Friday Men’s Group 9/27/24

Hi Men:
With so many things going on, we often get very distracted. With Hurricane Helene impacting so many people, the war against Israel, uncertainty with China, Russia, Ukraine, etc, and a pending election that has huge implications, it’s easy to forget who we are “in” Christ. God is firmly on the throne and 100% in control.  Check out these (12) verses in Ephesians 1:3-14.  See how many times they show who you are in Him and what you have been given.  These are such jaw-dropping verses.  Take some time this weekend and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the depth of these verses.  This is where our assurance and peace comes from……

PHOTO ABOVE

Ok, this is one for the books…… not the photo, but what happened 12 years after that accident. Here’s the back story: In October of 2012, Larry Morris and I were getting ready to depart for India representing the Sharon India Foundation. Prior to every departure, something traumatic “always” happens (Satan was always planning something to prevent us from leaving). I could make a list as long as my arm, but we’ll save that for another time.

At about 1am in the morning, my wife and I heard a tremendous crash just outside our bedroom window. A Dodge truck ran the stop sign and plowed into a Honda Civic with a young couple in their late teens. The young man driving the Dodge was in his late 20’s

When the fire department arrived, they had to cut the girl out of the passenger side door with their “Jaws of Life.” They both were quickly transported by ambulance to the hospital. The Dodge Ram rolled across our Oleanders, over our chain link fence and up near our fireplace. Believe it or not, the young man seemed to be just fine and didn’t need to go to the hospital. He was walking around and I realized he was my neighbor, just 3 houses down. I talked with him, and observed that he had been doing some serious drinking. His dad arrived and somehow convinced the police to release him into his custody and they quickly walked home. That is the last time I saw them for 12 years!!! Even though we were neighbors, they never stopped by to check on our damage or just to say, “Sorry about that!” They are a Korean family and hardly ever leave their home.

Fast forward 12 years: I have been praying for my neighbors for some time now, with about 15 currently on my prayer list. A few days ago, while I was out walking, I saw Tom (actually Seung), my Korean neighbor, outside fixing his fence—his big German Shepherd escapes often. This was the first time I had seen him since he walked his son home that night, 12 years ago. I stopped and started chatting with him. We were having a pleasant conversation, and I mentioned that we hadn’t seen each other since the accident. I asked if the couple in the car were okay. He replied, “What couple?” I said, “The young man and woman your son hit.”
He responded, “My son didn’t hit anybody. He fell asleep and veered off the road into my property.”
I said, “That’s not how it happened…” and explained the situation in detail. Tom became increasingly upset and didn’t believe me, so I said, “I have photos and videos I took that night.” I pulled up Dropbox and showed him pictures and a video of the firemen using the Jaws of Life, with his son in the background. This completely blew his mind, and I started to worry—especially because earlier he had mentioned being a Taekwondo master, and I thought he might kick me into the next county🤠 I quickly dropped that part of the conversation.

Before leaving, I said I hoped we could visit again and walked off. As I continued my walk, I reflected on why the Lord had orchestrated such an unusual encounter. I’ll keep praying for Tom, his family, and the other neighbors, and we’ll see what surprises the next street might hold.

IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD AND DOWN THE STREET

I’ll be brief….. (sure!). I had an appointment with my optometrist. I got there a bit early and just sat in my car and prayed, asking the Lord for His favor. After my exam and as he was getting ready to walk out, I said I have something for you if you would like it. I showed him the Million Dollar Gospel of John, Steps To Peace With God and Are You a Good Person? I knew he was a Catholic from my last visit (his mother-in-law was a classmate in our Catholic High School). When I started to share my testimony, HE ACTUALLY SAT DOWN. He wanted to hear. Like me, he was born a Catholic and had no choice in the matter. I said to him, “If you were born into a Hindu family, would you be as passionate about Hinduism as you are about Catholicism?” He sat in that chair and looked up at the ceiling thinking. I asked him if he had heard the term “Born Again.” He said yes and I gave the usual reply, “I hated that term…… until it happened to me!” We talked a bit more and he said that he is reading a Catholic devotional. I encouraged him and offered to drop off other resources. I said you have my email address and phone number in your system. Feel free to contact me any time. He was grateful, took the tracts and said we’ll be talking. I felt convicted to send him the Blue Book. We’ll see what God does next………

“He must increase, but I must decrease”

Dying to Live,
Dan
If you want decrease, watch this 3+ min video again: Andromeda Galaxy

“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, ACT LIKE MEN, be strong.”
1 Corinthians 16:13

Click on “Register Today” or Or Here

Check out these (4) upcoming retreats. Please be praying….. thank you!

Pine Valley Men’s Retreat – We hope to have a report on how it went
Southwest Men’s Retreat (Overgaard, AZ) October 4-6, 2024 [FULL]
Link To “The Guys’ Thing” (Tomales Bay, CA) Nov 8-10
Camp Hebron MIM Conference (Halifax, PA) Jan 31 – Feb 2 

Men: Such a great review on God’s Sovereignty

God Numbers Your Days – Day 272 Red Book

The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”

The Uniqueness of Jesus

“This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammad, Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, He sent more pins in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise then the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.”

Philip Schaff, The Person of Christ (1819-1893)
Professor – German Reformed Theological Seminary of Mercersburg, PA 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK – “One Life”

I had never heard of Sir Nicholas Winton….. the British stockbroker that saved hundreds of Jewish children from the Czech Republic. My wife and I thought this movie was profound.
If you haven’t seen it, put it on your calendar!

ONE LIFE TRAILER Watch on YouTube (2.5 minutes)

Nicholas Winton & Anthony Hopkins
[Nicholas Winton died in 2015 at the age of 106]

Audio Teaching of the Week:

Striving for Obscurity  – By Walt Henrichsen – Great Lakes Men’s Conference
Men, this is a great teaching.  One you will seldom, if ever, hear from the pulpit
Listen to it this weekend and send the link to buddy…..

Men:
A brother sent me this blog. It’s worth the 3 minute investment in reading it.
Then send the link to a few of your friends……..

What Tree are You Eating From?
by Mike Donio

[Excerpt from his blog]

This brings me to a question.

Is all (or most of) human technology and innovation about trying to tempt us to fulfill our desires with worldly things? In other words, is its goal to provide things for us to try and fill our souls, when living apart from God?

I’m talking about things like drugs (illegal and prescription), sex, porn, alcohol, gambling, junk food, work/career, devices, social media, video games, etc.

Note that most, if not all, of us are addicted to these things. We try to fill the hole in our souls with them and even make idols of them. I know that I have, that’s for sure. Up until recently, I didn’t recognize that things like junk food, work, or electronic devices could be addictive. I always thought that I was on the up and up, since I never really got into drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc. Yet, little did I know that I was addicted to my career.

Yup, I was a full-fledged workaholic.

To Read Full Article Here

You tell me what this can apply to?