What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole. 1 Peter 1:3 MSG
My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7 MSG
Solve the Scripture Problem Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path—Psalm 119:105 We must read Scripture, brother. God chose those words for you and for me. “Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us” (Romans 15:4 MSG). God chose those words, carefully, so we could read them. And he designed us to need to read them. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Most of us can do better—reading Scripture more and with more regularity. Figuring out how is the problem. But it’s a problem we should approach with excitement and intentionality and optimism, not with guilt or reluctance or resignation. It’s a problem we should approach with creativity, recognizing our unique designs and identities, our unique preferences and tendencies—for the solutions to the problem are as unique and varied as we are. Okay, so what do we do? Don’t know where to start? Try one of the many reading plans on the free YouVersion mobile app. Can’t find time? Try listening, in the car or at the gym, to one of the several audio versions on the free Bible.is app. Struggle with consistency or motivation? Try the daily reminder feature of the free BibleGateway app or the tracking and/or group accountability features of the free Bible Companion and ReadingPlan apps. Don’t like archaic language? Try The Message version, available free on YouVersion and BibleGateway. Can’t remember what you’ve read? Try the free Fighter Verses memorization app. Something else? Work those masculine problem-solving skills to forge your own solution. Then, execute it. And, remember, this is about a relationship, not about rules or the “right way.” It’s about making a little room for God to speak to you through Scripture. It’s about connecting with God, today. * Gather Ministries has no commercial relationships with the makers of the mobile apps mentioned above.
What You Love to Do? Do That! Get away with me and you’ll recover your life . . . Learn the unforced rhythms of grace—Matthew 11:28-29 We’re all built by the same creator. And we’re built by him to “come home,” every so often. This coming home is integral to the lives we’re meant to live. God’s built us to need, and to receive, his loving care. He’s built us to be restored, by him. (Psalm 23:1-6; Matthew 11:28). The thing is, many of us men don’t know how to come home. We’re each designed to do it uniquely, so it takes some discovery. Few of us do that. If we do discover how, though, and if we begin to come home regularly, we live in a condition of abundance. We get filled up—and are able to overflow onto others, onto spouses, children, friends, people in need. We are able to give, for we’ve first received. We’re able to love and serve as we were meant to. We’re able to be who we were created to be and to do the work we were created to do. If we neglect the task of discovery, if we fail to learn how to come home, we operate instead in a condition of depletion. We tend to try to pull what we (think we) need from other people. We tend to try to take from them, rather than overflow onto them. Okay, so what do we do? Make a list of ten to twenty things—things you truly love doing. Avoid obligations or things you “love” because other people might think you’re cool for doing them. List things that move your heart, calm your heart, or make it beat fast. List things that restore you, excite you, connect you to God, things that allow you to truly worship him in the doing. Once you have your list, commit to inserting your things generously into your daily, weekly, monthly calendar.
