Growing up, I thought the Marine Corps had the best recruiting commercials out of all the armed services. Maybe that’s why I spent so much time in the Marine Recruiting office in middle school. However, I followed God to Bible College rather than going to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego after High School and a year at Junior College. There’s something inspirational, though, in the thought of being the “tip of the spear” and thus saving the world. Something almost unexplainable rises inside of me when I think about the values of the Marine Corps.
But maybe that’s not you. Perhaps God has placed something different in your soul, which initiates vision and life. I think John Elbridge got it right when he noted, “Adventure, with all its requisite danger and wildness, is a deeply spiritual longing written into the soul of man.” Today though, noble manhood has fallen on tough times in many quarters of our culture. As we approach Father’s Day in 2023, the problem is much more exasperated. (more…)
It had been a long day as Deb and I were dropping off our girls for youth group. We try to grab date nights whenever we can. When you’ve been married for just over 26 years even fast food has a romantic ring to it. So with a coupon that Deb was graced with from one of her students, we headed to Chick Fil A with the anticipation of not having to clean a kitchen and enjoy some time without teen drama. The problem was that the line was taking forever and the day was just getting longer.
I wanted to bolt, but Deb was much more patient. To encourage me she suggested a bet; which is something she hardly ever does. In her confidence, she offered a bet that if we were not through the line in 10 minutes she’d wear a corset that night.
What? A preacher talking about the intimate details in marriage? Well why not? Actually the Bible does speak about the subject in quite wonderful ways. The unfortunate deal is that our present Western culture has allowed Hollywood to highjack the subject. Yes, God really did create sex and preachers really do engage in it. So today and later in a second installment I’ll share 5 quick points on the subject that just might help us restore a truly Kingdom mind set about sex. (more…)
I have probably been studying God’s design for manhood for well over 20 years now. The first real pick at the subject came during my college years when Todd Owen and I set upon the gospels to learn what we could from the man Jesus Christ. While Jesus is divine, God in the flesh, he was also perfect in his manhood. The text tells us that he got angry with the religious Pharisees, wept over the death of a friend, and got tired after a long day’s work. The author of Hebrews lets us into the secret that Jesus was tempted in every way possible to man yet was without sin. Jesus was fully man just as well fully divine. Therefore we can learn a thing or two about manhood from him.
In addition to attempting to follow Christ I’ve read a number of books over the years along with taking in various conferences and men’s ministry participation. (more…)
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