What can we do...

Colossians 3 (English Standard Version)

Put On the New Self

3  If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your^[a] life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:^[b] sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness,which is idolatry. ⁶  On account of these the wrath of God is coming.^[c] 7  In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸ But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self^[d] with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.¹¹  Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,^[e] free; but Christ isall, and in all.

¹²  Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Rules for Christian Households

¹⁸  Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. ²² Bondservants,^[f] obey in everything those who are your earthly masters,^[g] not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. ²³  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.²⁵ For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

A glimpse of unconfessed sin...

I am a movie guy.  I love all aspects of them including subtexts and sub-themes and symbolism.  For instance, when you look at Star Wars, you can make many references toward the Gospel (The Force, A Savior, The Evil Emperor...etc.,).  Often, we find ourselves making comparisons to movies (especially guys who love to quote lines from all different types of movies).When it is all said and done, that is:  Addictions, anger, malice, debauchery, lust (pornography), we can ascertain that for the most part these are symptoms of the core issue of PRIDE.  When we find ourselves contrary to God's will, we inadvertently (or sometime willfully) find ourselves putting us in front of God.  That is, to say, we are making the decision for God instead of letting his sovereignty reign over us.

The point that I am trying to make, is that when we allow are old selves to gratify our sinful desires (Watch the video clip) then we let sin (and the evil one) have a foothold on our lives.  We let sin overwhelm us to a place that few can turn back to without the confession and repentace of sin to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As a legacy dad, we should rethink what we are modeling to our wives and families.

Thoughts?

Let us know,

Dante

WORDS & SWORDS

Sometimes kids say say some unbelievable things.  For instance,  when I got home from work today I had my "to do" list which included a trip to Lowe's and the local door store.  I got all my errands done, but I ran out of time to complete my projects tonight, partly due to the fact that I took all of my kids with me and left my wife home alone with our new puppy.  However, one interesting thing is what came out of my son's mouth as we were driving back home.  He said, "Daddy, do you remember when you and mom told me about sticks and stones and how words actually do hurt?"  I said, "Yes, Trey I do."  Trey, "Well daddy, did you know that if you move the "S" in Words, then you have SWord, and they can cut deep."  Daddy, "Very profound, Trey, very profound." 

So what does Scripture say about our words (sword):

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21)

"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment." (Matthew 12:36).

"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:37).

^"Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." (Colossians 4:6 ESV)

What I find interesting is how we, as legacy dads, can navigate through our day and realize how vile and ignorant conversations can be in this world.  You don't believe me?  Turn on the TV, listen to the Radio, search the blogs (especially during an election year) and most of all look at Social Media and realize just how serious your words (sword) can be.

Imagine if for just one day everyone around us could hear these things being said and done to other people that we loved.  Imagine even more if in the course of that day, that we found ourselves being the one that said those things.

Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

From the poem by Frank Outlaw:  The 5 Watches:

“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 character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Dante

Act of Valor

Let me start this post out by saying that this week was a very rare gem for me.  I was asked to catch up with a brother from church that I have not walked with for a very long time.  He has had some ups and downs and has been restored in our body and I am proud to watch his spiritual growth in our church.  We had dinner before seeing the movie, Act of Valor.  We talked a lot about our kids and ministry and where are lives are taking us.He asked me what he could do for me.  I didn't see that question.  Actually, I was expecting more of just a catch up kind of evening.  I will say that I knew that he was walking and getting actively involved in some other ministries in our church and that was a very good thing.  My response to him was that he was already doing it.  He made some mistakes (we all do), he repented (we all need to) and he has been restored.  Now his life is bearing fruit of the Spirit.  He has a humility that I cannot explain, but I can tell that he truly gets what Christ did for him (for me and you).  He reinforced a very strong passion of Lance, Gary and myself:  To finish well and to reach men at their core and to serve in such a way, When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.”  (quote form Lance's Post).

After dinner,  we went and saw the movie (see trailor) Act of Valor, which is a movie about Navy SEALS.  The movie was nothing less then great.  You can pick on some aspects of the movie but things that were made abundantly clear from the beginning where character traits that we strive for legacy dads to bear witness to and live out daily:  Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, Citizenship, Perseverance, Loyalty, Duty, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Grace, Justice, Humility, Humilty, Mercy, Discipline and of course, Valor.  I have to believe that some, if not all, of these men fear God and believe in Jesus Christ.  They would be remiss to be so giving in their sacrifice to their friends and family and country and not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Some of the things said and principles shared in the movie can make one believe that they do believe in God (I hope and pray so).

Last night was another special night for me as I met with an Elder from our church and a man that is very involved with me in our men's ministry and we are working on some discipleship training.  Both men, that I met with these past two nights, have a sense of maturity (humility) that is great to see.  The one from Tuesday is just starting to grow deeper in his faith and maturity and the one from last night has come through a very long year and a half of a desert place.

I am celebrating these two men this week.  I believe in them and their walks and am proud to be involved in serving with both of them.  As we work through this discipleship process, our prayer and hope is that other men will move in a posture that can bring them to a place of worship, service, stewardship, purity and of course, being a man of God and a disciple of Christ.

To God be the Glory,

Dante

Some Accountability in our life....how serious do you want to answer...?

Do you have to say “NO”  to any of the questions below?  If so, share what you are dealing with in your life and how we can pray for you and keep you accountable:

• Are you walking intimately with God and spending time consistently with Jesus?
• Are you loving and serving your wife/family/friends/community church in a way that honors the Lord and brings joy to their heart?  Would they agree with you?
• Are you making time to love and raise each of your children in a way that blesses the unique way God made them and helps them grow to be more like Jesus?
• Are you guarding your heart by avoiding books, magazines, TV shows, videos, web sites, phone lines or anything else that contains explicit sexual images or content?
• Are you honoring your relationships (marriage vows and covenant( by upholding clear and responsible boundaries in your relationships with women other than your wife?
• Are you handling your personal and church finances in a way that honors God?
• Are you making time to care for your own health and body through regular exercise, good eating and appropriate sleep?
• Are you connecting with non-believing and non-church people in a way that allows you to engage in personal evangelism and model it for your congregation?
• Are you living a life that models a healthy balance in marriage, family, ministry, recreation, and spiritual growth?

So what do you want to do in 2012?

What kind of man do you want to be?  Father?  Spiritual Leader?

Let us know,

Dante

The 10 Commandments

The 10 Commandments via the Old TestamentExodus, Chapter 20. They were given directly by God to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai after He had delivered them from slavery in Egypt: 

"And God spoke all these words, saying: 'I am the LORD your God…

ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'

TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'

THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'

FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'

FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'

SIX: 'You shall not murder.'

SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'

EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'

NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'

TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'

The 10 Commandments via the New TestamentAbout 1,400 years later, the 10 Commandments were summed up in the New Testament at Matthew 22, when Jesus was confronted by the religious "experts" of the day:

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:36-40).

A reflective reading of Christ's teaching reveals that the first four commandments given to the children of Israel are contained in the statement: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." It continues that the last six commandments are enclosed in the statement: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Biblical Hockey

This past Saturday we had our Annual Men's Breakfast at our church and had around two hundred guys that came to hear the Word of the Lord.  The theme was, "It is not about the perfection of your life, but the the direction of your life."  Our Pastor called out to us, "O Man of God." (1 Timothy 6:6-12).Some points that were made for our direction are that a man of God flees from greed and the love money (biblical stewardship tells us that it all belongs to God).  The man of God flees from evil, that is, from worldliness.   We should do this because if we do this, then we will develop godliness and find contentment in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Why should we avoid and flee worldliness?  Because it simply will ruin and destroy us.  Evil takes us away from the faith and it will ruin us and bring much pain to our lives.

Pastor Mike asked us if we are fleeing worldliness and evil.  He said that this is what the man of God does.  Is this the direction of our life?  A real man of God is know by what he pursues.  Are we pursuing a relationship with God?  A man of God pursues righteousness (living by God's right standards), he pursues godliness (living a God-centered life) and the man of God pursues the faith (living on the teachings and promises of God).  The man of God pursues love (love our our neighbors) and steadfastness (through tough times) and he pursues gentleness (an even tempered life).  To put it simply, a man of God pursues a Christ-centered life.  Again, is this the direction of your life?

SUMMARY:  Once you place your faith in Christ, you are a man of God. The direction of your life is now to flee sin and pursue Christ.  You are called by God to "flee" and to "pursue" for the rest of your life.  Make sure you trust God's enablement.  You can only do this in His strength (John 15:5 & Philippians 4:13).  

So how do you learn to play biblical H O C K E Y ? ? ? ? ? ?

H = HUMBLE yourself before God (2 Chronicles 10-13)

O = you need OTHER men in your life (Moses in Exodus 17:12)

You need 3 buddy relationships (1. Someone who is pouring their life into you (Mentor); 2. Some who is your peer (equal) and 3. Some you are pouring your life into (mentee - a "Timothy").

C = CONFESSION in our lives (David in Psalm 51:4)

K = KICK IT INTO GEAR (Timothy 1:8 & 2:1)

E = EAT Scripture (EZEKIEL 3:1-3 and Revelation 10:8-10)

Y = Say YES to God (Isaiah 6:8).

A man of God is pure and confesses when he is not.  A man of God is a faithful steward of God's resources (giving God 10% of everything and being responsible with the rest of what he has given each of us - to some 5 talents to others 2 and to others 1).  Will God tell us at our judgement - well done thou good and faithful servant?

Where you are in your life, whether young, middle aged or old, it is never to late to finish well.  O Man of God, are you ready for the first day of the rest of your life to be given to God?  Will you allow the Lord to be the Lord over your entire life?  In the last minute of your life - can you look back for a moment and say that today (October 15, 2011) was the day that I made the right choice?

Dante

What is your greatest struggle?

This morning in men’s group we have a guy that is never afraid to put it out there.  He is honest with his walk and or lack of (at times) like the rest of us, but today he said something very provocative to the rest of us in men’s group, “just because I put my life out there for the rest of you, doesn’t mean that you should turn your focus on me and just try and fix me….we all have things we need to confess…..that only God can fix.” Scripture tells us to confess our sins to one another and to repent and live a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ.This morning I googled, “what are men’s greatest sins” and the list that came up was from a catholic priest who came up with a list from men’s confessionals and here is what the top 7 were:

Gluttony = excessive eating and drinking. Sloth = habitual disinclination to exertion; indolence; laziness.  Avarice = insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth.

The list is very revealing and forthcoming, but there is one difference to the Christian believer who believes that Jesus Christ is the only answer.  Once we place our trust in Him, then Jesus becomes our high priest and He (and ONLY HE) is the one who bridges our lives to God the father, meaning, he is our Advocate on High.  He writes our names in the Book of Life and from that moment on – God looks at us through Jesus’ blood – the perfect lamb - our sins our forgiven once and for all!

Whatever your struggle, there is an answer and a path for us to follow.  If we pray for God’s grace and guidance and we read his world (The Holy Bible) and we surround ourselves with believers who will help us carry our burdens, and we listen to sound preaching and teaching, THEN we can move toward a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ and we can be the light to the world!

In case you are not getting my polite inferences, then I would like to make myself clear:  Trust and Obey!  Job 31:1 says that I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at another woman.  1 Peter 3:7 tells us (husbands) to treat our wives with respect so that nothing will hinder our prayers and Galatians 5 gives us a checklist of our life in the fruit of the sinful nature or the fruit of the Spirit and then the Bible gives us a call to action: 1) Romans 12  - we should become living sacrifices and 2) Colossians 3 – we should strive toward Holy Living.

Any questions? Comments?

Let me know,

Dante