Sunday, September 30, 2012

Wild At Heart part 1. A Beauty to Rescue.

A beauty to rescue.

An adventure to live.

A battle to fight.

Three passions that God gave to men that shaped them.

Yesterday marked the start of the Wild At Heart series at our men's breakfast.

What a time we had. I was a facilitator of a group and we unpacked the three passions and looked at how they could be implemented in our personal worlds of work and family.

Think of every movie guys like. There is always three elements to it.
A great cause that needs a hero, this hero fights to save the day and save his loved ones

Let's go one by one shall we.

A beauty to rescue.

That one may seem obvious to some but I really see there is a lot this covers. As a married man I have a beauty to rescue by my side but that is not broad enough.

Let's go deeper.

I believe part of this passion needs to be expressed by how we talk about and what we even think about women in general.
Matthew 5:28.

It's rescuing the beauty when we say stop and walk away from a conversation at work where the other guys are being crude in how they are speaking about women.

It's rescuing the beauty when we don't say insulting things about our wives and girlfriends around other people to make ourselves look or feel good.

It's not rescuing the beauty when we look at pornography or even just pictures where the objective is sexual arousal.

As a father of a daughter I also have the great responsibility of raising my daughter in such a way that she knows her value is not in how she looks or what she wears but in who she is.

I want her to see that she is beautiful and that she deserves to be seen that way by her future husband.

As a husband rescuing my beauty means helping her to know that she is valuable by how I speak to her and by how I speak about her.

If your single then how you speak about and to women will have a direct effect on how you will speak about and to your future wife.

As men we shape the world around us for good or for evil and God has given us a passion that needs to be expressed in an honoring way both to God and to women.

This week think about how you talk about women and ask God to show you how it is effecting your relationships with the women in your life.
It doesn't matter what you current relationship status is.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Ezra

I have thought about why I want to share such a private moment so publicly as to put this message on my blog.

I feel that there is huge significance in spiritual milestones.

I want whoever reads this to know that your kids are never to young to be set on the path of Gods way with purpose.

This is what I never had but my prayer is that it will not just bless my son as he walks along the road to manhood but will inspire other fathers to spur their sons onward toward successful manhood with such commitments and blessings.

What you were given does not have to measure you and does have to be repeated.

You can be the blessing you never had to your sons and daughters by making their milestones important.

To my Son.

Your name Ezra is Hebrew in origin it means Helper/One who helps/gives aid.

My Son as I was praying for you. The Lord gave me this verse for you.

2 Timothy 1:7.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (NKJV)

As I read around this verse for context I saw that it began with Timothy being commissioned by Paul his spiritual father and closed with his release into his mission of preaching the gospel in fulfillment of his calling.

This is the day we dedicate you to Gods service and to his care.

My commission,

My son resist the fear that would attempt to hold you back from you embracing the call of God on your life.

Our God and Father has given you power and love and a sound mind.

My son may you have an unquenchable thirst for His presents.

My son may you have a heart for the lost and broken.

My son may wisdom ever guide your steps.

My son may your love for others overshadow the hurts and pain you will encounter.

My son may you be a light to those who would seek and a door to those who knock.

My commitment,

As your earthly father I will raise you up in such a way as to point you to your heavenly father from whom all blessings flow.

I will endeavor to be an example to you of a Godly man.

I will bring you up in a company of men who will be examples and burden bearers, men who will stand shoulder to shoulder with you and raise you up to be all that God has called you to be.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Obsession

What can I do with my obsession
With the things I cannot see

Is there madness in my being
Is it the wind that moves the trees

Sometimes You're further than the moon
Sometimes You're closer than my skin

And You surround me like a winter fog
You've come and burned me with a kiss

And my heart burns for You
And my heart burns...for You

And I'm so filthy with my sin
I carry pride like a disease

You know I'm stubborn, Lord, and I'm longing to be close
Your burn me deeper than I know

And I feel lonely without hope
And I feel desperate
Without vision

You wrap around me like a winter coat
You come and free me like a bird

And my heart burns for You
And my heart burns...for You.

This song was a definition for me when I was a teenager.

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to a live version of this song from an album I bought 14 years ago.

Music has a way of bringing back memories and emotions.

That night when I heard the cry of my teenage heart again I felt all the emotion of my desperation for Jesus and remembered all the pain I had in those long ago days.

The Holy Spirit begin to speak to me a out my lack of desperation.

When I was a lost and fearful teenager it was easy to see my need for a savior and to passionately run to him as my only solice from the cruel world.

As I have grown in my faith I have lost some of my understanding that I am still a man in great need of a savior and as my life moves forward my reliance on my Jesus should increase.

I now am responsible for my wife and two children God has given me a specific call and church that I have a part in leading.

My need for a savior has not lessened but rather it has increased. I like you need to be desperate for Jesus.

This week my challange is to reconnect to our desperation for Jesus and if you have never had a desperation to realise your great need for Jesus in your life.