I’m pretty sure I’m a worrier by nature. I worry about finances, the ministry, my job, and getting stuff done. I always worry about being late, the future, and past mistakes. And wondering about whether what I do is good enough or not, or even if I’m good enough or not brings me to my knees with worry.

Yet we’re told not to worry (Phil 5:6). And to help me, God gave me the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14) to watch over me, to care for me, to give me rest from fear, turmoil, tension, and the like. Even rest from myself.

God also gave me His presence - the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls Him the Comforter and the Counselor. It’s in these two roles Jesus says He will leave with me - give me - peace. Not just any peace, but the peace of Christ. The kind of peace I find in the midst of a life of worry. All I have to do is receive this amazing gift.

Thank you God for the Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus for the Comforter and my very own Counselor who will teach me and guide me. Thank you Holy Spirit for the peace you bring to my life.

Now, I won’t always listen. I won’t always accept your guidance or your comfort. At times I will wallow in self-pity, worry, and anxiety. I will be restless more than you or I wish. But I know you are fatihful. You are always there…waiting, hoping, and ready. Thank you.

Men, what about you. Did you wake up this morning worrying about something. Was it similar to what I worry with? Maybe it was different. Maybe it was a relationship. Maybe it was your marriage. Maybe it was your job performance. Maybe it was a child. It doesn’t matter. Worry is worry.

You can be free from worry. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and receive the peace He offers. Unload a life of worry onto the One who died to free you up from a life a worry, fear, and anxiety. Want to know more about how to accept Jesus’ gift of peace click here for more information.

If you have made Jesus your Lord and Savior, then you need to realize (if you haven’t already) that Jesus is also your Shepherd (Ps 23). And as your Shepherd, He offers you rest from your worry. He provides you with peaceful pastures and quiet streams to enjoy and to relax. And while you’re doing that, He’ll protect you. He will watch over you so you won’t have to. Confess your worry right now and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and comfort you. Ask God to fill you with the peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7). And don’t forget to thank Him for this incredible gift of peace.

Shalom,

Mike

Along those lines I believe that every man who calls himself a Christ-follower ought to live a life that demands some evidence of his commitment to Christ.

I was reading John 12 last week and it got me to thinking.

In John 11 you have Jesus raising his good friend Lazarus from the grave - he was dead and is now alive. In chapter 12 we find Jesus hanging out with his really close, used-to-be-dead-now-he’s-alive friend. Jesus and his disciples are at Lazarus’ house eating, sharing stories, you know. . .guy stuff.

While they are there a whole bunch of folks start showing up, not only to see Jesus, but to see this guy who was dead and is now alive! I’m sure I would be one of the gawkers. C’mon. . .think about it. Here’s a guy that was really dead - he was dead for 4 days and really, really stunk. Now he’s walking, talking, laughing, eating, and drinking. Wouldn’t you want to see him?

OK, back to the story. . .

As it turns out, because  of Lazarus’ encounter with Jesus many Jews began to follow Jesus. And because of this, the Pharisees get perturbed and not only wanted to kill Jesus, but added Lazarus to the hit list as well.

As I read this I realized that Lazarus, who was dead and is now alive by Christ, was pointing people to Jesus. What a great lesson for us. We, too, who were dead in our transgressions or sins (Eph 2:1-3) have been made alive in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:4-5). And if we have been made alive in Christ, then shouldn’t our lives, also, be pointing people to Christ?

Men, if you have been alive in Christ, by accepting Him as your personal Lord and Savior (Rom 10:9-10), then you must ask yourself the question, “Does my life point people - my wife, my children, my clients, my boss, my friends, guests at my church, people I teach or serve with - to Jesus?” If not, then what can you do to change that? Whether you believe it or not there are people watching you and your life is speaking volumes to them. Which volume are they reading?

What evidence is there in your life that you have been raised from the death of your sins and made alive in Christ? Or do you look so much like the world that no one knows the difference. Yes, Lazarus was the same Lazarus. . .except he was different. Just ask a dead man what it means to be alive!

Just something to think about,

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

Fortunately for me, God knew my needs and began to provide some incredible resources.  First was Promise Keepers.  They were just getting started and their speakers, events, and resources helped me understand the principles of how a godly man and husband is to act.  Second, God began placing godly men in my life.  Men who were in the corporate world and struggled with some of the same day-to-day issues I did.  They showed me how to live out the principles Promise Keepers was teaching me.  I dont’ think any of them know the depth of their impact on my life and future ministry.

As God moved me from the corporate world into ministry, he placed me under the wings of Gene Wilkes.  Gene has been an encourager, fellow runner-cyclist-triathlete, as well as a mentor when it comes to ministry and marriage.  God has also provided me several friends in ministry who continue to have an impact on my life.  Guys like Stacey, Steve, and Scott.  Seems like you have to have a name that begins with an “S” doesn’t it?  During different seasons in my life God has placed men like Grant, Billy,  Randy, Vince,  and Ed to see me through those seasons.

I am who I am because of the influence of Godly men God placed in my life.  But, besides the personal effects these godly men have made on my life and my desire to paint a picture for today’s men, statistics bear out the need for active ministry to men.

According to Focus on the Family’s Promise Keepers at Work . . .

• When a child is the first person in the family home to come to faith, the rest of the family will follow 3.5% of the time.
• When a mother/woman is the first person to come to faith, the rest of the family will follow 17% of the time.
• When a father/man is the first person to come to faith, the rest of the family will follow 93% of the time.

Now that’s a difference worth striving for.

Patrick Morely states that for for every ten men in the church. . .

• 9 will have kids who leave the church.
• 8 will not find their jobs satisfying.
• 6 will pay the monthly minimum on their credit card balances.
• 5 have a major problem with pornography.
• 4 will get divorced, affecting 1,000,000 children per year.
• Only 1 will have a biblical world view.
• All 10 will struggle to balance work and family.

Additionally, most pastor I have spoken to over the my 10 years of ministry say their one of their greatest needs is more leaders - more male leaders - in their churches.  They have experienced a shift from men being the active leaders - as opposed to positional leaders - to the women of their church being the active leaders in areas of Bible study, outreach, and ongoing ministry.

The need is there and it is great.  Men, especially men in the church, need a picture of what a godly man looks like.  And we want to help.  Won’t you join us?

Mike

I was recently speaking with a friend of mine about girl-guy relationships. This is a guy that has grown more in his relationship with God over the last year or so, than since becoming a Christ-follower. He’s a great guy - a hard worker, smart, and rides a motorcycle.
We had been talking about purity and how God calls us to remain pure in our girl-guy relationships until the time He unites us in marriage. He struggled with this for a while - like most guys do. As we walked through God’s standard for us as single men and how it is up to us to guard that standard as the spiritual leaders in our relationships he equated his desire for sex to “Snickers Bars.” We laughed, but what a great analogy! It was his way of talking about sex in terms he could understand since he likes Snickers Bars as well.

As I thought about his struggle and his analogy, I realized many of us have our own “Snickers Bars.” Don’t we? It may not be the overwhelming desire to be sexually active in our girl-guy relationships, but it could be our pride, our desire for more toys, pornography, the demanding desire to be in charge/control, our attitudes that we cling to, or our expectations of others. . .you get the picture.

What’s your “Snickers Bar?”

I’m so proud of my friend. He came to me one night and told me how he went to his friend’s house and told her, “No more.” He walked away from his “Snickers Bar.” I’m not sure if their still friends, but I know God loved to see him walk away. He enjoyed watching my friend set the example, not matter how tough it was for him. I know it wasn’t an easy decision for him to make. The decision to put down our “Snickers Bar” is never easy. But I do know he wanted to please God and be obedient. For my friend it meant finding an alternative way of spending his time and a substitute for “Snickers Bar.” If you and I want to please God, as well, we will have to do the same. My buddy did it and I believe with all my heart that God is looking at my friend with an incredibly huge smile and a special place in his heart for him. And God has blessed him with more jobs to do in his side business.

My friend fought for his King and the King’s standard of purity in girl-guy relationships. What a warrior!

What about you? You ready to put down your “Snickers Bar” and follow God? Willing to walk away and walk to God? Are you willing to fight for the heart of your King?

I won’t be easy, but God assures us that He will grant us the grace to see us through. He will be there all the way. Won’t you make the commitment today. . .now?

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

I’m reading Tony Dungy’s autobiography, Quiet Strength. It’s a great read and focuses on his struggles and personal walk with God as it does his coaching career. As I read it I’m reminded and discovering some secrets of leadership that have helped Coach Dungy throughout his carer as a coach, father, husband, and Christ-follower.

Here are a few of them:

• Do what we do and do it better than anyone else - don’t try to be like someone else’s business or ministry and don’t let others dictate what you should do
• Do the ordinary things extraordinary - just do the small things well
• Focus on the fundamentals - focus on the basics of what you do, you don’t have to get fancy schmancy
• No excuses, no explanations - stop looking for and finding excuses why you can’t do something
• Focus on the job, not the surroundings - leaders don’t have to have the best, the greatest, nor the latest of everything to be successful
• Whatever it takes - do whatever it takes to be and do what God has called you to be and do
• Worrying about stuff is God’s job, just do what He’s called you to do - don’t worry about your job, finances, or what others think of you, just do what God’s called you to do
• Trust God that all things work together for the good of those that love God and are called according to His purpose, even when it doesn’t feel good to me - either you believe this or not, irregardless of your circumstance

I know some of these may be re-stated or redundant, but I like the way he says them. They seem to ring a bell with me. I’m still reading and as I find more leadership nuggets I’ll share them with you as I discover them myself.

Mike

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

I was lead to this question by God during consecutive quiet times just before the new year. Allow me to explain. After Christmas I asked God what He wanted from me this year. Yeah, I know the easy answer - “Your heart!” or “Your life.” or several Sunday School answers. And these wouldn’t be wrong. But that wasn’t what I was looking for, nor was it what God wanted me to discover - at least I don’t think it was.

Instead God lead me to John 6:1-13. It’s a very familiar passage to many of us. Reading it we find that it’s where Jesus feeds the 5,000 (considering all that was recorded were men, estimates are upwards to around 10,000 people). Through this passage there’s a couple of unique lessons God wanted me to learn and I want to share with you as 2008 gets kicked off.

Trust God to provide for you

As we begin reading we are allowed to listen in on Jesus’ conversation with Philip: Hey Phil, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” But we’re also privy to the thoughts of Jesus - He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. You see, God didn’t expect Phil to provide for the people. As a matter of fact Jesus asked him a where question, because Jesus already knew the how. Jesus was simply testing Phil, just like He tests you and me.

Philip’s answer was about the means. . .the how. He responded to Jesus’ question, “No matter how much money we have, it won’t be enough to buy what we need.” Of course looking back we think, what was Phil thinking? This is Jesus. He could do whatever he wanted to! Yet, we often respond like Philip. Ever responded to God like Him, He asks something of you and the first thing you mention is how you can’t do it? He asks you to trust Him and the first thing you do is tell Him how you can’t do something for God.

When we trust God to provide whatever it is we need - peace, love, direction, fellowship, companionship, finances, solutions, etc. - we have to leave the how up to Him. Why? Because He already knows how he will provide. He’s just waiting for you and me to trust Him. Don’t fall into the “How” trap. That is a trap of faithlessness.

Surrender your stuff to God

I’m cleaning out closets and getting rid of a lot of stuff. See, I’m a pack rat. I hate throwing stuff away. Why? You guessed it, I might need it later. Right? You know what I mean?

Listen, God started this process in my heart last year and it’s a lesson I’m still learning - stuff is just stuff. It doesn’t do any good to hold on to it. If you’re thinking its about memories or value or whatever, let me assure you I have plenty of reasons to hang onto stuff. But God has reminded me it’s just stuff. The memories are in my heart and in my mind. They will never go away. And the value - Jesus told us in Matthew 6:19-21 that our hearts shouldn’t be set on the stuff of earth, especially things with monetary value. What if they all burned up in a fire? What would I do then? Where’s the value?

Instead, give your stuff over to God. Remember, though, stuff doesn’t just mean our physical goods. It means our abilities, our passions, our giftedness, our fears, our situations, our relationships. I told God I would turn my teaching abilities, my limited writing experience, my desire to read and study His Word, my ministries, my relationships, my marriage, my fears, my anxieties, my emotions (especially my anger and temper), my feelings all over to Him. Yeah, there’s some big things in there, but there’s also some things that I would consider little things or maybe not as consequential as others. That’s what God is waiting for you know?

Reading the passage in John we find a little boy gave up his 5 biscuits and 2 sardines. This was probably all he had. Barley loaves and fish were the food of the poor, so this wasn’t donated out of extravagance. It wasn’t like the boy said, “Here, take this, I’ve got plenty!” No, it was probably all he had. I wonder, was he the only person in the entire crowd that had food? If he wasn’t, then why didn’t others give up their meals? Probably for the same reason we don’t: It’s all I’ve got! If I give it I’ll have nothing. Yet a child said here, take it.
It’s like that with our stuff. God is wanting what you have. No guarantees. The boy had no guarantee that he would get any of the food back. But it didn’t stop him from giving it up.

Thank God for everything, even the small stuff

When Jesus received the biscuits and fish the first thing He did (after having the people sit down) was to thank God for it. It was all there was, nothing more. Just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Yet, Christ raised it up and thanked God for what He had provided. Jesus didn’t question God. He didn’t complain about what He didn’t have. He thanked God for the little bit they did have.

I have to say, this is the most difficult lesson for me to accept. I struggle with the stuff I don’t have. I complain, whine, cry, and plead with God for the stuff I don’t have - like enough money to pay bills, rather than thank Him for the house I have, the fact that I haven’t been late paying any of our bills, for a wonderfully supportive wife, clothes to wear, food to eat, opportunity to trust Him and grow in my faith, a loving family, I could go on, but there’s no need.

What about you? Do you complain to God for what you don’t have or thank God for what you do have - no matter how small or insignificant it appears to be?

Expect God to do the impossible in and through you -

When Jesus distributed the bread I think He knew that everyone there would eat well. John tells us that when they had enough to eat - i.e., when everyone was full - they gathered 12 baskets of leftovers. Wouldn’t that be the coolest thing? Watch Jesus lift up a handful of food and then watch everyone eat until they’re satisfied? OH MAN!!

Getting back to that little boy - I wonder if 5 biscuits and 2 sardines would have filled him up? Don’t know. But I do know he at to his heart’s content. I also wonder what he thought has he saw his “little” donation go farther and farther and farther and. . .?

Do you expect God to do the impossible in and through you? Do your pray believing? Do you surrender and trust believing? Jesus reminded us “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). Do you want God to do the impossible in and through you? I tend to think there’s a lot of us who want the comfort and security we have now rather than risking letting go of it so we can He can bless us with an armful.

I’m expecting God to do something powerful in and through me this year. There’s a lot I could accomplish and do in my power, but I learning to want and desire the impossibilities of God. I hope you will, too.

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