Friday Men’s Group 1/20/23

At Any Cost

Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me,
he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it
.”
(Luke 9:23-24)

Hi Men:

I pray our sweet Lord has blessed you this week and you have had some solitude to reflect on the intimacy you have “in” Him.

I ran across the above ice climbing photo by photographer, by Alex Ratson.  When I was in college I had a buddy that loved to ice climb.  He made great money as a dealer at Caesars Palace, so he went to some pretty amazing locations.   He told me about some of his harrowing experiences and whoa…..  they made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.  Fast forward…….. As I reflected on the above photo; recalling my buddies planning, the gear and the expense to get to these locations, not to mention the high risk nature of this extreme sport, I thought what are we willing to do for the cause of Christ that has infinitely greater reward than just a short adrenaline rush

AT ANY COST…….  Back in 2013 the theme of our Zion Boot Camp was:  “All IN” … as many of you know, it comes from the poker game, “Texas Holdem.”  I was speaking with a brother this week and he used the similar term, AT ANY COST.  He asked the question, what are men willing to do when they sense that THE CULTURE today is impacting all of us?  Unfortunately most brothers today don’t realize just how deeply they and their families have been affected by it.  They don’t know how to combat it and are just treading water, making little headway.  What’s going on today is SOUL DESTROYING! 

The technology and information coming at us is totally overwhelming and today, men don’t know how to be ALONE WITH THEIR THOUGHTS.  In 1934, T.S. Eliot wrote in his poem “The Rock”……

“Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”

Why is the word “Life” capitalized?  T.S. Eliot’s Christian faith had a profound influence on this poetry and literary criticism.   He also believed that Christianity has a significant role to play in contemporary society, and that it can provide a sense of meaning and purpose in a world that is often marked by chaos and confusion. His poetry reflects these beliefs, often addressing the search for spiritual and moral values in the modern world.    Men, this was his thinking almost 90 years ago!  So what’s going on today?……. Yikes!

“If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”  (Ps 11:3)

Where are men getting their truth today?  The internet?  If it’s the internet, it will be either True of False.  How do you really know what people are saying is the truth?  Bernie Madoff seemed like a pretty straight up guy for over several decades.  How about Ravi Zacharias?  Let me get to the point, there is a book of “pure Truth.”  You know what it is:  THE BIBLE…… but it takes time.  Are we willing to allocate that time  ..  or ..  just get to it later, after all the NFL playoffs are this weekend ….  About 7 hours on Saturday and 7 hours on Sunday…..can’t miss those, even though you would be hard pressed to tell me who won the Super Bowl in 2008.  I’m not saying don’t watch them, but please examine and be honest as to where your priorities are.   Last year, I touched on the “Perils of Velocity” in the Red Book:  E²Vegas.org/Friday-Mens-Group-7-8-22  You might scroll down and re-read it over this weekend.

I will pick this back up next week, but for now let me close on the word SOLITUDE.  In this “Tyranny of the Urgent” life, are we willing to find that solitude?   A very dear friend of mine sent me this photo.  He had purchased some basic camping equipment and has been using it.  He found a fairly remote location near Lake Mead and was enjoying the solitude.  What about you?  Where do you find your solitude?  As you read the Word, do you give yourself time to rest in it……..?

Have you talked to Jesus lately about your time and what you are putting into your mind?  If you believe that He truly lives “in” you, then ask Him for help in your time of solitude.  Be praying about what, “AT ANY COST” means to you……. 

“In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.”  Mark 1:35

Pleading for more of Him and less of me,
Dan
(Gal 2:20)

 


 

Men, why is it that so many believers today ignore the clear commands Scripture?  

Example:  Woman pastors  1 Tim 2:12 couldn’t be more clear…. “But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.”  Even if a woman pastor is not in authority, she still is NOT allowed to serve as a pastor to men!  As Walt states below, “His senses are dulled as he repeatedly ignores God’s commands.”  I think a number of men “cave in” because they don’t want to have that difficult conversation with their wives.  They fear their wives! 
Here is a good article   

Sin Is Like A Drug – Day 20 Red Book
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically

Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”

¹ Genesis 19:4  ² Genesis 19:14  ³Cf. Matthew 12:36

 


 

REPENTANCE

As long as we are talking about the “SIN” of disobedience ….  Check out the Hebrew word for the word REPENT from the book, “52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know” by Dave Adamson.  I love where it says, “a change in a man’s conduct brings about a change in God’s judgment.”

When you repent, you turn 180° and no longer head in that disobedient direction.   Jeremiah 25:5  “……..Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the Lord gave to you and your ancestors forever.”  (NLT)

Note:  If you have difficulty reading the print below, click on this PDF.


 

Zion Boot Camp Recordings

Great News Men:

The 2022 main recordings have been uploaded.  Just click on this link for the talks:
E²Vegas.com/episode/zion-boot-camp-2022/

If you want to download any of the talks:
E²Vegas.com/downloads

 


 

“GOD WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS”

Remembering Romans 2:6
By Lee Yih

The attached PDF by our brother is great and I highly recommend reading it prior to listening to Lee’s message (#2) above, “Unpacking  the Most Boring Passage in Romans.”

MIMworldwide.com/remembering-romans-26

 


 

Men:  This is a great article on idols of your heart  (1 minute read)  A good one to pass to your wife, kids and friends  See attached PDF

(From the article)
“A great question for discerning the idols of your heart is this: what makes you overwhelmingly joyful? Or — the opposite — what can make you miserable, or angry, or frustrated even if everything else is going well in your life?”

To Be Free, Flee

My beloved, flee from idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14).

Idols have a way of disappointing those who trust them. Because only God is God, everyone and anything that we put before God will fail us. Nothing and no one is as strong and faithful and good as God.

If your idol is being the best mother, it only takes one embarrassing moment with your kid in public — or one other mom being praised in front of you — to tip you from happiness to misery.

The grace of God in Jesus Christ frees us from finding our identity in what we can accomplish.

If your idol is people-pleasing, it just takes one person not complimenting you to send you into a day’s worth of doldrums, wondering if that person likes you.

If your idol is being at the top of your class, it just takes one bad grade to ruin your whole semester and undermine your sense of self-worth.

A great question for discerning the idols of your heart is this: what makes you overwhelmingly joyful? Or — the opposite — what can make you miserable, or angry, or frustrated even if everything else is going well in your life?

Thankfully, the grace of God in Jesus Christ frees us from setting up idols and finding our self-worth or identity in what we can accomplish or who we can impress.

I am now free to love others for their own sake, for their own good, through Christ.

If I am acceptable to God only because of what Jesus did for me on the cross — yes it is humbling, but it is also completely liberating. I can free idolatry because nothing is as strong, and faithful, and good as God is for me in Jesus.

I am now free to love others for their own sake, for their own good, through Christ; because I am no longer using others as a means to bolster my own self-worth, or as fuel for the fire of my insatiable insecurities.

To Be Free, Flee JustinHuffman.org

 


Great Audio Teaching to Review

Men:  With everything going right now, do we view circumstances that come into our life as God’s leading in our life?
This is a timely teaching to review.  Interesting to note that Walt gave this message while his son was dying of Leukemia. 

Attitudes Toward Circumstances – Walt Henrichsen ( 24 Min)