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

 1 Deliver me from my enemies, O God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.

16 But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.

17 O my Strength, I sing praise to you;
you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

It hit me as I read about my enemies, that my enemies are not the people in my life (Ephesians 6:12).  It’s not that I didn’t know this already, but the question popped into my mind, If people are not my enemies then who or what is?

I was reminded that my attitude, my anger, my selfishness, my opinions, my self-righteousness, my pride, and anything that keeps me from loving God and loving people is my enemy.  These are the real enemies of God.  It’s those things in my life that keep me from rejoicing in the Lord and living a victorious life.  Ever feel your frustration and anger rise up within you like the enemies David writes about?  Ever succumb to your pride and watch a relationship be destroyed?  Ever become so selfish that no else’s needs really mattered and you found yourself all alone?  Hard to love God and love others when we are overcome by these kinds of attacks.

When you feel like you’re being overwhelmed by your enemies stop and sing of God’s strength.  Sing of His love.  Allow Him to be your fortress, your protector, your safe place against your enemies.  Worship God and invite Him to empower you to stand firm and resist the devil and his wily schemes.  This is what David did.  This is what God became to David and He can be for you as well.

Know your enemy, better yet, know your God!

Mike

• Joy is my responsibility (emphasis is mine).
• People who want to pursue joy need to practice the disciplines of celebration.
• Spiritual celebration means doing activities – activities that bring pleasure like gather with friends, singing and dancing, eating and drinking – while reflecting on the wonderful God who has give us such wonderful gifts.
• When we celebrate, we exercise our ability to see and feel goodness in the simplest gifts of God.
• The first step for pursuing join is simply to begin now. This day!!
• We all live with the illusion that joy will come someday when conditions change – graduate from school, find a mate, get a new job, have children, etc.
• “This is God’s day,” the psalmist says. It is the day God made, a day that Christ’s death has redeemed.
• If we are going to know joy, it must be in this day–today.
• If we don’t rejoice today, we will not rejoice at all.
• This is the day that the Lord has made.
• This is the Dee Dah Day! (That’s John’s version of the kitchen dance)

So guys have you rejoiced today? To be honest, I was struggling to find joy today. I woke up overwhelmed by financial concerns I am experiencing – truck’s in the shop, paying for a wedding, paying bills, etc. You know what I mean. Then I remembered that my heavenly Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps 50:10) and His timing is perfect. So why am I so worried? I’m a guy, go figure.

With that I opened my journal and began sharing my heart with God. Then I cranked up some Shane & Shane to spend some time in worship. And guess what? I will most definitely break out in song some time this morning. I know some of you are glad you’re not here to experience my version of “singing”, but I don’t even care. HAH!!

All I know is that Satan’s job is to steal my joy. And I’ve let him have at it for too long, now. I mean, he didn’t even have to sneak around, I just gave it to him. Not today little man. You do not get my joy! It’s reserved for the one who gave His life for mine and you didn’t. . .haven’t. . .and won’t. Later dude.

C’mon guys, lets sing unto the Lord a new song (Ps 96; 98). He didn’t say sing on key or read like a pro. The psalmist simply said that we should sing – rejoice!! Join in the chorus of hearts expressing shear delight in God’s love for us. Make something up. Who cares? I do it all the time when I run. OK. . .co-workers may wonder about you and look at you a little strange, but it’s not about them anyway. Right?

I will guarantee you this. You earnestly sing to the Lord today and your outlook on this entire day will change. If it doesn’t email me, well talk about it. If it does change, let us know. What did you do – sing, read Scripture out loud, a time of confession, a kitchen dance? How did you feel afterwards? Me? I’m feeling the change taking place. My heart is getting a little lighter. The muscles in my face are beginning to relax. The smile I love to wear is beginning to come back. That’s me.

What about you?

Mike

Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating,a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head. – Mark 14:3 (NLT)

I couldn’t help think that the woman gave Jesus the best she had. Not only did she give her best, she gave Him all of it, not just part of it.

Let me set the scene. Jesus and the disciples were on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The time had also come for Jesus to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. On their way they stop in Bethany to visit and hang with a man by the name of Simon the Leper – a man who, at some point in time, suffered from leprosy, but was now healed. It’s during this time that a woman comes and offers Jesus this expensive bottle of perfume.

How expensive was it? According to the disciples it cost at least a year’s wage. Imagine what you make in a year. Now go buy some perfume, stock, land, house, car, you name it – then give it to God; not some of it, not part of it, not almost all of it, but every last penny’s worth. Offer it to God.

Would you do it? Could you do it? She did. The woman enters Jesus’ presence and offers her most costly investment. It was something that was used a little at a time because of its value. But she didn’t care. This was Jesus. He was different. We don’t know why He was different to her, but for some reason He was. He had made some kind of impact in her life and she set the example for a room full of men. Men who knew Jesus was different. Men who had spent time with Jesus – day in and day out – for the better part of three years. Men who sat around and grumbled about a woman’s offering. Men who were made to look silly by the example of a woman.

In some ways this incident reminds me of the current state of many churches. Think about it for a minute. Who does or leads out in most of the ministries at your church? Who sets the examples in your prayer ministries, outreach ministries, fellowships/get togethers, building relationships, discipleship? I would venture to say it’s the women. Why? Because most of us men are standing around the back of the room sipping on stale coffee, arms crossed, worried more about Saturday’s college football game, the status of latest hunting season, or work, waiting for someone else to do the ministry. We’re more worried about making sure there’s coffee than whether there are lost people in the service. We’re more focused on the style of worship than who just moved in down the street. We’ve been beaten to the leadership roles, not by good leaders, but because we have forfeited our leadership roles to the women who will do them. We have been showed up much like the disciples were.

Men, it’s time we stood up and began leading. Some of you do. Some of you reading this will probably be somewhat upset at what I’ve said. It’s understandable. Thank you for setting the tone in your church. Then again, who’s leading in your church. I’m not talking about positional leadership – pastors, elders, deacons, coordinators, teachers. I’m talking about rounding up some men and leading out by example.

Reading further into Mark 14 we find Jesus sharing His last supper with these men. He takes the bread, gives thanks and breaks it. Giving it to His disciples He speaks, “Take it; this is my body.” Next He takes the cup, again giving thanks He offers it to the men gathered in the room with Him. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” He said to them. Jesus gave it His all as well. He gave His all for you and for me. He didn’t hold anything back. He didn’t quit in the middle. He offered God all of Himself – the most expensive thing He could give – for us.

Men, are you giving God your best? Are you giving Him all of it? Are you leading by modeling or by griping?

Mike

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