Martyrs Ridley and Latimer – Oxford, England 1555
“Be of good comfort Master Ridley; and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.”
Hi Men:
In light of everything going on in our country and around the world, I pray you are resting “in” our “Only Hope” – Jesus Christ.
One of our MIM teachers sent an email to a group of us about these bold men, fearless in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Take a moment and read these short paragraphs:
The words above were reportedly the last words of Hugh Latimer, a Reformer who died at the stake chained back-to-back with Nicholas Ridley. Their crimes? “Heresy”, Ridley for, among other things aligning with the Reformation, promoting Lady Jane Grey (a devout evangelical) as queen upon the passing of Edward VI, over her sister “Bloody Mary“, a staunch Roman Catholic, who arrested and executed her sister. Latimer denounced the doctrine of transubstantiation (the actual presence of the blood and body of Christ during Holy Communion) and the celebration of the Catholic Mass (essentially a “re-crucifixion” of Jesus).
As an act of “mercy”, the executioner hung bags of gunpowder around the necks of the condemned in order to hasten death. Latimer, overcome by smoke, died relatively quickly, minimizing his pain. The fuel piled around Ridley was slow to burn, either because of an excess of tinder or due to it being unseasoned, such that he was heard to cry, “Lord, have mercy upon me; I cannot burn”. Juxtapose Latimer’s words with those of Peter in John 6:68 and also consider the legend of Peter’s demise some years later.
Are you a man without options, like Peter and Paul (I Cor. 9:16)?
“For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. How terrible for me if I do not preach the gospel!”
IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD AND DOWN THE STREET
Note: Sorry for the length, but I feel this is important
since there are 1.3 billion Catholics that spend very little time in the Word
Last Saturday, I attended another funeral. This was not only a friend of many years, but a client. He was a great guy, extremely wealthy and fun to be around. I had several conversations with him over the years, told him about our men’s group and Zion Boot Camp, etc. He was always a cordial and said something like, “That’s great Dan.” I have found in “almost” every situation, that money insulates a man in such a way that they have no need or motivation to think deeply on eternity or on the words of Jesus Christ. These words from the lips of Jesus are perhaps some of the scariest for people with money:
“Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matt 19:24)
I have found that most Catholics (my friend was) believe that if they are a relatively good person, go to Mass on occasion and stay away from mortal sins, they will eventually make it to heaven, of course, after a “side-trip” to Purgatory. I came late to the funeral Mass, for the same reasons mentioned why Ridley & Latimer were burnt at the stake. It is very rare that one of my Catholic buddies want to discuss transubstantiation or that the Mass is a re-crucifixion of Christ (remember, you are talking to a guy that was going to be a Catholic priest). At the Mass, there was no question or concern that my friend would eventually be in heaven. That, of course, puts everyone at ease.
At the reception, held at one of the nicest country clubs in Las Vegas, I had number of conversations. I knew about half the room of guys close to my age. My friend that died was a HUGE hunter and all his hunting buddies were there. [Note: Before I left my home that day, I prayed that God would put one person in front of me that I could talk to]. There were also a few guys and their wives that avoided me, because I have had conversations with them in the past. You know, “Uh oh, here comes Russell the Jesus guy.” I engaged one of my friends, a big hunter and super wealthy. I asked him how it’s going and where he’s been hunting……. well, he went on & on about all these amazing places. After about 10 minutes, he then asked how I was doing. I mentioned how short life was and we don’t have a guarantee for tomorrow. He agreed. Remember, at funerals, people are thinking about their own mortality. Then I told him the “hair & the string” story. If interested, it is about 4 paragraphs down: E²Vegas.org/Friday-Mens-Group-11-20-20. When I got through, he said, “Great seeing you Dan, and left quickly.”
The family had this “amazing” power point presentation of my friend’s life. It was the best I have ever seen and the music was choreographed perfectly from our era – my friend was the same age as me. I was sitting in the very back of the room and behind me was one of the bartenders. Without going into a lot of deal detail, we struck up a conversation and I told him that I knew many of the people in this room and they are very wealthy and for the most part very lost. I shared my testimony with him, and he was dead silent. I pulled out Million Dollar Gospel of John, Steps To Peace With God and Are You a Good Person? I had the time to explain to him what each of those were. Then I stopped talking and he told me that he had just lost his dad and that his mom had died when he was a young kid. I told him the Gospel literally saved my life and transformed me into a new person. I told him I hated the term “Born Again” until it happened to me…… and it’s real. He wanted everything I had and was emotional about our conversation. His name is easy to remember, “Russell.” Please pray for Russell. So, this was the one person that God wanted me to talk to. Not someone I had known for years, but someone I had never met. And……. what a perfect time to talk to him while everyone was watching the PPT.
“You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” ~ Jesus
Dying to Live,
Dan
(Galatians 2:20)
Jesus said: “Do not work for the food which perishes,
but for the food which endures to eternal life……”
John 6:27
“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, ACT LIKE MEN, be strong.”
1 Corinthians 16:13
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Men:
1) What Does Success Look Like?
2) What Does Obedience Look Like?
Why Obey God – Day 266 Red Book
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
Men: Take your time reflecting on this statement:
Visualize yourself standing at the threshold of death with nothing but memories to look back upon and nothing but the grave to look forward to, what would you have to see as you look back over your life in order to look God the Father in the face and say, “Oh God I have finished the work You gave me to do, my life has been a success.”
~ Walt Henrichsen ~
When I first listened to this short audio message I was so impacted by it, that late that night I typed up several pages from the message including the Bible verses used.
I would encourage all of you to listen to it and take some notes. Here is the link:
Commitment to Vision
[35 minutes]
You’ll know who to share it with
Heaven doesn’t rejoice over those that make “decisions.”
It reserves its rejoicing for sinners who REPENT
From: The Evidence Bible – Pg 1462 Send A Copy To A Friend
This is an amazing video. Is the fine tuning of the universe due to:
1) Physical Necessity
2) Chance…. or
3) Design
Which one is the most plausible?
To send this to your buddies:
Watch on YouTube(6:22 minutes)
Men: I thought this short message was relevant. Most guys I meet think worship is singing praise songs to the Lord. It’s WAY MORE than that…… it’s becoming a “LIVING SACRIFICE.”
The Divine Privilege You Have in Christ
by Jack Graham
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1
It seems like more and more today, I meet people who have a slot-machine religion. You know what I mean… they think of serving God like putting a quarter in a slot machine. So they volunteer at church, pull the lever, and wait and see if God will pay out.
Now you may hear that and think, “That’s preposterous! How could anyone believe something like that?!” But the truth is there’s an inkling of that feeling in all of us. It may not be a blatant as the example above, but we all have that little voice that comes from our flesh that says, “God is really lucky to have me on His team.”
But the Bible gives us a very different paradigm of thinking when it comes to serving God. Instead of elevating ourselves and thinking we’re really helping God out, the reality is that serving God is a privilege for those of us who are in Jesus Christ.
Give cheerfully. Serve humbly. You have nothing to offer God except what He’s already given you – a holy life. Exercise your divine privilege of serving Him every day and thank God for the wonderful blessing of being able to live for His glory!
EXERCISE YOUR DIVINE PRIVILEGE BY SERVING GOD WITH A HUMBLE HEART AND EXPECTING NOTHING MORE THAN THE GRACE HE’S ALREADY GIVEN TO YOU.
Our Oleanders are still producing flowers …. I just had to take this photo. I continue to be amazed at their beauty and how they impact me. Likewise, as I was reading in 2 Corinthians, I ran across these verses and thought how our own lives can impact others by who we are “in” Jesus Christ.
“You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
(2 Cor 3:2-3)
QUESTION: “How many men are walking by faith with Jesus Christ, that were not a year ago, as a result of your life?”