ANTLIONS IN MY OWN BACKYARD
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind……..,
and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:24-25
Hi Men:
I pray you all had a great 4th of July weekend. I also pray that you reflected this week on who you are “in” Christ and as you interacted with people did you see them as His creation, reflecting on where they will spend ETERNITY? This is “right thinking” for we that have been saved by His grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9). Why is it “right thinking”? Because just as Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), we too are commanded to share this eternal Good News with others (Matthew 28:19). And if you don’t have this mindset, let me remind you of Charles Spurgeon’s quote again: “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you’re not saved yourself, be sure of that!”
If you have been reading the recent Friday letters, you know by now my 
wife were blessed to have our North Carolina family with us for almost 5 weeks (my son, his wife and our 4 grandkids). They departed on a “red eye” Wed night and I wouldn’t be truthful if I didn’t admit those weeks took a ton of energy to keep up with them, but now the house is strangely quiet. Do we need to recharge our batteries and get back to our routine? …. For sure! But we miss them all. As mentioned previously, the sand pile was a winner and as long as I kept it watered down, it didn’t matter how hot it was outside.
And….. we had many other great moments…………
Example: My 2 granddaughters and I watched First Winter again and we had some really good conversations about the brother and sister in this is 27 minute movie (I would pause the movie from time to time to discuss it). The children in the movie lost their mother due to sickness during the winter of 1830 in the Ottawa Valley of Canada. It was nominated for the best short film of the year.
The photo on the left are my granddaughters watching the movie.
———— —————
ANTLIONS
So what’s up with the main photo above? Actually I couldn’t decide if I was going to show the most recent photos of Saturn by the JWST or Antlions. But since the antlions are in my own backyard (took the photo yesterday), that’s what I zeroed in on. Antlions are completely harmless to humans, pets, etc…… but ferocious when it comes to ants. My wife and I say….. “more the merrier.” Anything that decreases the red ant population it a friend of ours. Years ago I put together a terrarium for my office with antlions. Next to it I had an ant farm. So when clients with kids would come to my office, I would show them how this live ecosystem worked. Then I would give them this sheet and explain the life cycle of an antlion (See Attached JPG). A great segway to ask those deeper questions.
If interested and you want to be totally amazed at this tiny creation of God’s, do a little research on it. You will be blown away! In certain aspects, similar to the life of cicadas.
(See E²Vegas.org/Friday-Mens-Group-7-30-21)
Here is a short YouTube video while in it’s larvae stage: (2:43 min)
Grateful doulos* to King Jesus,
Dan
(Gal 2:20)
* Doulos = Slave: To be owned by someone for a lifetime. And that someone is JESUS….. not just for a lifetime, but all eternity.
It doesn’t get any better than this… Wow !!
“If you are not careful, the velocity of life can seduce you, resulting in your failure to give proper attention to those responsibilities given you by your King.”
The Perils of Velocity – Red Book Day 188
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
Israel Lessons
by Mitch Hershey
“As I ponder this in my own life, I realize that I fall into the same thinking as the Israelites. It is too easy for me to look at my pipeline and worry that God will not provide for me.”
Men: This is a great article and convicting. Read the attached PDF or Click Here to read it on MIM Worldwide.
Men: Such a great letter………..
My Journey Out of Mormonism
Men:
This was a good article by Zach Carter. It may help you when you approach your Mormon friends.
——-
Here are a few additional resources:
A Sixth-Generation Mormon Meets a Born-Again Christian
How I Escaped the Mormon Temple
4 Ways to Witness to Your Mormon Friend
The Saint Must Walk Alone (1966)
A.W. Tozer 1897 – 1963
(See Attached PDF)
Men: Many of you have read this profound article by Tozer. It’s that time again to revisit it. If you haven’t read it, this is a MUST READ!
Please don’t skim it……. Click on this link if you would like to have it read to you as you read along in the attached PDF, (YouTube 11 minutes)
Here are just (2) of the many points in the article:
- you cannot carry a cross in company. Though a man were surrounded by a vast crowd, his cross is his alone and his carrying of it marks him as a man apart. Society has turned against him; otherwise he would have no cross. No one is a friend to the man with a cross. “They all forsook him, and fled.”
OUCH!
- 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.
“All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:13-16)
Fourteen Signs That You Might Be Legalistic
The thing about legalism is that it’s far easier and far more satisfying to spot in someone else’s life than in your own. We are masterful at identifying it and calling it out in other people, but not nearly so good at doing so in our own lives. In Pat Nemmers’ book Retractions he offers a list of 14 signs that you might be legalistic. It’s far from the definitive word on the subject, but is perhaps a useful guide to considering whether you—yes you!—are legalistic.
1. You read your Bible to get a check mark rather than to meet with God.
2. Your spiritual disciplines define your spirituality.
3. You refuse to forgive although you’ve been forgiven.
4. You judge others before you listen to them.
5. You justify yourself by comparing yourself to others.
6. You feel the need to point out someone else’s sin publicly.
7. Your schedule is so tight it doesn’t have room for “If the Lord wills” in it.
8. You separate your spiritual life from your natural life.
9. You spend time only with “saved” people.
10. You love the praise of men more than the smile of God.
11. You’re more interested in conformity than conversion.
12. You make little things big and big things little.
13. You praise only other’s outward deeds.
14. You reject the truth tellers who come into your life.
Can you believe this statement from Tozer was over 60 years ago?
Think about the mess we have today!
“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 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.” A.W. Tozer 1897 – 1963
Tozer hailed from a tiny farming community in western La Jose, Pennsylvania. He was converted to Christianity as a teenager in Akron, Ohio: while on his way home from work at a tire company, he overheard a street preacher say, “If you don’t know how to be saved … just call on God, saying, ‘Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.'” Upon returning home, he climbed into the attic and heeded the preacher’s advice.