Baby Spotted Owl – Sony World Photography
The matter is quite simple: “The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.”
Søren Kierkegaard
Hi Men:
I pray this week that God placed just one person in your path where you had an opportunity to share the gospel or offer them a “Steps To Peace With God” tract. As you all know, Jesus has now taken up residence in your life and His desire is for you to, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)
PHOTO
What’s with the baby owl (owlet) in the above photo? When I was skimming through the winners of the Sony World Photography contest, this little guy caught my eye – super cute! It was actually taken in a national park in Bangladesh of all places. I had no idea there were over 35 owl species in southeast Asia. The photographer was P.S. Mohanto and was one of the contest winners.
Owls are nocturnal, so when the photographer caught this owlet poking his head out, I flashed on the familiar quote by the Danish theologian/philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. How often we hear the Truth of the scriptures and just barely poke our head out, pretending we don’t understand, let alone having any desire to obey. We will be addressing this more in future letters……
In Your Own Backyard & Down the Street
I met a great guy last October at a church conference I was invited to. He is very evangelistic and we have stayed in touch with each other. Like many of us, he too has a Ministry in the Marketplace (MIM) and uses some great methods to engage people in Gospel conversations. I will be sharing more on this in the days ahead. You might check out one of the YouTubes they use to explain the Gospel…… Example: The Gospel of Mark.
Anyway, we were meeting at a juice bar on the west end of Vegas. We had a great visit, wrapped up and my friend headed for home. Before I collected my stuff, I had noticed what a great job the (2) employees were doing in keeping the place clean. They were wiping down everything. So I complemented them and gave them a significant tip…. they were both blown-away. By now you probably know the rest of the story. At that very moment, I was the only customer in the shop, so I asked them if I could give something to them. They nodded yes, so I pulled out the Million Dollar Book of John, Steps To Peace With God and Are You A Good Person. So I don’t make this any longer than need be, let me just say that they were so excited to receive these tracts. The one young man told me he had stopped attending church years ago and this time we had together prompted him to seriously re-think his spiritual walk. They were both so very grateful. The smiles on their faces said it all………….
Much Love in Christ,
Dan
(Galatians 2:20)
“We all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image.” — 2 Corinthians 3:18 (See Below – Transformed by Insight)
ZION BOOT CAMP — Save The Date
December 6-8, 2024
Please put the above dates in your calendar today.
Photo by Luke Rice. He took this just before dawn at Zion.
Notice the Moon with Venus ascending…. amazing!
Men: The more we reject our love of the world (1 John 2:15) the more we will be alone……but not lonely. And…… so true is this comment from the devotional below:
“The world simply has no capacity to understand those
motivated to be Jesus’ slaves……”
Alone and Not Lonely – Red Book Day 26
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
This article by A.W. Tozer folds in nicely with the above devotional
“The contemporary moral climate does not favor a faith as tough and fibrous as that taught by our Lord and His apostles… And the fault lies with our [Christian] leaders. They are too timid to tell the people all the truth. They are now asking men to give to God that which costs them nothing.”
If you haven’t read, “The Saint Must Walk Alone” by A.W. Tozer, I highly recommend it. Send it to a Christian buddy. This ending comment by Tozer really gives me pause:
“The weakness of so many modern Christians is that they feel too much at home in the world………. And this is the saddest thing that can be said about them. They are not lonely, but neither are they saints.”
End of Christendom – Jerry Bangert
(Note: If you don’t want to hear about the star Betelgeuse, start at min. 5)
Men: If you haven’t listened to this…… find a quiet moment this weekend with your notebook.
Click above or this link for the talk.
This PDF will be helpful as you listen to Jerry’s talk.
“Let other things come and go as they may, let other people criticize as they will, but never allow anything to obscure the life that is hid with Christ in God. Never be hurried out of the relationship of abiding in Him.”
Transformed By Insight
By Oswald Chambers
We all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image. — 2 Corinthians 3:18
The outstanding characteristic of a Christian is this unveiled frankness before God so that the life becomes a mirror for other lives. By being filled with the Spirit we are transformed, and by beholding we become mirrors. You always know when a man has been beholding the glory of the Lord, you feel in your inner spirit that he is the mirror of the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything which would sully that mirror in you; it is nearly always a good thing, the good that is not the best.
The golden rule for your life and mine is this concentrated keeping of the life open towards God. Let everything else — work, clothes, food, everything on earth — go by the board, saving that one thing. The rush of other things always tends to obscure this concentration on God. We have to maintain ourselves in the place of beholding, keeping the life absolutely spiritual all through. Let other things come and go as they may, let other people criticize as they will, but never allow anything to obscure the life that is hid with Christ in God. Never be hurried out of the relationship of abiding in Him. It is the one thing that is apt to fluctuate but it ought not to. The severest discipline of a Christian’s life is to learn how to keep “beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord.”
Utmost.org/Classic/Transformed-By-Insight-Classic
Men: Please be praying for the Men’s Winter Retreat in Halifax, PA – Feb 2-4
Pray for the speakers, the men attending and logistics ….. Thanks Guys!
Jesus Revealed: Encountering the Authentic Jesus
Men: My wife and I watched this and thought it was quite profound. We had never seen this. Produced back in 2011 (1hr 35min) Makes for a great evening program!
One day you and I will both die……. the question is this:
“Will we die as spectators, or will be die as revolutionaries?”
Watch on YouTube (1 hr 35 mins)
Men: It’s good to be reminded what our brothers and sisters in Christ are going through in other parts of the world. Here is a country you seldom hear about…..
If you want to know more. Register below to hear from those that are in the trenches of persecution
Friday, March 8th @ 5pm Pacific
Register Here For Free
