Welcome to the Mighty Men Training Institute

I enjoy Ephesians Chapter 2 because it begins in a way that immediately reaches out to everyone in this world. It comes right out and acknowledges that we've lived in sin. We've let the temptations of worldly things rule our lives and we've lived fulfilling our sinful desires. We were dead in our transgressions.

But as it acknowledges the mistakes and evils of our past it lets us know that we now have life in Christ. We are made aware that our souls have been saved by grace and through faith we have a reserved spot in His kingdom. Grace is a gift from God, not something our works earns for us. But we are told that God has prepared for us good works to do and those plans were made in advance. Letting us know that we all have a purpose for good in this realm.

The second half of the chapter reminds those of us not born under Israel there was a time where we were not saved. There was a time where the promise of God's grace was not ours. But through Christ's death he pulled in the Gentiles and showered all of them with God's grace. He brought down the barrier and made all men equal when it comes to the accessing the Father by one Spirit.

We are reminded that since that day we are ALL members of God's household. The structure which stands with Christ as the cornerstone and built on the foundation of apostles and prophets. In Christ we will all rise up as one structure to become a holy temple in the Lord. And individually we ourselves will rise up and become a dwelling for God through his Spirit.

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    James Chapter 1 is great simply because the average person will look at you like you belong in a padded room if you speak even just the second verse.

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds

Wait. What?  Rejoice in my troubles?  Take joy in the bad things that befall me?  Are you nuts?

The chapter goes on and explains to us why.  Those trials and tribulations give us a chance to flex our faith muscles. And in faith we must develop perseverance which gives us  maturity and completes us.  With that we can endure anything. Without it, we have a tendency to sway in our faith.  And when we doubt we will not be rewarded by God.

It reminds us that temptation does not come from God. It warms us that temptation comes from our own evil desires and that desires ripens into sin and sin leads to death. We're also reminded that all good and perfect things come from Him.

We get some very basic yet great pieces of advice to apply in all our lives in "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." Anger is not an ingredient of a righteous life for Him. Other than anger we need to remove any moral filth or evil from our lives so that we can live our lives in His word.

We wrap up the chapter with a message that more Christians need to not only hear but to apply to their daily lives. We can not simply read or hear His word. We have to DO it. We have to apply it to our daily lives. We can't be content in sitting in our pews on Sundays, hearing our preacher and then living our lives Monday through Saturday; While we live our daily lives without applying what we received on Sundays. It is not enough to even read the Bible every day of our lives if we do not LIVE the Word. Living the word is where we shall find our path in Him. 

not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

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Reading through the first 4 chapters of Proverbs we find some great advice and wisdom being passed down onto us from Solomon. Out of the first four chapters the third chapter connects with me the most.

The first 12 verses are among my favorite as they pinpoint some great knowledge for Christians to keep at heart. We are given so many different ways to be blessed by our Lord. Letting love and faithfulness rule our hearts and lives, trusting in Him and never trying to live life based on what we think is our own understanding, acknowledge him in every way you can, fearing Him and shunning evil, and honoring him with our wealth. It is made very clear that if we stick to these basic principles are lives will be blessed in every way. We will receive back our wealths over and over. He will make our paths straight. He will bless us with health and nourish our bodies.

I really enjoy verses 12 and 13 because it reminds us not to get angry with the Lord when he disciplines us. We're reminded that he only disciplines the ones that he lives and that we are his children.

Solomon goes on to address the important of knowledge in our lives. He reminds us of it's place in making our lives easier to live. He also tells us to let God be our confidence and that with him we have nothing to be afraid of. We can live our lives without worrying what next tragedy, big or small, is lurking around the corner. We can apply this to our daily lives instantly and forget our worries of money, the economy, illnesses, car troubles, work issues, and on and on and on. We can listen to Solomon and let Him be our confidence and nothing can get us down.

Solomon ends the third chapter of Proverbs with some great pieces of advice to help us lead our lived for Him.

1. If we have the power to do good for someone, we can not deny it.

2. Do not tell your neighbor to come back tomorrow when you have it today.

3. Do not plot to harm your neighbor.

4. Never accuse anyone of anything when they've done you no harm.

5. Do not envy violent men or choose to do anything they do.

6. Do not be perverse or wicked because he blesses the home of the righteous and just.

7. Be humble but wise because He will brings shame to fools and scorn those who scorn and mock those who mock.

Very basic yet insightful and meaningful principles to live our lives by. One of the worst things in the world is knowing what's right and not doing it. We have the handbook of life in our hands with His word. We can't let ourselves get caught up in our daily lives to forget to do as we've been told. Only through his world shall we recieve the greatest things in life.

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Here is the song I referred to in my previous blog. The first time I heard this song I was in a very bad place. It spoke to me so clearly and loudly that I broke down sobbing, calling out to Him in the middle of driving home. It's really amazing how He works with stuff like this because I find whenever I need His strength the most, this song finds a way to come on over the air. It always let's me know that I need to stop struggling my life and give in to Him. He's always there, always guiding me and I just have to let go of myself and give myself over to him.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J95rAr0gOFU

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Having dedicated my life to Christ and doing everything I can to realize and fullfill my purpose I've recently placed a lot of goals in my life. One of these goals is to hit the scriptures hard to the tune of trying to read four chapters a day. Within that goal I believe He has urged me to blog on my thoughts of at least one of the Chapters I read. So today, we start with 2 Timothy Chapter 4.

In this chapter Paul, in his final days on Earth, writes to Timothy and charges him to spread the word of Christ. He makes a few things very clear.

1. There will come a day when men will no longer listen to those spreading the word of God. They will completely turn to the myths and lies that attempt to discount the Word and discourage true Christians. He wants Timothy to understand that it's his duty to save as many people as possible. It's his charge to realize that the end will come and he has a part to play in bringing as many as he can to Christ.

2. It will not always be an easy road. People will rebuke him, shun him, ignore him, and deny him. Funny how well that still translates to Christians today. Especially the younger ones in school. Any teenage Christian trying to spread the word to an average non believer of the same age can relate to this situation. That's why the next point is the most important.

3. That no matter what evil became Paul, no matter who shunned him, hurt him, attacked him, God was always there aiding him, supporting him, rescuing him from every evil attack and delivering him to the kingdom of heaven. No matter what bully stood before Paul, he wants Timothy to understand that there was always God standing behind him; bigger, badder and more powerful than anything that could stand in his way.

It is our charge as Christians to be the shepard of men. We can no longer sit on our hands and be pleased knowing we're headed to the kingdom of God. We are failing our friends, our families, and our Lord if we are not reaching out to those around us, whoever they are, in an attempt to bring them to Christ. It won't always appear to be an easy road. Many times you'll feel embaressed, down trodden, and ready to give up. But simply remember who's got your back. Remember that if you are doing his work, you can do no wrong. No matter what the evils of this world will attempt to make you feel.

17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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   I've been thinking a lot about the different things in my life and if they pull me closer or push me farther away from God. I realized today that nothing within itself has the power to do either. We are but human clay.

    We alone do not have the ability to simply mold ourselves into whatever we wish to become. However, we do have the ability to decide how the circumstances, events, and people in our lives shape us. We get to decide how things as small as the music that we hear or as big losing a loved one forms who we are.

    Every day people lose their jobs, their homes, their loved ones. Not all of those people react the same way. Not all of those people let those things shape them in negative ways. Some people use those down times to become stronger, to drive them to work harder, to learn to appreciate what they do have.
   
    Some people try something new for the first time, they fail and they never try it again. Other people fall flat on their butts and use it to drive them to try even harder the second time. What is the difference between those people? They decided how failing was going to shape them as a person.

    Recently I went through my own personal hell. I let my circumstances shape my life, who I was, what I said and what I did in the worst ways. It took a personal vow to God (and some help from friends, thank you Michelle and JP) for me to realize that I and only I get to dictate how those things effect me. And with God on my side I was able to turn those negative reactions into positive ones. I was able to focus my life in all the right ways and it's already paying off.

    It's hard sometimes. Sometimes we get wrapped up in our daily lives. We lose focus of being on fire for God and when "tragedy" hits we forget that with His help we get to dictate how the situation shapes us, in any way we desire. It's not easy to do it alone. Listen to the song in my profile, "By Your Side" by Tenth Avenue North. He's right there, always, wanting to guide us and help us. Why do we fight it or deny it? That's a topic for another bloq.

    Just don't forget that with him anything is possible and that includes dictating how even the worst of things mold us as Human Clay.

Psalms 3:3
But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
       you bestow glory on me and lift up my head

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This is something that came to me while shoveling the multiple inches of snow from the driveway.

I have a new personal goal. I'm not comfortable yet reaching out and saying that my goals are things everyone should strive for but this came to me and everyone here can let me know what they think.

Things That Bother Us vs. Prayer Opportunities

Think about your life. Think about the things that "bother" you. Things as little as 12 inches of snow you have to shovel at dawn. That guy who just cut you off on the way to work. Or things are large as corporate corruption and it's place in the recent downswing of our economy. Or that your boss doesn't seem to recognize your hard work and it seems you'll never get that promotion.

It's my ultimate goal as a Christian to walk as closely in Christ's steps as possible. A way for me to do that is by not letting anything bother me.

Let's break down the word bother real quick.

to give trouble to; annoy; pester; worry:

The Bible teaches us that nothing can stand in our way when it comes to reaching God. So in return, we should not let things in our life, no matter how superficial or shallow or empty annoy, pester, or worry us. Nothing in this world should give trouble to us. Simply for the fact that He said that nothing shall stand in our way.

We even hit on it last week with

Luke 10:19 - I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

As a course of action to help fulfill this goal in my life I'm going to start realizing that things that used to bother me are simply prayer opportunities. They are chances for me to either bring myself closer to God or to bring someone else closer.

When someone's actions or words begin to "bother" me, I'm going to mentally step back and realize that this is simply an opportunity for me to grow as a Christian. This is a chance for me to pray for understanding of that person, pray for patience and calmness, pray to help get over whatever is causing some kind of gap between us. Because face it, as much as you may not like the action or words or lifestyle of any single person on this planet. It is our job as Christians to take in all as our brothers and bring them closer to Christ.

So even if it's that guy who just cut you off. You almost wrecked your car, you had to stomp the brakes and your steaming coffee got all over your lap and your temper is as hot as your thighs are now. Mentally step back and realize there may just be a reason that person cut you off. Maybe that person needs a Christian to pray for them and that's how God got one of his followers to perk up and go "Let me pray for that person and make sure God touches them."

Or if you're going through a situation that's a lot tougher and it's "bothering" you. Use that as an opportunity to pray. An opportunity to exercise your faith in God. And by both meanings of the word exercise. Not only be executing your faith in God but by making it stronger through practice. Say to yourself "this isn't going to bother me. I'm going to pray and God will once again reward my faith in Him."

So it is my personal mission to no longer let anything "bother" me. Do I expect to be able to mentally step back from every troublesome situation from the very start and realize each and every new prayer opportunity that arises? No. But I do expect myself to be able to look back every day and see places where I could have. And every day take new steps to realize those prayer opportunities.

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Once I was a earthly man, standing on my own,

I thought I just had every thing ,but yet I stood alone.

I had my car, I had my money too, But just one thing I didnt know the devil had me to.

He helped me lie, he helped me cheat and steal, he helped me do those earthly things in hopes to make a deal.

Then some people sent by God showed me where I stood, I would not lision to what they said, I thought I was just to good,

But then one day when I was down, and left all along, I remembered what Gods people said on how to get along,

I had to come to the cross, just as Jesus did, And ask the Lord to forgive my sins, Just so I could live,

NOW I walk and talk with my Lord, Every single day, And he gives me what I need, When I humble myself and pray.

W  PUNT 

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We as men need to know and beleave  that God loves us, That foundation is most important in setting the ground work for us to love those he put into our lives. Every word in the bible was spoken by God out of love for his children, 1 john 4;16 says [ GOD IS LOVE] , Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Gods love is so powerfull that it can overcome any problems we have that is hindering us of that experance. That kind of love is called  Agape Love, The kind of love that overlooks our past, Because he loves us as his own children.

1 john 4; 9 says, This is how God showed his love among us, He sent his one and  only Son into the world that we might live through him.

True love is a life of giving, not only to others but also to ourself, We as men cant love others if we cant love ourselfs, and see ourselfs as God sees  us.

As bornagain christians we must look to the bible, the book of love, and not to the world, We must build on the rock, a foundation that will not crumble under pressure.

We as men live in this world, but God has called us out to be a light in a dark place.

W Punt

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Jesus is available to all today, Because he is risen and now sits on the right hand of God.

When He walked the earth He was only available to those who saw Him in the temples and the streets, But today He is available to all those who beleave by faith.

Do it by faith, By the power He has given us, the same power that raised Jesus from death to life.

That power is in the name  of Jesus.  God gave him that power because he loves his son,  That power we have also because we are his children and he loves us.

Christ took Satan's power when he went to the bowels of the earth,  and returned to His Father.

That power is found in the blood of the Lamb, and in the name of JESUS.

Let us as men of God use that power to be overcomers.

There is power, power wonder working power, in the blood of the Lamb !!!!

W punt

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