Do not be anxious

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (ESV)Matthew 6:25-34 (ESV)

Do Not Be Anxious

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Some things that we can do to alleviate stress and anxiety:

• Start your day with prayer
• Pray throughout the day
• Read Scripture daily
• Memorize Scripture
• Walk with others (in true accountability)
• When in doubt pray

In all that you do, acknowledge God and He will make your paths straight!

Blessings,

Dante

The Portrait of a Real Man

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:

1. A real man has a sense of Divine Destiny
2. A real man has a responsibility to disciple the future of his wheelhouse (his children, his wife and his family)
3. A real man has dignity
4. A real man has a sense of dominion (in charge-ness)

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.

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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.

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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

Making the difference:

This past weekend, at my church, we concluded the justice series in which our Pastors (7 multi-sites) and more counting in other countries taught on God's justice.  Our senior pastor concluded these takeaways from the series:

• Justice is God’s nature.
• Justice is human beings co-laboring with God to bend or restore God’s world back to God’s created plan.
• Justice is every Christian’s calling and responsibility.
• Justice is more than a cause, protest, blog post or event.
• Justice is nearby because injustice is nearby.
• Justice is messy, yet not to be avoided.
• Justice is giving every human being, from inside the womb to the tomb, dignity, honor and respect.
• Justice is ministering to those who suffer injustice whether it be on our daily path or at our table. (Think Mephibosheth/Good Samaritan)
• Justice acting requires sacrifice of time, resource and life.
• Justice begins with God changing our heart.
• Justice is our response to God’s act of justice in Jesus’ life suffering, death and resurrection for us

Yesterday afternoon, in our small group, we talked about the Justice series and I played a video from, I am second series and we discussed in our group things that make a difference.  Because our group is a special group and we have all agreed what is said in that group stays in the group, I cannot share what each person is doing, but I can tell you the things that would make a difference in each of our wheelhouse:

At Home:

• We can show our spouse the love of Jesus
• We can show our kids the love of Jesus
• We can show our grandchildren and distant family members this love

In our community:

• We can reach out to our neighbors by serving them
• We can love our neighbors by listening and doing for them without expectant return
• We can love our neighbors by being good listeners to them and getting to know them

In our work place:

• We can show our co-workers (and employers if you are not one) integrity, honor, perseverance and love
• We can be ethical in our decisions and actions
• We can be tolerant and peaceful in how we act with others

In leading my small group I have to admit that I was in a desert place as others were not able to attend due to needs or whatever their case may have been (not their problem, but mine) and I have to say how blessed and surprised I was by what the Spirit did in that small group - He overwhelmed me.

The two other husbands, in some of their stories and recommendations, made tears come to my eyes in their love and generosity toward others.  I love where they are in their walks (raw and uninhibited by others) and honest with their thoughts and emotions.  They are not impostors, they are real men!  In Scripture it says in Matthew 6:3-4 (NIV) 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

I know what we discussed and how I want to make a difference one little thing at a time.  The beauty of this Sermon series and our small group is that it doesn't always have to be a big thing, rather, it sometimes just requires us to do the little thing(s) for our neighbor.  So you ask, "Who is my neighbor?"  and we say, Seek and you will find!

Blessings,

Dante

Shining like stars

Another poem (or quote) that I like to apply to my life is:  “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou.No matter what we like (or love) from this world, we (as Christians) should apply scripture to it to test it and to see if it holds water in our theology and the way that we live as Christians.  That being said, we should take serious the things of this world and identify whether they are building us up as disciples of Christ or tearing us down.

In my men's group (Men of Faith) I had shared that I went to see a movie with some friends that was related (in a distant way) to my work.  The movie really was worldly and ultimately a stumbling block to my other brothers so I felt the Spirit in me calling me to repentance and to confess that to my brothers.  When I tested this movie against Scripture it couldn't hold water.  Therefore, I could be unrepentant about it and hold it back from my brothers or I could free myself and confess to them and repent to God.  There was, at first, a defiant part in me that said that it didn't cause me to stumble nor did it cause me to lust and so on, but when I was really honest, how could I teach and facilitate other men if I could entertain sin?  I could not and that is what the Spirit revealed in me.

How about letting our light shine:

Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV) Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.  14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Philippians 2:12-18   (ESV) Lights in the World

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.  14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Matthew 7:12  (ESV) The Golden Rule

12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

People will always forget what you said and what you did, BUT they will never forget how you make them feel.  So tell me, if you are trying to be the salt and light to the world, what does it take to reach the lost (the sinner) and show them the love of Christ?  If and when we decide to become honest with one another, then we have to ask the question in each of our lives:  What is that sin that we have no mercy for?  For some it could be lust, for others it could be cohabiting couples and for others it could be homosexuality - where we have no love and no compassion.  If we are doing what Scripture tells us (above) we can live in such a way that others will want to know what makes us shine and how we can love (even the unlovable sin).  That is not to say that we have to affirm their lifestyle or be their judge - we don't.

In my men's group, we have what others may refer to as a successful ministry (not by what any man does, but by what God does)!!!  Simply put, we worship (songs in the beginning), then we have large group where facilitators will share either a life experience with Scripture or a theme or an event in their life and then we break out into small groups (pray, share and walking with others).  This, of course, is all wrapped with Scripture.  This is not a program or an event or a scheduled way to build discipleship, rather, this is real men being real with their own lives (not being afraid to abase themselves in front of other men) and sharing life together, confessing sins to one another and loving each other.  We are a family!

If you are going to take you pathway to discipleship to another level then consider doing some of the following things:

• Get into a men's group where these things happen
• Serve in a ministry in your church
• Serve in your community
• Love a sinner (be intentional in their life, pray for them and walk a mile or two in their shoes with them - don't sin with them, just walk with them)
• Read Scripture daily
• Pray often

Try this for the next few months and see where God takes you and I!

Blessings,Dante