Dad's, Men of Faith, Countrymen (those of us who are adopted sons of God)....I may have referenced an old TV show called the Greatest American Hero. It had two men that were walking thru life together, one was a government employee while the other found the suit. They both lost the manual that explained how to use the suit to be a superhero, so they had to have trials and tribulations along the way to use the suit. Some times I feel like we try to do that in our spiritual lives along with our everyday work lives. That is, we are trying to figure out the secret to life and to be the best dad, the best husband, the best men that the world has. The trying is clearly altruistic, but the way we get there is flawed. What I mean to say is that we have to change our trajectory. We have to re-set our sights in order to be the marksmen that God calls us to be. WE have to set our targets on the One whom all blessings flow - Jesus Christ.Dads, we don't need a manual, rather, we need Immanuel. Matthew 1:22-23, (ESV) "22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us)." For those of us that profess Jesus Christ as Lord, then we have Immanuel - God is with us! His Holy Spirit is in us! What more could we ask for. He gave us his Word, The Bible. If we set our sights on Him and we focus on His words for our lives then we can reclaim that which God gives us - his storehouse of blessings and love beyond belief.
This afternoon I had coffee with a great friend of mine, who is also an Elder with me at our church. A lot of times we just share and talk about life and its pings and pangs along the way. He holds me accountable (along with a few others in my life). I like that. Today, he told me that he was worried about me last week and that he was waiting to ask me what was going on. I love that. I love that he noticed something about me and wasn't going to let me go at it alone. That is why God calls us to go 2x2 in ministry. Not to do this alone, as Lance so eloquently put it in this past post. God has a plan for us. A plan not to harm us, but to prosper us. Please note that I am not talking about riches and wealth in worldly terms (as some might do), rather, I am talking about the abundant life that he promises to those who love and obey him.
I think a lot of problems that we, as Christians have, is that we forget Immanuel and try to make up our own manual. Thereby making our lives and our agenda our gods (small "g"). We need to give up these scrawny manuals and give in to God's Immanuel for each and every one of our lives.
Where can you start:
1. Read his word EVERYDAY (commit to it today)
2. Join a bible believing, Holy Spirit filled Church and Serve
3. Get involved in a men's group and/or Mini-Church
4. Give up your manual and accept God's Immanuel
5. _______________________ (what are some of your places to start and work through?)
Blessings,
Dante