Are you 'Po (Poor)? Or are you Rich in Spirit?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxSKEsNzamE&hl=en_US&fs=1&&w=640&h=385]

 I am not one normally to put a 7 minute you tube video on this blog unless it really warrants pure religion (James 1:27) or if it truly brings home a point.  This morning in church, our main message was the full presentation of Pastor Carey who turned down double his Salary to follow God's call and move to Detroit, Michigan in order to be obedient to God's call.  When God calls you, are you going to stay in the "huddle' or are you going to get out of the huddle and go and make disciple of all nations?

Tell us what you think!

Dante

What are we here for?

Seriously?  What are we here for?

What is my purpose in life?

What is God's will for me?

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Do you ever find yourself asking these questions?  Do you ever find yourself doubting yourself?  If you are a child of Christ you can count on a few things:  1) Your life no longer belongs to you, but to God.  What you do with that gift of mercy and grace is up to you.  2) Once you have aloud the Lord to Lord over your entire life, then you can rest assure that nothing or no one can ever take you away from Him.  3) Your life, as a Child of God, will bear fruit of the Spirit.  3) At some point in your life, if you are walking with God, you will face trials and you will face tribulation.  How you come through it is up to you and your attitude.  4) You will never be tempted with more than you can handle.  5) God is always faithful 6) Repeat number 5 out loud.  7) At some point people we love will die (including ourselves).  8) This life, that is but a vapor) will only lasts for a little while.  In case you haven't figured it out - we are in a race (not a sprint, but a marathon).  How we choose to finish this race (called life) is completely up to us.  You can walk in obedience to God, by reading his word, praying and submitting to Church Authority without making their life a burden (Hebrews 13:17).  

If you find yourself serving two masters (this World and the ways of this world, which are not of God OR serving the Lord Jesus Christ) then you are divided and your heart is not completely on Christ because our God is a Holy God and in Galatians 6 it talks about how God IS NOT MOCKED.  

In all that you do, is God their first.  That is, when we live, are we living for Him or for ourselves?  

Think about it - any questions? Comments?  Objections?  If so let me know,

Dante

Metro is Dead. Long live the Cave Man!

I was sitting in an office the other day and noticed a copy of GQ lying on a table.  As I picked it up, I noticed a primped and polished picture of Shia LeBeouf on the cover.   I asked the woman in the office if she thought these feminine looking, "Twilight" guys were attractive.  She said yes, if the guy is young and single. However, anyone over 27 trying to pull that off looks like a fool.  I scratched my scruffy beard and wondered if I was just too old to get it?  According to the article, the metrosexual man is dead.  For those of you who don’t keep up with this nonsense, myself included.  Here's the cliff notes:

The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis – because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and spends his time primping and polishing his outward appearance in hopes of capturing everyone’s attention. Common activities of a metrosexual are body waxing, tanning, manicures and endlessly shopping for the latest fashions that are peddled by the fashion magazines.    

For some time now, old-fashioned (re)productive, repressed, unmoisturized heterosexuality has been given the pink slip by consumer capitalism. The stoic, self-denying, modest straight male didn't shop enough (his role was to earn money for his wife to spend), and so he had to be replaced by a new kind of man, one less certain of his identity and much moreinterested in his image – that's to say, one who was much more interested in being looked at (because that's the only way you can be certain you actually exist). A man, in other words, is a walking narcissist.

 Apparently society has come back to its senses and realized that young men today are far too feminine.  Where are the John Waynes and Clint Eastwoodsof the new generations?  I have noticed far too many boys today who would rather play Xbox 360 or some magical card game than go fishing or hike the face of a mountain?  The good news is that the pendulum seems to be swinging back the other way and hopefully landing somewhere in the middle.  Sorry ladies, the overly feminine man with perfect fingernails is starting to be replaced by a cross between Prince William and Moses!

 And speaking of Moses, celebrities like Zach Galifianakis, Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix are all now embracing the old fashioned cave man look again, a good sign of the changing times. 

Pitt

Hangover

Phoenix

 

 

In all seriousness, I still feel, teach and try to emulate the etiquette and demeanor of the English Gentlemen.  A man must be refined, educated and cultured but also have the skills of Survivorman and be allowed to drink some beer with the guys during the Super Bowl.  TheModern Gentlemen is honest, lives a life of character and sets the example for others.  He is kind to others, especially woman and displays the utmost respect and courtesies in their presence.  Furthermore, he must have a noble cause to fight for, help the poor and the environment and provide for his family. 

How can one man do all this?  Do we need to buy a red cape and hang it in the closet?  

I think the easiest (and hardest) way is to simply follow the example and teachings of a radical Jew from Nazareth over 2000 years ago.  The times and styles may change, but the principles stay ever the same.

What's your favorite drink at Starbucks? Describe it. If you don't like Starbuck's what do you drink instead?

LEGACY AND MEMORIAL WEEKEND

I taught (as a sub) yesterday at a high school with a Marine Junior ROTC. My whole special ed class was in the “Junior Corps”. Draw no conclusions. But it gave me a chance to attend the unit’s field dress ceremony at the flag pole out front. Parents (too few) and teachers and administrators (too few) gathered.
And me. Thinking, remembering.
A retired Marine Corps Master Sergeant Harkin, in full dress blues, of course, gave the cadre a speech. Wow! Lean, trim, loud, he bellowed without a mic, “Your future is not up to the Corps, your parents, or your teachers…it’s up to YOU”. Their series of life choices, etc., etc. The regular rah, rah stuff. I felt like re-enlisting. Too old, hair’s too long.
But it made me think of legacy. And dads.
Harkin had a fascinating career, including embassies and battles here and there. He wrapped it up in a ten-minute package. He was my age, the end of the Vet (or Traditional or Silent) Generation. He spanned four generations, Traditionals to “Me Gen,” in ten awesome minutes. He was a living legacy, Semper Fi. My undereducated, under-achieving class was hearing something that could change their lives.
In those moments Harkin paused for effect, that marvelous divinely designed mind kicked in. It took me to distant landscapes and thoughts fermenting in my head’s far recesses. I pictured those who served America’s freedom cause that I knew, that I longed to see again. Like my son and my brother. Then there was Chuck who never made it back to the carrier. Dan, the former Blue Angel, who was my wingman when one of the three Vietnamese pilots didn’t return home, and we did. But he “bought the farm” a couple of years later. So did squadron mate Tom who left a fiery hole in the ocean filled with aircraft parts and steam for but a few minutes.
Family trees are priceless for those of who are beginning to grasp how legacy is, in fact, central to life itself. It’s the same way history is suppose to guide our nation’s future, but seldom gets applied. Take note, dads. Do you know who up in your tree is one of those who knowingly offered his life’s blood that history would be different. That’s legacy lost if not remembered, memorialized. If that doesn’t work out so well, does his sacrifice in the Civil War, WW I or II, or even back at Bannockburn (my Cameron clan) touch your family at all? It should.
Somewhere in your tree is most likely a hero worth memorializing. This should include those injured or even who serve with honor and did return to take up life again, and give you life. Even so, what we’ve now labeled PTSD existed unrecognized yet still scarred those who saw and could not repeat the unspeakable.
Let us remember and give thanks.
And pass it on. Else, what’s a legacy if it’s lost.

Summer Fun

Summer has begun.  Kids are playing.  Neighborhoods echo of last minute ditch efforts for kids to play outside another hour.  Lemonade stands and children's imigination.  The day at the beach and the night eating ice cream.  The Chicago Blackhawks are in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Summer fun is here, our friends and what you do with the rest of it is your way to honor God.  Children playing has no better sound than laughter.  Kids_playing The pure unadulterated imagination of kids adventure amazes me to even this day.  I absolutely love the sound of happiness in whatever shape and or sounds they come in.  My children are so much fun to watch and listen to and to even play with.  I love the idea of how we look at our little children is sometimes (if not all the time) how God looks at us. 

As I am typing my son is walking inside wearing my shoes and is a solid sheet of sweat from playing outside with his two sisters.  My wife asked him to finish a verse, "as for me and my house...", my son finishes the verse, "we will serve the Lord."  Joshua 24:15.  Does that mean that we will serve him only on Sunday?  Or possibly between breakfast, the Sunday Service and then the trip to the beach?  Does it mean that we should try to put God in our imiginary boxes and pull him out of it whenever we decide that we need to hit the "easy" button or we want to try and elude the consequences of our sin?  Of course not.  What it really means is that our very essence, that is, our fiber and core shoudl serve the Lord.  Does that mean that we have to be religous and pious instead of being dad, or a faithful employee?  Does that mean that we cannot have fun in the sun and instead we have to do everything from sun up to sun down that would reflect the life of a monk?  Of course not.  

So what does it mean?  Kids_reading Come on, Dante, spill the beans.  What is God's will for my life?  Surely there has to be something better than this mundane life.  Surely God has called me to do something great that will turn the heads of this world and all will give recognition to me for serving the Lord.  Seriously?  Are we that full of ourselves that we think we have to achieve greatness on this earth in order to fulfill our destiny in the Lord?

What does Scripture say for our lives:  To share a few, "For He chose us in Him before the creation of this World to be holy and blameless in his sight...(Ephesians 1:4..).  "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together in one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 3:6). "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers." (Glatians 6:9-10).  "Do not let any unwholesome talk talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen...Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and sladner, along with every form of malice.  Be kind a compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you...Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us...." (Ephesians 4 & 5).  "Whatever happens conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ..." (Philippians 1:27).  How about this one..., "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.  Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God. (Phillipians 2).  Memorization009 As you look back at these verses is there anything in our lives that sticks out and that may be contrary to Scripture?  If you call yourself a seasoned Christian then read the Book of James and see how your walk measures up.  Is your Christian life become a life without works that honor the temple of God (that is your body) and his Name?  Is your life bearing no fruit (The Fruit of the Spirit).  Did you know that as a Christian we are called to be holy priests?  Did you know that we are to make our lives pure and blameless in the sight of God?  Did you know that God doesn't look at the outward appearance, but judges the heart.  Do you know that God is not in a box and instead of God answering to this World as some think that He should, INSTEAD all of us will given an account and kneel before Him.  Whether the Judgement we are in is either the Judgement Seat of Christ (Christians) or the Great White Throne Judgement (those who do not know Jesus as Lord)...time will tell. 

Maybe, just maybe, we are called to use our gifts in what God has promised us through His Holy Spirit to honor him.  Whether we are a cowboy, military or a commodities broker, one thing is for sure--in all that we do we need to honor Him and put him first.  That is, to say, to make Him Lord over every aspect and fiber of our lives.  If there is anything that you cannot be sure of in reading the above passages then the answer is simple - God's will for your life is found in obedience--reading his Word, praying daily and finding the quietness of His wonderful voice in devotion toward him.

Thoughts?

Just wondering,

Dante 
  

Humble yourselves....

Part of the joy of being a leader in Men's Ministry is that you get to be part of something very special and something that can only be explained by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This past Saturday, I was asked by one of our Facilitators to sub for him because of a personal emergency in his family.  I was more than glad to because I personally enjoy hearing men turn the pages of their Bibles as we open God's word for discussion and for lessons.  Anyway, my intention was to go into the book of Job and also some of the Psalms to talk about a valley (Trial & Tribulation) that I recently was delivered through.  However, I felt prompted, which I believe was by the Spirit, that I opened up the men's Bible studies to any questions, topics and/or themes that guys wanted to talk about.  

The first topic was about work, the second was about our walk and the third topic went right into trials and tribulations and we read some passages through both Job and Psalms and we had a very special day in God's Word.  What I truly enjoyed most about the morning was that there were over 20 guys who were there in collective Spirit to read, pray and sharpen one another in God's Word.

When we are obedient to God's words and we not only hear what they say, but make an effort to do those words and we repent and humble ourselves before our Holy God - he will  use a man like that making everyday things possibly extraordinary in God's Kingdom.

In all things, acknowledge our God and he will make your paths straight!

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