Anointed Fighter

I am so excited to be a part of this exciting new ministry called “Anointed Fighter”.  I have had the awesome opportunity to be able to talk with Danny White the leader of this ministry and see the amazing material that he is creating for discipleship that goes along with MMA.  It is my prayer that this ministry achieves great things when it comes to reaching men with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Check out this promo video for an event that they are doing in Detroit with Life Christian Church. Because we all know that life is a true daily fight, but we know that Jesus has already won the BATTLE.

Wrestling with Persistence

Well I am so excited to say that wrestling at the High school where I coach is getting ready to start in the next month.  I love the first two weeks of wrestling because you really are able to see who is there for the sport or who is there because someone talked them into it.  With all the amazing training techniques that have come with MMA we use them in the first two weeks.  We as coaches want to see who is going to really be a fighter a wrestler that is just not going to quit.

I believe that God is looking for those kind of men as well.  See what it says in the following verses:

Genesis 32:22-26 (NLT)  But during the night Jacob got up and sent his two wives, two concubines, and eleven sons across the Jabbok River. [23] After they were on the other side, he sent over all his possessions. [24] This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. [25] When the man saw that he couldn’t win the match, he struck Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket. [26] Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is dawn.”    But Jacob panted, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

There are a couple of things that I think are important when it comes to these verses.  First, Jacob was physically prepared to do battle and he was prepared to go at it.  Second, that he was able to wrestle all night that he was not afraid to leave it all on the mat.  Third, we see that even though he was hurt that he was not going to let go until he got what he was praying for.  I believe that these are a few things that God is looking for in men of today.  That we would be willing to fight for our faith, fight for our wives, and fight for our families.  That we would live a life that is a picture of persistence.

That we would be Anointed Fighters!

 

Music Monday

What an awesome thing to be a part of last night. The  global concert of U2 shown on Youtube and in conversation with Twitter.  This is just another way to showcase what technology can do and how we can leverage that technology to reach the world.  May we someday be able to do the same as U2 has done with this concert as we share with the world the gospel of Jesus Christ.  By the way U2 rocked the house.

By the way notice the choice of song?  Can you say Elevation!  I thought you could.

Music Monday

I have had several people share with me about this song.  Then I went on Youtube and I found this video and I sat there in awe of the story and the words that this man wrote.  I pray that you will listen to this song and really take the time to digest what your life looks like when it comes to going through the MOTIONS.  Matthew West ROCKS!

So I have to ask when it comes to your life with Jesus where are you going through the motions?  Make a comment and let’s talk pray for each other.

Social Networking and You

What do you think about Social Networking?  Are you apart of it?  The reason that I am asking you is because this is your chance to be a part of something amazing.  The Social Networking that is happening is another amazing opportunity for the church to reach people that you might not be able to reach if you just did things the way that you have always done them. The question is not whether or not this is a fad?  The question is how are you going to be a part of this movement to reach people with the gospel?  You can be used by God in an amazing way through the network that you are already involved in.  Go into all the world and you can do it from your computer or your phone.

Action before Evidence

Luke 17:14-16 (NLT)

He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, their leprosy disappeared.

[15] One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God, I’m healed!” [16] He fell face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

I love this Comic. I think that it is great that we can laugh at thing that go on in our lives.  I also think that Jesus was not as uptight as we have made him.  But one thing I do know is that damage that Leprosy does to a person.  I was able to pray with a lady that had leprosy in India.  I also love the story of when Jesus met up with the ten lepers along the road.  He had been traveling and as he was on the way when he met up with ten sick guys and the cried out for his mercy. This is a part of the conversation that occurred:

Luke 17:14-16 (NLT) He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, their leprosy disappeared. [15] One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God, I’m healed!” [16] He fell face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

Now you might be thinking, “Wow, they leave and they are healed along the way.”  The thing that I noticed is that they left with out any evidence that it was going to work.  I mean most of the time people will says these comments: “God if you give me this job I will do what you want.”  You see what I am seeing now. These guys hear Jesus say “Go show” and they immediately left, but yet we are always waiting for God to show us first.  What is wrong with this picture and I am not just talking the comic?  They had faith that was said would happen.  Why don’t we?  This week why not try doing what God is asking you to do with out seeing the outcome first.

Leading by Example

Over the last couple of months I have really taken the time to think about the things in a church that I hope to see in Elevation Christian Church.  One of those things is that we will have Godly older men leading in the church.  I pray every day that the Lord will bring into this church a group of men that will be willing to get messy and be a part of the younger men’s lives in our church.

Titus 2:1-2 (NLT) But as for you, promote the kind of living that reflects right teaching. [2] Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have strong faith and be filled with love and patience.

As I have spent the last 16 years working with Middle school, High school, and College students I know that this is what most of the young of today hunger for in their lives.  That because there is a void of men leading their homes in a way that is loving, caring, and Christ like we have a generation of boys and men that are walking through life with out any idea of what to do.  May we the men of Jesus Christ first ask God to forgive us for not leading like we are suppose too.  Second I pray that we ask the women our lives to forgive us for not loving and caring for them the way Jesus would want us too.  Finally that we will stop walking in previous generations footsteps and make a change by trusting in Christ to make us the husbands, fathers, and sons that he wants for this world.

This last weekend while I was speaking at Northgate Christian Church I made the statement: “If you are husband and you are not loving your wife the way Christ loved the church then you are stupid.”  Well I still believe it, the only problem is that I think that most men just don’t know what to do when it comes to being that kind of man.  If you are a husband, father, or sons then what are you doing to lead your home like Christ would have you too?  If you are an older believer then who are you investing your life into today?

Groundwire Coaching get involved

Over the last couple of years I have been able to meet with some pretty extraordinary men in ministry.  I have also met some that looked great on paper but once you spent some time with them well let’s just say the paper is what was worth keeping.  But while we were living in Arizona I had the privilege to play gold with Sean Dunn.  By the way if you want to find out what someone is really like take them golfing you can see there true colors.  Sean shared with me the vision that he had for reaching people with the gospel through commercials on the radio and t.v. that was called Groundwire. He then shared with me how that would work with a website where people could go to get encouraged, counseled, loved on, and even connected with a church if they so desired.  Well that was all I needed to hear and I want you to share in this vision as well.  So make sure that you watch this video and find out how you can be a part of this amazing ministry that is reaching people for Jesus.

You can make the difference in some one’s life this week by spending time on your computer.

Music Monday

I am not a country music fan.  But I am a fan of music that causes you to think, maybe even cry a tear.  Not saying that I did but this song is a song that I gave to both of my girls when I left for a long trip.  Just for fun I put together CD’s for the family for them to listen too while I was gone.  All I have to say is that if you are a daddy with little girls and this song doesn’t get to you.  Then let me put it this way, you need a royal butt kicking.  Just keeping it real.

Be the Husband that loves His wife

In my office I have several pictures on my wall of my family.  There are the pictures of the kids doing different things like football and volleyball.  There are the way out of date family pictures where they are all shorter then me. (Not so now.)  But there in the center of all of those pictures is the one that you can see below.  It is two pictures of my wife in a frame done by some very special friends in Miles City, MT at “Unique Creations”.

A reminder to me of the importance of being a husband.

In between the pictures you can see some typed up lines.  Those lines are some verse from the bible that I think are important for me to remember when it comes to being a husband.  They are the following:

Proverbs 5:18-19 (Msg) Bless your fresh-flowing fountain! Enjoy the wife you married as a young man!  [19] Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose— don’t ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted!

I can imagine some of you asking the question, “Why are these verse important to being a husband?”  That is a great question and I am glad that you asked it.  It is important for me to remember as a husband because a husband needs to remember that his wife is a fountain of love in his life.  That just like a fountain that we see in a mall that if not taken care of can become unpleasant.  If the fountain is not always being refreshed it eventually can become stale.

That I am always to enjoy the wife of my youth.  That whether we are twenty five or seventy five she is the standard of beauty in my life.  That everyone and everything can not compare to her beauty. That as we grow old together she will always be the wife that I fought for, the wife that I wrote poems for, that wife that I chased after, and that should always be the way that I treat her.  As the young husband that worked so very hard at making sure that she knew she was the only one for me.

That I am always to be sexually active with my wife.  Now I am sure that some of you are thinking well that is not something you have to work at you are a male.  Your right, but there are things of this world that are very busy trying to get me to not focus on my wife whom I love.  The things out there are pornography, strip clubs, jobs, sports, and even friends.  These are things that can if I let them, keep me from making sure that I am loving my wife emotionally and physically.  I believe that for some reason men have bought into the idea that when it comes to sex that their needs are the ones that are the most important.  Unfortunately if you are a husband and that is the way that you think then at least one person is enjoying the whole minute of pleasure.  I am just saying.  Maybe if we took the time to make sure our wives were pleased or wives would take the time to make sure we were.  I am to take delight in her and only her.

Then finally I am to “Not take her love for granted.”  As a husband I am to always be seeking to make sure that she knows that she is loved.  Not that she feels that she is loved because feelings can change with the weather.  But that through my words, my actions, and my life that she and those around her know that she is loved.  That is why these verses are important to me as a husband.  I heard this statement a long time ago, “Maybe if there was more courting in marriage there would be less marriages in court.”  Guys it is time to be step up and be the husband that your wife needs and desires.  So why not ask her today if she knows that she is loved.  Maybe, if you have the guts ask her friends if they know she is loved because if she is not then they will surely know. Take the time to work more on your marriage and the relationship with your wife then you do your fantasy football league.

Enjoy the wife you married as a young man!

[19] Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose—

don’t ever quit taking delight in her body.

Never take her love for grantedProverbs 5:18-19 (Msg)

Bless your fresh-flowing fountain!

Enjoy the wife you married as a young man!

[19] Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose—

don’t ever quit taking delight in her body.

Never take her love for granted!