Th.7.9.15...Motivation...Prov.30:15-33

In today's reading we come across five numerical proverbs. Each of them begin with a poetic expression- "There are three things..." Then a fourth is added. Obviously it's not because he forgot such at first; it's just a poetic device. (Reminds me of the man who said, "There are three kinds of people in this world; those who can count and those who can't:) These numerical proverbs focus largely on God's amazing animal world. They reveal many life lessons to those who will study such. The one that especially grabs my attention is found in 30:18-19. "There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden." What do they all have in common? Invisible propulsion. They are all invisibly empowered or motivated, especially that infatuated man:)

What motivates you? It's a fascinating topic indeed. What motivates people to buy, to work hard, to lose weight, to work out, to stop a bad habit, to join a team that stretches them? What does it take to motivate a person to do something they know they should do, but have procrastinated doing?  This is a daunting subject. Even Agur, who wrote this proverb on motivation said, it's "too amazing for me..I do not understand." Though we may never be able to unscrew the inscrutable, there are things that researchers and reflection have discovered regarding motivation.

Let's begin our motivational talk with the subject of procrastination. Why do we procrastinate? Don't tell me you are a procrastinator. That's not true. There are only certain things that you procrastinate doing; other things you are still highly motivated to do. You may procrastinate on your taxes because you are not good at them. But there are actually people on this planet who are good at such and enjoy preparing returns. It's a game to them. So how can you muster up the motivation to do a task you dread? If you're not good at it, you probably never will be very motivated. So see if you can delegate it or swap tasks with someone else. Does your new bride procrastinate house cleaning? News flash! She probably always will. Get used to the mess or clean up after her or hire a maid. Celebrate her strengths and learn to live with her weaknesses. She has to do the same with you. 

Are there ways to increase your motivation? Yes, but recognize that motivation is tied closely with your energy levels, which rise and fall over the course of the day. All of you are motivated to blog. You even committed to be unstoppable in this regard. But exhaustion at the end of a long day can weaken the best of good intentions. A few of you have told me, "I was planning on getting on the blog, but when I lied down, I never woke up until the next morning!" Jesus said it well, "The spirit is willing but the body is weak" Mt.26:41. Others of you are truly unstoppable. You know it's a matter of mind over mattress and you will stay up no matter how late it is to keep your commitment, "No Scripture, no sleep." I salute you! Here's another example- your best intentions to work out fade as your energy level does. That's why a lot of people work out and work on important goals first thing in the day. 

Here are three tried and true ways of increasing your motivation; yes, four that will help you improve.
First, picture and pen what you want to accomplish. Do you want to lose weight? How much? Write your goal down. Picture yourself attaining and enjoying that achievement. Imagination fuels determination.

Second, get positive. Bad moods sap your inner strength. Wallowing in doubts and lies about yourself will sabotage your success before you start.  Also change your "should" statements to "want to" statements. Don't say, "I should go to the gym." That's demotivating. Get positive. If you hired the best motivational coach, he would say a lot of positive things to you. Save the money! Start saying positive things to yourself. "By God's strength, I am unstoppable! When I fall down, I get up. I am an overcomer." Get positive. Happiness breeds motivation and success. Most people have it backwards, thinking that if they could just become successful, then they would be happy and motivated. 

Third, get positive peers to prompt you. That's why guys in the gym have a work out partner to push them on. That's why a lot of people who have lost a lot of weight first joined Weight Watchers. The people in those meetings cheered on their successes. That's why you have men in your fire team, cheering you on. We weren't built to live life alone and fight on our own. We were designed by God to be in a band of brothers. That's how Jesus operated. So glad you are with us!

Fourth, use positive rewards and negative consequences. God has wired us to respond to such. Thus, we celebrate your successes every week on the scoreboard and every month in our M3 meetings. Also use our Points for Progress columns to help you in this way. Give yourself positive points when you did what you aimed at doing and negative points when you didn't. Last week I said I was going to use Points for Progress to motivate me to keep my voice down when entering a dispute with my wife. Recently, we had our first dispute since then. At first, my voice and intensity raised, but when my wife pointed it out, I immediately lowered it with my goal and the points in mind. 

Last week Monday we talked about this proverb, "For lack of wood a fire goes out." Many of you wrote of things you wanted more or less of in your life. Then I asked you to list a few practical steps for attaining this. If you really want to achieve such, then get specific.  So don't say, "I should go to the gym more often and will try to eat better." What specifically will you do to get in better health? Here are a few examples- "I will go to the gym three times a week. I will not eat sweets six out of seven days a week." Getting specific helps to motivate you. Also experts recommend setting SMART goals-
Specific- I will walk vs. I will try to walk
Measurable- one mile vs. longer than I usually do
Action oriented- every day vs. more often than I have been
Realistic- in under 20 minutes vs. at world record speed
Time bound- starting today vs. starting when I have the time

But remember, if you don't add enough emotional wood, the fire will die out, even on your SMART goals. So if there is not "fire in the belly" to exercise, you may carry a belly. Sometimes, what you may need when the emotion fades is the ultimate motivator, championed by Nike, "Just do it!" When it's dark and cold early in the morning, and you'd rather not meet your buddies at the gym, "Just do it!" The motivation and good feelings will follow. When you'd rather not mow the lawn, "Just do it!" The mow-tivation will follow. When you'd rather not blog so late at night, "Just do it!" The strength of character will follow. Well done! You are unstoppable! You are becoming incredibly powerful while others are bemoaning their lack of motivation. Congratulations!

1.- What's one thing you want to accomplish in your life? Based on the above blog and any of your added thoughts, what would help you to achieve it? Get specific.

2.- Read Prov.30:15-33 and write out your verse on your MP3. 

An additional area I've chosen to be unstoppable in is handing out Greatest Mini-movies cards every day. I won't allow myself to go to bed without doing so. I recently had a great conversation with an employee named James at Mariono's. He was standing outside with no carts to collect, so I gave him a card. He watched two of the mini-movies while I was in shopping. That led to a good discussion when I came back out. Seeds have been planted! 

I really liked what Jack shared a couple days ago- "I have presented cards to a Christian man in Springfield, Missouri who wants to present it to his church, so we are extending beyond city, state, and even country walls with our great mission. I also am working on getting other New Life Pastors to jump on our band wagon." That's great vision and motivation Jack! 

Wed.7.8.15...Wisdom, Philosphy and UFOs...Prov.30:1-14

I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One" Prov.30:3

We have come to the second to the last chapter in Proverbs and we have come to a new author. It is no longer Solomon, but a man named Agur. His name means "Gatherer" and it may simply indicate that he was a gatherer of wise sayings. I'm glad you are now a gatherer of wise sayings. Proverbs is full of them and you have been picking and gathering your favorite ones all throughout this book. I've always enjoyed great quotes. Someone has aptly said that a good quote is a short statement based on long living. I have hundreds of them which I've gathered over a lifetime. It's a great way to quickly learn from the wisdom of others. But Agur confesses, "I have not learned wisdom..." Then how did he end up writing inspired scripture? I'm so glad you asked, for this is a huge philosophical issue which plays out with every single person you seek to talk with about the Lord. Let me explain.

I just said that the learning of wisdom and writing inspired Scripture is a huge philosophical issue. So let's talk about philosophy for a moment. The very word "philosophy" comes from two words "philo"meaning love and "sophy" meaning wisdom. Thus, the meaning of philosophy is the love of wisdom. (Sadly, it's often opposed to the love of God's wisdom.) One issue that philosophy focuses on is metaphysics, meaning things beyond our earthly physical realm (such as God). Another focus of philosophy is "epistemology" which is the study of how we can know things. 

Don't let such big philosophical words from a skeptic intimidate you. Imagine you are on a camping trip far from the city. You are enjoying the stars, your campfire, and chatting with a couple M3 brothers, when a unsaved gentleman comes from his nearby tent, attracted by your friendly fire. As you gaze into the star filled sky, you bring up the subject of God. Then he reveals that he is an agnostic (one unsure if there is a God) and that he teaches philosophy at a university. Ugh! You are feeling like Agur, "I have not learned wisdom. I haven't studied philosophy. How can I hope to debate this learned man?" He brings up epistemology (How we can know something) and how can we even know there is a God. "How can you say you know for sure God exists? We know things by using our five senses. Have you ever gone up into heaven to meet this God? Of course not, so how can we know whether there is a God or not?"

Then you remember something we discussed in M3 and you tell him this great UFO story. 

"Imagine right now we were debating whether intelligent space aliens existed and what color eyes they may have. One of us says blue, another green, another red, and another says he doesn't believe space aliens exist. Now we could speculate about such a metaphysical question all night long. But our ability to know (epistemology) is really just speculation. And all the great philosophers throughout the ages could also only speculate. But what if a space ship suddenly landed nearby and an alien walked out with one purple eye? We would no longer be left to our speculations; we would now have revelation. Mr. Professor, this is reason I believe there is a God, because of revelation. God revealed himself. He came down to man in the person of Jesus Christ, who lived a sinless life, died for our sins and then was raised to life and seen by hundreds of people up close and personal. Plus, He has changed my life and countless others throughout all of history." (Well said my M3 philosopher!:)

Philosophy can only offer us it's speculations. God's word and Christ gives us revelation. When philosophers rule out revelation, then although they claim to be wise, they become fools (Rom.1:22). Paul even taunts such proud wise men, "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" 1 Cor.120. Christ is the wisdom of God.The world through its wisdom will never come to know God. Learning philosophy or human wisdom in a classroom won't bring anyone to a true knowledge of the Holy One. Thus, we can now better understand Agur's words,  "I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One" Prov.30:3. His wisdom and knowledge of God was not gained through human learning, reason and speculation. But he most certainly did know the Holy One through revelation. His following questions mock and stump worldly philosophers, but even a young Christian could answer them- "Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!" 

And surely you know. His name is Jesus! So don't let worldly wise people snow you with their big epistemological and metaphysical words. It can't hide the fact that they don't know Christ, who is the wisdom and revelation of God. You are the one who is enlightened and wise. No matter what big words a person may use on you, always keep coming back to the wisdom of God, the revelation of His Son Jesus. "In Christ are "hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" Col.2:3. And every lost person you talk with must give up his speculations about God to come to know Him through the revelation of His Son. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6. 

1.- It's crucial that we help people come to know God through the revelation of His Son. This is at the heart of our mission and the great commission- to make disciples, whom we are then to mature and multiply. So please watch another one of our greatestminimovies.com and share its name and a bit of what it was about. Then continue to look for opportunities to pass that site and our cards to other people. Way to go! Our website registers how many times our site is being viewed. People are going to it and I'll reveal the numbers at our M3 meeting this Sunday.

2.- Read through Prov.30:1-14 and share a verse you picked out and a bit of what you liked about it.

Agur declared he did have knowledge of the Holy One. In A.W. Tozer's classic book, "Knowledge of the Holy, he wrote these important words, What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ”What comes into your mind when you think about God?” we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man...The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him - and of her. In all her prayers and labors this should have first place. We do the greatest service to the next generation of Christians by passing on to them undimmed and undiminished that noble concept of God which we received from our Hebrew and Christian fathers of generations past. This will prove of greater value to them than anything that art or science can devise.

Announcements
Yesterday, I asked you all about opportunities you've had to give out Greatest-Minimovies cards to others. I really liked what Phil shared- "This Sunday was my first time ever in life that I went up to the altar and prayed over another guy. I must admit I was nervous, but I had a strong desire to do this and I prayed the whole way up there. It went pretty good and I felt good about it. Afterwards I gave him a "greatestminimovies" card and wrote my phone number on it and told him to check out some powerful videos and to feel free to call me anytime." Excellent Phil! I like the way you also put your name and phone number on it for that guy. You made yourself available to help him further if he wishes.

And by the way Phil, Happy Birthday! If you are working nearby my home again, I'm coming over with lemonade :)

Tues.7.7.15...How's Your Vision?...Prov.29:15-27

Where there is no vision the people perish..." Prov.29:18 KJV

In the Bible, prophets received visions or revelations from God and would then proclaim those oracles to the people. If it wasn't for the fact that those heavenly messages were revealed, the people would go astray and perish in their sins. Look at the condition of people today; they desperately need to heed God's vision or revelation recorded in His word for them. Where there is no vision, the people perish. Of course the greatest revelation of God's love and will for his people was when God's word became flesh and dwelt among. "The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" John 1:14. Though we personally weren't there to see his glory, one day we will see Jesus our Lord face to face. That vision will utterly transform us! "We know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" 1 John 3:2. That vision will finally and completely transform us. We shall be like him, not that we will become divine, but we will be without sin. Anybody else looking forward to seeing that vision?! When we see Him, He also will "transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" Phil.3:21. If this revelation had not been written down for us, you could accuse me of making up things too good to be true. But we do have such a glorious future awaiting us. "When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" Col.3:4.  

So how should we then live, since we have been given this "out of this world" vision of our future? The very next verses of each of the last three verses cited reveals that to us also. "Everyone who has this hope in him [this confident expectation of Christ's return] purifies himself, just as He is pure" 1 John 3:3. Would you be getting your white tux dirty just before your wedding day? Of course not. So what should we do? "Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry" Col.3:5. By living a life of death to sin and devotion to Christ and his people, Paul says, "that is how you should stand firm in the Lord" Phil.4:1.

We need to keep that vision of our future before us. Without it, we can easily lose focus. If we lose sight of Christ's death, resurrection and return for us, we can degenerate to low level living, and the vision of our glorious future becomes clouded over. Then our mission/message that we've been given can easily become sidelined. To prevent that, many churches have mission statements. They know they need to keep God's vision and their mission for reaching perishing people before their people's eyes. Did you here about the church that had their vision statement on a sign above the church? It was our verse of vision today- "Where there is no vision the people perish." Unfortunately, a windstorm came through and blew off the first letter of the first word, revealing the truth about many churches- "_here there is no vision, the people perish." Most Christians don't have a vision or mission for their lives, so their own lives shrivel and the people around them perish. But we do have a compelling vision- to see men become MANLY or Christlike men. And you know your mission. It's to multiply MANLY men. Men who are-
Mature in character- Power HOUSE men. I pray daily that we would be such and that the Lord would give you such men- Hungry, Obedient, Unstoppable, Strong in the Lord, Encouraging. 
Active in mentoring- I look at our GREAT scoreboard and I see men who are very active in mentoring. Way to grow!
Noble in battle- We WAR to live lives Worthy of God, to Activate the sidelined saints and to Release the locked up lost.
Loving in relationships- Without love for our family and those around us we are nothing.
Yoked to Christ and a band of brothers. We are devoted to one another in brotherly love.

We keep this vision and mission before us. We just reviewed it. The vision statement is the picture of what we want to see- MANLY Men. The mission statement is what we will do to achieve that vision- enlist, exemplify, equip and encourage men to mature and multiply. In World War II, we had a vision to see people free from Hilter's tyranny. To achieve that vision, we embarked on a daring mission- to break through Hitler's North Atlantic wall, via the Normandy invasion and fight all the way to Hitler's doorstep in Berlin, Germany to defeat them. But that great mission required one other element- better training, troops, supplies and strategy than the renowned German army had. We had it and so we won. I'm proud to say that my dad was part of that liberating army. Though he didn't enter on the shores of Normandy, he served heroically. Those soldiers had a great crusade or mission which they trained much for.

We also have a great mission and battle to fight. I too have great confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. The daily blog and scoreboard prove that you are armed and dangerous. Just look at how well you and your teammates are scoring each day. That reveals a lot about how your faith is being lived out. As you know, not every man we seek to recruit is up to this. Some do not share the vision that you do. They would rather watch television. Others may start but drop out. Being Christ's disciple takes discipline. But as with Paul, I rejoice "to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ" Col.2:5. Others aren't willing to be unstoppable. Excuses come much easier than excellence. But I see such excellent progress in you. You are striving to advance God's kingdom. You are from the nation of determination, not procrastination. You are keeping the mission in your focus- of multiplying MANLY men. Continue you on and you will hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your master." That is a vision well worth focusing on.

1.- At the heart of our mission, Christ's great co-mission, is to share the good news with others. It's been so good to read your stories of opportunities you've taken to share our Greatest Mini-movies cards. Please share any stories since 10 days ago when I last asked about such. Thanks! 

I like to go to cemeteries where it's dead quiet and I can pray my heart out. Recently, I met three Marines who were there to present the flag to a fallen veteran. After thanking them for their service, I shared about you soldiers in M3 whom I am so proud of. I also gave each of them a Greatest Mini-movies card which they thanked me for. So have cards with you. I keep extras in my wallet and car. You never know when you may meet people to give our cards to- even in a cemetery. 

2.- Read Prov.29:15-27 and write out the verse you picked and some of your thoughts regarding it. Bless you for continuing to share what you've gleaned with others.

Announcements
See you this Sunday at our M3 meeting. It will be at 11:30 in the Break Room.
Special honors will be given and new info revealed. Call me in advance if for some reason you can't make it. Thanks! You won't want to miss it. 

Hey, if you know Nick Vastarella, please wish him a happy birthday. He's been considering joining M3. You can call or text him at c.312-262-8569. Thanks!

Mon.7.6.15...A Wise Man Keeps Himself Under Control...Prov.29:1-14

Do you ever blow your stack? Lose your temper? Blow a fuse? It's true most people do. How can you overcome such? When I was a prodigal in high school, I got involved in a T.A. group- Transactional Analysis. It was based on a best selling pop psychology book, entitled, I'm OK, You're OK. Proud people would have titled it, I'm OK, You Stink. The Bible would remind us that None are OK. Anyway, the group leader advocated a practice called, "towel pounding" to release one's inner rage. (To be fair, it wasn't recommended in the book.) You were given a rolled up towel as you sat on your knees and told to imagine the face of the person you had anger toward and pound their face into the floor. Shout in rage if you wish. It was a wild time! The belief was that at the end of that towel pounding, you would feel better and wouldn't have all that pent up anger to vomit on the person the next time you were in conflict with him or her. You would be OK, even if they still weren't. The only problem with this practice was that studies later proved, like working a muscle, it only strengthened inner anger and explosions. Oops! What a foolish practice. If only they would have read our passage in Proverbs today, they would have known, "The fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control" 29:11.

As I've said before, I'm not typically a "yeller." But I certainly have raised my voice several decibels at times. (Okay, my wife might call it yelling, but I know there's a lot more in me to get to that level.) It should signal to the other person that you don't feel that you're being heard. So if your wife is raising her voice at the kids or you, it's probably because she doesn't feel she is being listened to. So lower your voice and say, "I'm sorry, I want to understand you better..." Watch how her volume will lower when she feels that you are trying to listen to her words and feelings. If you feel that she is not listening to you, please do not keep raising the volume. Your wife is not deaf and neither are the neighbors. "A wise man keeps himself under control." How do you do that when your adrenaline is pumping and you are jacked to go into the ring? As we've recommended before, take a time out. Go to your separate corners. Go to a different room. Take a walk. Give yourself at least a half hour for your blood pressure and heart rate to calm down. Self control over one's emotional displays is vital. A man without self control is like a broken dam, bringing great damage to those dwelling nearby (compare Prov.25:28 and 17:14). "Wise men turn away anger" Prov.29:8. 

How can we calm our souls? First get away from the conflict situation. Then try breathing deeply and force yourself to think about something other than what just happened. As you start to cool off, try smiling, whistling, humming or singing. It's very soothing to the soul. Just try doing so and still remain angry. Betcha can't do it:) While others are still snared by their sinful anger, you will be overcoming it. "An evil man is snared by his own sin, but a righteous one can sing and be glad" 29:6. Singing is very therapeutic. It won't work until you calm down a bit. So first remove yourself from the conflict. 

Speaking of singing, this is the only reference to such in Proverbs, though the Psalms repeatedly speak of singing. Psalms is aimed at relating to our great God, who is worthy of our songs of praise. Proverbs is aimed at relating to our fellow man. So let's close out today on an upbeat note. It's been a while since I asked you of a good Christian song that you've been enjoying lately. So...

1.- Please share the name of a song that you've been enjoying. It could be a new release or an old goldie. If you want to include its YouTube link, that would be all the better. The enemy can't stand a singing saint! It's a great way to resist the devil. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" James 4:7.

2.- Read Prov.29:1-14 and write out the verse that you selected and some of your thoughts regarding it.

Announcements
Welcome to M3 Michael Gonzalez! Michael lives in Iowa and is going to be marrying Dave Heidekrueger's daughter, Sarah. Congratulations Michael! I know Sarah and she is a wonderful, godly gal. I also think Michael and Dave are establishing a great way to regularly connect with each other around God's word. (What kind of guy may one day want to date and marry one of my daughters? It would sure give me peace of mind knowing he was a MANLY man. So maybe this should be a dating standard- You want to date my daughter? First join M3 :) 

Wow, there was some tight competition this week as you see looking at the weekly team averages. Again these do not include the scores of  your team captains. They are focusing on helping you. Please cooperate with them as they may call you to remind you to put your points on the board. When you neglect to do this you are hurting your team as you can also see. Better yet, just get in the habit of going directly from commenting on the blog to the scoreboard. Also remember that the those of you were Unstoppable this past week have a U next to your name.

As you go to the scoreboard, remember that today's scores represent the entire weekend. You'll notice that the team I temporarily had is no more. The men of that team are now with other teams.  

Fire Team 1			#REF!	30.14		Fire Team 4			#REF!	25.33
Eddie Morales	U	R5	50			George Rabiela	U	R1	70
Phil Raymond			5			Rich Guardiola	U	R1	30
Alex Dyckman	U		26			Dave Heidekruger	U	R2	30
Ismael Andrade	U	R2	46			Chuy Cervantes			16
Luis Ortiz			24			Fire Team 5			#REF!	31.2
Gary Remson		R1	44			Jack Rogers	U	R4	112
James Schmidt	U		31			Andre Vargas	U		24
William Dyckman			35			Armando Hernandez	U		46
Fire Team 2			#REF!	31		George Doherty	U	R1	26
Sam Vargas	U	R3	63			Jose Billegas	U		45
Oscar Nunez			24			Roger Vinlasaca		R1	15
Israel Fuentes	U	R1	28			Fire Team 6			#REF!	22.4
Flo Juarez			0			Dave Garratt	U	R?	74
Lou Ojeda	U		72			Horacio De La Torre			30
Fire Team 3			#REF!	32.4		Ed Lake	U		40
Robert Roman	U	R1	58			Dave DeBoer	U		16
Guillermo Baez			40			Mark Estrada			17
Vince Diaz	U	R1	35			Rick Barrera			9
Antonio Palomar		R1	15
Nic Palhegyi			23
Osiris Alday	U		49

Fri.7.3.15...Money Matters and The Law of the Storm...Prov.28:15-28

Happy Independence Day tomorrow! As we think about independence, I'm reminded of how many people are seeking financial independence. Others seem happy to be dependent on family members or the government to take care of them. Proverbs has a lot to say about our finances and reminds us that we need to remain dependent upon the Lord, through our financial ups and downs. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Even our currency reminds us of this- "In God We Trust." Our passage in Proverbs today also reminds us that "He who trusts in himself is a fool" Prov.28:26.  Another verse in our passage says that "He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor" 28:8. Yet another says, "A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him" 28:22.

With all that Proverbs has to say about money matters, I need to remind you that it is a book of maxims designed to make you thirst for the God of wisdom, not make you rich. Otherwise, it's easy to get the idea that if I would just be generous, I would become very prosperous. "A generous man will prosper" 11:25. Here's another example of such, "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing. And your vats will brim over with new wine" 3:9-10. O that we would seek first and foremost to grow the wealth of our character, caring relationships, communion with Christ, and kingdom contributions.  

Don't get me wrong; there's plenty of good, financial advice in Proverbs. Most of it is common sense advice which you already know, such as work hard, don't cheat to get ahead, save for the future, stay out of bad debt, don't pursue wild speculations, give generously to the Lord and the needy. But I want to dig out a principle in Proverbs that often gets ignored by the Christian book writers on finances. Here it is- "A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away" 13:23. For that matter, injustice can sweep away a wealthy man's hard earned money also. Proverbs often stresses the law of the farm, that if you work hard, you can get ahead. But that proverb reminds us that "the law of the storm" can sweep away all of a farmer's hard work. "Injustice sweeps it away." Powerful storms can destroy big trees, big cars and big dreams.  

Let's give modern day examples of such injustices. You worked hard to get through a specialized training institute, only to find out that the organization was a scam, with no job opportunities as promised. James Schmidt experienced that. You worked faithfully for a company for over 30 years, but now that you're ready to retire, you discover that your pension was squandered. You are one of the best workers in the company, but you just found out that the company is going out of business. You carefully diversified your money in mutual funds, as you were advised by the experts, but the stock market bubble burst and all your life's savings were decimated. (That happened to me in my mid 20's; fortunately, I didn't have much to lose.) You were safely driving when an uninsured driver hit you, and now your huge medical bills are forcing you into bankruptcy. You heard that a wise investment was to buy a two flat and rent it out, but your tenants have not paid you in months and have worn down the place. You went with a private placement that only the well informed know about, promising rich returns, but the representative absconded with your money. (That happened early in my marriage to the tune of $20,000. I wasn't trying to be greedy, but wise. It was legit, but the rep wasn't.) You bought a fixer upper just before the housing market bubble burst and now you're under water with the home. You started a small business, but it failed, losing your money and that of loved ones. (Been there too, with lots of tears.) You invested lots of money in a new business venture you carefully investigated, but you ended up losing big time when it was shut down by the SEC. (Been there also with many more tears.) 

What is the lesson here? (Don't invest where Dave is investing!:) Maybe so, but also know that despite all your prayers, due diligence, hard work and wise advice, the law of the storm still prevails. It's not fair, but the storm doesn't care. It would be nice to think that the Lord will nudge you away from such financial mistakes, but that is just magical thinking. (I know believers who think like that.) It storms on both the just and the unjust. Bottom line, trust in the Lord with all your heart, especially when you go through such storms. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world" John 16:33. "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord" Job 1:21.

1.- The law of the storm affects everyone. You may never know if the person you're talking to is going through a storm that has them seeking for help and hope. (Or perhaps they soon will be in a storm.)We know that Christ is our rock and shelter in the time of storm. We also know that the greatest storm is yet to come to every person- death and judgment. That's why it's crucial that we are taking opportunities as we talk with people to pass on good news. We can do that so easily now with the greatestminimovies.com cards or by sending unsaved friends and family members the link to it. Please watch another one of its videos and share it's name and briefly what it was about. 

Here's what Nic P. shared a week ago on the blog about reching out: "I invited one of my students to New Life. Her name is Ronita. She is in her 50's and recently lost her husband to cancer. I gave her one of the mini movie cards and she said she had a lot of questions and is going to watch the videos on her break time at work. Those cards are great. They are non threatening and almost everyone likes watching videos. It's a great way to give out the gospel especially if you struggle with timidity."

2.- Read Prov.28:15-28 and pick out a verse and share some of your thoughts regarding it. As always, write in on your MP3 card and look for opportunities to share it.

3.- Optional: Misery loves company. If you've gone through a storm of any kind, where life just didn't seem fair, please feel free to share.

Hope you have a great Independence Day and it doesn't storm. :)

PS- Please help me and yourself out. Go directly from here to the scoreboard and update your scores. I need to tally all the results for Monday's blog totals and honors. Thanks! 

Th.7.2.15...Honest Confessions...Prov.28:1-14

He who conceals his sins does not prosper, 

but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy" Prov.28:13

What do you mean, he doesn't prosper? King David committed adultery and then covered it up by murdering Bathsheba's husband, but he didn't go bankrupt. True, but he did not prosper in his spiritual life, in his family life or in his kingdom. Remember, Proverbs is wisdom literature, seeking to motivate us to live wise lives devoted to God. And it is the God-ward view that must be kept in mind. Just look at the second half of the verse, "whoever confesses them finds mercy." Notice it didn't say, "whoever confesses his sins will find wealth." No, God wants us to prosper in the greatest way, and that is in finding God's mercy. The Hebrew word here for mercy is "racham" (Pronounced: raw kham) and it is often translated "compassion." This same word is used twice in Ps.103:13, "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him" Ps.103:13. Because of being adopted into His forever family through repentance and faith in Christ, God is now our compassionate Father, not our outraged judge. Thus, "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him" Ps.103:11.

It would be great to think that after becoming God's children, we would no longer struggle with sinning any more. But we will face that battle daily, and at times we will fall. That is the time to take the wise advice of J.C. Penny, "When you fall down, get up." That is a paraphrase of sorts of Prov.24:16, "though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again." The way we rise when we fall is by confessing our sins, not concealing them. Confessing them brings cleansing, concealing such a wound only makes it infectious. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:9.

Just as we need to confess any sinful words, deeds or thoughts to God to find restoration, we also need to confess our wrong words and actions to those we've offended. As men, it seems especially hard to humble ourselves and admit when we've done wrong to others, especially to our wives. We often want to justify, defend, minimize, rationalize or blame-shift. But when we do this, our relationships do not prosper. It is only when we eat humble pie (by now I should have developed a taste for it) that we will find mercy and forgiveness. But the confession must be genuine. It won't be well received if our half baked apology includes such things as, "If I hurt you, I'm sorry." No, you did hurt her. Own up to it. "What I did was wrong, but you made me so angry when you..." No, leave out her faults, you are to be confessing only your own wrongdoing, not hers.  

The Pharisees appeared to be very spiritual, but I see no evidence that they confessed their sins. They buried their heads in the sand to their own faults, 

but were quick to judge the faults of others. They would rather look down their noses at the sins of others. "To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” Luke 18:9-14.

I grew up with a good dad, but of course he had his faults. For one, he could never bring himself to apologize. Later when he came to Christ, the Lord changed him in that way, but I picked up his fault early on. It's still hard for me to apologize to my wife. I remember years ago when we were having an argument, she said, "How come every time, you come off smelling like a rose?!" Ugh, self-justification stinks! I've been working on this area and have seen some improvement by God's grace. The R column on our scoreboard has helped to remind me to guard my words when things start to get tense. 

I have noticed another immature thing that I want to work on and that's raising my voice. I'm not a yeller, but I do raise my voice when I get flustered. Yet it is wise to at least appear calm when a storm is brewing. A quote by Thomas Jefferson comes to mind. "Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances."  Maybe it's because of my personality type, but to remain cool and unruffled under all circumstances seems beyond me at times, yet I think it would be a good thing to still strive for. That's why I'm going on record. I will be using our Points For Progress columns on our Scoreboard to prompt me to improve in this area. When I am tempted to raise my voice in a conflict situation, but don't, I will give myself a Plus Point. But when I fail to do so, I will give myself a Minus Point. I used this approach with "swearing off" my addiction to diet Mt. Dew and it helped greatly. Also having a great reason to do so really helped. I will not give in to the temptation to drink caffeine until all my M3 brothers are no longer giving in to the temptation to porn. It's the least that I can do as they battle that monster. 

If you are new with us and need help in this area of conquering porn, just let me know. You have brothers that are fighting it and making good headway with the online filtering soft-wear that they've installed and having accountability partners. This is a winnable war. It's through honesty that we can begin to make real progress. He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy" Prov.28:13. Please join me in using the Points For Progress to improve any area of your life. It's a simple but powerful way, by God's grace, to motivate improvement in your life. Just try it and see.  

1.- The author of the book of James was nicknamed camel knees because of his calloused knees in prayer, yet he included himself when he said, "We all stumble in many ways..." Jame 3:2. So where might you be stumbling and wanting to making better progress? 

2.- Read Prov.28:1-14 and share the verse you picked out and some thoughts you have regarding it. 

Announcements
It was good reading yesterday about how so many of you are seeking to invite others into M3. As you give them an M3 card, especially encourage them to first watch our bit.ly/m3-stories video before going to our website. Then by all means, get their phone number and follow up with them. That's what you did when you were dating right? Same idea. I have recruited several men, but I don't recall any of them calling me up seeking more information after I first told them about M3. Seems like I've always been the initiator of the phone calls and texts. Were there men I pursued that later fizzled out in their interest? Lots! But just keep following Jesus and fishing. That's our calling. "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" Mt.4:19. And remember to give yourself double points in the R column for each Recruiting conversation you had with a brother. 

I liked what Israel recently shared about his giving out of the Greatest Mini-movies cards. He said of the cards he has given out so far, "...everyone I gave them out to has told me that they would watch the movies. I made them promise to watch all 25 movies :) Funny story, right after our last M3 meeting, I took some cards with me and I went to lunch with several of my nephews and nieces and I took out one of the cards and gave one to their family and I did not tell the kids what the movies were about. For about an hour, they probed me and begged me to tell them what the movies were about?? I kept telling them that they needed to watch the movies for themselves to find out :) in order to satisfy their inquisitive minds :) I finally pulled up the website on my phone in the restaurant and I started playing the movies and all the kids were watching the movies :) You can use them to really build up curiosity!"

It's coming! Our next M3 meeting will be Sunday, July 12th at 11:30 at New Life Midway's luxurious Break Room :) Important new info and honors will be given. Please plan on being there and feel free to invite interested friends. 

Wed.7.1.15...Be Fruitful...Prov.27:14-27

"He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit" Prov.27:18

When we moved from apartment renting to our first and only home almost 20 years ago, I planted a couple raspberry stalks in my backyard. They multiplied and spread like weeds. They even look more like weeds. To this day, I still am enjoying fruit from those reproducing plants. The first crop begins in early July and we will typically get two more harvests before mid fall. Amazing fruitfulness! I sure enjoy eating their fruit. What's that got to do with you and me today? Everything! 

From the beginning, God has given man a mission- "Be fruitful and multiply" Gen.1:28. Jesus applied that spiritually, telling his disciples and us, "This is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" John 15:8. Such fruit can be the fruit of our Christlike character, conduct, conversation, contributions or converts. Consider the following verses:
Fruitful in Character- The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control" Gal.5:22-23.
Fruitful in Conduct- "bearing fruit in every good work" is what Paul prays for in Col.1:10.
Fruitful in Conversation- "the fruit of lips that confess his name" Heb.13:15 see also Hos.14:2.
Fruit in Contributions- The offering that Paul was taking to needy saints was "fruit" Rom.15:28.
Fruit in Converts- "all over the world this gospel is bearing fruit" Col.1:6

All are vital and what we are about. We are to be fruitful and multiply manly men. I see such fruitfulness as you are digging into God's word and sharing the fruit of your study with others. I see that fruitfulness in the fruit of your lips, giving encouragement to others and in your prayers to advance God's kingdom. And I see that fruitfulness as you are sowing gospel seeds in others lives through our outreach cards or other ways of telling others of transformation. 

But there is another way that your fruitfulness is beginning to grow. Look at Prov.27:18 again- "He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit." You are tending others or you will be tending others whom you recruit. You will be helping these new "fig trees" grow to be strong and healthy, fruitful trees. Interestingly, fruit is only borne when a tree is healthy. Without water for example, they will not bear fruit. Water and fruitfulness go together. Note what Psalm 1:3 says about a man who reads and meditates on God's word, "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season..." Just by enlisting a man in M3, you are helping him get rooted in God's word, reading it, and meditating on and passing it on via MP3s. Fruit will come!

The wonderful thing about tending the new men you recruit is that you are not left on your own to do so. The daily blog does the heavy lifting of mentoring him in the word for you. The daily readings, structure and scoreboard naturally promotes a healthy diet on God's word and other Christian basics. But you have more help than that. The added help for tending a new friend toward fruitfulness is your fire team. Remember, via a TEAM, Together Everyone Accomplishes More. So work together in your fire team to especially encourage a new man one of you has recruited. Even if another fire team member recruited him, tend to him as if you yourself enlisted him. Look for him on the blog and often give him a word of encouragement. Text him and call him weekly. Think of what a healthy environment for growth you will create for each new man your fire team enlists. This is TEAM mentoring and coaching at its best. As each of you in your fire team recruits a new man, those men, as they become strong and healthy, will eventually be launched out in their own new fire team. With this structure, you can see how we can be fruitful and multiply without limits. 

How great to know that the Lord is totally committed to helping us bear fruit. The very reason He chose you was for you to be fruitful and multiply. Jesus declared, "I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last" John 15:16. We just need to help men get on a team focused on the mission of being fruitful and multiplying. It's obvious that you are doing this since we continue to grow almost every week. Way to go and bear fruit. We also know who enables us to be fruitful and multiply- The Lord Himself declared, "Your fruitfulness comes from Me" Hosea 14:8. Thank you Lord!

1.- Who are you hoping to recruit onto your fire team in M3?

Need help in recruiting? Then start by listing Christian men you know and ask them to watch our YouTube video- bit.ly/m3-stories. Then make sure to keep following up on them. Again, think of recruiting like dating or courting. If you really wanted the gal, you wouldn't quickly give up. The best things don't usually come easy. The wisely persistent man is the fruitful man. 

2.- Read Prov.27:14-27 and write out the verse you picked and some of your thoughts regarding it. Then be fruitful and share your MP3 thoughts with others.

Announcements
Speaking of being fruitful, I liked the fruitful conversation Louis Ortiz had recently with a lost co-worker. He wrote, Earlier this week I gave a [greatestmini-movies] card to a co worker of mine who is not a believer. I have shared the gospel with him from time to time and I've been inviting him to church with me. Since I'm on my way out of that job, last night we got to talking about some things and at the end of our shift I shared with him more of the gospel and asked him if he'd let me pray for him. He agreed and when I was done praying he got up and said "Thanks, I really needed that". That's outstanding Luis! Way to go!

Jose Billegas had a bold but gentle approach with a couple of guys recently. Here's what happened. "I just walked up and asked them if they were interested in making a change in their lives. They said, Yes, so I gave them both a [greateest mini-movies] card and said, 'I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch a video from this website, It'll be the best change you could ever make in your lifetime.' They smiled and said they would watch one when they got home. I hope they did take time to watch one." That's so excellent Jose! 

Hey, happy birthday to Israel Fuentes and Ed Lake! May it be a great day for you both and a fruitful year ahead of you.