Watch for upcoming details!

The Right to Choose

Take a look at the picture drawn in the 23^rd chapter of the Gospel of Luke where we see our Lord being taunted as he is crucified.  Jesus calls out to the Father and asks forgiveness for his tormentors, yet the people continue to mock and jeer.

Luke 23:33-43

 ³³When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.  ³⁴But Jesus was saying,” Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing “And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.  ³⁵And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”  ³⁶The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine,  ³⁷and saying, ” If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”

 ³⁸Now there was also an inscription above Him, ” THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”  ³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”  ⁴⁰But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  ⁴¹“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”  ⁴²And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”  ⁴³And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

In verses 39-43 Luke puts focus on the conversation going on amongst those hanging on the three crosses & herein we see the picture of everyone’s RIGHT TO CHOOSE. This doesn’t come along later, it’s immediate, it happens right there on the crosses – our innocent Lord hanging, suffering, dying, and while this is going on another person, a criminal, in the same circumstances, hanging on his cross taunts Jesus, saying “if you are God, save yourself and oh by the way save me too.” (sic) The other criminal hanging on his cross admonishes the first criminal questioning him by asking “you and I are guilty, suffering justly, don’t you realize whose presence you are in?” (sic)

 The 2^nd unnamed criminal asks Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into his kingdom. He makes his choice – He chooses the loving forgiveness of Christ and that very day was with Jesus in heaven.

We all have the RIGHT TO CHOOSE, we can choose to acknowledge that we are sinners, separated from God, and accept God’s grace through the redemption of the blood of Jesus OR we can reject him. Just like the two criminals hanging on the crosses to the left and right of our Lord Jesus, we have our choice to turn towards him or we can turn away.

Make the right choice, open yourself to God’s forgiveness and grace, accept Jesus as Lord and Savior today, right now, just like the man hanging on the cross who choose eternal life through the redemptive blood of Jesus.

WHO AM I? 

Why do we lose our joy? Why do we lose our self confidence and self esteem? I believe it is because we don’t truly know or have forgotten momentarily just who we are. 

It is so important for us to know Who we are in Christ Jesus. Who the Lord says we are in the Bible. Knowing who we are in Christ we can live a victorious christian life. Make time to read and meditate on His Word so you will know who the Lord says you are!  

In Christ…..I AM   

…..A Child of God 

 ”But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,” John 1:12  

….A friend of Jesus 

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15  

….I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit. 

“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” 1 Corinthians 6:17 

….I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. 

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 

….I am a member of Christ’s body. 

“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27 

….I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.  

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight” Ephesians 1:3-8 

….I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. 

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14  

….I am complete in Christ. 

“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;” Colossians 2:9-10 

….I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. 

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews4:14-16  

….I am free from condemnation. 

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” Romans 8:1-2 

….I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances. 

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 

….I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God. 

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,”FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither (U)death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39  

….I have been established, anointed and sealed by God. 

“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” 2 Corinthians 1:21-22  

….I am hidden with Christ in God. 

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 

….I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me. 

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6  

….I am a citizen of heaven. 

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;” Philippians 3:20 

….I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. 

“For God has not given us a (A)spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”  2 Timothy 1:7 

….I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. 

“We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.” 1 John 5:18  

….I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life. 

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5    

….I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. 

 ”You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” John 15:16  

….I am God’s temple. 

“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16  

….I am an Ambassador for Christ. 

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 

….I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm. 

“and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,“Ephesians 2:6  

…I am God’s workmanship. 

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 

….I may approach God with freedom and confidence. 

“in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.”  Ephesians 3:12 

….I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. 

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Our theme for this retreat is “Finishing Well”.  Rod is the founder of Character That Counts, a Christian ministry whose purpose is to communicate the unique and critical message of character (doing right), integrity (being whole through Christ) and accountability (honestly reporting to one another) into our daily lives.

As we are finishing Rod’s book, Character Counts: Who’s Counting Yours?, Rod takes us to the next level of accountability through discipleship.  He will present a framework based upon the current trends of research on where men are today in their spiritual and biblical beliefs.  Then Rod will get into the meat of the presentation:  what does it take to be a disciple.  How do we equip men to both be a disciple and to be discipled.   Rod will offer biblical examples including seven things that King Hezekiah did right.

So come join the First Baptist Church Denton Band of Brothers in a experiencing a practical presentation for helping men live a life of character and integrity through accountability and discipleship.

Register Now!

During this past fall things had gotten so busy I had quit going to Band of Brothers and was no longer able to work with AWANA on Wednesday nights.  It was all I could do to get to church on Sunday mornings.  I managed to get through the One Year Bible, had started a prayer journal – sort of, and began an accountability relationship.  But something was missing.  I was not sure what it was.  On January 16 of this year I had my answer:  continual and consistent interaction with men of faith.

As Christians we are called to be in fellowship with other believers.  “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  Acts 2:42 (NASB).  But what does Acts 2:42 really tell us.  It commands us to learn about the Word, to care about others, to fellowship with others and to worship our Father.  This is what Band of Brothers is all about.  This is what was shown to me in sharp contrast on January 16 of this year.  Until then, Band of Brothers had been mainly an exercise in working through books about what is means to be a Christian man and getting to know some good guys.  For me, it had not been Acts 2:42 being lived out.  Acts 2:42 was being lived out but I had to be there, in relationship with others, to see it.

It had been a few months since I had been to Band of Brothers.  Frankly, I liked my lazy late Sunday afternoons.  My wife and I were busy with work and our daughters.  Lazy late Sunday afternoons were usually the only time we had as a family.  Something though was calling me to get back to Band of Brothers.  Getting up late from a nap I was being told not to go.  Stay home.  Watch the Jets-Patriots game.  Unfortunately, I had told my accountability partner I was going so off I went.  Little did I know what I was walking into.

I knew all the faces except for one.  Joe Davis and Matt Nelson were at the teachin’ table.  It was not a lesson from a book that was going to be taught that evening but a lesson from life and faith.  A lesslon from Acts 2:42.  Matt was sharing that his cancer had returned.  Although that was shocking enough, it wasn’t that his cancer had returned that shook me.  What shook me was Matt’s outlook about his cancer returning and the prayers and support of his Christian brothers.  Matt shared his thanks to God for allowing him to remain on this earth for the last nine years since his first encounter with cancer.  He shared what God had allowed him to witness and be involved in during those nine years.  It had been about learning the Word, caring about others, fellowshipping with others, and worshipping our Father.  Matt was not bitter about what happened nine years ago and is not bitter today.  He was thankful for what God had given him.  Matt then continued to share about being able to lean on and be lifted up by his Christian brothers during this recent setback; especially a Christian brother who had been through more than his fair share of setbacks during this same nine year period.  It was then that another asked if we could lay hands on him and pray over him.  We did.

That late Sunday afternoon I realized what Christian caring and fellowship and prayer between men should be.  It is what Acts 2:42 is all about.  This is what Band of Brothers is all about if you allow the Spirit to open your heart and your mind.  My heart and mind have been opened.  May your heart and mind be opened also.

What is the role of men with families today?  I personally don’t believe that our roles have changed from the time of Adam.  Sure some duties, chores, etc. have changed, but not the role of men as God designed and delegated in Ephesians 5:25-31.  This passage doesn’t mention children.  I believe that is because God designed the family to be layered and structured.  The relationship with our wives comes first.  Children have amazing intuition and can/will pick up on any tension, anger, resentment or distrust between the husband and wife.  This is the key relationship in a Christian family.  Do we drop the ball, yes (often) Do we do everything right, no (often).  What we must do is keep trying.  This is a more powerful statement to our children than anything we can ever say.

With that being said.  What are the things that we want to teach our boys?  I personally would love for them to be a doctor or lawyer.  Something that they will be financially secure in.  Something they will be “happy” in.  I can’t teach them how to be those things.  What I can hopefully teach them are the fundamentals or roots that will grow in them so they will have a base to become a Godly husband and father.  Dr. Albert Mohler gives us some “Marks of Biblical Manhood”:

1. Spiritual maturity sufficient to lead a wife and children.  Of course, this spiritual maturity takes time to develop, and it is a gift of the Holy Spirit working within the life of the believer. The disciplines of the Christian life, including prayer and serious Bible study, are among the means God uses to mold a boy into a man and to bring spiritual maturity into the life of one who is charged to lead a wife and family. This spiritual leadership is central to the Christian vision of marriage and family life.
2. Personal maturity sufficient to be a responsible husband and father. In the Bible, a man is called to fulfill his role as husband and father. Unless granted the gift of celibacy for gospel service, the Christian boy is to aim for marriage and fatherhood. This is assuredly a counter-cultural assertion, but the role of husband and father is central to manhood. Marriage is unparalleled in its effect on men, as it channels their energies and directs their responsibilities to the devoted covenant of marriage and the grace-filled civilization of the family. They must aspire to be the kind of man a Christian woman would gladly marry and children will trust, respect, and obey.
3. Economic maturity sufficient to hold an adult job and handle money. Advertisers and marketers know where to aim their messages — directly at adolescent boys and young men. This particular segment of the population is inordinately attracted to material goods, popular entertainment, sporting events and other consumer options. The portrait of young manhood made popular in the media and presented as normal through entertainment is characterized by economic carelessness, self-centeredness and laziness. A real man knows how to hold a job, handle money with responsibility and take care of the needs of his wife and family. A failure to develop economic maturity means that these young men often float from job to job, and take years to “find themselves” in terms of career and vocation. Once again, an extended adolescence marks a huge segment of today’s young male population. Slothfulness, laziness and economic carelessness are marks of immaturity. A real man knows how to earn, manage and respect money. A Christian man understands the danger that comes from the love of money, and fulfills his responsibility as a Christian steward.
4. Physical maturity sufficient to work and protect a family.
5. Sexual maturity sufficient to marry and fulfill God’s purposes.
6. Moral maturity sufficient to lead as example of righteousness.  Stereotypical behavior on the part of young males is, in the main, marked by recklessness, irresponsibility and worse. As a boy grows into manhood, he must develop moral maturity as he aspires to righteousness, learning to think like a Christian, act like a Christian and show others how to do the same. The Christian man is to be an example to others, teaching by both precept and example. Of course, this requires the exercise of responsible moral reasoning. True moral education begins with a clear understanding of moral standards, but must move to the higher level of moral reasoning by which a young man learns how biblical principles are translated into godly living and how the moral challenges of his day must be met with the truths revealed in God’s inerrant and infallible word.
7. Ethical maturity sufficient to make responsible decisions.  To be a man is to make decisions. One of the most fundamental tasks of leadership is decision-making. The indecisiveness of so many contemporary males is evidence of a stunted manhood.   A real man knows how to make a decision and live with its consequences — even if that means that he must later acknowledge that he has learned by making a bad decision, and then by making the appropriate correction.
8. Worldview maturity sufficient to understand what is really important. The Christian man must understand how to interpret and evaluate issues across the spectrum of politics, economics, morality, entertainment, education and a seemingly endless list of other fields. The absence of consistent biblical worldview thinking is a key mark of spiritual immaturity. A boy must learn how to translate Christian truth into genuine Christian thinking. He must learn how to defend biblical truth before his peers and in the public square, and he must acquire the ability to extend Christian thinking, based on biblical principles, to every arena of life.
9. Relational maturity sufficient to understand and respect others.  By nature, many boys are inwardly directed. While girls learn how to read emotional signals and connect, many boys lack the capacity to do so, and seemingly fail to understand the absence of these skills. While a man is to demonstrate emotional strength, constancy and steadfastness, he must be able to relate to his wife, his children, his peers, his colleagues and a host of others in a way that demonstrates respect, understanding and appropriate empathy. This will not be learned by playing video games and by entering into the privatized world experienced by many male adolescents.
10. Social maturity sufficient to make a contribution to society.  While the arena of the home is an essential and inescapable focus of a man’s responsibility, he is also called out of the home into the workplace and the larger world as a witness, and as one who will make a contribution to the common good. God has created human beings as social creatures, and even though our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, we must also fulfill our citizenship on earth.  Boys must be taught to see themselves as shapers of the society even as the church is identified by our Lord as both salt and light. Similarly, a Christian man must learn how to relate to unbelievers, both as witness and as fellow citizens of an earthly kingdom.
11. Verbal maturity sufficient to communicate and articulate as a man.  A man must be able to speak, to be understood and to communicate in a way that will honor God and convey God’s truth to others.  Though not all men will become public speakers, every man should have the ability to take his ground, frame his words, and make his case when truth is under fire and when belief and conviction must be translated into argument.
12. Character maturity sufficient to demonstrate courage under fire.  In these days, biblical manhood requires great courage. The prevailing ideologies and worldviews of this age are inherently hostile to Christian truth and are corrosive to Christian faithfulness. It takes great courage for a boy to commit himself to sexual purity and for a man to devote himself unreservedly to his wife. It takes great courage to say no to what this culture insists are the rightful pleasures and delights of the flesh. It takes courage to serve as a godly husband and father, to raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It takes courage to maintain personal integrity in a world that devalues the truth, disparages God’s word, and promises self-fulfillment and happiness only through the assertion of undiluted personal autonomy.  
13. Biblical maturity sufficient to lead at some level in the church.  A close look at many churches will reveal that a central problem is the lack of biblical maturity among the men of the congregation and a lack of biblical knowledge that leaves men ill equipped and completely unprepared to exercise spiritual leadership. Boys must know their way around the biblical text, and feel at home in the study of God’s Word. They must stand ready to take their place as leaders in the local church. While God has appointed specific officers for his church — men who are specially gifted and publicly called — every man should fulfill some leadership responsibility within the life of the congregation. For some men, this may mean a less public role of leadership than is the case with others. In any event, a man should be able to teach someone, and to lead in some ministry, translating his personal discipleship into the fulfillment of a godly call. There is a role of leadership for every man in every church, whether that role is public or private, large or small, official or unofficial. A man should know how to pray before others, to present the Gospel, and to stand in the gap where a leadership need is apparent.

(This article was published on Boundless.org on October 30, 2009) 

As a husband, father and coach, these are some of the lessons that I strive to teach to the young men that I have been charged with.  While still trying to fulfill/learn/accomplish many of these myself, I am still charged with teaching these principles to them.  Teaching and giving young men to have the spiritual maturity to lead a wife and children is the most important thing we should strive to do.

1. Is there any example for me to follow?

2. Is there any command for me to obey?

3. Is there any error for me to avoid?

4. Is there any sin for me to forsake?

5. Is there any promise for me to claim?

6. Is there any new thought about God Himself? 

You can ask yourself these questions as you’re studying the Bible. Application is the name of the game when reading God’s word.

There are over 2000 verses in the Bible on Finances. Here are a few:

Have you been completely above reproach in your financial dealings?

1. Matthew 24:45-51
2. Luke 16:10-13
3. If we are FAITHFUL, God promises us –
   1. Peace (John 14:27)
   2. Provision (Matthew 6:31-33)
   3. Prosperity (Matthew 19:29)
4. God owns it all. 1 Chronicles 29:11-13. His backyard and we play by HIS rules, not suggestions.
5. Out of balance on what HE says about finances brings
   1. Worry
   2. Greed
   3. Resentment
   4. Self indulgence
   5. Poor recordkeeping
   6. Anger, and lastly:
   7. Debt creates “Financial Bondage”

;

Three reasons why we are out of balance:

1. Financial ignorance (Proverbs 24:3-4)
2. Wrong attitudes (James 3:16)
3. Poor Planning (Proverbs 16:9)

Christian community has just as many problems as non-believers.

PRINCIPALS FOR ENHANCING FINANCIAL SITUATION

1. Tithing – minimum 10% of gross. Malachi 3:8-10
2. Eliminate debt – Psalms 37:21, Ecclesiastes 5:5, Proverbs 22:7
   1. House note 30 year with one extra payment a year is reduced to 19 years.
3. Credit cards – one credit card and keep it current. Proverbs 20:16
4. Distinguish wants versus needs – Pray before each decision. Use coupons, garage sales.
5. Budgeting – no budget means most likely flying by the seat of your pants.
6. Good recordkeeping.
7. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. Matthew 22:17-21
8. Identify scams and get-rich-quick schemes – Be prayed up for discernment.
9. Diversifying your assets – spread the wealth God has “loaned” you to manage for Him.
10. Saving for the future – Children’s college and your retirement. Put something back. Keep a reserve for medical emergencies, car and appliance repairs.
11. Family finances – Larry Burkett book.
    1. Church families
       1. 40% are overspending each month
       2. 20% are on the verge of divorce
          1. 50% of all these marriages end in divorce
             1. 90% of the divorces point to financial difficulties
12. Satan rips a family apart over financial matters. 1 Timothy 6:1, 11, 17
    1. Keep your lives free from LOVE of money. Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 6:19-21

Eight Signs of Financial Discontentment:

1. Thought of money consumes my day.
2. The financial success of others makes me jealous.
3. I define success in terms of what I have rather than who I am in Christ.
4. My family is neglected in my pursuit of money.
5. I close my eyes to the genuine needs of others.
6. I live in the paralyzing fear of losing my money or job.
7. I’m prepared to borrow myself into bondage
8. God receives my leftovers rather than my first fruits.