and good like everyone else? Why was I here?

Over time I quit asking why. I had to accept this was my life. I want to look at something Paul shared in II Corinthians. (full discloser: I got the heart of this devotional from the sermon on Sunday at Southland. My wife and I were both moved by it)

The Meat of it:
II Corinthians 12:7b-10 "Therefore, in order to keep from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

What about you:
-What are your weaknesses? No be honest. What are your weaknesses?

-When will you stop thinking or trying to do all the right things? When will you stop saying you will beat this? You won't.

-Are you ready to let God work in you? Are you ready to let His power come out and lead you any where? Can you let Him decide the path and timeline?

Application:
Meditate on this-God's grace is sufficient enough for you. You can't earn your way. Sit quietly, close your eyes. Shut off all the sound around you. Turn you phone down. Breath this in. Be weak. It is okay. You don't have to perform. God has it all.

Share your thoughts, feelings, reactions on GroupMe.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 01:45:00 +0000

DOD 17 – Monday July, 10, 2017

I’m trusting the Lord with the timing of this one men. I know its Monday, and I’d love to start off the week with something super encouraging, but this is what’s on my heart, and where I’m at after the weekend…

I watched my wife’s last living grandparent die at the age of 91 on Saturday. It all happened so fast. A couple months ago, she was playing bridge, loving her pets, making some of her favorite drinks and enjoying the comfort of her beautiful town home in a beautiful part of Lexington. And now she’s gone.

Here’s a question to consider today as we boil this down and focus in on what we want to be about this day, week, and for the rest of our lives. 1,000 years ago, the only thing that will matter to us, the only question that we will have answered that ever mattered is this:

What did you do with the gift of grace and forgiveness offered by Jesus Christ at the Cross?

The bible is clear about this men. No one comes to the father except through Jesus Christ. We are all born with sin, sin carries with it the penalty of death, and the only way to defeat death is through the gift of life offered by Jesus. This is the free gift of salvation offered to all men. And it’s a gift that we each need to take, receive, accept, and believe for ourselves.

And let’s not be confused… coming to the Mat and MI doesn’t equal being saved. Going to church doesn’t equal being saved. Praying before meals and doing bible study on the weekends doesn’t equal being saved. Going on mission trips, donating to charities, being a good husband or father or son doesn’t equal being saved. Check out this passage:

Matthew 7:21-23 - ²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

This guy did everything he could to please and perform for God, and when he died, he stood before God and God told him to get away, because he never really KNEW HIM. There was no relationship. It was all based on performance and works.

Here are some thoughts today guys, as I consider all this…

The bible tells me to work out my salvation with fear and trembling and to examine myself to make sure I am living and walking in the faith. If you can’t remember the moment, or the season, or the time in your life when you began this personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that should be concerning. Everything else hinges on this. Your personal freedom and victory from whatever addiction has your number right now can’t be realized until you have the Holy Spirit’s power living inside you, and that only happens after you give your life to Christ. We need to get clear on this for ourselves because there is power in clarifying where you stand before God and knowing who you are in light of what He’s done for you. You can have confident assurance on the other side of actually beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I want to live my life in such a way that when the bell rings and my number is called, I will have confidence in my salvation, and therefore, I will have said what I wanted to say, done what I set out to do, stood for what mattered most to me, shared my faith with the people who God entrusted to me, and Iived my life in such a way that my legacy continues to impact and point people to Jesus Christ for as long as possible way after I’m gone.

1. Are you confident of your relationship with Jesus Christ the way someone who was married would be confident of the fact that they were married?

2. Are you living with any major regrets that you have the capacity currently to make right and you’re just waiting, stuck behind fear, or doubt, or insecurity? What if you lived like today was your last day…?

3. Are you the man in Matthew 7? And if today was your last day, would you be met with the same fate as that man who thought he was secure and ended up being cast away?

4. Are you willing to humble yourself and give your life to Christ today if you know that you don’t currently have a relationship with Jesus?

Please chime in on GroupME with any thoughts you have about any of this, and especially if you realize that you have questions, doubts, or KNOW that you need to give your life to Christ and begin relationship with Him. Love you guys, and thanks for letting me be real about what’s on my heart today.