Good Morning to all of you out there in the blog-o-sphere. It has been a while since any of us (Lance, Gary or myself) has posted, and we apologize for that. It's not that we don't have anything to say, but in each of our crafts (Cowboy, Warrior and Merchant) we have been busy.Too busy for our readers? Too busy for our families? Too busy just to share our hearts with you? My answer would hopefully be no to all of the above raised questions, and with that, I have no excuse except to say that I am sorry. I will attempt to post more regularly and to share a part of my heart.
Yesterday morning was our weekly Saturday morning men's group (called Men of Faith). We meet from 6:30 to 7:30am in large group and then break out from 7:30 to 8am to pray and share with brothers in a smaller group. I had the pleasure to lead the group, and we discussed my first pillar (step) in discipleship - Purity. We spent time in Galatians 5 (our fruit), Colossians 3 (rules for holy living) and Romans 12 (living sacrifices). I asked the men a key question - How serious and honest do we want to be with our lives? Do we really want the Lord to be the Lord of our entire lives?
When it is all said and done, what mark will our lives leave? When our knees are bowed and our tongues confess, what will the fruit of our lives show? If you have been watching and reading the news then we know that we cannot put our confidence in men, in governments and of things of this world. We can put our trust in faith in the One who is worthy of all of our praise and glory and honor - Jesus Christ the one and only Messiah!
Whether we like it or not, we are called to be disciples and to go and make more disciples. Are we using the gifts that we have been given (to some are given mercy, compassion, evangelism, and gifts of giving...) to better serve the Kingdom of God? If not, how do we get to that point? Biblical purity is something that is extremely important for us in order for the Holy Spirit to work in us and move us into a deeper and fuller life with our Lord. This will require discipline, obedience and submission.
I asked this past Saturday if there was anyone in the military in our group (that required vigorous training) and quite a few hands went up and one hand, in particular, was a trained pilot who flew Cobra attack helicopters in the 
Marines. I said to him, as an example, that because I play video games and have pretty good hand-eye coordination, that I should be able to step into this attack helicopter and fly right away - his reply was simply - no! It would take a lot more than that. As a matter of fact, he trained vigorously for two and half years in order to fly this fine piece of machinery. He trained hard for two and a half years of studying, reading and practicing (does this sound familiar? If not, read Romans 12 and Colossians 3 again).
Biblical Purity, Biblical Stewardship and Discipleship are 3 key elements that I will be writing on these next few months! I hope you will read along with me, share some insights and experiences with us and move ourselves into a deeper relationship with our Lord.
Dante