Faith

Only faith in the redemptive work of Jesus can bring us into right relationship with God; not even a profusion of good works can do that. (Ephesians 2:8-9) But “works” do have an important role – they are the steady companion of faith.

As Christ’s followers, we’re called to be His ambassadors: We are to testify that God has reconciled the world to Himself through His Son, who lived, died, and lives again! (2 Corinthians 5:14- 20) Our personal responsibility is to reveal who God is by the way we live and the choices we make. God – honoring acts done in His way and timing are evidence that our convictions are genuine.

Faith without works is simply “dead” (James 2:17), but real faith is living and consistently expressed through action. When we let ourselves be instruments in God’s hands, He blesses the undeserving, strengthens the discouraged, provides for the needy, and offers saving grace to those in spiritual darkness. He rewards us richly when faith leads to obedient acts – we will not only see Him working; we will also grow closer to Him. Scripture says that our faith – filled actions will also put to shame those who are antagonistic toward Christ. (Titus 2:7-8) What a powerful combination – faith and works!

The depth of our faith is revealed through our conduct – not just in deeds that others observe, but also in actions we take when no one sees. (Matthew 6:1) God expects believers to be imitators of Jesus, pouring themselves into the lives of others whenever the Father asks.

Question: How do you keep focused on works without allowing your deeds to become the basis of your salvation (which comes from God alone)?

About this Author: Charles Stanley

hope

Hope

"My strength has perished, and so has my hope from the LORD." (Lam 3:18)
___________

When sorrow and trouble drain us of strength, when we have nothing left in
ourselves- the Lord understands. Did Jeremiah lack faith because he cried out?

"Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my
soul remembers and is bowed down within me." (Lam 3:19-20) Crying out to God is
not a lack of faith. He knows where we go and where we are at and the bitterness
in this world. He cares for you.

"This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses
indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail." (Lam 3:21-22) Our faith is
little... mine is anyway, small like a mustard seed and I cause myself much
trouble.

But it's about the Lord's mercy, compassion, and kindness. "They are new every
morning; Great is Your faithfulness." (Lam 3: 23) Though all else is taken away,
you have this unshakable: "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I
have hope in Him." (Lam 3:24) Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, when encouragement seems far away, and our soul is bent and
humbled, help us remember: What we have is You.

Thank-You for true hope in the midst of our own weakness- hope that depends on
You. Your lovingkindness and mercy never comes to an end. Help us wait upon You-
for Your hand of mercy that never fails. Amen.

Today's very great and precious promise

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is
good that he waits silently for the salvation of the LORD. (Lam 3:25-26)

We have God's Word on it.

Bad Alliances

“Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not Mine, forming an alliance, but not by My Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting Me; who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge.” Isaiah 30:1-2

Have you ever entered a business relationship with someone you knew you were not supposed to? Throughout the history of Israel, the people were called to come out of an old way of life. Egypt represented that old way; when things got tough, the Israelites reverted to what was comfortable. They always knew they could take a trip to Egypt and find what they lacked. Perhaps this was their reasoning: “If we can’t get it accomplished under the new way, why not go back to the way we used to do it? At least we know we can get it there.”

When God calls us into a walk of faith, we can expect to be tested in this walk. If we enter into alliances that God has not ordained, it will only bring heartache. Such was the case for Israel. “But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame, Egypt’s shade will bring you disgrace” (Is. 30:3).

Beware what you perceive as an alliance that may advance your business. It may actually bring you great distress if God has not directed you to align it. Ask yourself what the motive is behind this possible alliance. Make sure that it is not based on fear or a quick fix. Get confirmation that God is leading you to make such an alliance. Then you will not end up in the way of Israel, experiencing shame and disgrace.
Today God is First

Effective Men

FILLING - God's man is a self-feeder. Consistently studying and applying God's Word independent of the church or small group is essential. To do this, a man must be taught how to study the Bible.(1 Peter 2:1-3; Psalm 1:1-3).
TRAINING - God's man receives regular/weekly biblical instruction (1 Thessalonians 2:13). This can be achieved through a weekly small-group Bible study or large-group study with small-group discussion.
PRACTICING - God's man learns how to apply God's Word to all areas of life. It is essential to allowing room for accountability within the men's ministry for the purpose of consistency and obedience to God's Word (James 1:22-25; Ezekiel 33:30-32).
UNITING - God's man makes it a priority to connect with other men at least two times a month for the purpose of community, accountability, confession, and prayer (Galatians 6:1-3; James 5:16; Hebrews 10:23-24).
SURVIVING - God's man learns to address major life temptations and/or crises according to his need and life-stage. Support and encouragement from the ministry leader and small group is essential (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).
REACHING - God's man gets involved in some form of ministry based on his gifts and talents. God has called each of us to pour out to others what He has poured into us (1 Peter 4:10-11; Ephesians 4:11-13)
IMPACTING - God's man invests time and resources into the lives of other men. 2ling (2 Tim. 2:22; Proverbs 27:17; Mark 3:13-14).
SHARING - God's man learns to actively share his faith in order to lead others into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15; Matthew 28:18-20).

Fight Club

I would like to encourage the ALM men to attend Fight Club.

Monday June 21st.

F-FAITH
I-INITIATIVE
G-GODLINESS
H-HOLINESS
T-TENACITY

The Ingredients of a Lasting Legacy
By Patrick Morley

How will you be remembered? Most likely you will not be remembered by many people, and not for long by most of those who do. For example,

Several times recently I have asked someone, “Does the name Tom Skinner ring a bell?” I’ve been a little startled when they said, “No.” How could the memory of the greatest black evangelist of the twentieth century so quickly pass into obscurity?
Recently I was thinking about several of the great men who built our community—men responsible for our highways, parks, and local universities. Their contributions have long since been forgotten, as well as their names.
A famous Bible teacher died a few years ago. I cannot, for the life of me, remember his name.
I cannot remember the first name of my great grandfather. Can you?
And so it goes.

Given the brevity of personal notoriety, what can we invest in that will leave a lasting legacy? And what should be our realistic expectations?

A Realistic Legacy

Jim is twenty years older than me, yet we have always co-labored in ministry together. My wife and I were honored to be invited, along with about forty other guests, to his 50th wedding anniversary.

Also in attendance were his happy wife, his children who flew in for the occasion, and his pastor who thought enough of him to comment on his life. In his case, no one from his work attended. And he was very happy.

Wouldn’t it be enough to discover that a happy wife, children who still want to be around you, a pastor who would be willing to say something nice about you, and about forty friends were willing to assemble and celebrate your life?

What more can a man really want? It’s a realistic and lasting legacy.

How can you and I achieve such a legacy? Here are a few ideas to consider....

Idea #1: Decide What Is Important and Write It Down

Make a list of what you think is most important, frame it, and hang it where you will see it regularly.

Twenty-five years ago I did just that. I made a list of my ten most important philosophies, values, and beliefs. They hang on a wall in my office in plain view....

What’s Important?

To love God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
To keep family life as our highest priority after God.
To invest in people and relationships.
To think and act with integrity.
To pursue excellence in every undertaking.
To express gratitude whenever possible.
To lead a disciplined, prudent life.
To acquire wisdom in humility and the fear of the Lord.
To trust God completely and not worry about life’s many cares.
To live by setting and working toward realistic goals.
These are the standards by which I have measured my life. These are the particular ways I have articulated my understanding of the Bible.

Since a legacy is what you leave behind, for me a lasting legacy is everyone in my family loving and serving Christ. That’s first and foremost. Second, a lasting legacy is to have invited as many as possible to join us in eternal life.

A distant third might be to have someone stand at my funeral and proclaim, “He did what he said was important. He loved the Lord and his family. He invested his life into people and relationships. His life displayed the integrity, excellence, and gratitude which he prized. He led a disciplined life, pursuing wisdom and humility in faith. And he was a hard worker. And also, he was content, at peace, and joyful.”

What’s on your list? What are the ingredients of your lasting legacy? Try it. Make a list. You can frame and hang it, or you can put it on a piece of paper that you leave in your Bible. The more you look at it, the more impact it will have on your thinking.

Idea #2: Make Memories

Frankly, I do not remember many of the routines of my childhood. Do you? Instead, I remember the special occasions and memorable experiences. I remember crabbing off a bridge with a chicken neck on a string, being the king of my sixth grade class, surf fishing with my family at the beach, and shooting a rabbit that didn’t die right away.

Spend time with your children. Love is spelled T – I – M – E. I dated my children. Every Tuesday night I took one of them out for dinner and an activity. My son liked go carts. My daughter liked the mall. They both loved being with their dad.

My adult son told me, “Dad, I want to have a job like you did because I can never remember you missing a single one of my games, and I want to do that for my kids too.” Kids remember the funniest things, but they all remember that time = love.

Vacations are show stoppers in the memory bank. That’s because they break with routine. They’re special memories. The brain secretes chemicals that burn special experiences into our brains—bad as well as good. Be sure to make vacations different and special.

Another growing up memory of mine was of wanting to know God. As an altar boy, I used to pour over the prayers hoping that I would experience the presence of God. One childhood memory I definitely do not have is that of receiving Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord. How different might life have been if I had responded to the gospel at an early age? Make sure to make the gospel known to your children from their youngest age. That’s the one memory that will most alter their lives.

Ideas #3: Practice Spiritual Disciplines

A legacy doesn’t just happen; it takes diligence, forethought, planning, and execution.

One of the oldest traditions of Christian faith is the practice of spiritual disciplines. The spiritual disciplines are how we keep our lives focused on the ingredients of a lasting legacy.

Spiritual disciplines do nothing to improve your record with God—that’s what Christ did on the Cross. But they do deepen and enrich our spiritual lives. There are many lists of the disciplines, each somewhat different. My top 12 includes creation, the Bible, prayer, worship, the Sabbath, fellowship, counsel, fasting, spiritual warfare, stewardship, service, and evangelism. Almost any Christian virtue or duty can be turned into a discipline.

Spiritual disciplines will help get you where you want to go—to a lasting legacy. Here are four disciplines that are on my “must do” list.

Be part of a disciple-making church. The mission is, “Go and make disciples.” If you are not in a church that’s focused on the mission you’re in the wrong place.
Read the Bible for yourself. The Bible is God speaking to us. You will not grow deeply until you set aside quiet times when, without interruptions and distractions, you can tune your ears to hear the speech of God.
Participate in a men’s small group. Couples groups are good, but there is an unparalleled bond that develops in a men’s small group. In our experience, most meaningful change takes place in the context of small group relationships.
Pray for your wife, and, if possible, with her. Easily the number one issue facing men is that marriages are not working correctly. One of the most powerful solutions is to pray for and with your wife.
Why not give these ideas a try? A list of what’s really important to you reviewed regularly, a plan to make memories with your children, and a commitment to practice spiritual disciplines.

These may not be all of the ingredients of a lasting legacy, but they seem more than adequate to assemble a wife, your children, your pastor, and forty friends.

Get Activated

Old and New Testament images of masculinity

Moses,(one of the best educated men in the Old Testament) combined that education with authentic spirituality to lead the children of Israel.
Paul, one of the best trained men in the New Testament, combined his training with authentic spirituality to reach, first the Jews, and then the gentiles,
They led because of an internal conviction and a deep, abiding concern for people.
We are one weird group. We have moved away from the farm, away from hunting, away from working together, away from the family network. Now we live in cities where work has been redefined and our families are breaking down. The local church needs to become the small town - a cohesive family unit
There are no long-term relationships. People slip from church to church. We move from friendship to friendship. We have different friends at different times or stages in life.
Bill Bright said that every where the gospel has made a measurable societal impact, crime rates are own, teen pregnancy is down, and divorce rates are down. Society is impacted through a successful local church.
Human beings are nurtured through a series of relationships not through information or different ideas or reading a book or attending conferences. It happens only though the family. And where there is no functioning, family it must happen through the church.
Local church is essential in restoring moral values in a society moving in a direction opposed to the will of God. The local church is in the business of transforming people through the Word of God; radical transformation. Men's ministry must be in the business of building strong local churches. The purpose of men's ministry is to grow strong healthy churches.

Notes from a keynote address given by Pastor Ted Haggard (President, National Association of Evangelicals) to the NCMM

SKEET SHOOT

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN, TIME TO GO SHOOTING. JOIN ME AND THE REST OF THE GUYS FOR PRACTICE,ALL YOU NEED IS A BOX OF SHOTGUN SHELLS 7 1/2 SHOOT ONE ROUND OR FIVE, YOU WILL NEED A BOX FOR EVERY ROUND; THERE WILL ALSO BE A FIVE DOLLAR CHARGE FOR EACH ROUND.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness(training,discipline), that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2Timothy 3:16-17

It's time to move forward!!!!

Growing Together!

Men of God I am so excited about the direction we are going in as a ministry. We are going to make sure "no man is left behind!"