Manhood (pt.1): Leadership as the Head

Being a man is not defined by being the biggest or the baddest guy on the block. Truth be told, having influence over many people, will not usher anyone toward the title of being a man either. Sadly, there are not enough real men taking up the mantle. God has called all males to become men. It is simply the natural order of things. The example set forth by the Father gives righteous guidance toward being a man. He is to be a protector, a provider, and a teacher. But above all these, and perhaps what will better influence him in each area, he needs to be a follower of God.

These definitions, or better yet duties of manhood, place a man as being the head of his house. Most of the New Testament portion of the Bible serves as being Doctrine (teachings/instructions), and in this Doctrine found in 1 Corinthians 11:3-16, we find the word of God explaining that the man is the head of his family, but the head of him should be Christ, whose head is God. Doing so will give him the proper examples, afore mentioned, to follow and show proper leadership. God is a Father to all, therefore, a man should be a father to all-leading and guiding all into the path of holy righteousness. If not this, then for what besides worldly lusts and gains. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness (1 Timothy 6:11). Without the fulfillment of manhood duties, there is sure to be a lack of the potential to optimize family, society and everything in between. Men are to set the standards and lead, by following God.

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Christ's Compassion (pt.1): Valuing Others

The word compassion can be defined as a strong sympathy felt for a suffering people and an equally strong feeling to alleviate that suffering. Upon hearing this definition of the word compassion, one can easily and quickly argue that this is a rather appropriate definition of Christ's entire life before, during, and after his time here on Earth. In spite of all the degradation taken upon himself, inflicted by those He came to save out of love, He suffered even before his death and was not given the proper acknowledgement for who He was. Knowing this, before and during his life here on Earth, He still chose to fulfill the destiny set before him by his Father. It was nothing but love and true friendship that caused him to do what he did. “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:11‭-‬13) He ultimately gave and gave until he could give no more but his life… and He did.

Paul explained to one of his favorite churches, found in Phillipi, that we should follow the example of Jesus and be compassionate. Paul gave an example of compassion being one who “in humility values others above themselves.”(Philippians 2:3). He encourages them by telling them that God rewarded Jesus for his compassion and, as such, He would reward the followers of Jesus if they follow the example that Jesus gave with his own life. 

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Jesus' Words from His Heart

Sometimes actions speak louder than words. They are the results of decisions made. We make decisions based on how we think. And finally our thoughts are directly tied to what we allow to saturate our hearts.
Jesus had a heart full of love for us. He always thought about and did what was in the Will of God so His actions spoke volumes for Him. As a teacher, He taught many things, and spoke of the wonders of God the Father Who sent Him. He directed 12 men, healed those who were broken and did so with words. There was a reputation that preceded Him due to the actions He would be known for. This is an ultimate proof that we will be remembered for the things that we do more so than what we say. 

Many say that talk is cheap. This means that to simply speak about something means little in comparison to actually do something about it. Another phrase is, "Don't talk about it , be about it!" All these phrases ultimately mean the same thing. Talking about change is easy and meaningless in comparison to making or even being the change that you seek in the world as stated by the philosopher Ghandi himself. Jesus spoke of the Will of God and intricately became the Will and the Way of God by living the example that we are to follow! Henceforth becoming the Way, the Truth, and the Life! [John 14:6] Jesus the Christ, the God-man, lived to die for us. His heart was so intent on saving us that He literally became a physical sacrifice for us. His actions were a result of what He was thinking, and His thoughts were in direct correlation to what was in His heart. We were His original intent. He loved, and is still loving us and He needs to know that we live mostly to die for him as well. We must die to the flesh in order to be raised in the Spirit! Glory be to God, because we were the reason He came...to save us. By words were we created and by the Word were we saved! God bless!!!

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Christian Pillars: Prayer

Prayer, as mentioned before, is the Christians way of communicating with God. It is such a privilege to be able to come to our All-Powerful Creator and not only talk to Him, but to have Him hear us! By acknowledging and accepting what Jesus did for us by way of sacrifice, we have been given this wonderful gift- an opportunity to have a personal relationship with the Father and call Him "my God!"

"The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather change the nature of the one who prays."
Soren Kierkgaard

Examine Your Heart
All we who are born-again believers have access to direct communication with God. This direct communication, or prayer, is made possible by having our sin, which denies our access, washed away. This in essence, makes us not guilty and therefore with prayer a relationship is established with God. There is no limit to life when prayer is included. And while prayer is the best and most sure coarse of action, when trying to obtain something or have a request made, it should be geared more toward what we can do for God as opposed to what God can do for us. True, He said "Ask and ye shall receive..." (Matthew 7:7), but before we make requests, perhaps we should examine our hearts and confirm that our wants coincide with what God wants for us in accordance to His will and His way. If that is not the case, then maybe we are praying the wrong prayer, with the wrong intentions, at the wrong time. Before we pray, we should make sure that our hearts are in the right place with good intentions,faith, and a correspondence with what God wants for our lives and not what we want for ourselves.

There are proper ways of coming to the Lord God in prayer. We must call Him in truth (Psalm 145:18) and He will be nigh. "Draw nigh unto God, and He will draw nigh unto you: cleanse your hands ye sinners, and purify your hearts ye double-minded." Mark 11:25-26 speaks to the thought of forgiving and in turn having God forgive you. This verse among others explain that with every action that we take to be closer to God, He will reciprocate. Einstein's famous third theory of motion as we all know says,"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."In a Heavenly context, Our Father who is perfect, and holy, and pure, and gracious, and merciful...will hear us. And from that point He can be " a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him," a healer of land and forgiver of sin for those who humble themselves, pray, and seek Him. This may require us to literally stop and take time to confer with ourselves. And after this necessary partaking, and we have have confirmed our good intentions and desire to correspond with God's will and way, it is immensely imperative that we proceed to communicate with God with a base of strong faith. We must believe that there is a God, that He hears us, and that if it be His will He will answer our requests. And while faith carries much power, "faith without works is dead."..............

The next Installment in this "Christian Pillars" Series will address faith and works. 

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Pray. Read. Do. (Christian Pillars pt.1)

Prayer is, for we who believe, a way to communicate with our Father and Creator. It gives us passage to be in the presence of God, and allows us to simply talk one-on-one with Him. Through prayer we are given the opportunity to take part in a truly intimate relationship with our God. In the name of Jesus Christ through the sacrifice that He became, we have been given access to communication with God. This in itself is important and amazing to think about! We, who are in no way worthy of anything remotely resembling favor with the All Mighty, are accepted and given solace in knowing that we can not only talk with the Creator but be loved by Him!

Prayer is communication with God, and when we communicate there is interaction two ways. Therefore, we should listen for a response. And the response will come from God through reading His Word and seeking to follow the ways of Jesus Christ. Everything that we need to know or even hear is addressed in the Bible. Many issues that we are faced with today are but replays in time with different characters. Love, deception, murder, betrayal, law, injustice, inequality, leadership- there are examples of these and many more situations in the Bible. We can learn from the best and the worst. God's Word is His response to the prayers of our lips as well as those of our hearts. The murmurs of our heart from situations that may be taxing on our souls are heard by God. In times of uncertainty and presumed inability to pray, God has already heard our heart. He wants to bless us and we have to do our part.

Even though God is as He is referred to in the Bible as being Omnipotent or All-Powerful, He will not just create a miracle to merely accommodate our whim. There is work to be done. To simply pray without offering or being willing to do anything to bring about growth, advancement, blessings and other such "requests" would be nothing more than naive. We must work for the things that we pray for with faith that God will bless it and that He will be there to catch us when we fall. Simply put, laziness is not rewarded. So faith without works is dead. Christians without an active faith are stagnant. We can not, for example, pray for someone to be blessed and not be willing to in fact become a blessing to them. Sometimes we must become the very thing that we pray for. Jesus Christ came to show the Way, and He himself was and still is the Way. What we do as Christians is not only done for others who are on earth in this physical realm, but also for God above, in the spirit realm, whom we have not seen.

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Christian Legacy: Greater In God

Life is about legacy. A Christian legacy is the sum total of the good that you have done for God, and others. No matter where you've been or where you are, there is no better time than the present to make life greater. Greater for yourself and greater for others. This can be achieved by anyone. Even in times of trial, a simple smile can go a long way. Something minute such as an action of seemingly no immediate value may help someone else. Do the math.

Legacy is part of God's plan for our life. If there seems to be distance from God it is not because He walked away, but rather it is because we walked away. But by grace, God does not hold a grudge. He is there to help us. All we have to do is take His hand and walk in faith with Him. He knows the plans that He has for our lives (there is a plan for everyone) and for we who believe in Him and the power in simply saying His name, He desires abundant prosperity(Jeremiah 29:11). He is Great and can make our lives even greater than what they are now. "Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4) which means having God makes us greater than anything that is outside of ourselves.

We must leave a mark on the world. What will yours be? Hopefully it will be one that shows that you are hand in hand with God and His ways. A life that reflects the search to adhere to the ways of Jesus Christ. For it is He and He alone who is the Way the Truth and the Life. He is the only way to the Father. And with that access to to the Father we have unlimited access to power from the Creator; therefore, we obtain access to anything in existence that will assist us toward the achievements of an appropriate legacy to be left behind.

Our legacy should be a building block for others. Whether or not we try to leave a legacy, one will be left. So it is very important that we leave a legacy that is constructive and not destructive, focusing energies on those things that will build us as they may be the very things to build another. Perhaps important so because the inverse is true in the way of destruction. We are meant to grow in God and help others do so as well. That which is of God, is that which will build us up and make us greater, and through us make others greater, and through them make the world greater. Legacy.