Communion
At my church we have Communion each week. I’m one of five men in the rotation (occasionally a woman). And it never gets old. And you’re probably asking how that can be?
Struggle for Our Faith
The word “conflict” is better understood as “struggle”. How much do we struggle for the spiritual well-being of another saint? Do we even know what that is; for them or us?
Thinking of Discipleship
Notice that we are baptized into His death. Jesus did not need to recover from His past; but we do. Also notice that we’re not left there. But we are raised to a new life. But we are also called to complete His mission (the salvation of lost souls).
Avoiding the Cross Fire
Jesus was the master at looking below the surface of the issues presented to him. And He knew people’s real motives. While compromise seems like a solution, I think we need to follow Jesus and find the core of each issue, mine for the common ground of the issue with the point of view of others, and build up top a solution using Biblical principles.
Colossians
The church Paul describes in his greeting was what church should be. A place where outsiders hear about our good reputation for love, acceptance, forgiveness, and discipleship.
To Enable or to Help
The key factor in maintaining an addiction is enabling. This enabling allows the addict to experience no consequences for their destructive habits. And a person who is co-dependent also will not function well if they don’t have some way to shelter the addict.
Giving Thanks
In 2020 it’s hard to find things to be thankful for. I remember in the great recession of 2008 that people fell out of the middle class and never found their way back. I know there’s a large percentage of our population that make just enough to survive; and now a great portion of them have lost their jobs and could soon be homeless.
Empathy is from God
Christian men need to relate to each other as deep friends who have each other’s backs. And that is about accountability for their walk with Christ. Christian men also need to be able to relate to non-believers in order to draw them to Christ. The only way to achieve deep friendships and witnessing opportunities is with empathy.
Who Am I?
I find myself not understanding my moods and my laziness. I’ve developed really poor sleep habits. My temper is coming back. I don’t believe I know myself as well as I should. I realize that I can’t fix myself without the Holy Spirit and my own introspection.
Is Being Safe Our Goal?
As men how truly adventuresome are we? Don’t we all aspire to be significant? And in what way? Does our spiritual life figure into this equation?
