I will praise you in the storm
Romans 8:18-37New International Version (NIV)Present Suffering and Future Glory18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[a] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[b] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
More Than Conquerors31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[c]37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
What is so special about men coming together studying God's Word anyway?
Galatians 6:1-2English Standard Version (ESV)Bear One Another's Burdens6 Brothers,[a] if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
James 5:19-20English Standard Version (ESV)
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
What is so special about men anyways? Why are they so important in building God's Kingdom? Why does God decide to use you and I in His plan? Why does he make men the leader of the house?
Some statistics cited by Man in the Mirror:
Men’s Statistics Gathered by Man in the Mirror (with sources) 113,000,000 men in America 15 years of age and older.1 69,000,000 of these men make no profession of faith in Christ.2 Only 6,000,000 men are involved in discipleship or spiritual formation—1in 18 men. Imagine putting a football team onthe field, and only one player had studied the playbook.3 As many as 70% of men seek out pornography. As many Christians will divorce as non-Christians (34% vs. 33% according to Barna). 40% to 50% of recent marriages will end in divorce according to the United States Census Bureau.4 4 out of 5 students in evangelical churches will drop out of church by their senior year in high school (HowardHendricks). We have become a fatherless nation. 33%5of the 72 million children in America will go to bed tonight without theirbiological father in the home. 73% of households with children under 18 headed by married couples (vs. 91% in 1960); 27% households headed bysingle parents.6 Nuclear families comprise less than 23.5% of households.7 40% of Busters raised by divorced or separated parents.8 More than 50% children born in 1990s spend part childhood in single parent home.9 10 Two years after a divorce only 53% of children see their non-custodial parent on a monthly basis. Ten years after thedivorce on 28% have monthly contact. 11 66% children born in America will not live with both biological parents through the age of eighteen.12
---Male Population113,00,000 men 15 and older as of 2004, 10,600,000 were 15 – 19 years of age, and 10,800,000 were 20 – 24 years of age.http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/06s0011.xls , retrieved September 29, 2006. 2Estimate based on 39% indicating “born again.” 39% of Americans describe themselves as “a born again Christian.” (2001) Two-thirds of Americans (66%) say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important intheir life today. (2001) Half of those who attend a Christian church (49%) say that they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith, andanother 36% say that they are moderately committed. (2001) Commitment to the Christian faith changes considerably with age. Of those who attend church, only 34% of Busterssay they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith, compared to 52% of Boomers, 63% of Builders, and 70%of Seniors. (2001)Retrieved from Barna at http://www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PageCategory.asp?CategoryID=19 3Male DiscipleshipPer Barna: Of the 16% of churched adults involved in discipleship, 69% rely upon small groups for their growth.(2000) Of the 16% of churched adults involved in discipleship, one-fifth (20%) rely upon Sunday school and 11% attendother classes to grow spiritually. (2000)http://www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PageCategory.asp?CategoryID=9*The following two stats do not take into consideration how participation in discipleship may vary by gender:16% of America’s 38,880,000 men who attend church in discipleship = 6,000,00069% of 6,000,000 in small groups = 3,500,0004Garbarino, J. 1992. Children and Families in the Social Environment. New York: Aldine de Gruyter (p. 87). 5Living Arrangements of Children [Electronic version]. U. S. Census Bureau, U. S. Department of Commerce. April, 1996.6The Family Portrait (The Family Research Council), 14.7“The Changing American Family,” New York Times, May 18, 2001, retrieved from Internet June, 2003.8Dobson, 106.9Ibid., 134.10 Garbarino, J. 1992. Children and Families in the Social Environment. New York: Aldine de Gruyter (p. 87). 11 Ibid. (p. 87).12 Dobson., 54.
When men come together and read God's word together, worship together, and share real life together:
- Things change
- The Holy Spirit will move
- Lives will be changed
- Brothers come along side one another
- Friendships are bonded for eternity (whether we like it or not)
- Marriages are saved
- Marriages are renewed
- The Church will flourish
Blessings,Dante
Revival
Jonah 4New International Version (NIV)
Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion
4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now,Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant[a] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die,and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh,in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
Charles Spurgeon has this to say about a revival, "A true revival is to be looked for in the church of God. Only in the river of gracious life can the pearl of revival be found. It has been said that a revival must begin with God's people; this is very true, but it is not all the truth, for the revival itself must end as well as begin there. The results of the revival will extend to the outside world, but the revival, strictly speaking, must be within the circle of life, and must therefore essentially be enjoyed by the possessors of vital godliness, and by them only. Is not this quite a different view of revival from that; which is common in society; but is it not manifestly the correct one?"
First of all, in the book of Jonah, we read about a prophet (Jonah) he was called by God. "The Book of Jonah is one of the Minor Prophets in the Bible. It tells of a Hebrew prophet named Jonah son of Amittai who is sent by God to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission.[1] Set in the reign of Jeroboam II (786–746 BC), it was probably written in the post-exilic period, sometime between the late 5th to early 4th century BC.[2] The story has an interesting interpretive history (see below) and has become well-known through popular children's stories. In Judaism it is the Haftarah for the afternoon of Yom Kippur due to its story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent.[Wikipedia}
In chapter 4, Jonah is angry with God because he has mercy and compassion on the people of Israel's enemy. Jonah flees from God, because he did not want them to repent. There is so much to this book that I encourage all of you to read it. Study it and pray on it.
Let's look at some questions that we have a right, as citizens to ask:
- Is our government truly representing its people?
- Do both sides of the argument have valid points that should be addressed?
- How do we heal as a Nation?
- Why is the internet filled with so much hate and bitterness about others?
- Where is God in this?
- What is God's will in all of this for me, as a Christian?
- What's missing from our schoools?
- What is missing from our Congress?
- Where do I turn to in this election year?
- Whose got this anyways?
Let's be honest here, regardless of your political bent, something is wrong with this society when we put the "I" before the "We".
What is God's will for our lives as Christians (I can answer this one by His Word):
1 Thessalonians 4New International Version (NIV)
Living to Please God4 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Let's come together by putting on the following the road map of Colossians 3:
- Setting our hearts on things above
- Setting our minds on God above
- Putting to death our old self (our old sin nature)
- Clothing ourselves with Love, Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Gentleness and Patience (take the log out of our eyes before we judge and condemn others)
- Let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly
- Just don't say it - Do what God calls us to do
- Serve others before we self serve us.
Maybe instead of taking God's word out of the hearts and minds of our citizens we need to be praying for God's will in this country instead of what's best for you and me.
My heart breaks for
- Those who wear a uniform and serve our country (who are being treated and have been treated harshly)
- For the innocent who are being unfairly treated
- For those whose rights are being violated by others
- For the brokenhearted
- For those who lost loved ones
- For those who God cares for
Whatever we do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Dante
One of the greatest plays in baseball
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Philippians 3:20New International Version (NIV)
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Some questions for us to ponder:
- How important is God's word to us?
- How important is God's truth to us?
- How important is our sanctification to God?
- What's holding you back from taking your citizenship seriously?
Blessings,Dante
The impact of wow
[youtube id="fMhJIglG53k"]Philippians 2:12-13New Living Translation (NLT)
Shine Brightly for Christ12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Which word describes your life and your church to others:
- WOW
- WHOA
- WOE
Which word describes your witness to others....?
Thoughts,Dante
How To Talk To Your Children About Politics
What is God's will in your life
Proverbs 1:1-7New International Version (NIV)
Purpose and Theme
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;for understanding words of insight;3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,doing what is right and just and fair;4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,[a]knowledge and discretion to the young—5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,and let the discerning get guidance—6 for understanding proverbs and parables,the sayings and riddles of the wise.[b]
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,but fools[c] despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs is known as the book of Wisdom. Solomon is identified as the writer of most of the book. God gave Solomon his wisdom. Proverbs is a book of instructions on how to live a life pleasing to God and how to live a life of peace. Proverbs is a guiding light (the word of God is a light unto my path).
Are you in God's word?
Are you under its authority?
Before you go to bed tonight understand this:
Proverbs 9:10New International Version (NIV)
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Who will you serve this day? Self or God?
Blessings,D