"Oh crap, he's up!" said the devil.

I have discovered a few different references over the past few days that are urging me to start my day with a new mindset.  It goes something like this.  Be “the kind of man that when his feet hit the floor each morning the devil says, ‘Oh crap, he’s up!’”  I love that image!  Do you think the devil says that about you each morning you wake up?  I want him to say that about me.  I want the devil to pace the floor all night long worried that when I wake up, I will make his day miserable!  I want him to jump back and tremble at the thought of me walking around each day as a man of God!  I want the devil to hang his head in despair every morning and say to himself “Oh crap, he’s up!”. 

We can invoke that sort of fear on evil!  Every action, every thought, every word of every day should bring glory God.  Darkness retreats when we shine the bright light of hope and peace.  But we can not simply be the light of the world without constant work and determination.  We need to be studying the scripture daily.  We need to be praying daily.  We need to seek and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we can shed light into the darkness that surrounds us.  The book of Matthew reminds us just that.

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are light for the world. A city cannot be hidden when it is located on a hill. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand. Then its light shines on everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine in front of people. Then they will see the good that you do and praise your Father in heaven.

Our world seems to be spewing more and more darkness every day.  That trend brings joy to the hardened heart of Satan.  But do not forget what happened shortly after Jesus died on the cross 2000 years ago.  He descended into hell and defeated Satan Himself.  Now we get to live with the hope and joy that our resurrected Savior conquered death and sits at the mighty right hand of God!  When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we get to relish in that same power Christ has over evil.  Then we get to be His light unto the darkness.  That makes Satan tremble in his shoes.  There’s nothing he hates more than a man that wakes up every morning ready to battle in the name of Jesus.  My challenge to you is this:

Every morning as your feet prepare to land on the ground to start your day, make sure you are armed and ready to defeat any darkness you may encounter that day.  When we live in this manner, the devil will hang his head in despair every morning and say to himself “Oh crap, he’s up!”

Men, we are slowly losing grip of our families, communities, churches, and our world.  We can no longer sit idly by as darkness creeps in and takes hold.  Let us work diligently every day to make sure Satan remembers who won.  We can do this by boldly living out the word of Jesus daily.  When we live in this manner together, the devil will worry even more and go from saying “Oh crap, he’s up!” to screaming “Oh crap, they’re up!”  

 

Man is head of the woman...God said so. But that is not all He said.

I hope you are staying warm today!  The title of today’s discussion should have caught your attention.  Men were designed to lead the household, but there is more to it than just everybody following us.

My wife and I began leading a small group through the book “Kingdom Marriage” by Tony Evans.  If you are married and have not read it yet, go get it today.  If you have been married or plan on getting married anytime in the future, go get it today.  I am only three chapters in, and I am already learning how to be a better man of Christ.  I cannot wait to see what I learn in the next ten chapters.

1 Corinthians 11:3 says, “But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”  You may have heard this scripture reference before.  This verse sets up the order God created for Christ, man and woman.  God is the authority over Christ, Christ is the authority over man, and man is the authority over woman.  When that order is respected and maintained, a marriage can flourish.  When any part of the order gets out of line, the marriage can really begin to struggle.  This is a biblical reference.  This is not an “old school approach” or “archaic” thought.  God design man and woman in His image and His design holds true today just as it did on the first day Eve was introduced to Adam.  But men, before you go home and exhibit your authority, read the first part of the verse again.  It says,” the head of every man is Christ”.  Are you letting Christ lead you?

The order of authoritative position must all be intact for God’s design to work properly.  If you are not allowing Christ to lead your every move, then you cannot expect your wife to faithfully follow your lead.  That is how Tony Evans interprets this scripture and I must admit I agree with him.  My wife and I are coming up on our 19^th wedding anniversary.  Over that 19 years we have learned a lot about leadership within our home.  Often, she has asked me to take on the role of spiritual leader in our home.  I understood that was important and didn’t always know what that looked like.  And I must admit, sometimes I even viewed that as her just trying to tell me what to do.  But this was all caused by us not living out 1 Corinthians 11.  When my wife is not seeing me spend time with God and seeking His direction in all things that I do, it is difficult for her to follow my lead because she does not know if it comes from Christ or man.  Simply put when my wife knows I am seeking God’s will in all that I do, she can trust that I will lead her in the manner God designed it to be.  That is our responsibility.  That is our role.  That is our design.  We are to allow Christ to be the head over us as men!  Here are some things that I think we can do to let Christ lead us.

• Pray daily
• Read your bible daily
• Give all praise to God
• Allow other men of Christ to mentor you
• Pursue God’s purpose constantly in your relationship

We were made in the imagine of God!  Our wives were made in the image of God!  Our marriages are covenants with God and should reflect His will in all that we do.  If we expect our wives to follow us, they first need to see that we are following Christ in all that we do.  Please join me in securing God’s legacy from this day forward.  Allow Christ to lead you.  When this happens, we are fulfilling our role in God’s order for us here on earth!  Have a wonderful day and Let’s work together as MEN ON THE ROOF to ensure NO MAN IS LEFT BEHIND!  

 

Teaching your teenager to drive can remind you to trust in God with all your heart!

Our oldest daughter is learning to drive.  She is doing wonderful at it but as you can imagine, there is a lot to learn as well.  I was riding along with her on Sunday and teaching her the skill of preparing for the next decision with the vehicle.  She was doing a great job focusing on the immediate surroundings of the van, but she needed to improve on preparing for the next turn or stop ahead.  We covered all the signs and painted lines that outlined her options.  We discussed moving in the correct lane ahead of time to prepare for a right turn or left turn.  We even sat at a stop light and analyzed the 4-5 decisions she had to make before proceeding when the light turned green (what lane she was turning to, were any cars coming, how many cross-walks did she have to watch, was her blinker on).  I don’t think she was overwhelmed with all the planning and decisions that go into driving a car down a simple street.  I just think I underestimated all the information we have when driving around our city.

If you went for a drive in your car today, you would see many signs to guide your path and you can plan accordingly.  You can look ahead and notice if the stop light is red, yellow or green.  The big green signs tell you your exit is just 2 miles ahead.  Flashing lights warn you of an accident that may delay or change your route.  Even technology today (your phone or GPS) can tell you that your planned route is closed or has construction and it will recommend a new path.  When driving we have access to a ton of detailed, specific information that will allow us to arrive at our destination quickly and safely.  I sure wished that was the case for my walk with Christ!

My Bible is the perfect reference on how to be a Christian.  It teaches me how to live a life that follows in the footsteps of Jesus.  I have access to a church and leaders and fellow believers who will even help me understand what the word of God teaching me.  And every minute of every day the Holy Spirit lives within me to guide my Christian walk.  Psalm 119:110 even reminds us that:

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”

This knowledge teaches me how to drive my “car”.  So why can’t there be something in my life that will tell me if there any accidents ahead or if I will encounter any detours?  I want to be in control of my path so I can avoid any detours and prevent any stops along the way.  I know what’s best for me!  God had something to say to me about that.  I was looking for the wrong thing.  God wants me to look to Him to guide my path.  He wants me to turn over the wheel so that He can navigate me.  I guess GPS really stands “God Provided the Spirit”.  I need to listen to it just like Proverbs 3:5-6 says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

We have everything we need to navigate life as Christians.  We have God’s inspired word written down in 66 books of the Bible.  Hebrews 12 reminds us “we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses”.  And let us not forget that the Holy Spirit lives in us to be our GPS here every single day.  It is not easy to stay true to all this knowledge we have.  And, if you can avoid my mistake of trying to control my path, you can have peace knowing the God will make your path straight.  And even better, one day that path will lead you right into His loving arms in Heaven.

I started out Sunday afternoon wanting to impart my vast wisdom of driving upon my daughter so she can be a better driver herself.  For the most part I believe that happened.  Little did I know that that drive would prove to be just as educational to me.  Sunday afternoon on the streets of Overland Park, God reminded that I am supposed to turn control of my life over to Him.  I was searching for ways I could navigate my life as a Christian when all He really wants me to do is trust in Him and lean not on my own understanding.  I am very excited to see what I learn during our next driving lesson!

 

 

You want be like Jesus, you might have to flip some tables!

Yesterday I was reading the lyrics to a song by KB named “Let it reign”.  During my review of the lyrics a line jumped off the screen and slapped me in the face.  The line goes “you wanna be like Jesus, might have to flip some tables”.  I have heard this referenced many times before but yesterday I really needed to hear it.  Personally, I am what most call a lover and not a fighter.  I avoid conflict as much as possible.  I am a typical middle child that just wants everybody to get along.  So, it’s no surprise then that my accountability partners have reminded over the years that Jesus was bold at times in His rebuke of wrong.  It is true.  We read in Matthew 21:12-13:

 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[a] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers!”

I personally love the humble, peaceful, gentle spirit of Christ that oozes love for everybody.  That part of Jesus I really resonate with and share most about.  But yes, Jesus was bold in His rebuke of money changers and dove salesman that day in the temple.  Jesus did flip some tables.  So, what does that have to do with me?

Over the past nine months (and probably even longer) I have wrestled with how the global church and our local church have been treated and responded to social and political issues.  We are not called to be of the world, we are called to bring the Good News to world.  I love being a follower of Christ!  I love the opportunity we get to gather and worship freely in His name!  My prayer for the church is that our every effort and action is centered around that sole purpose, to know God and make Him be known.  But if I’m being honest with myself, we need to do some more work.  I include myself in that statement.

The past year has brought about a new atmosphere both in our society as well as in the relationships we have with other believers inside our church walls.  Many of us have spent countless hours researching and discussing what life is like during a pandemic.  We have had changes forced upon us that impact our daily lives (be it job loss, remote school, masks).  Most of us observed or participated in discussions centered around politics at a level that I have not experienced before.  If I’m being honest again, I spent more times on these topics last year than I did in studying and spreading the word of God.  Today I want to flip the table on myself and the church.

Here’s my challenge to each of us:

1. Put God first in everything you do this year.  Pray continuously!
2. Before you have a discussion with anybody, ask God to provide the words. (He did this for Moses and He can do it for you and me)
3. Before deciding for yourself or others, pass that decision through the lens of God.  If we ask God how He’d handle a situation before we ask ourselves or others, the outcome may be different.
4. Get to know the person in the pew beside you.  The mask debate has gotten out of hand but has also revealed something to me.  If we can see it, we are okay addressing it.  If we can’t see it, we don’t discuss it.  Imagine if we spent the same effort on asking each other if we’ve prayed today, or if we’re respecting our spouse in all things, or when was the last time you shared your testimony, or dare I even bring it up are we fighting everyday to protect the children of our community from conception on.  I have a feeling we know very little about the person sitting beside us in the pew.  Get to know them!
5. Speak up when you see wrong.  No, do not gossip.  As Christians we can disciple one another.  Do just that, speak to one another.  Lead and be led by your fellow believers.  Reach out to leadership when help is needed after first approaching your friend.  Even our leaders can be disciple by us.

I fully believe these actions are biblical.  We are not called to be like this world.  We are called to bring the Good News to the world and that looks different and is not comfortable at times.  Jesus modeled how to love the people He met every day.  He prayed with them, He was the Living Word, He consulted His father in Heaven, He sat with sinners and encouraged a change in their heart, and yes, He spoke up when He saw somebody doing wrong and even flipped over a table at times.  Let today be a rally cry for believers who love a humble Jesus to remember that if you want to be like Jesus, you may also have to go into the temple and flip some tables!