Sunset at Beacon’s Beach – Encinitas, CA
“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard,
so that we do not drift away from it.”
Hebrews 2:1
Hi Men:
I pray this week you have taken the time to ask the Lord to make you more like Him. Most of you know this amazing verse from Philippians 1:29
“For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake”
When we suffer for His sake, we become more like Him. He is actually doing us a favor…… Jesus is giving us a gift! One of the brothers sent a quote from Walt early yesterday morning touching on the area of discipleship, . Let me share it with you:
“Discipleship is our opportunity to tap the infinite resources of God. It is our chance to give our lives to significance rather than mediocrity. In discipleship, we are not doing God a favor; He is doing us a favor. It is vital that the disciple grasp this important concept. However, Jesus also warns us to weigh the cost and weigh it well, for discipleship will cost us something. It will cost us our lives. But the benefits are infinitely greater than the cost, so much greater that one would be foolish to turn down such an offer.” Walter A. Henrichsen
Why is discipleship so costly? Because who wants to give up their life. We need to remember that the “disciples” of Jesus were martyred – they gave up their physical lives. We probably won’t be martyred in this country, but we will have to die to the things that consume our time that have no eternal value! I ran across this image in the Evidence Bible, page 1558:
All this is so profitable to reflect on, pray about and ask God how we can apply it to our own unique lives (Eph 2:10)
Question: Is your church a “disciple-making” church?
PHOTO ABOVE
I couldn’t pass up another sunset photo from Scott, a buddy of mine in California. Of course everyone is in awe at a momentary, jaw-dropping scene like that, believers and unbelievers alike.
Question: Besides seeing a few surfers, what do you really see? Like C.S. Lewis would say, “The best life on earth is glimpse of heaven? Do you see that sunset as glimpse of heaven? If you do see it as a glimpse of heaven, what are you doing right now to bring glory to the One that created that sunset? Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). One of Jesus last commands was, “make disciples” (Matt 28:19). I’ll let you wrestle with those (2) commands.
The next sunset you see, ask yourself if you have been drifting away from what you have heard in His Word!
Ashville, NC
I could write a whole story about my buddy Van (with the mask and top right w/ white beard). He lived in Las Vegas for a few years and found his way to our Friday Men’s Group, before moving back to Long Island, NY. He builds Victorian homes.
In his late 70’s, he’s a tough Greek and is still in amazing shape.
Van had the ability to head down to the devastation in the Ashville, NC area for 2 weeks. He has so many stories of courageous Christians coming alongside the many with no hope whatsoever. He volunteered with Samaritan’s Purse and being a take-charge homebuilder, he and a team of people did some amazing things. The bottom (2) photos were of a very broken man that had lost almost everything. His trailer was a train wreck. With a team of 25 people, “we turned that dilapidated mess into the prettiest little trailer by comparison!” During that day, the man opened up and they presented him with a Bible.
A number of the teammates went back and presented this man with a weeks worth of food ,insulation, etc at their own expense. There is way more to write, but I will end here for now. So many encouraging stories……..
There is a lot here……. so take your time!
Much Love in Christ,
Dan
(Galatians 2:20)
IT’S FINALLY HERE!
Zion Sunset by Luke Rice
Photo taken Thursday, Dec 5 @ 5:23PM MST
Please Pray for this weekend’s conference that starts tonight. Thank you!
Here is a PDF copy of the Zion Boot Camp schedule to pray over.
Most believers would rather “irrigate their own crops” than be obligated to obey God and in turn be dependent upon Him for provision.
Where Do You Want to Live – Day 339 Red Book
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
HERE is a PDF Copy
Men: This is a perfect article to read for what comes next in the following articles below.
Why is this HAPPENING? vs. WHY is this happening?
by Mitch Hershey | Dec 3, 2024
“The world tells us that when suffering or trials come into our lives, we should do all that we can to remove them as quickly as possible.”
“The Bible, however, reminds us to view our circumstances as coming from the sovereign hand of God.”
Go To The MIM Website to read this article
🔥YIKES!🔥
At Minute 1:52 R.C. Sproul said this to his “Christian” audience:
“Statistically there’s a significant number of people in this room right now, who if they died tonight would wake up in hell because they’re on the broad way that leads to destruction.”
Watch it on YouTube (5:25 minutes)
Question: Since you are that guy that goes to church, is involved in a couple ministries, sees himself as a good husband and dad, of course you are not on that Broad Road to Destruction ….. or are you?
FEW FIND IT
These moments can be analogous of our walk with Christ. What are you willing to do for the cause of Christ?
- Do you wake up ready to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12).
- How about denying yourself and taking up your cross every day ready to follow Jesus (Luke 9:23).
- Are you asking the Lord to be crucified with Him and to fellowship in His sufferings (Gal 2:20, Phil 3:10).
- Are you staying disciplined to have solid time in the Word and quiet time communing with the Creator of the Universe?
- Are you obedient to His commands?
These are just a few of the things that will keep you on that narrow path. According to Jesus own words, the way that leads to life is narrow and hard and FEW FIND IT.
The Narrow Gate – Day 216 Red Book
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
1-Psalm 73:17-19 2-Hebrews 3:14
READ THE PDF HERE / Send it to a friend
FEAR OF THE LORD – GOOD OR BAD?
Sinners who do not fear God are doomed to fear people. At least four things contribute to this:
- First, when you fear God you know that He will protect you, not allowing others to violate you without His permission.
- Second, because you fear in the direction of your hope, when you hope in God rather than the world, the worldly fear most people experience dissipates.
- Third, to the degree that you fear God you will renounce sin, finding yourself at peace with others.
- Fourth, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 9:10) People who have the wisdom of God stand a better chance of avoiding harm than those who do not.
From Day 337 – Blue Book
As mentioned in this Friday letter “many” times, the (2) biggest problems in the church today are:
- People have lost the “Fear of the Lord”
- People want to serve God on “their” terms, and not His
LEROY EIMS – USMC & NAVIGATOR
“As a gardener, He (God) has one interest–that the branches bear lots of fruit. If He doesn’t find any, Jesus says He takes that branch away. And every branch that bears fruit He prunes to bring more fruit. God takes whatever action is necessary to cleanse His people so they will produce fruit for His glory. The key to it all is that the people of God must abide in–live in close, day-by-day fellowship with–Jesus Christ.”
LeRoy Eims – USMC (1st Marine Division – Machine gunner on an amphibious tank)
Read LeRoy’s Personal Testimony HERE
GOOD QUESTION
