What do you Believe
May 8, 2012
Man_Up
Why do you believe what you believe? Do you know? Where does it come from and what are you a product of?
The conversation started with the concept of how we acquire or form our belief system. Part of our belief system is acquired by what we learn from or are told by others like friends, teachers, and parents. Then there seems to come a time in our life where we go through circumstances and situations that make up the experience of life where our belief system is formed. That belief system becomes the very core of what we base all we believe and accept. If we will adequately assess our own lives we can determine where we are and determine which direction we need to proceed.
The circumstances in life sometimes serve to confirm what we believe. Those times we need just to know that we are on the right track. I can’t speak for others but I like at times things going easy or at least predictable. When God confirms that we can depend on Him for our provision, healing, and salvation and the like it makes living enjoyable. We need these times to make the other times tolerable.
Sometimes the circumstances in life challenge the very core of what we believe and that can be one of the most uncomfortable places in life. It seems that at those times we are in a place with absolutely nothing to stand on. When God has declared to you the steps to take all of your life and then He just tells you to step and after you step you can see, touch or feel Him it is very uncomfortable to say the least. God is now treating you in a manner you haven’t experienced. I really believe that this is a process of restoration that is forming a belief system that must be present in order to fulfill the purpose God has for us.
As a number of people come to the same understanding it is confirmation God is fulfilling what He wants accomplished. This restoration and confirmation allows this belief system to be passed on to the next generation.
Man_Up and be the man God wants you to be.
Man_Up
April 3, 2012
Man_Up
Be what God wants you to be today. Trust that He wants the best for you. Believe or have faith that He will act on your behalf. Hope or know that He will bring to pass.
Today is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad. How many times have we heard that said or even said it ourselves? It may seem simple but it is but it may prove to be astoundingly important. Today is the only day we have to apply what we would change about yesterday to influence the potential of tomorrow.
We could and should all say that we want to be what God wants for us to be. I think that is a reasonable expectation as well as a realistic desire. However, what does that mean? Does it mean to endure? Does it mean to stay engaged? Could it mean to be faithful in the now? To Man_Up is to willingly place ourselves in the hands of God and allow Him to work in us His will by allowing the processes of reality to develop us to be what God wants for us to be. There will be both reward and consequences for the decisions and choices we make. Life will not be fair. There will be things that will seem unwarranted and undeserved. They will all share in molding us to be what God wants for us to be if we will stay committed to Him.
There will be two areas of temptation with intention to confuse us. One will be the temptation to consider the past. Although remembering some things of the past is reasonable, we must not continually dwell on the past. It is a trap. We cannot go backward. It won’t work. It never has been and it never will be a reasonable option for success. Just don’t go there. The other is the temptation to be infatuated with the future. Just as we can’t dwell continually on the past we cannot be consumed with the future. We do need to know we are going forward. We do need to have a vision. However, if all we look at is the future we will be continually disappointed. Tomorrow never comes and yesterday never returns.
We have to find a way to be content today. Today is when God is working on us. Today is when God heals. Today is when God saves. Today is when God delivers. Today is where we need to work out how to live. Today is when we must accept the call to Man_Up.
Man_Up and be the man God wants you to be.
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Here’s the Man – Resolve
March 20, 2012
I want to keep things simple. There is a part of our lives that we don’t have control over. The only thing we do have control over is the resolve to carry on. We must be determined to not give up but to continue forward. As we go forward that resolve is going to be continually tested. One night God came to me in a dream and spoke to me. He told me the enemy was going to throw everything he had at me but He would not succeed. After the three days following I thought I knew what He was talking about. While going through some of the things I go through now I just laugh because it is funny how little understanding I really had. God is going to get us to the end but our job is to have the resolve to get there. Does the scripture not say that those who endure to the end the same will be saved?
Everything that happens to us is not necessarily influenced by the enemy but he does try to influence how we respond. Work on responding to the negative with a positive word. You determining to react consistently regardless of how situations may appear can be referred to as resolve.
Consider these suggestions:
Anybody can quit. That is not what God has called you for.
God will give you direction and instruction. Know where you are going and what you will be doing.
Resolve is boldly going where God is leading not stubbornly staying where you want to be.
Use whatever term or technique you need. Just be resolved that nothing is going to detour you.
Be the man God wants you to be and accept His plan.
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Here’s the Man – Encouragement
March 13, 2012
There may be no reasonable explanation to what is happening in our lives except that it is God’s plan. Look for and even ask for God to manifest encouragement in your life. He said ask and you shall receive. He said seek and you shall find. He said to knock and the door would be opened. Some may say well what if it doesn’t happen. It’s not my promise. It’s His. He also said if we would draw close to Him, He would draw close to us. All I know is that he knows how and when to encourage us and that encouraging is necessary to keep us declaring this statement. HERE’S THE MAN.
Consider these suggestions:
Your dreams and visions coming to fruition may require some willingness on your behalf.
There are a number of things we are not capable at time to understand. We must be willing to accept life as it is and continue forward.
Times of confusion may occur however they only serve as stepping stones.
The confusion will give way to specific direction and understanding as we remain faithful.
Knowing God loves you and is for you is the epitome of and the essence of encouragement.
Above all else allow this one thing to be settled in your mind. God is on your side.
Man_Up and be the man that God wants you to be.
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Man_Up – Balancing Reality and Expectation
March 6, 2012
Man_UP – Balancing Reality and Expectation.
Living in the place where the reality of life and expectation meet is a place that has the potential to cause some serious problems. The reality is that there are some things we have no control over and the truth is that we develop reasonable expectations of the way things should be because of our relationship with Christ. Where these two meet holds the potential to confuse at the least and completely destroy if not handled properly. Don’t let your expectation overwhelm reality and don’t let reality distort expectation.
Joseph had a dream that he shared with his family. His family didn’t respond favorably to his declaration. His brothers hated him and those feelings most likely were rooted in jealousy. Joseph was his fathers’ favorite and the brothers responded by hating Joseph. Jesus said that the world didn’t care for Him and wouldn’t care for us either. Reality is that the world is not going to like us as believers and we have to understand that. We can’t let their lack of caring destroy our hope that we have because of reasonable expectation. We are given those dreams for a reason. Continue to trust in God’s favor and remember that those who come to Him must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Joseph had a dream and that dream caused him to have an expectation of a given end. However that dream didn’t change the reality of his life. His brothers hated him. What I am saying is that it is a good thing to have hope and expectation established in our lives for that establishes purpose and a reason to live, while at the same time we are not removed from reality. We still have to live. We still have to deal with the situations of life. The bills still have to be paid. There are still requirements that have to be met.
Balancing the two varies with the degree of difficulty determined by the stage of life we are in or the particular issue that God is leading us through at the time. Some stages may seem easy while others will prove to be extremely difficult. All will prove to be important our becoming the mature individual God desires us to be. We are to have expectations. There is more to life than right now. There is also reality. This is where we are and it is meant to be overcome. Learning how to find that place of balance is the process of becoming the mature stable person that God wants us to be.
Man_Up and be the man that God wants you to be.
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Here’s the Man – The day will come
February 28, 2012
Here’s the Man – The day will come
God may not be bound by time but He is aware of it and He does care about it. He has foretold of particular periods of time that would hold specific events in time to declare that He does care and that He is fully aware of what is happening. We can lose track of that as we get consumed with all the events that take place in our lives. We will be tempted to believe that God doesn’t care and that we are unimportant and that is not true. The fact that we are bought and paid for by the price of His own son’s blood declares He both cares and is aware of our needs. He will never leave us and He will finish what He has begun.
I was thinking this morning. One day God saved me and my life was changed. One day He filled me and called me and gave me specific direction and my life has never been the same. One day He changed the course of my path or illuminated the path I was to take, however you wish to consider it, but my life was different from that day forward. I am sure there are many who can testify of the same. One day makes a difference and we should look for that day every day. God does care. God is aware of all our needs. Although it seems like a long time of waiting at times God hasn’t forgotten what He has promised. One day the potential we possess will become reality.
Upon Joseph’s removal from prison and acceptance of Pharoah’s commission he immediately began his work in Egypt. He was given a chain around his neck and the Pharoah’s signet ring. He was placed in the second chariot right behind Pharoah’s. He was given a wife who bare him two sons before the seven years of plenty were finished. The first he named Mannasseh which means God has made me forget my hardships. The second he named Ephraim which means God has prospered me in the land of my sorrow. That means before the age of 37 the two sons were born. He revealed himself to his brothers at 2 years into the famine which is age 39. All those numbers may have some significant meaning. I don’t know. I just know I have said for years that life begins at 40. (HA) God knows where we are and how old we are.
I’m pretty sure that Joseph probably remembered that God had given him a dream but I don’t know that he understands the significance of the steps he has been taking. I’m not sure we fully understand those stages in our own lives either. Listen. There is nothing more important to God than the salvation of our souls. So much so that He gave His own son for us. We are bought with a price. We mean something to Him and so do others. That is why we are being trained and equipped. I find it interesting that Joseph told his brothers that he was sent before them to save lives. So are you and I.
Our determination must be to remain faithful and allow God to fulfill what He has promised.
Simply put:
Man_Up and be the man God wants you to be.
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Man_Up and be the man
February 21, 2012
Man_Up and be the man that God wants you to be
There are some tough questions and difficult answers that may be required of us in this life that stretch our faith and reestablish the boundaries of our belief. As we travel down this road of life we are going to experience the emotions of hurt as well as joy, disappointment as well as satisfaction, and confusion rather than contentment and purpose from time to time. That is life. It doesn’t make it any easier that is just the way it is. We just have to be determined to make it and allow God to lead us on.
One of the areas we may be tested in is our belief in God as absolute moral truth. The question may be posed like this. Is God fair? When we begin to look at the question we will be reminded that God is just. We will be reminded that He doesn’t treat all the same. We will be reminded that He has favorites. All these things we should be reminded of. However, that doesn’t mean He is not fair. That is a matter of perspective.
If God had a different means of salvation for everyone He might be considered unfair. If God had a different standard of excellence for everyone He might be considered unfair. If God had not shared that standard of excellence with everyone He might be unfair. If my memory serves me correctly He only has one standard that all will be judged and that is Jesus. His will is that none perish and that all come to repentance. In being just He may take from those who have not and give to those who have, but in His fairness we do not receive what we deserve.
Jesus paid it all so that we get to receive it all in Him. His expectation of us is to receive Jesus. Our potential in Him is to be like Jesus.
Man_Up and be the man that God wants you to be.
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Here’s the Man – Innocence or Arrogance
February 17, 2012
Here’s the Man – Innocence or Arrogance
Joseph had another dream. This time he told it not only to his brothers but to his father. His brothers hated him more and His father rebuked him. I have heard others tell that Joseph was arrogant because he had to be spoiled because he was the favorite. I don’t know that to be true. It seems to me that God has not been afraid to point out the faults of other men of faith. However there is no announcement of one on Joseph’s behalf. So I choose to believe on the side of innocence. I think he just didn’t know any better. He was simply over whelmed by the visitation of a dream and couldn’t contain it. As a matter of fact if he had not declared the dream the rest of his life might not have carried much significance. I believe the reason he was given the dream to begin with was his relationship with God. We just can’t over look the importance of Jacob settling down in the land of his father. That included declaring to his family the God of his father Isaac. The innocence gave way to maturity as he endured the hardships and encountered new circumstances in life as God led him forward. That maturity was proven as he took his place to be the man God was creating him to be. His willingness to grow and continue forward by accepting new roles and learning how to respond appropriately in given situations is the mark of maturity. It declares one willing to make this statement.
HERE’S THE MAN
Are you innocent or arrogant?
One or the other will be declared by your life.
Man_Up and be the man that God wants you to be
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Here’s the Man – Dare to Dream
February 14, 2012
I try my best not to over spiritualize things. Some things we experience in life have super spiritual meanings and others should only be considered as just something we have experienced. Learn from them and go on.
Joseph had a dream. That dream was, as we now know it, concerning a much later time and a need that had not yet been manifest. As is often the case the dream didn’t originally satisfy the desires of all involved. In Fact it offended all the parties involved except Joseph. That’s why it is important to keep in mind that knowing God’s will and accepting His plan is two different things. That part is still hard for me. I often times want to jump to the finish line and that’s not what God has in mind.
As we mature in God He will give us the understanding we need. Our focus in life should be to walk through intentionally.
Maybe even with this intention.
HERE’S THE MAN
Don’t be afraid to dream.
It may be the beginning of God’s plan for you.
Man_Up and be the man that God wants you to be
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Here’s the Man – patience and time
February 10, 2012
Man_UP – Be patient and understand time
The emotions that come with the frustrations and the disappointments of life that are a result of the time involved in asking and believing and trusting for prayers and desires to be manifest can be at the very least be annoying and can escalade to overwhelming if not handled correctly. We are all going to experience things that catch us by surprise or don’t function according to our expectation. When those times occur how are we supposed act? How are we supposed to feel? What are we supposed to believe?
Those questions may sound like doubt but I don’t believe they are. Some of us have been taught that we are not to question God and there may very well be some validity to that teaching. There are times we don’t need to question God. However, until our faith grows and is established to the point that we don’t have to understand to believe or see to be able to accept, it is reasonable expectation that we would ask those questions. As a matter of fact it may be necessary for us to ask those questions. Having those questions push us to search out the answers for ourselves and establishes our faith and our belief system.
Consider this:
Faith comes by hearing the word of God.
The trying of our faith brings or encourages patience.
Hebrews says that we have need of patience after we have done the will of God to receive the result. There is often a time period between when we do what we are supposed to and receive what we expect.
James said to let patience have her perfect work. That time period that we are experiencing frustration, disappointment, discouragement, etc. really is for a purpose.
It may not come easily. James gave more than one example of others having to wait on it.
In other words patience is important.
Two things I want you to determine to do.
1) Exercise it – Hebrews 12:1-3
2) Teach it – Titus 2:1-3
This is one of the hardest things for me to do and I know it is for others also. Stay focused. Stay determined. God has an end in mind and it is good.
Man_Up and be the man that God wants you to be
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