Legacy dads have been a real busy

Good Morning to all of you out there in the blog-o-sphere.  It has been a while since any of us (Lance, Gary or myself) has posted, and we apologize for that.  It's not that we don't have anything to say, but in each of our crafts (Cowboy, Warrior and Merchant) we have been busy.Too busy for our readers?  Too busy for our families?  Too busy just to share our hearts with you?  My answer would hopefully be no to all of the above raised questions, and with that, I have no excuse except to say that I am sorry.  I will attempt to post more regularly and to share a part of my heart.

Yesterday morning was our weekly Saturday morning men's group (called Men of Faith).  We meet from 6:30 to 7:30am in large group and then break out from 7:30 to 8am to pray and share with brothers in a smaller group.  I had the pleasure to lead the group, and we discussed my first pillar (step) in discipleship - Purity.  We spent time in Galatians 5 (our fruit), Colossians 3 (rules for holy living) and Romans 12 (living sacrifices).  I asked the men a key question - How serious and honest do we want to be with our lives?  Do we really want the Lord to be the Lord of our entire lives?

When it is all said and done, what mark will our lives leave?  When our knees are bowed and our tongues confess, what will the fruit of our lives show?  If you have been watching and reading the news then we know that we cannot put our confidence in men, in governments and of things of this world.  We can put our trust in faith in the One who is worthy of all of our praise and glory and honor - Jesus Christ the one and only Messiah!

Whether we like it or not, we are called to be disciples and to go and make more disciples.  Are we using the gifts that we have been given (to some are given mercy, compassion, evangelism, and gifts of giving...)  to better serve the Kingdom of God?  If  not, how do we get to that point?  Biblical purity is something that is extremely important for us in order for the Holy Spirit to work in us and move us into a deeper and fuller life with our Lord.  This will require discipline, obedience and submission.

I asked this past Saturday if there was anyone in the military in our group (that required vigorous training) and quite a few hands went up and one hand, in particular, was a trained pilot who flew Cobra attack helicopters in the Marines.  I said to him, as an example, that because I play video games and have pretty good hand-eye coordination, that I should be able to step into this attack helicopter and fly right away - his reply was simply - no!  It would take a lot more than that.  As a matter of fact, he trained vigorously for two and half years in order to fly this fine piece of machinery.  He trained hard for two and a half years of studying, reading and practicing (does this sound familiar?  If not, read Romans 12 and Colossians 3 again).

Biblical Purity, Biblical Stewardship and Discipleship are 3 key elements that I will be writing on these next few months!  I hope you will read along with me, share some insights and experiences with us and move ourselves into a deeper relationship with our Lord.

Dante

The 5G Disciple by Pastor James MacDonald

PASTOR JAMES MCDONALD

September 11, 2011

The 5G Disciple

Based upon Colossians 1 – 3

The 5G Disciple:

Glorifies God in all he/she does

Growing – The Disciple is growing (there is fruit)

Gratitude – is thankful for all that he/she is given

Gracious – is kind to others in words and deeds.  This disciple will urge, comfort and encourage

Generous – has Stewardship down

PASTOR JAMES MCDONALD (click here)

 

http://www.jamesmacdonald.com/teaching/video/

Daddy, will you lead me?

Psalm 127

A Pilgrim Song of Solomon

1-2 If God doesn't build the house, the builders only build shacks.If God doesn't guard the city,the night watchman might as well nap.It's useless to rise early and go to bed late,and work your worried fingers to the bone.Don't you know he enjoysgiving rest to those he loves?3-5 Don't you see that children are God's best gift?the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?Like a warrior's fistful of arrowsare the children of a vigorous youth.Oh, how blessed are you parents,with your quivers full of children!Your enemies don't stand a chance against you;you'll sweep them right off your doorstep.

 

Top 10 things to strengthen your marriage

Have you often ever wondered what goes on in a woman's mind?  I do!  And to this day I am not really sure how many things that they can think of at one time. My pastor once said that he heard a study that the average man speaks about 12,500 words a day, of which, he speaks 10,000 through the course of his work day, so when he gets home he only has 2,500 words left to speak.  The woman, on the other hand, speaks 25,000 words a day, of which through the course of her day (men, pay attention now) she still has 12,500 words left to say when we come home from work.  Prepare yourselves for my top 10 list of things to strengthen your marriage:10. Spend time with each other - if we could learn as much and study are wives like we do our passions and sport hobbies and statistics of various sorts, imagine what we could glean from our marriages.

9. Learn how to handle conflict with each other - in the Bible we read not to let the sun go down while we are angry with someone, this is especially true of our wives.  Sometimes we may find ourselves exhausted and having no other choice but to sleep, but don't let time get in between your forgiveness of each other.  When you disagree and when you have been wronged read 1 Corinthians 13. If you have baggage that cannot be resolved through one on one interaction with your spouse, then seek christian counseling based on biblical principles.

8.  Your marriage has to come first -- before kids or your job, and requires daily focus: touch-points, talk-points, date night, and honeymoon night.  Find times to date each other often - whether you have young kids or older kids. Money or no money or simply lack of time, then make time.  Kids will grow, money will be spent and life will move on past you if you forget who your spouse is.  We grow and mature and in some instances even change likes and dislikes, but if we invest time in one another then we can grow together.

7.  Need each other - each spouse has to have different roles in marriage and in parenting and in care taking of each other, kids and responsibilities.  If in the case that both spouses work, then clearly define what best approach compliments both.  When you share and assign roles and responsibilities then you foster even more trust (that the other will do their role) and that you can trust and depend on each other daily.

6. Be your best - whether we have a tough job and emotional problems our spouses don't deserve us to download all this negative stuff on them.  We can be honest and share our hurts and stress, but they are not the neighborhood dump.  Be considerate.  Be slow to speak, quick to listen and slow to anger!

5.  Take care of yourself - physically (eat healthy and work out regularly), spiritually and emotionally.

4.  Be your spouse’s biggest fan - While you’re studying your spouse looking for needs, also be on the lookout for strengths. What is your spouse good at? What do they enjoy doing? What are they passionate about? What gets them excited?

3.  Be third in your marriage - put God first, your spouse second and you third.  Read Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3:7 (if you are the husband).

2.  Be intimate regularly - this isn't just about sex and what the other should do for you.  This is a reminder that your body is not your own.  This is a vow and covenant to God.  The marriage should be playful and fun and relaxed and trusting.

1.  Pray together - a couple that pray's together stays together.  When you put Christ in the center of your marriage and your treat the woman as Jesus treats the church, then you should be prepared to die for her.  Women, likewise, your should protect and care for your husband and nurture him as Jesus takes care of us.

What are some of your top tens?

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

 

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