I have been posting these weekly articles for quite a while. Some of you have been reading them from the beginning. Others may have just discovered them. Many of you read these posts every week. Others just pop in from time to time. Wherever you fall in this process, I want to say “Thank You” for taking the time.
I also what to give you an invitation. If you have a topic you would like me to discuss from a biblical perspective, let me know. Or if there is a particular verse or passage of the Bible you would like to see examined, I would love to hear from you. Simply jot me a note to my email at pastormike@murraymc.org. You don’t have to attend Murray Church to contact me. This project is intended to help men, not just men from our church.
I would also like to take a moment to renew our fucus of the purpose of these posts. It is my desire to see men become fully devoted followers of Jesus. For some who have been Christ followers for many years, much of what we discuss is reinforcing truth you already know and may have applied to your life. For others, you may not yet have a relationship with Jesus and are just investigating this thing we call faith to see if you want to be a part. Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, I hope there is something here for you. Let me know what you think and how I can make this time more valuable for you.
In the meantime, I’m going to revisit some topics we discussed early on in this blog. We are going to look at the attributes God lists for men who desire to represent a godly character. I am doing this for two important reasons. One, these truths are timeless and make up the foundation of what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Christ. Secondly, I know I need to review them often in my spiritual journey, so a assume others do as well. These will not be a repeat of what was published in the past, but a second look with new perspective on how to seek God’s provision of these qualities in our lives and then, how to project these qualities in a way that benefits our families, jobs, hobbies, and every other part of our lives.
Before we launch back into these discussions, I want to address an issue that seems to impact men at every level of spiritual development. The problem is discouragement with our progress in developing the character God desires in us. There are several things to understand to help us combat this feeling. One is to understand that our spiritual journey is a marathon, not a sprint. We will never reach perfection in this life. That will only come when we are ushered into eternity. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for godliness; we just need to accept that it’s a process that takes time. Occasional failures will happen. These should not cause us give up or go back to square one. Instead, we learn from our mistakes and move on.
Another important decision is to choose the voice to whom you listen. One of the titles of Satan is, “The accuser of the saints”. It is his role to convince us we are failures and that becoming more like Christ is impossible. He tells us our efforts are futile and we should just give up. This is a lie!! We must instead, listen to the voice of God who continually repeats this truth, “I love you no matter what you’ve done, no matter where you are in your spiritual journey, no matter what you are feeling. I’m on your side. I have not rejected you. You are my child. You can become a man of God and I am here to help you.”
Thank you for joining me on this continued journey as we seek to hear God’s voice more clearly.