Anthem Lights:[youtube id="4iEgs0WKR-c"]
Chris Tomlin:
[youtube id="TaoFfSziCT4"]
Matt Redman:
[youtube id="XtwIT8JjddM"]
Matthew West
[youtube id="X43XXpItGk0?list="]
How about the rest of your day now that you have things put into perspective?
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens
Blessings,
Dante
Genesis 18:19 (NIV) 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”According to Dr. Tony Evans, there are four things that contribute to the portrait of a real man:
Appropriate Scripture to manhood:
James 1:27 (NIV) 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Job 29:7-17 (ESV)
7 When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking
and laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
-----
Divine Destiny is knowing that God is in control of it all and he has plans for you and I, plans to prosper you and I (this is not the prosperity gospel, rather the biblical definition of the abundant life) and that on this earth we have a purpose to worship the Lord and to give all praise, honor and glory to Him.
We have to disciple others - our children, men and boys around us and those that God has given to us.
A real man has dignity - has character, has integrity and is bearing the fruit of the Spirit.
A real man knows his place on this earth and knows that God is over everything (even his problems). If you put a bible in this man of God, you will see dominion.
[youtube id="9mSY2_aC8WQ"]
Dr. Tony Evans references this fight in where Rocky remembers all of his fights and cannot get back up until he sees (and remembers) his deceased coach and hears Mickey say "get up you bum, because Mickey loves you" Because Rocky remembered someone who died and whorose again (in his memory) and overcame all the doubt and all the pain and all the defeat and told him he could do it. Referring this to Jesus - Dr. Evans says that Rocky found power that he did not have because he remembered someone who died who came back to life to tell us he loves us.
When in doubt - be the man who God wants you to be. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge him in all of your ways and he will make your paths straight.
Blessings,Dante
When you think about life, the Bible and God's plan for us, it is amazing to think and believe that God chose us. God chooses to use us to build His kingdom. God chooses us to share his love. God chooses us to share His Son, Jesus Christ, to the world. We are called by the Son to go and make disciples unto all the world. Remember the important narrative here in that God chooses us!In His wonderful creation and word, God shows us the importance of community. After all, in the beginning God created (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) everything. The older I get the more I see man's hypothesis and science give way to the Truth, to the Way and to the life given to us by God the Father. God shows us the importance of community by Himself, His Son and His Spirit who are three-in-one and one-in-three. That is a concept that is way above my understanding, yet when you test it against the truth in Scripture that is the only way that it could be. God gives us community by the living, breathing, and awe-inspiring love that He has for us.
Ephesians 3:9-10 (ESV) 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in[a] God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV) 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Community is a very important part of God's mission. God made us to be in community, we crave community. He exemplifies true community in the Holy Trinity. He wants to model this some community in the Church, the body of Christ. We are to love each other and to continue to do good to each other in brotherly (and sisterly( love). The more that we let the Spirit bless us with His fruit (for the Fruit of the Spirit is: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control). This is fruit that should pour out of our lives, in community, when we bear the name Jesus as Savior.
When Jesus was on this earth he exemplified this model to us all through walking with His disciples and having them walk with others along the way. Remember, in the Gospels, that there was a point where Jesus sends out the disciples two by two and Scripture reveals to us that there are 70 disciples plus the twelve with Jesus. Where did these 70 come from? The answer is simple: Through community.
Do you remember where Jesus is talking to Peter about the church and references him in regards to on this rock, he will build His church. This is not a reference to any specific religion, rather, this is referencing the Church - God's church.
When we are in community and doing God's will, then we can see His purpose and wonderful path that he has for each and everyone of us. How can we do this:
Be in community
Serve together
Share God's love story together
Read the Bible daily
Pray often
Walk with other brothers (if you are a man) and with other sisters (if you are a woman)
In all you do, do in love and forgiving each other (in the church) as God has forgiven you
Love one another
In all you do, Coram Deo.
Blessings,
Dante
Why would people risk life and limb to come to a new land? Why would you, as believers who were being persecuted for your faith, try and find a new place to worship? Why would you come to a new land if not for opportunity for work, for land and for worship freely (not be persecuted for their 
beliefs).Some quotes by some of our founding fathers are as follows:
Patrick Henry:[shareable text="This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.”]The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.” [/shareable]“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting ...
If we take this into context that the signors of the Constitution of the United States of America had an inherent belief that we were to become a Sovereign nation under God. They believed in a creator and that all men are subject to Him and His will. The idea of freedom of and from religion is critical to understand - the intent of the law was not to have one world (one government) religion that would prevent others from their worship or their beliefs.
Unfortunately as society continues its moral decay these original intentions have been misconstrued for an ulterior purpose - a nation without God, that is to say, and nation not under God.
A lot of people of the past several decades have blamed various reasons for this decay and breakdown in society, when in all actuality we could go back as far as the early 1940's when this began to happen. I am not talking about new sins nor am I talking about something new that should be a surprise to all of us.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
There are a lot of major conspiracies going around about government's and satanists and political and banking individuals that have this scripture in mind that they are spinning our world to this New World Order. Don't infer that I am saying all political and banking individuals have this in mind because that is not the case at all - because their are godly men who stand in these positions and have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I am talking to you to tell you that there is:
I am also confident and sure that:
With all this being said, when you hear someone telling you that our founding fathers did not have the leading of God in mind when they created this great nation - tell them to stop smoking the crack pipe and to start going to the library to read unbiased truths about many of the founding fathers (not all, but many). FYI - all blogs and internet writings are not always telling you the truth and the whole truth because they are their own gods (small g).
The Gospel is all over our Constitution! Let us hold true to our freedoms and belief that God reigns!!!
Blessings,
D
Saturday morning we were blessed to have one of church worship leaders lead our men's group at 6:30am. We were blessed also by the fact that he is the leader of our Reflectors Ministry also leading and beginning our mental health ministry. This man is a very special man, not just because he is a song writer, not just because he has a heart for the broken and the marginalized, not just because he loves the Lord with all of his heart, But because he is a humble man with truly many gifts!
His name is Vinnie, and he was asked by one of our leaders to come and lead worship and to bring a message of his heart: REFLECTORS MINISTRY.
Enter his message on the 5 Stages of Changing our Attitudes:
Stage 1: Ignorance - Weaknesses and disabilities are a sign that God either does not care or is not able to fix the situation. In fact, they may be a result of sin or a lack of faith. God is not involved in the life of someone with a disability, because He can’t use people who are so broken. I do not know people with disabilities, nor do I know anything about disabilities. I have no interest in getting to know them or to know more about their life
Stage 2: Pity - I feel sorry for people with disabilities. It’s too bad, really. I am blessed by God and I can help others. I am grateful that my children are not disabled. People with weaknesses and disabilities obviously need someone like me to help them and give them meaning, due to their troubles. I really don’t see any meaning or purpose to their lives.
Stage 3: Care - Like me, people with disabilities were created in God’s image. By that virtue alone they have value. I hope that someone will take the time to show them God’s love, and I will happily support such an effort. In fact, I think we need to find ways to help those people. Maybe we should start a special church education class, or respite care for the sake of the parents.
Stage 4: Friendship: I have come to know and spend time with a friend who has a disability. This person has value in God’s sight, but also in mine, and I know that my life is better for having known this person, and as much as I have helped her, she has also blessed me. In fact, I now like to initiate relationships with people who have disabilities. God brings many different people into my church and community, including people with disabilities, and we all benefit as we grow in friendship with each other.
Stage 5: Co-Laborers - If God has called each of us to serve and praise Him with every fiber of our beings, then He has done the same for our brothers and sisters in Christ with disabilities. I think ministry should not just be to people with disabilities, but with or alongside people who have disabilities. Together, we will encourage and equip each other, with and without disabilities, into every good work to respond to God’s call on our lives. We can all give and we can all receive.
There were two passages that were very relevant to his heart in sharing these 5 stages:
The Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14)
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
When you read these stories, if you profess the name of the Lord Jesus as Savior, you should feel the Spirit move in you with a heart of compassion and the desire for the need is great and the workers are few to harvest the field. The reason why these steps were so relevant to our men's ministry is because Vinnie asked us to take a hard look at where we are, not just with special needs, but with our outlook on people in general and in where we are at in our life and what stage in each of those situations we are at - this was a huge question and great topic for our small groups when we pray for each other and share from the heart.
There were other verses that Vinnie raised for our pathway to care and discipleship:
1 Corinthians 12:12New International Version (NIV)
Unity and Diversity in the Body
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
Love in Action (Romans 12)
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord.20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
----
When it is all said and done, we should be left with three things to do for Jesus:
What say you?
Go, Compel and Fill our Lords house!
Blessings,
Dante
Many of you have heard me quote the poem, The 5 Watches, from time to time over the past eight years of being involved with Lance and this blog. Lance and I do believe that Character, Integrity, Honor, Courage, Honesty, Gentleness, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness and Self-Control are important to being a Legacy Dad. It is important because that is the call of the disciple 
of Christ.
The poem that I often quote is this:
Watch your thoughts,
for they become words.
Watch your words,
for they become actions.
Watch your actions,
for they become habits.
Watch your habits,
for they become your character.
Watch your character,
for it becomes your destiny.
How about the 5 W's of the Christian Walk:
What can we do to change our perspective our religion? When I say our religion, I am defining it as this: Our religion is that which is what we only take away from reading the Bible (meaning if there is somethings that convicts us or causes us the desire to repent and we ignore that part). Our religion being defined as we are allowing ourselves to serve both the world (and our own special interests) and God instead of serving him in all that we do. Our religion being defined as when it is convenient for to serve Him and others instead of when He wants us to serve.
Pure religion in the eyes of the Father is that which looks after widows and orphans and turns away from the ways of this world. God's religion is for us to Trust in the Lord with all of our hearts, to lean not on our own understanding, but to acknowledge Him in all of our ways. And He will make our paths straight.
What about you?
Blessings,
Dante
So I was sending this work email this morning, after men's group, and fell upon this video of a woman who has sadly lost her battle (on earth) to cancer. This video struck me in so many different ways that I do not have enough time in the day to post on this topic. That being said, I have shared before that I have had malignant melanoma and there was a time when I almost lost my wife (two years in a row). I understand pain and loss and the fear of death. Let's just say that I have spent a lot of time in the book of Job and in prayer during these trials and tribulations.I have been hurt and I have been angry and I have asked why do these things:
I cannot pretend to sit here and tell you, the readers, why do bad things happen. Nor will I ever try to explain your life situation to you without walking through it with you, without being in the trenches with you and/or sharing life with you. Here is the video that struck me today:
[youtube id="g02BVmlam6k"]
Two of the most hardest things that I had to endure in my life were:
1) When I received a phone call from the doctor that said I had malignant melanoma. I just about dropped the phone on the floor of the vehicle and thought to myself, why God? My wife and I had our son, who at the time was 10 months old and my wife was pregnant with our 2nd child while this was happening. The concern from the doctor was my age and the fact that I had malignant cancer at my age. By the grace of God, my cancer was detected early and I have been cancer free now for over 9 years
2) When our three kids were 1, 3 and 4 years of age, my wife almost went into renal failure and was losing muscle tissue daily. The doctors knew the effect, but to this day we still do not know the cause. We went to a top tier hospital the second year of the two years that this happened and even they could not diagnose the cause. We did learn to be cautious around fevers and so on, but to this day she has been healthy since those days. The first year that this happened, my wife was in the hospital for 6 days. That was the most sobering and scariest time in my life. I wrestled, I prayed and I argued with God (all through this process he was patient and kind and waited for me to trust, obey and surrender to his will). The idea that I was going to be a widower with three kids 5 and under was almost too much for my soul to bear. This too passed and God is faithful!
What have I learned through these two heart-wrenching trials (tribulation) was to trust God no matter what. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, BUT Blessed be His name. He is faithful and just and he does have plans for each and everyone of our lives.
I hate evil. I hate cancer. I hate what is contrary to the will of God.
I love God, I love the Son and I love the Holy Spirit. I love those who even persecute me! Is it hard to forgive and forget (at times)? Yes, of course, I am human and broken and sinful. Is it possible to love who God calls us to love? Through His Spirit and trusting His will - it is!
I believe that God gives each and everyone of us a story for us to go unto the world and tell the good news. Does He promise us peace and tranquility throughout this journey? Of course not! Does he promise us an abundant life through Him? Yes He does!
For the joy of the Lord is our strength!
Where is your joy? In good season, in trial and through tribulation?
To God be the glory forever and ever, Amen!
Blessings,
Dante
Phrases like "creatures of habit", "practice makes perfect", and so on, should continue to highlight the theme in our daily walks and biblical discipleship. All throughout the Bible we read about a God who takes the time to invest in ordinary men and does extraordinary things with them. Does He need us to do his will? Of course not! Does He desire to use us for His good? Of course! Words like grace and mercy and justification and honor and integrity and courage should all be words that describe you as a legacy dad, as a man of God, as a disciple of Jesus Christ.There is a poem that I like from Frank Outlaw that goes like this:
“Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
If accept this poem as true in human nature, then we have to be careful and watch our habits because that could shape our character. That being said, I was surfing the internet and found this chart (inset to the right) that I really liked. The reason why I like this is because you can apply it to just about every aspect of our life:
Physical:
Mental:
Spiritual:
As a men's ministry leader, elder, legacy dad and husband and father, I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I witness men getting out of healthy habits (routines) and how they are able to slip back into sin so quickly. Or other men, who shoot up so strong in their faith and yet fade away when temptations or anger sets in. Or men that have marriages that are barely holding on and instead of letting go and letting God they hold on tight to mediocrity? Honestly, sometimes this can be frustrating, and if I am really honest about this, then the frustrating part becomes when I realize that the very thing that annoys me about them - really annoys me because I can identify with that - meaning I can shift and fade quickly as well.
Jesus put it like this in Scripture:
Matthew 13 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears,[a] let him hear.”
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.[b] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Some may come to the Judgement Seat of Christ and say, "Lord, Lord" and Jesus will reply depart from me, I never knew you. Scripture is clear that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Don't misunderstand this reference because someone who is truly saved (born again) is always saved (Once saved, always saved - Read John for this one). Immediately upon salvation, the Holy Spirit dwells within each of us and promises to us gifts of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness and Self-Control....
We are called to examine ourselves to see if we are still in the faith? Or if we ever were? Are you? Is your life-bearing the Fruit of the Spirit?
What if you are not? What if you are in the same rut, sin, shame every day? If you are not and all you see is the fruit of the Sinful nature, then pray and ask God to call you to be His (Read Romans 10).
If you are, but are slipping backward or finding yourself along the thorns of life, the rocks of life and or just away from the good soil, then try this on for size:
Cue:
Routine:
Reward:
Blessings,
Dante