Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) says "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." This year i want to put out the challenge to all the men to live this verse out.
As Christian men we are called to follow Jesus Christ first and foremost. This is what our lives are meant to be above all else. Because of Jesus you are who you are, and are being transformed into who He has called you to be. Do not be misled about your career or your wealth generation for retirement. These things are not what your life is meant to be about. Careers will come and go, money will be made, spent and lost. Our calling to the works of the kingdom of God will be for this life and then on to eternity.
LIVE out your faith this year, be the Christian Man you are called to be in all situations. LOVE God, worship Him, celebrate His goodness, then show His LOVE to other people. Cherish your wife and children if you have them. Put your priorities in the right order "GOD, WIFE, KIDS, REST".
LOSE yourself and everything else. Yes that is right, LOSE it all. Whoa ... hold it Preacherman! What are you talking about?!?
Mark Chapter 8:34-38 (ESV) says "34And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
Men, we need to be prepared to LOSE, everything for the sake of Jesus Christ. Now I am not talking about some vow of poverty and quitting your job to live on faith. Rather I am talking about NO COMPROMISE! We need to be willing to lose everything in the face of those who would oppose our Lord. We need to be who we are called where we are and in everything we do. If that means we have less "friends" because they choose to not follow God and are offended by the Gospel, then so be it. If that means that your boss who is not a believer decides to lay you off instead of the next guy because then he will not have to hear about your faith, then so be it.
We need to press froward with the cause of Christ and not allow ourselves to "sell out" because it is easier. Set your standard for this year, do it now and keep it.
Our Standards!
Your relationship with God needs to be #1
- Do not forsake going to church to worship Him
- Do not forsake reading His Word
- Spend time with the Lord
Your relationship with your wife needs to be #2
- Spend time with her
- Learn how to love her more and more
- Cherish her and treat her as "special"
- If you are single then you need to live like you are married to protect your integrity and purity. Live as one who is learning and seeking a wife, you just have not met her yet.
Other People are #3
- This includes your children
- This includes your friends and other family
- Make sure to spend the right time with those who need you the most, like your children. Whether you know it or understand it, they need you a lot.
Everything Else
- This means your Job
- This means your volunteering
- This means your sports and hobbies
If you put the first 3 in the right order, the rest will fall into place. Be who you are called to be.
Looking forward to 2010 being a year of Transformation. May the Lord continue to make us into who He wants us to be.
Preacherman
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