Here’s the cool thing that I piqued my interest – they would meet and have church.  That’s right, in the pursuit of their passion or interest they would have worship, Bible study, pray for one another, and share the gospel – all the things that we do in “church.”

Then it hit me!  How many guys do I know who have definitive interests – fishing, hunting, cycling, motorcycles, lifting weights, running, technology, finances, their jobs, and a bajillion more I just don’t have time to jot down, that could use those gifts, passions, and interests to reach out to other guys?

I remember when I lived in Lufkin, Texas I rode with the Angelina Bike Club.  We met every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday to ride mile after mile together.  Some went to my church, some attended other churches, some didn’t go to church at all.  But cycling was my bridge to this group.  It was what I lived for.  I prayed for them.  I encouraged them.  They encouraged me.  And I got the chance to minister to those guys.

When I moved to Saraland, AL I bought my first Harley.  Man! Did I have a blast using that bike that reach out to people. . .to guys in the same way.  Tom Briand and I went on many a ride on our Harleys.  We prayed together.  We encouraged each other and on several occasions we were able to encourage other guys.

What about you, men?  What’s your passion or interest?  And how can you use it to reach out to the men in your circle of influence?  What if you said something like, “God, I love doing/participating in ________________, I give it to you to reach men who share the same passion.“  Then, you begin open your eyes to who God leads you to.  You may have to join a club or organization.  Maybe not.  You may have to hang out with some guys you normally wouldn’t.  But aren’t those the guys we want to reach anyway?!

If we are going to change our families and communities we are going to have to change the hearts of men.  And that takes men willing to take a risk.  Men who will use their interests, hobbies, and passions to reach out to guys from all walks of life. It will take men who are willing to be bold.  Men who are willing to step out on faith and trust God.

Take the challenge!

Mike

It’s kind of funny, isn’t it? We want to be something we’re not, but we don’t want to change to become it, do we? We want to be more like Christ, we want to be successful, we want to be loving husbands and fathers, but we don’t want to change.

Here’s a great question for you, guys, “How do you supposed we become more like Christ in our homes, relationships, workplace, communities, and church if we don’t change our hearts and mindsets?” To be honest, I don’t have a clue.

Change – the last frontier of our lives, yet the constant in all of life. Change brings life. Change brings new and with new comes life. Your body is constantly changing – some of you would definitely agree with me – but, it’s that change that rejuvenates life. A lack of change and rejuvenation ushers in stagnation and with stagnation death – death of the heart, our passions, and the mind.

God has been changing me lately – my mind and my heart. My life got to the point that it seemed that my anger was raising it’s ugly head all the time. I haven’t had to deal with my anger and its sinful outbursts in a long time. My outbursts scare Cindy. She reminded me that every time I get angry it costs me something – money to replace or fix something, my relationship with her and others, even my relationship with God. Something needed to change and change quickly!

Through some great counsel (thanks Scott) I’ve begun to read through a book that’s been around a while, but is having a dramatic impact in and on my life. It is T.W. Hunt’s The Mind of Christ. Did you know that you can have the mind of Christ? Do you realize that to have the mind of Christ is to be in complete harmony with God and God’s desires? I want that. I want to be so in tune with God that I’m free from the bondage of sin and sinful thinking.

Did you know that to have the mind of Jesus requires change? YEP!! Make no mistake about it, this is a process. It doesn’t happen over night, though there are some biblical principles that will make an immediate impact (change) if you begin applying them to your life and your relationships. I’m working through the process now, asking God to change my heart, my relationships, my loyalties, my prejudices, my thought process and I’m seeing God in a whole new light.

I’ve also asked some men, a band of brothers – fellow warriors who knows about struggle and life change – to pray for me and hold me accountable for my anger. They are. In fact one fellow warrior asked me about it this past Sunday morning. Thanks Terry. Keep it up.

Life, the life in Christ we can all have is about change. Life changes. . .we change, but do you want change for God?

As God teaches me I will share with you.

I would ask that you pray for me and pray for Cindy. Pray that God will give me opportunities to share what He is teaching me with other men who struggle as well.

Mike

Dungy said that coaching or winning a Super Bowl was not his main purpose in life.  He stated that glorifying the Father was his main purpose.  How profound.  Here’s a guy that is constantly working to be better. He’s won the biggest football game on the biggest stage and stated, while that is the pinnacle of coaching, it’s not the pinnacle of his life.

Tony reminds us, men, that our jobs, that promotion or raise, that championship, the bigger house or better car are not to become the main things in our lives.  The main thing is not even our children or our wives.  Nope!  It’s none of those things.  It’s to glorify God.  None of those things, in and of themselves are bad.  But they are not to be the main thing in our lives.  The main this is to raise God up in our jobs, in our relationships, in our homes, and in our circumstances.

So what’s your main thing?

I have to admit, it’s a challenge.  It can be done.  I know guys who do it.  But, even they didn’t learn to do overnight.  You won’t either.  So start small.  Change your attitude at work – see your place of employment as a mission field rather than a mine field.  Start praying with and for your children.  Do the same with your wife or girlfriend.  Get involved with a small group of guys that will hold you accountable for your actions, words, thoughts, emotions, etc.

It takes guts and we have to let go of our pride, but we can do it!  Let’s accept Coach Dungy’s challenge and begin making glorifying God the main thing in our lives.

M ike

We rode in the Toys for Tots ride here in Mobile, along with some friends from church. It started as a pretty dreary day, but turned into a great day and a great experience for Cindy.

The ride began at the Marine Corp Reserve building.

What a site! Bikers of all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life.

Even Christian bikers.

The ride ended up at Hooters in Tillman’s Corner (it’s just southwest of downtown Mobile) at I-10. We got off the bikes to see what was happening and to get a free souvenir cup from Mobile Bay Harley Davidson and a Krsipy Kreme donut. And I never went in – just in case you were wondering.

The day ended with lunch at the Boiling Pot (great fish and lots of it) and a smooth ride home.

Later I found out that the cups we picked up changed color depending on the temperature of the liquid you pour into it. If you pour something cold into it turns red – the colder the more red it gets. Room temperature stuff is an orange color. I thought it was pretty cool. Never had anything like this before and it was from a Harley dealer. OK, so it doesn’t take much to impress me.

The other day I was drinking something from it at my desk when it hit me that our lives are much like these cups. They reflect what is inside of us. When we are walking with the Lord our lives reflect it. When we are walking away from the Lord our lives reflect it. Even Jesus said, “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” ( Mark 7:20-22). Paul wrote about what our lives look like when we are walking with the Lord in Galatians 5:22-23

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

He called these things the fruit of the Spirit or the result of God’s presence in you.

I would suspect that if our lives were like that cup that changes color depending on the temperature of what’s inside then I might be red if I were walking in the ways of God , as in red hot! If I am living for myself then I would turn a dark shade of cool blue. And I confess that there are times when my color changes with the situation or my circumstances. It shouldn’t, but it does.

I honestly believe our lives reflect the one we follow. Part of the process of becoming the man God designed and desires you to be is learning to have a red-hot passion for God and following Him, and Him alone. This means you and I have got to stop trying to be the man our society is telling us to be, or our parents think we should be, or our friends try to influence us to be and start being the man God desires us to be.

Here’s the funny thing about all of this, guys. We’re really good at putting a huggy around us to hide our true color. There are those of us who don’t want anyone to know that we are cold as ice for God. So we wrap our huggy around us and play the cordial game, the “every thing’s alright” game, the “I don’t want anybody to know the truth” game, or the “we’ve got it all together” game (similar to the “every thing’s alright” game). And believe it or not, this happens at church, of all places. At church! The one place you would think we could be honest. Why do we do that?!

Now you might fool me, you may fool your wife (I doubt that very seriously) and eventually you might even fool yourself into believing the lies, but God really knows your heart. And after all, that’s who truly matters.

Gentlemen, stop living the lies. Confess your true color to God, your wife, and even some guys who – hopefully – will come around you with their own honesty and encourage you and become your own Band of Brothers. And if your life is reflective of God’s presence within you, then God bless you and keep it up!

So what color are you?

Mike

So I sat down with my idea book and began flipping through the pages. I ran across some notes from messages I heard this summer. Below one of the outlines I discovered some notes I had written about a specific passage of Scripture – Matthew 14:13-21. It’s where Jesus feeds the 5,000 plus leftovers. But before He did His thing He told the disciples to feed them. When they complained all they had was some biscuits and a couple of fish He told them to bring the bread and fish to Him. It’s then He did the miraculous. Here are the notes I made about that particular passage:

• Jesus takes over when we come to the end of ourselves
• We come to the beginning of Jesus when we come to the end of ourselves (yes it’s redundant – just another way of saying the first thing)
• Stop whining about what I don’t have and start looking for/at what I do have to offer God
• God does the most amazing things when we give Him all we have
• What we see as a problem, God sees as an opportunity.

Here’s where that’s applicable to me -

• I need to stop worrying and whining about the finances I don’t have and give God the money I DO have!!

• What I see as a problem (lack of funds) God sees as an opportunity (give Him what I do have – don’t know the how or the what, but God can provide all I need and then some, eh?)

Hey guys, where are you struggling? What are you worrying about? What do you have you can give God now? Take some time and prayerfully give it to God. That’s what I’m going to do. Join me?

Mike

In Numbers 13:30 & 14:6-9 we get a full-blown, unobstructed view of what it looks like to pick up our sword and fight for our King.

13:30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

14:6-9 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

Hope you didn’t miss it, but in case you did let me help. First, Caleb stood against his peers. These weren’t run of the mill Israelites (if there is such a thing). These were leaders from the 12 tribes of Judah – hand picked by Moses himself. These were men of esteem, men of wisdom, men who could be trusted. But when they saw the people of Canaan, they gave in to their fears and gave the people of Israel a bad report and eventually persuaded the Israelites to rebel against Moses and ultimately God. Then Joshua steps up. I love it. With confidence to spare – not in himself, but in his God – he tells the people that they should go up and take the land – take possession of it. As in, it will be ours, not theirs. As in, we will overcome whatever and whoever is in our way. As in, we shouldn’t care who owns the land now, we CAN do it! His entire report is the complete opposite of these men of renown.

Then Caleb stands against the people. When only two guys – Moses and Aaron – are hurt by the people’s rebellious attitude, Caleb, along with Joshua, join them. He stands when no one else will. He stands for God and against an entire nation. Now this is what it looks like to take up your sword and fight for the heart of your King when all those around you are running. Why were they running from their inheritance? One word – FEAR! But Caleb didn’t give in to fear. He didn’t give in because he didn’t see giants he saw God. Caleb knew and trusted God’s power – his ability – to overcome the giants of the land flowing with milk and honey. He didn’t give in to his fears – I don’t even know if he was afraid. Maybe he was. Maybe he wasn’t any different than ten of the other men that went on that trip. Maybe he wasn’t any different than me and you. Maybe. . .Then again, Caleb also knew of the incredible power of God. Instead of seeing giants he saw God. He saw the God of deliverance – the God that brought them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. He saw the God who goes with us – and provides for our needs just like He provided food, meat, and water for the Israelites throughout their journey. He saw the God of protection. He saw God!

So how do you get to this point in your life with God. That’s a great question. In Joshua 14:9 and 13-14 we get a hint of what it takes. Joshua is dolling out the land to each of the tribes and Caleb comes to Joshua to collect his inheritance. Read these words.

9 That was the day that Moses solemnly promised, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance, you and your children’s, forever. Yes, you have lived totally for God.’

13-14 Joshua blessed him. He gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite still today, because he gave himself totally to God, the God of Israel.

Twice during Caleb’s conversation with Joshua he is referred to as a man who gave himself totally to God. Want to be a Caleb? Want to get past your fears? What to overcome the giants in your life? Want to see God in your situations? Do what Caleb had learned to do – give yourself totally to God. Don’t hold anything back. It doesn’t matter what you think you must have control of – turn it over to God. This is what it looks like when we come under the LORDship of God. This is what is looks like when we place ourselves under God’s authority.
Caleb, what a man! A man of vision – for he saw God instead of his fears. A man of God – he gave himself totally to God.

What about you? What are your fears? What are the giants in your life? What’s getting in your way of seeing God – protector, deliverer, provider, King of heaven and earth? What’s keeping you from giving yourself totally to God today. Do you want to see God instead of your giants?
Take some time to list your fears. . .to answer the hard questions. Ask your wife. She’ll definitely let you know. Ask other godly men who know you and your heart. Then open yourself up to God. Confess those fears and ask God show Himself afresh to you right now.

Me – my giant is trusting God to provide. It’s such a giant in my life right now that I can’t see the God who has, time and time again, provided for my every need. I weep at times because of my lack of faith. My fear shoves me into the closet so I can’t be used of God. I’m working through this with God as I write this. I want to fight for the heart of my King and to be a man with a heart for God! Join me!!

If you noticed each of the questions above were point at you – NOT YOUR SPOUSE (if you have one). FYI – you’re job is to change you, not someone else. . .even your spouse.

So. . .what will you change?

Will you be more intentional about doing what it takes to have a RELATIONSHIP with God?

• Spending time with God – quiet time (or whatever you call it) that is consistent and regular.
• Intentional prayer times – not just shot in the dark or “fast food” prayers.
• Reading God’s Word – not just the devotional thought in the morning or evening.
• Share your story with God with others – not expecting others to do it for you.

Will you begin, and continue, to work on putting everything you are and everything you have influence over under the LORDSHIP of God?

• Heart
• Attitude
• Emotions
• Problems – big and small
• Finances
• Relationships
• Giftedness, abilities, and passions
• Job
• Hobbies
• You have more I’m sure

Will you WORSHIP the Lord by developing an unquenchable thirst for the things of God?

• Worship becomes a lifestyle.
• Sharing the difference Christ makes in your life.
• Loving others.
• Loving God.
• A hunger for God’s Word and understanding it.

Will you pick up the sword of WARSHIP?

• Fighting for God’s truth and His standards – even if it means standing alone.
• Fighting for your heart – especially when there’s no one to fight for you.
• Fighting for your Eve – fighting for her integrity and character.
• Fighting for the hearts of a few men – having their back even if they don’t know it.

I don’t know where you are in the process of becoming the man God designed and desires you to be, but you can start by having a personal relationship with Him. Click [here] to find out how. If you have a personal relationship with God, then you can begin the process, or in some cases kick the process up a notch, by choosing one of the areas listed above and gettin’ busy.

Just a reminder: The process doesn’t mean there’s a starting and ending point to each of the steps. In all actuality, you will be doing some in each area at the same time. They are integrally connected. So. . .when you’re developing a consistent time with God and working on the RELATIONSHIP, you are also working on the LORDSHIP – putting your time under His authority – and WORSHIP – becoming passionate about the things of God. Eventually you build up to the WARSHIP step of the process as you grow in your relationship with God by learning how to fight the victorious fight.

Find it . . . Pick it . . . Do it!

Mike