Men

By Don Burrus

We talk a lot about it, but I’m sure many men have different ideas what it means.

Dictionary defines Godly as: god·ly (gdl) 1. Having great reverence for God; pious. 2. Divine.

Maybe an image some may have of a Godly Man is a dry, stiff & pious dude without fault, never loses his cool, is the perfect husband, father, and leader of men, can recite entire books of the Bible from memory – and does frequently, the one others naturally expect & look to in a group to pray, mild and meek, never farts, or laughs at themselves, never has to endures the loss of jobs, or the disappointment of betrayal by friends or family conflicts, never truly knows the struggles, pain, regrets, failures, and self-doubt of those less “godly” than himself. He is not the most interesting man in the world, but yes, the most “pious” and he and everyone else knows it. If you look closely you will notice the halo radiating around his head.

No, this man does not exist!

Instead, it is regular guys like you and I if we are willing to surrender our will to His. Reading the Word, it speaks of a godly man being highly imperfect, but willing to lose their life to save it. (Psalm 37) identifies many traits of a godly man. He grapples daily with temptation, pride, and just living in this fallen world, but not being of the world. He has learned the true meaning of self-control and humility.

A godly man works hard at an honest living doing his best to provide for his family, but doesn’t love the pursuit of money, or having the most toys, wandering from true faith and piercing themselves with many sorrows. True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.

Though it may be a daily struggle, he learns not to become angry and strives to avenge wrongs suffered by wicked people; he trusts that the Lord will settle all debts on their day of judgment.

He learns to trust in the Lord and strives to act with integrity even when one’s looking, committing all he does to Him, while resting on the promise that He will richly bless the godly man that does this.

The godly man learns to be still in the presence of the Lord and wait on His lead and answer to prayer.

He loves his wife faithfully, above all else, is willing to die for her, but would rather live to be the man she needs him to be for her.

The godly man prays diligently for, and teaches his children by word and example to follow God, and trust in Him. He trains and girds them up to withstand a world increasingly hostile to God’s law.

The godly man continues to put his faith in the Lord, even though the path he travels maybe hard and world is mocking him.

The godly man’s steps are directed by the Lord, He delights in us, and when he stumbles, he never falls completely because the Lord holds him by the hand.

The godly man both encourages his brothers in faith, and stands beside them in tough times, ready to pick them up or allowing others to speak truth also into their lives.

The godly man is honest in business and his endeavors, loves peace & kindness, especially for those less fortunate and willingly gives of his time or even opens his wallet freely to help another or further the Good News.

He rubs shoulders daily with his non-believers friends and co-workers, shows love for them, prays for them, and while they may never accept the Good News he shares with them, they know he lives an authentic life.

He is willing to stand for his faith despite great risk or derision, as he knows his battle armor is a belt of truth, a bullet proof vest of righteousness, combat boots of peace, a shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and his sword, the Word of God.

The godly man knows the Lord is his strength and shield. When he is weak, the Lord is strong.

And unlike the non-believer, the day of his death is not draped with sorrow but great joy and celebration.

When he is gone, a godly man leaves a legacy of a good life he can be proud of for his children and for everyone whose lives he touched. "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law, he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers."

Let us endeavor to live as godly men!

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By Dr. Adrian Rogers

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

So many people wake up in the morning, take a shower, scald their throat with a cup of coffee because they're running a little late, fight traffic, and get to work. Then, they come home, take a couple of aspirin, watch the evening news, perhaps discuss a few things with a roommate or spouse, maybe putter around the house or yard a little bit, then go to bed.

Now, I'm not saying people who have that lifestyle don't love and serve God, perhaps they do. But most of them probably think the only time they serve God is when they get off work! They end up giving their prime time to the employer and their leftovers to God!

Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24). I call this split-level living.

What I want you to take from this brief article today is this: You may think there's nothing exciting about you or your job, but God takes ordinary people and He gives them extraordinary power to do extraordinary things for His glory!

Your job may be putting hub caps on tires. You may be keying data at a computer. You may be digging ditches or washing dishes. You may be doing one of a myriad of what you think are mundane things. But I want to tell you, if you are a Christian, your work is to be the temple of your devotion and the platform of your witness. Every Christian is a minister doing fulltime Christian service.

Your job does not become sacred when you become a minister, missionary, or a staff member of a Christian organization! Every job, if it is done in the power of the Holy Spirit, is a sacred job. Every one!

Let's look at someone who lived this out from the Word of God – his name was Daniel. In the book of Daniel, we learn that he was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and carried to Babylon from Israel. There, he found a secular job as a government bureaucrat (see Daniel 8:27). The government trained him, then pressed him into service.

In this ordinary line of work, Daniel served the Lord Jesus. When Daniel was thrown into the lions' den because he refused to bow to another god, King Nebuchadnezzar and many others came to believe in our Almighty God.

If you work in the name of Jesus, unto His glory, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, you will receive the same reward for doing that job that I receive for doing my job. God knows about you and is watching you. Every Christian, wherever he serves, is in full-time Christian work.

Does work have eternal significance? Daniel may have wondered the same thing, as he was handling taxation, public relations, law enforcement, building projects, meetings and diplomacy. But yet he served God continually (see Daniel 6:16 and 20).

Even the home of Jesus was the cottage of a workingman. And whether He was mending plows or mending souls, Jesus was doing the work of God because people need houses to live in and furniture to sit on.

If you know you're serving the Lord, that'll put dignity in whatever you are doing: running a machine, greasing automobiles, typing letters, carrying mail, painting houses, digging ditches, cutting yards. Tell the Lord, "I'm doing it for You! And I'll do it with all my might! As much as any missionary or preacher or evangelist!" That kind of attitude will put a spring in your step.

Simply said, God wants His people to prosper wherever He plants them. You are a priest of God, a minister of God, and in full-time Christian service, and if that doesn't ring your bell, your bell is broken.

Remember, God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. (Ephesians 3:20) promises that, "God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." >

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By David Jeremiah

There are countless open doors— opportunities that God has provided—which you and I can walk through on a daily basis. God is constantly inviting us to trust Him and experience ever-expanding dimensions of His faithfulness and blessing. But far too often, we hang back hesitantly, not sure of what we should do.

Often, Christians fail to walk through God's open doors because of a faulty view of God Himself. God is to be trusted, and the better we get to know Him the easier it will be to recognize those doors He is holding open for us.

From years of watching Christians miss opportunities, God has set before them, I have made four observations about why we don't walk through God's open doors:

First, opportunities are often disguised as problems. Two decades ago, our church was holding services in three different locations. We knew we needed larger facilities at our main location but were stymied in our building program. Each time we began to discuss building plans, the three locations were at odds with one another. So, we continued with that "problem" for several years.

Eventually, the problem became an opportunity. While we were stuck in our "no building" mode, the Lord showed us another way to reach more people—even more than if we had huge new facilities at all three locations. We began Turning Point Ministries which now sends the Gospel out over radio, television, and in print. I know now that the media ministry was an opportunity disguised as a building program problem.

Don't miss an opportunity because it's dressed up in the misleading mask of a problem.

Second, opportunities are often time-sensitive. When Walt Disney was planning Disneyland, he offered a friend the opportunity to buy up the scrub land surrounding the site which he knew would dramatically increase in value. The friend said he'd think about it. Because Disney needed an answer quickly, his friend lost the opportunity and tremendous wealth besides. If you fail to grasp an opportunity God puts before you, it doesn't necessarily mean God is finished with you. But it probably means He will turn to someone else who will grasp the opportunity.

Don't let hesitation become procrastination and lead to devastation.

Third, opportunities are often tested by opposition. Some people have gotten halfway through an open door and turned around because they faced opposition. They thought, "We must not have heard God correctly. This opposition can't be from God." If Paul anticipated opposition when going through God's open doors, we should, too (I Corinthians 16:8-9). Opposition can be a sign that you heard God correctly, since Satan will be doing all he can to discourage you and cause you to turn around.

Don't miss a blessing-filled Christian life by trying to avoid a problem-free Christian life.

Finally, opportunities are usually missed because of fear. I can't think of an opportunity from God that I ever grasped without trembling hands. But I have often reached out and taken God's steady hand and walked through His open door— and so can you.

All opportunities and open doors have one thing in common: They focus on the future. And when looking toward the future, we have two choices—to walk by faith or to walk in fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7), but He has promised to go with us wherever we go in His will (Hebrews 13:5). God loves to get us to the place where our strength is little so we can see His might power.

Is there an opportunity in front of you at this very moment which makes you nervous, scared, weak, and faithless? Wonderful! You are right where you need to be to see God hold the door open for you while you walk through.

Wherever there is a fearful response on our part there is a faithful reassurance on God's.

Friend, you don't have to worry about how or when or where the next door in your life will be opened. The doors God opens for you only have doorknobs on one side...His! So, you can be sure the true, holy, and powerful One will open the right door at the right time—the knob is in His hands.>

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Changing Times

David Jeremiah This article was excerpted from Turning Points, Dr. David Jeremiah's Devotional Magazine. Call Turning Point at 1-800-9471993 for your complimentary copy of Turning Points.

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