Friday Men’s Group 6/18/21

Lake Tahoe

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 
(1 Peter 1:3-5)

Hi Men:

If we are “in Christ” we are a new creation.  Is that an amazing statement or what!?!   (see the Second Saturday comments below).

As reflected on the 3 verses above, I thought about what Peter had to deal with.  Rome controlled the world during this time and the psycho Nero was the emperor.  He was persecuting Christians on a scale that was horrific.  Nero ordered believers to be torn apart by ravenous dogs, burned alive as human torches and nailed to crosses.  May I add, “far worse” than anything Christians in the West are experiencing.  In the midst of all this human carnage, Peter wrote those verses above….. please read them again.  The Christians during this time were being hunted down and butchered, but look what God has promised us….. things that Nero can never take away.  I read the following statement late last year:

“To the believers today, Peter could well be saying, I know your beloved country is falling apart at the seams, but your hope is not in your country, President, government, or any other human institution, but in the God who has given to your glorious promises of which you can scarcely imagine!”  We know from the Word, that things will get worse as we draw nearer to the end of the age, so 1 Peter 1:3-5 is the perfect passage for right now.  May it embolden us to reach out in love to those who have not bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus! 

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I wasn’t going to put another Tahoe photo in this email, but it has been so hot in Las Vegas these past few days, just looking at that photo cooled me down.  I took that shot above while Jane and I were walking on the Lake Tahoe East Shore Trail the day before we headed back to Vegas.  By the way, there were a few “Doubting Thomas’s” regarding my bear photo last week Friday Men’s Group 6-11-21  So for the skeptics in the crowd, I uploaded a short video I took standing outside my son’s condo. 

Here it is:  Lake Tahoe Bear  00:23 Seconds

As you all know, Father’s Day is this Sunday.  It’s so stunning to reflect on all our blessings.  I have to share one huge blessing.   Several months back I used a couple of the photos in the Friday email that my son John took with his personal drone.  I asked him if I got a drone, could I bring it with me and show me how to fly it.  John thought that was a great idea and told me the right kind of drone to get.  Long story short……. I got it, brought it to Tahoe and John instructed me how to fly it.  It was truly a “Pre-Father’s Day” time together.  Super fun.  Here is one photo I took with it flying over us.

 Grateful “in” Christ,

Dan

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The Path to Eternal Life – Red Book Day 171
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically

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

1 – Ephesians 2:8-9
2 – John 3:36

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As Solomon observed in Proverbs 30:28

“The lizard may seem like an insignificant creature,
yet he is found everywhere, even in the palaces of kings.”

There are some of you that haven’t read Lee Yih’s paper he presented at the Lausanne Conference on Evangelism in Manila in July 1990.  It is so relevant today and fits perfectly into the purpose of the MIM Conference that will be held on the morning of August 21st“Whose Job Is The Ministry” (Eph 4:11-12)  ……. See Below

This comment in the paper rings so true:

“I think the main problem today in world evangelism is the under-utilization of the lizard (layperson).  And a big part of the problem lies with the frog (VCW – Vocational Christian Worker).  Let’s face it, he has the tendency to steal the show.”

Even if you read this article a number of years ago, I might suggest you print it out and after praying, highlight the areas where God might be speaking to you.

This paper was written 30 years ago.  Yet it is more relevant today than ever!

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Of Frogs & Lizards Who:              Christian Men of Southern Nevada

What:            Men that desire a deeper and more significant walk with Jesus Christ

When:           Saturday, August 21st 2021 from 7:30am – 12 Noon

Where:         Faith Lutheran Performing Arts Center

The Steering Committee for this event is an amazing group of brothers from various “non-related” churches that are totally “like-minded” as we pursue the truth of Ephesians 4:11-12  “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ.”  Relating to our conference, the “saints” are the laymen (LIZARDS – see “Of Frogs and Lizards” above) in the congregations and when they understand that the ministry belongs to them…………this can be life changing.  Many will get excited as their God-given purpose is revealed and start to “look up” as they are discipled and see God’s plan for their life. 

Please pray for the men God sends to this conference, the speakers and the logistics involved

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Second Saturday – June 12th

The Second Saturday event held last Saturday was great.
“One Man’s View” by Nathan Findlay clearly shows how a man can be completely transformed by the person of Jesus Christ. 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
(2 Cor 5:17)

Nathan’s testimony  reminded me of this scene from The Chosen.  It is where the Pharisee Nicodemus is questioning Mary Magdalene.
Mary tells him, “I was one way and now I’m completely different. The thing that happened in between was Him”
Here is that scene starting at minute 2:44  

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Let the Wife See She Respects Her Husband

(Ephesians 5:33)

 This is a great article by Tim Challies.  With Father’s Day coming up this weekend, you will want to read this and share it with your wife.
Click here or the title above.

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