A Picture of Brokenness
June 15, 2009
We have an umbrella that keeps the showers of God’s blessings from reaching us, it is called sin. Sin is not in the neighborhood, or in the newspaper; it’s in the mirror. If you have ever asked the question of why you don’t feel as close to God as you used to, the answer is sin. You can study the Bible all day and serve faithfully in the church, but the bottom line is that you have to deal with sin; and deal with it God’s way…
Models of Effective Mentoring
June 4, 2009
I’d like to share three models that illustrate what mentoring is all about, and I see these in the lives of three people named in the Bible (Barnabas, Timothy and Epaphroditus)…
Portrait of a Mentor
June 2, 2009
As I think about mentoring, Barnabas is a name that pops into my mind. We read a little about his life and ministry and I sense that putting his story into a mentoring context is not doing him injustice…
What Mentoring is, and is Not
May 28, 2009
In Christian circles, mentoring is really a subset of discipleship. A disciple is one who would sit at the feet of a teacher and learn of his/her wisdom. The disciple in essence became a follower of the rabbi or teacher (more on a disciple). I can imagine that the student was so tied to the teacher that when the student spoke, the hearers would be able to recognize who the student’s teacher had been…
Mentoring 101
May 28, 2009
Mentoring is not really a new idea. It was a way of life between generations; passing on information, history, stories and a legacy to the next generation. In the past, there was not much talk about mentoring because it was expected, assumed, and therefore unnoticed…
Excuses or Obedience?
March 18, 2009
God commands; and we hesitate. We want to enter into a debate with God, to make sure we heard Him correctly, or we try to change His mind about what He’s asked us to do. Excuses or obedience? Here’s a lesson from Moses and my observation about being a follower of Jesus…
God Sparing Your Life
March 2, 2009
Jacob was involved in an all-night wrestling match with God (Genesis 32:22-32). He not only gets a dislocated hip but his life is changed forever. Men today have done a lot of things in life that makes each of us wonder how our lives have been spared time after time. How can we encounter God and remain unchanged? None of us has arrived; we all need help. We are all just one step away from self-destruction…
The Enemy Within Me
February 24, 2009
Many people are into pro wrestling these days (I’ve seen commercials and the crowds), but most men fail to recognize that they are in a real life wrestling match… for their souls, their lives and their marriages. Rather than waiting for a better time, men need to deal with the real enemy in their lives…
Was the Lame Man at the Gate Distracted?
February 9, 2009
Peter told this lame man at the gate (Acts 3:4), basically, “Look at me when I’m talking to you.” My apologies for any parental flashbacks, but could it be that this man was distracted by his lameness and was anticipating the same old handout? Men today are so distracted. How can God get their attention to really make a difference in their lives, their marriages and even at their workplaces? How can we help men to know that there is so much more to life than being content to live with their lameness?
Are You Trapped at the Gate?
February 6, 2009
Like the lame man at the gate (Acts 3:2) many men today are so close to the church, but the problem they have (that which causes their lameness) keeps them from experiencing Christ and the community of faith to the fullest…
