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Devotions, Mark 8

Going for the Ultimate “W”

READ: Mark 8:31-36

What is an athlete striving for on a field or court? What is his purpose. His goal?
We might say things such as improving character or learning teamwork.  While these are admirable and highly essential in any athletic endeavor, they are not the goal.
The main goal on the court or field is to get a “W”….to get a WIN!
How about you?  What’s your main goal in life?  What’s your purpose?  Have you thought about it?
What does a “W” in life look like?
When Jesus took to the fields, courts and lives of people back in the day, he talked much of living a life of purpose.  Many however thought he was breaking the rules on how to do that.  According to them, he wasn’t playing right.  And nobody likes that kind of guy.
Unless…  Unless the “rules” are wrong or they keep it impossible to see or achieve “the goal”.
You see Jesus was revealing God’s ultimate purpose. His mind was focused on the goal: to lay down his life and ultimately to do it for Gods glory. His MIND was fixed on that. Peter’s mind was only focused on “human concerns.” That’s why Jesus had to help Peter (very strongly!) see that he did not see what the “win” looked like ultimately.
Jesus gives a warning and paints a better “glory” than what the worlds ways have to offer. He said,
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
Can you even imagine a greater upset…to forfeit LIFE?!
An athletes goal is to win the game. And this is good.  It’s the goal while on the field.  But what if that is all he is thinking about or pursuing in life?   Or take a young man that spends all his time thinking about getting and trying to be with girls. Could it be that he might miss some other important things God is trying to grow in him?
Jesus tells us that if we live our life for Jesus and for the ultimate purposes He has planned, we will not waste it.  We will save it.  That means that if we put God first in all our interests…school, sports, relationships, work and even family…when all these things are gone we will still be longing for the Ultimate Win with Him.
Let’s be young men who are going for the Ultimate W!
THINK:
  • Do you have in mind human concerns most of the time or are you focused on what God is concerned about?
  • What have you been trying to “gain” from the world at the risk of “forfeiting” your soul?
PRAY:  Jesus forgive me for focusing all my attention and time on other things more than on You.  I want to focus on what Your most concerned about for my life.  God I want to learn more of what it means to “deny myself, take up my cross, and follow you.”  Help me with that game plan.  I don’t want to loose what is most important in this life and the next.  I know you can empower me to do this!  Amen.
2 Timothy 1, Devotions, Hebrews 5

Swoll for Jesus: Moving Beyond a Me-Focused-Faith to “Spiritual Swollness”

When I was in the 11th grade I started working out regularly. To be honest, I began because I was tired of being skinny and I wanted bigger muscles.
For adolescents, this is a normal part of growing up…to be comfortable in your own skin.  So my vision of that was the desire to see more muscle on my body.
As I got older though, I saw a shift in my reasons for working out. The desire to be bigger and stronger and feel more comfortable “in my skin” shifted to the desire to be healthy and functionally strong so that I could do many activities well.
What is the point in telling you this?
For many, their relationship with God is all about “feeling comfortable in your own skin.”  What I mean is that their understanding and excitement about God being in their life is very self-centered.  We can hear of Jesus’ great love for us, how he died for us, how he forgives our sins and how he wants to give us eternal life, however that great and encouraging news can lead us to a very “me-focused-faith” if we are not careful.
All those realities are true and right and should make us feel good about ourself. And honestly most of us need to hear that over and over again because our own struggles and negative self image. But our faith must move forward from that.  As the writer of Hebrews says, we should be moving on to “solid food” (Hebrews 5:13-14).
Our relationship with God must move beyond just being “comfortable in our skin” to “Spiritual Swollness.” Our relationship with God can not stay stagnant.  It must grow.  It must possess new “strength” and “flexibility” in it.
True followers of Jesus are constantly challenged in their faith.  Just look at the disciples when Jesus walked the earth.  Every single one of them was not the same man after three years of being with Jesus.  Truly their faith was at new levels and had new power from Him to do some pretty incredible things.
So have you grown stagnant and too comfortable in your faith?
Or are you growing stronger…more “swoll” in your heart and soul for God and His purposes for your life?
PRAY:  “Jesus I don’t want to live my life in a weak way.  May You help me be disciplined in growing in my faith.  Help me to diligently read Your Word, listen and talk to you, and surround myself with other Christians who are serious about knowing and growing in You more.”
Articles

Fathers [special video]

Fathers. We have seen good and we have seen bad.

Society is hungry for strong fathers; men who selflessly lay down their lives for the sake of their wives and children; men who forsake self-interest to support their families and their neighbors; men who encourage and discipline; men who laugh and cry; men who know that, to do these things well, Jesus must be their ultimate treasure.  -Humble Beast Records

Some of us can celebrate those men who have poured in our lives and modeled well positive attributes of a true loving father.  Others either cringe at the thought or mourn the failings of the first male in our life.  Even then, most of us probably land our sentiments somewhere in between.

So if you are a young man reading this, may you either be encouraged by this video and be sure to thank your own dad or pray to God to help equip you to be the kind of man portrayed in it.

Whether you like rap or not, I believe you will love this video!

Articles

Please stop saying your too busy

Note: This an adaptation of a blog written by Jon Acuff by the same name.  You can check it out here.

Please stop saying your too busy

Please don’t tell me you’re too busy to spend time alone with God and then show me your perfectly detailed fantasy football team.

Please don’t tell me you’re too busy to read your bible everyday and then give me intricate plot details about the six shows you’re watching.

Please don’t tell me you’re too busy to pray and then update your social media accounts incessantly.

We are a busy people. Our clocks are thin and tired, our schedules full and bloated.

But somehow we find a way to give our time to a host of wonderful distractions.

There is a reason the average 21-year-old has played 10,000 hours of video games.

There is a reason the average American watches 35 hours of television a week according to Nielsen.

There is a reason American companies lose an estimated $6.5 billion during the 15-week fantasy football season.

Time is a squirrely thing. It only goes where you tell it to go. It has no mind of its own. It won’t naturally gravitate to things that matter. It always looks for the easy way out.

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This summer, I dare you to not waste it.  What if not waisting it meant only doing 15 minutes more of something meaningful for your growth with God?  I’m talking about 15 minutes. I don’t care how busy you are, you have 15 minutes hidden somewhere in your day.

I dare you to rescue that tiny amount each day and then watch what happens this summer.

Time won’t find you. You have to find it.

And when you find it, you will find more of God in that time.

Articles

Boys, Men & Mentoring

The Man Card

I have to admit, when I was younger, I was totally impressed how certain older men in my life handled themselves so well in a crowd of people.  It seemed effortless to them as they made people laugh or shared a touching story or calmly gave a cool response to a heated situation.  I thought, “how do they do that?”  Was there a magical time in my life that same ability would click for me?  What was this “man card” everyone was talking about and how do I get one?
I realize now, this is pretty much how every young guy feels most of the time. And if I’m honest, as an adult I still feel that way at times. What we forget is that what we see in others we admire is that they didn’t just start talking and acting that way overnight.  They had to grow into it.
By design we are meant to be in relationship.  We grow into and learn social norms by observation and teaching from others.  When we are surrounded by people who speak and live great examples of godly characteristics, we tend to absorb those same qualities as well.  This is why we need godly role models to help us grow.
God’s original built-in intent was to place us in the best environment to help us grow. As males, we are naturally inclined to need another male who is older to show us how to live different aspects of our maleness out in real life (this is true for women as well).

Closing the Gap

Unfortunately, as you and I both know, we live in a fallen world where many times the male figures in our life have given us a distorted model by either plain ignorance or inadequacy on their part.  This is why there are many great organizations and ministries now that see this gap and hope to redirect the trend in a positive direction. That is what we are trying to do here with Champion Builders.  Many leaders such as Cory Smith, who has a mentoring ministry called Training Ground, see that many young guys will have to be very intentional in seeking out help if they want to grow.  This is what he says,
“In a perfect world, every older man should see a younger man’s need for mentoring and step in. The sad reality is that most the time a young man will have to initiate the relationship.” – Cory Smith
Lack of mentoring may not be the case for those of you in high school now.   Most students are surrounded by built in systems in school and church.  But you can be sure as a guy graduates, he has to learn to diligently seek out other older role models to help in his growth as a man.
Again I know from personal experience how inadequate you may feel about who you are as a young man right now.  I also know the prideful flip-side of that in thinking that we know everything we need to know already to get by.  Wherever your thinking is right now, will you at least admit you want to get better?  If so, will you or have you already taken the big step to seek out an older man in a mentoring relationship?
I know it is intimidating or awkward at first.  But, can you get a vision now of maybe one day, a young man saying of you, “I want to be like him.”
  • What man is being intentional now to mentor you that you need to thank or be more intentional towards yourself?
  • If you don’t have a mentor now, who could you contact to ask them if they would consider mentoring you?
2 Timothy 2, Devotions, Proverbs 12, Proverbs 18

The Gift & Danger of Friends

THINK: 
Are you in danger without even knowing it by the type of friends you hang around?
Check out what author Jon Acuff says about friends:
“Whether you’re 14 or 44, the company you keep, determines the heights that you will peak.”
He goes on to say there is a reason your parents didn’t want you to hangout with “that kid”.
“The friends you give your calendar to are vitamins or poisons. The best bring out the best in you, the worst tell you that your worst is best.”
Think about this:
  • Are my friends reliable?
  • Are my friends leading me toward more positive things than negative?
  • Am I and my group of friends encouraging each other to move away (“flee”) from things that dishonor God? Are we instead pursuing “righteousness, faith, love and peace” that God wants in our life?
PRAY: God I really like many of my friends.  But I know I can’t let them hold me back from what You want in my life.  Help me to have courage to speak up or to distance myself from certain “friends” that are leading me down a path I should not go.  Please give me real friends that want to honor You with their life.  May we grow in our love for You Jesus so that you might use us to impact those around us.

The post 100 Words: The gift & danger of friends. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

1 Thessalonians 4, Devotions

Lust

What is lust or how do we determine if a desire is lustful?
READ: ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4:3-7‬ ‭NIV  (Yes…right now!)

Let’s get at this first with a definition.  I have written a definition before saying that “sexual lust is wanting and using something or someone for own sexual desires without proper permission, position or concern for the person or object.”   But, I like John Piper’s definition as well where he gets to the very heart of it:

“Lust is a supreme disregard for God and people that fails to honor both with a desire that is otherwise meant for good.”

So to put it bluntly, sexual desire that does not take into account God’s desire for holiness, is evil in His eyes. Therefore if someone does not know God, their desires are going to be tainted and lacking at best or destructive at their worst.

How do we determine if something we desire with our life and body is leaning toward lust? As some may ask in another way, “so are all my physical desires for the opposite sex bad?” To help us filter this out we should ask ourself this great question:  Is this desire holy and honorable to God?   Similarly, does it have in view God’s design for that desire or is it purely selfish or dishonoring to another person?

So we have to get honest here and ask ourself another question: Do I want to live in love more than lust?
Know this…
Love wants to give more.  Lust wants to get more.
Love thinks of others first.  Lust thinks of self first.
Love is God-sighted.  Lust is self and near-sighted.
PRAY: Jesus I really need your help in this area.  If I’m honest, I feel like most of my desires are pretty selfish.  But I know desires can be good.  So please help me to grow in real love by giving me a vision of the way You see others.  I want to honor You by how I view, think about and treat others.  

For more on sexual lust and pornography go here.

Devotions, Isaiah 30, Proverbs 14, Proverbs 16, Psalm 20

Don’t Waste Your Summer

Are these what your summer plans look like?…

Sleep
Play games
Eat
Work (…maybe!)
Sleep
Eat
REPEAT!
If you were like me in high school these might be an accurate list of activities you have planned for the summer.  There is nothing wrong with these of course. In fact they sound like a pretty good base plan.  I say “base plan” because it is the plan that probably most average guys do.
But who wants to be average?  I know I don’t!  And I suspect you don’t either.
So please… don’t be average by wasting your summer!   Do you want to know how not to waste it?  The key is very simple.
Just like if you want to be a better ball player or want to be faster or stronger…you have to have a plan to make it happen.
So let me get real with you.  If you and I want to grow as a strong, confident, humble, Christ-like men, then we have to have a GROWTH PLAN in place to get us there.  Period.
As you look up the scriptures below, ask yourself the “THINK” questions, and after talking with God, write down your growth plan for the summer.  Trust me.  You will give yourself a big mental high five and maybe a “atta boy” when you walk on campus next year.  God will be smiling about you as well.
THINK:
  • What is an area you think God wants you to grow in this summer?
  • How do you want to feel and think about yourself after the summer is over?  Describe it.
  • What will you do and ask Jesus to help you to accomplish that?
Awesome Growth Plan Ideas!
  • Keep connected in fun and friendship with other guys that will encourage your faith…not tear it down.
  • Plug-in to a weekly small group studying the Bible together.
  • Go to worship weekly at your church.
  • Go to a week long church camp/YL camp/Adventure Trip/etc. that is focused on your spiritual growth.
PRAY:  Jesus I don’t want to waste my summer.   Please give me the wisdom to see the circumstances or people that may pull me away from you. Help me distance myself from them and instead lead me to friends and mentors that will encourage me in growth in You.  Also give me the courage and focus to be disciplined in things that help me learn your Word so I can learn to know You better.  Amen.

 

 

 

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Devotions, Philippians 2

What Would Jesus Think?

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“then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. …In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” – Philippians 2:2,5

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This passage talks of following Jesus’ example, to have the same MIND and same LOVE.
You may have heard the saying “What Would Jesus Do?”  Maybe a better question to ask first is “What Would Jesus Think?”   “Doing” is about love.  But what the mind thinks and perceives determines it’s love.   That’s why scripture here says to be “like-minded”.  Our thinking determines our love.
So then, what did Jesus think…and therefore model for us?
➡️ Strength in his identity – He knew he was. He didn’t need to “strut” or “compare” or try to “prove” his greatness. (v.6)
➡️ Humility in his service – In John 13 Jesus models symbolically what he had been doing all along and what he wanted us to think and act like toward those we love and lead. Jesus ultimate humility in service was going to the Cross in our place. (v.7)
➡️ Obedience in his love – Until you and I learn aspects of obedience toward those who God has sent to protect and guide us, we will miss key aspects of life and leadership.  Jesus modeled this kind of faithfulness for us.  He submitted to the plan from the beginning of time even though it was painful. (v.8)
➡️ Exultation by the Father – Because of Jesus’ humility and obedience, God therefore exalted Him with great admiration and love. (v.9-11)
THINK: Ask yourself then: In my modeling of my life…
– Do I find my identity in Jesus…meaning do I know and really believe what God says about me?
– Do I find my mind thinking about what Jesus would think most of the time or what the “world” or my friends think?
– Do I find that I have a heart of a servant and love towards those around me?
– Do I find that I am obedient to those that God has given me to provide and help me grow? Am I obedient to what God says in ALL areas of my life?
PRAY: “Jesus I want to love people better than I do.  Please help me discover more how you thought and lived so that as I seek to live your ways out, you would empower me to walk in my identity as a son of God in great humility and obedience.

What is one small way that you will think and act like Jesus this week? 

Click the link below to send Todd a voice message.

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Articles, Devotions, New Believer's

New Believer’s Devotions

Welcome to the Family!

Just so you know, this Family is all about adventure!   The more we learn to love and follow the leader of our lives…Jesus…the more Real Life you and I will experience everyday. (John 10:10)

Below is a series of devotions and scriptures to help you to really understand WHY we need a relationship with Jesus, WHAT has happened in our hearts and HOW we are to live from this point forward.

Be sure to not just skim through these.  Make sure you spend most of your time looking at the scripture by reading…then re-reading…then thinking…then asking (praying to) God to reveal the truth of what you should gain from His words speaking to you.

Lastly, be sure to TALK, SHARE and/or ASK QUESTIONS from what you are experiencing with someone who is encouraging and mentoring you in your faith.   They will want to guide you and be encouraged themselves by your journey of faith!  Also, you can use the “Ask Me Anything” link on the right if you have a question or just want to post what you learned.