Be Adventurous

Men are adventurous. We love excitement and going on new adventures; most men do. Imagine the following. Your dad wakes you up one morning [your childhood years] and says the following, “Get up buddy. Feel like an adventure today?” Dad invites you to go with him on an adventure, maybe a fishing trip, maybe some mountain hiking, maybe some plain backpacking trip. And how will you answer him? Like this usually, “Yip dad! Totally up to it today.” You trust your dad, believe in him and are willing to go on this trip with him. You are all game for it. You don’t fear for danger or anything out there as long as your dad is by your side. He will protect you always. What if your answer was this; “No thanks dad. I’m not up to this today.” or “I don’t think so dad. Too dangerous and too risky.” Why would you say this instead of loving it because dad will be with you?

God designed us men for adventures ... His adventures. Listen to His calling. Read Numbers 14:11. It goes like this – “The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?’ ” God wants to know how strong your faith is. He wants to know if you believe in Him. If you trusted and believed in your dad, what’s different in trusting and believing in God? God, through Moses, “spoke” to twelve men, telling them to go and scout out the land He had promised them. After they had returned, ten did not want to accept the new adventure God was inviting them to. They too, as is in most cases today, had other plans, or found it too risky, or just didn’t feel like it right then. They didn’t want to go with God on this new adventure He had invited them too.

When these men, send out to scout the land promised by God, saw the giants in that place, they didn’t see themselves gaining the upper hand and receiving that land as God had promised to them. Only two accepted God’s invitation to go with Him on this new adventure. They were Joshua and Caleb. They accepted because they trusted and believed in the God they followed and worshipped. Read Numbers chapter 13 to get the whole picture, then continue with chapter 14 too. Why don’t you muster up some courage and go where God is inviting you to go? Why not start by believing in Him and trusting Him? He is our Father in heaven, our Abba Father. He is greater than our earthly father, then why not accept His invitation? When God invites us on an adventure, it becomes a special moment. It becomes an eternal moment, and will be good for us in the long run, the eternal life hereafter. Why don’t you accept God as He wants to lead us on a new adventure? There are not many such invitations awaiting you. Go with Him today. Amen.

Refocusing Our Intentions

Men, as we know them in general, usually focus our intentions upon ourselves. Our goals and what drives us is all about us alone; most times. We love devoting our attention to our own greatness. We plan for our future in every way – wealth, possessions, status and much more. It’s all about me and not you… typical men. Deep in our inner mechanisms there is something which drives us on toward securing greatness. This is all well, but…  Yes, there’s always a but when God is involved. The twelve apostles also had such a drive. Only their attention was focused on what God wanted from them. They even tried to see who would be the greatest amongst themselves. This was not what God planned and prepared them for. Look at what Luke 22:26 tells us.

“But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Jesus spoke these words when they were disputing who was the greatest amongst their group. They were seeking self-status and greatness. And this was not what God wanted [read Luke 22:24 – 30]. God’s kingdom on earth needs those who lead by serving others. This is where we must refocus our attention. This is where our intentions must be leading us to. We are to be leaders and today’s disciples by being His servants in His kingdom on earth. Our Saviour God, Jesus Christ was on earth and He came to serve us. That’s our blueprint in life.

His life is the blueprint for our lives. This is what we must follow and not any other ways which we see fit for ourselves. It’s not about us and how great we can be. It’s about Him and how great He is. As men, we must refocus our drives toward others, toward uplifting others around us. We must live and focus on doing God’s will and His calling as He planned and prepared us for – it’s all about God! We must trust that this is a better way to live, a better way to enjoy our blessed lives given to us by our loving God. Better for God, better for us. And better for those we are to love and serve. Where are your intentions focused upon right now? You or God’s will? Start by seeking out others you can serve. Look around you and at the needs of others. Start focusing on God’s greatness today. Be blessed and enjoy the journey.

Keeping Yourself Topped Up

In today’s lifestyles, we live fast paced lives, filled with stress, anxiety, worries and plenty more things that drain us. There are many solutions to improve our stamina, our daily strength and emotional drainage. We participate in outdoor activities, or we join sports clubs to stay fit, go to gyms, and eat protein filled drinks. This is only one part of our lives that needs refuelling. What about our spiritual lives, our God-given lives? Don’t they need some refuelling as well? I’m sure we reach drainage points in this area of our lives too. How about being imaginative and inventive, something which comes quite natural for men. How can we do this? What does God expect from us? I’ll offer you an answer.

Let’s look at Romans 12:1 … “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” What is this telling us? Let me expand on this verse further, concentrating at specific words in this verse. What a great challenge for us men, today. It dares us to engage our God-given capacities for imagining and inventing. This verse also dares us to direct these capacities toward good purposes, toward God’s purposes. Take your everyday, ordinary life and place it before God as an offering. You got it! Start by being inventive and imaginative in reaching out to others around you with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Most times we use these capacities to feed and refuel our own lives, our own possessions, our health and wealth, but it’s not God’s purpose. He wants us to do more for Him in this world we live in.

We have to help feed and refuel others around us. Men, we are in the business world daily. We are qualified artisans, managers, leaders, CEOs, etc. We must look at others around us and use these capacities to feed and refuel others, offering them what God has offered us – salvation. Why not dedicate some of our time and focus on our families, our relatives, our friends and communities around us, using our imaginations and our inventive thoughts. We can come up with great ways to reach out and make a difference. What about you? We don’t have to go it alone. God’s Spirit is with us daily and He will guide us and lead us in the right direction. How can you change? Pray and listen to the Holy Spirit. Be still and listen and allow Him to answer you. Start by encouraging love and good deeds in your family, then relatives, friends and into the community. If it fits within God’s will it will bring fruit and new fuel for those who need a recharge in their lives. Amen.

His Power With Us

How do we get something done? We band up together and decide as a group what must be done. In South Africa one can see this “power” of togetherness come into effect. Our nation is struck with strikes by various groups throughout the year. This happens every year. When they want pay increases and their companies are not fulfilling their needs, people employed by these companies start striking. Most are union related strikes. These strikes suppress the economy until their demands are met. The companies give in to these demands and everything goes back to normal. This is evident across the world. Power is on their side and they win.

As Christians, we don’t realise that we too have power on our side. Yes, we may not “band up” together as seen above, but we are not alone. We have the power of God with us at all times. Many don’t realise this and live lives where failure is usually the outcome. And as churches, we too fail in certain areas where we could gain more victories. Why? Because we don’t “band up” together and follow the same teachings of God. We allow His power to flow in some places and not others. Yes, I know that I’m going to be hammered for saying this, but it’s true. Let’s read Acts 4:31. Here one discovers one great truth which does not happen in today’s times, between God’s followers in one church, and also between His greater Church worldwide.

This verse goes like this; “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Wow! Can you see what happened here? Peter and John got their people together and they prayed. The next thing they were all filled with God’s Spirit, and His power was in them and with them. They became bolder and stronger and went out to preach His word without fear of failure. They had “banded up” and became one before God. Shouldn’t we as men of God be doing the same? Shouldn’t we be “banding up” as one group and pray, in this manner seeking God’s power to lead us in victory? With His power all things are possible. Maybe we should look at drawing in all men of God together and pray. Can you see the victory through the power of God and His Spirit breaking down all barriers of sin and evil in this world? Listen to your heart and do something about it. Amen.

Denying Your God

In my younger years, mainly in school, many of us were linked together, big buddies, and nothing could break us apart. We “little gangs” that stood together and never went against another. But things changed. I remember when trouble occurred in one of our classes, one of our “group” tattle-tailed on another. We were all disappointed and he was “disinherited” from our group. I have seen men reacting in the same way. They stick together like glue until trouble strikes. Then it becomes easy to “pass the buck” and blame anyone else when things are gloomy. We will deny knowing who that person is to us just to cover our own backs from getting smeared into the trouble or problem that occurred.

An example. We are a group of men working on the same project. Suddenly something goes awry and the project takes a turn to the worse. What do we do? We look for the weakest link and start the blaming game. Instead of sticking together and facing the problem together, we would rather blame someone. He or she can take the fall. This happened to me; not once or twice, but a few times in my life journey. Was it worth it? No! Look at our Saviour God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter denied Him three times. Let’s read a verse or two about this – “… Immediately a cock crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken; ‘Before the cock crows, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Here was one of Jesus’ most faithful followers. What happened? He denied he knew Jesus. Why?

Because of fear and consequences related to that relationship. He did not want to be associated with someone who was on His way to be crucified. Peter just disowned Him and allowed the blame to be passed on to Jesus. Instead of all the disciples having banded together and fight for Jesus, they disowned Him. Ok, we do also understand that He did not want to be “rescued” from this path He was on. It was all part of the plan of salvation to humankind. But looking at these verses, one can only wonder why the disciples denied that they knew Him, especially Peter. Are you denying before others that you are a born again Christian man? Are you denying that you truly know God and live a life where He is placed first? Are you part of the group who “disowns” Him when times arise and you do not want people to know that you are His follower? Isn’t it time to ask Him forgiveness for being a liar, a “cheat” who lives a “make belief” life as a Christian before others? Your heart has that answer for you. Amen.

Two Sins Committed

As men we tend to live lives for ourselves. We are prepared to forsake everything for fame, success, titles, riches, and more. We are at most times selfish. I know plenty of people like this that I encountered throughout my life. Women again, in general, are the exact opposite to men. They are more humble, more giving, affectionate, less worried about status, fame, etc. They will rather go out of the way to help others. It could be just a shoulder to lean on. Not men! They have dug themselves “life trenches” that they use to protect everything they are and have. They try and build their own “empires” by themselves, and most times, these fail.

They are prepared to forsake everything in life for their own needs. Christian men, not all though, are the same. Praise God, thank God, pray to God – and it’s usually about their own issues, their agendas, and their lives. I was like that until I “woke up” and realised what a God I serve. Let’s see where people, or the human race, fail to live out their lives fully committed to God. Jeremiah 2:13 says the following; “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” That’s how one can describe most men. When all goes well God is the best. When all goes bad God is pushed aside because our agenda was not “fulfilled” by Him.

Firstly, we have forsaken our God; shelved Him until the times we need Him. The other periods we are fine without Him because life is great. When some trial crosses our paths we run to Him for help, and expect a great solution immediately. He becomes our “instant” God only. Secondly, we build our lives centred on our ideas and our goals; no God in the middle of it all. When everything fails we blame Him. What we try on our own will fail! But with Him in every facet of our lives, success is near, and found. Remember this. God knows and sees everything. He created the heavens and the earth, and He created us. We were created for one purpose, and that is to enjoy a great relationship with Him. Where do you stand in life right now? Is it God-centred? If not, turn to the Father and ask forgiveness for what you have done, the life lived. Accept Jesus once again into the whole of your life and look at the future results that come from following these steps. Be blessed!

With Whom Do You Congregate?

We men find it difficult to gather or congregate with other Christian men. That’s a fact. I discovered that in my life years back but not today. Now I enjoy the time of fellowship with other “brothers in Christ” and chatting about God and His goodness, etc. Even praying together and discussing the Word together is something I enjoy. Many men, though Christians, make up some excuses; “My calendar is too full” or “I just don’t have the time to fit that into my busy schedule” or pride kicks in … “I’m ok. I’m doing great and there are no problems.” And so our excuses go on. Men! It’s time to change and make some time and space for God and what He is planning for your lives. Without Him we’re all lost, filled with the worldly agendas, and back to sin. Yes, I’m speaking to you my born again brother, you the man of God, the Christian.

If we are truly followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should congregate or gather. As in Hebrews 10:25, “… not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some.” That’s right! Some do gather together, but not all men of God. Matthew 18:20 reminds us of something, and it says the following [shortened]; “For where two or three are gathered … there am I among them.” That’s right brothers. God says that He will be among us during that time of fellowship, congregating and worshipping Him together. God loves to see us joined together and enjoying His presence more than anything else. You must seek Him at all times, and His kingdom. That’s what He wants. And what does He promise us? He will add to us blessings, prosperity, and much more. Our spiritual lives will be bonded with Him and our spirits with the Holy Spirit.

Why is community so important for men? There are a few reasons. Two or three together are better than one. We help each other, support each other when someone falls. We are stronger, less vulnerable, when we congregate. Ecclesiastes 4:10 says the following; “For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up.” God warns us here. Being alone can be detrimental to our health. We can backslide and sin once again. We can fall away from our relationship with God and get hurt. This will affect our eternal destination. Jesus must remain the central focus of our lives. Together with others we can receive encouragement, assistance, prayer, and whatever it takes to keep us moving forward in this wonderful faith we live by, through the grace of God who saved us.

When we congregate together as men, God’s work is done. We confess our wrongs amongst each other, sins are repented, and love and compassion are expressed. And so the list goes on. Can you see it? Why God enjoys times of fellowship? God knows our weaknesses and He has a plan to help us remain strong and courageous. We must stand together. The Holy Spirit moves amongst us, flowing from one to the other, and this is what we need often. I don’t say that we should gather daily, but maybe weekly, bi-weekly, etc. Maybe we should organize a get together once a month with a “speaker” and a topic of discussion. Let’s stand together and help each other when we fall. Go out and “grab” some guys, or even one guy, and fellowship together in the presence of God. Start this week or the next, and become men of God who stand strong and are truly filled with the Holy Spirit. Just do it and see the results in the future. God bless you all. Amen!

You Are A Force

Many forces are at work in this world we live in. Either forces that collide, that oppose each other. Forces that influence each other, and forces that work together. And you, brother, are a force as well. You may now be thinking “I’m no force” or asking “what kind of force am I?” and so on. Let me answer that for you. The question is, though, what kind? Are we forces that live for goodness and greatness? Is this broken world better with us in it? Are we only forces that remain neutral? Or are we the “me and I” forces, for selfishness, for negativity, for control and self-power? Whatever answer you have made here will be the force you live by.

1 Timothy 2:8-10 tells us a very real truth. This is what is written – “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, … but [which becometh women professing godliness] with good works.” God asks us to pray always. This is His heart’s desire for us to do. Prayer is powerful and takes us into His throne room and leads us into a greater relationship with Him. It also shows Him we want Him to be a part of all our decisions. We are a force to be reckoned with when He is in our lives permanently. World forces are evil and we are forces for good, therefore opposing evil and the devil; that serpent who lies, who comes to kill, steal and destroy. Read Galatians 5:13-26. The questions we ask as per above do matter, and they matter to God as well.

If we want to change our kind [meaning others around us], to intensify the positive force we offer because Jesus lives in us, we can start in this manner: intercessory prayer. It works! God wants us to be that force that pleases Him and helps others from falling into the dungeons of sin, or free those who are already chained to sin. Two forces exist. God’s followers and forces of righteousness or forces of evil led by Satan and his lies. Which force are you right now? Which force would you rather be? I’m in the “force field” of God’s kingdom, the force Jesus put in my life. Two forces. Which are you? Enjoy the choice you make. Just make sure it is God’s force. Be blessed.