Give A Car ~ Money Goes To Charity Of Your Choice

Maybe it’s Jesus’ Fault.

Maybe it’s Jesus’ fault.

Maybe He led you to believe it was impossible, when it wasn’t.

Maybe He made you think that His sacrifices were because of his divinity, and not because of His love.

Maybe He made you think that every miracle was heaven sent,

That His strength was built on power, and not love.

Maybe it’s His fault that you didn’t see that pain gave Him strength.

That our pain was His fuel.

Maybe He led you to believe that loving your neighbour was a God given gift, and not something He practised – every single day of His life.

Maybe He showed us what we can’t be.

Or, maybe you’re just making excuses.

Giveacar is a social enterprise that allows each and every one of us to stop making excuses and help those who need it most. Giveacar raises money for many Christian charities by accepting donations of unwanted scrap cars, which are then scrapped or auctioned with the proceeds going to the charity of your choice. Through Giveacar you can be one step closer to living out the life that Jesus wanted us to live, by loving your neighbour, not matter how distant that neighbour may be.

Day 11: Dealing with temptation ~ 30 Days Closer To God

Temptation....

Now there is the proverbial Pandora's box!

Oh no... Let's not talk about that. Nobody wants to share what causes them to want to turn 'to the dark side.'  But as Christians who are FREE in Christ, it is important that we confess them God. It is not that he already doesn't know, it is more of asking forgiveness.

It is like my wife making her nearly world famous chocolate chip cookies for a party with me eating them as soon as they come out of the oven. Little did I know that she intended those cookies to go to a few families in the community who recently moved or had an illness. Here I am so selfish for my wants, that I forget what she intended those cookies for.

I mean, I work long hours... I am Man of Da' House.... Don't I DESERVE a cookie? I mean, it is right there in front of me.... calling out to me. It wants me!

But what if that cookie is a really good looking cookie? A cookie that stands above the rest? What if it had just the perfect amount of chocolate chips, the perfect roundness, and smelled so cookie heavenly? Well... If I cannot eat it, can I at least look at it? Right? There is nothing wrong with looking? I mean it is just a cookie. While perfect in every way, looking doesn't hurt the cookie does it? What if I took a picture of the cookie and kept it on my phone? What if I took a whole bunch of pictures and made a magazine just about cookies? There could be big picture in the center of the magazine just dedicated to this one, perfect, beautiful, cookie...

But now with the pictures on my phone, and now a magazine, all I want is that round perfect chocolate chip cookie. It is consuming me. I must barge into the kitchen and have that cookie. Just a bite.... a nibble.... nobody will notice right?

But it is sooooo goood. It tastes wonderful, I am sure I would have been happy with the other cookies but man this is cookie NIRVANA. It just a split second, I have consumed the cookie. It is no longer perfect, round, or chocolatey. Quite frankly it was good and satisfying.... but look there are other cookies there as well. I mean, one good cookie deserves another right?

You see, in reality.... temptation is like that. Satan tries to find things to lure you to look more than once. Just like fishing, we cast out a lure in hopes to strike a big fish, so does Satan use his tools of the trade to get you to look twice, to dwell on things you know are not healthy, moral or ethical. He likes to bend the lines of justification where it makes it really easy and simple to sin. He does this in hopes that you will bend further down the road when he brings by the right lure at the right time....

WHAM!

He has snagged you. That is why you need to be wary of what tempts you. To confess it, to be honest with yourself and accountable to your brothers in Christ. You may think that lure looks like fish heaven, but another brother who has already suffered from being snagged by the lure can come to your aid and help you identify what is real from God and what is temptation from the world and Satan.

 

Religion on the brink of extinction?

CNN posted this article that stated that scientists are figuring that religion is on its way of extinction. This of course is based on how people respond to religious affiliation, language and several other factors. They quote large percentages of populations in Eastern European nations are largely non affiliated with a religion.

That doesn't mean they are not religious....

We as Christian men should place our trust in RELIGION, but our faith in the Lord. Our faith defines us, and brings us closer to him. No scientist with whatever measuring tool, could never calibrate the power, the awesomeness and the deity of our God and His Truth he has laid out for us.

Let's not let our faith waiver when the world post silly articles such as these. We know that the world is heading that way. God told us that in his book.  We know the world has to come to that conclusion so that God's word becomes true and the work that he has been preparing for, to come and get his bride.

Day 10: Following Through And Your Word ~ Thirty Days Closer To God

Honor and Honoring Your Word...

Men, we have a code. Our code is a code of Honor and doing what is right. More important is that we honor our word. Honoring our word is one of the key things we can be measured as men. So often if you are found that you don't honor your word, you quickly lose respect and people are less likely to believe you OR IN YOU.

If your family doesn't believe you, then who will?

Be sure to take time to make your yes's be yes's and your no be no's. If you are not clear, you will quickly find yourself that alone and wondering why you don't have friends or that you don't have people in your inner circle. It is as simple as not making promises that you can't keep. Other examples of being wishy washy. What I mean by that is that you say you are going to help but bail at the last minute.

Sure things might come up. But if you consistently bail on your friends and family when they need you and that you gave your word, you may find yourself separated from those who love you but don't like the way you treat them.

Honoring your word is a key way to learning how to get closer to God. For HE always honors His word.

Day 9: Forgiveness ~ 30 Days Closer To God

Forgiveness

That is a powerful word. It is a word that means that no matter what you have done, you are no longer held accountable to it.

If you lie, it is like it never was spoken.

If you steal, it is as if you never have taken it.

Forgiveness is the 'Mulligan' of the spiritual golf world.

You see as Christians, we are often all too caught up with the 'forgiveness of our sins' so that our spiritual accounting is clean with God. However, Forgiveness is much more powerful than that. We have to learn to forgive ourselves.

Although we try, we will never be perfect. We have to come to grips that God loves us for who we are and who we strive to be IN HIM. Give yourself some slack. No, you are not the perfect person. Yes, you have immoral thoughts. No, you might not have said the right thing at work to your coworker. You simply have to forgive yourself.

Forgiveness is not just for those who you are forgiving... The real power is for you that forgive.

Day 8: I will give you rest ~ 30 days closer to God

28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I needed this message today. I need to rely on Jesus as I am working through the pain of my sacroiliac joint. I do not like taking medicine. It is nothing religious about it simply I hate to depend on foreign chemicals in my body. Call it my manly man distrust of pharmaceuticals.

But today I say better living through chemistry.

Today is going to be a short message because I need a day of rest. I need to allow my body, my mind to be at rest. I must realize I cannot fix everything and my life will not always be perfect.

As a man learning to get closer to God, I simply need to rest. Not just to rest for my body but to rest for my soul and mind.

Day 7: Follow Me ~ 30 Days Closer To God

Follow Me

Those were the simple words I heard Yesterday morning. There are so many great stories of the Bible where Jesus asks his people to follow him.

What does that mean for the modern Christian?

In the biblical references, Jesus spoke to people to leave what they were doing and follow him. Many did exactly what he said, while some struggled such as the rich young ruler. In one instance, Jesus asked one to follow him, and the disciple replied that he needed to bury their loved one first. Does that mean Jesus didn't care?

No.

He wanted to convey the importance of receiving His teaching and learning from Him while He was still on this earth. Spiritually, this man would become alive in Christ and it is important to focus on the things of the kingdom versus the worldly things.

But what I think God wants of me is to stop being the pilot of my life. We do not know when Jesus will come again. Only the father knows. We should live in expectation that He is coming soon.

If Jesus was coming tomorrow what would you change? Honestly I think I have way to many thingsnthat I need to change before He comes.

It is sad really.

However I know that there's grace He has given me, and grace I have received. It really is a balance that we have to live in. If we become too dogmatic, we risk being prideful in our works. If we depend too much on His gratiousness, then we risk a quickly falling, backsliden path.

So the challenge is to lift everything to God. To follow Christ today hasn't lost it's purpose over the years howver the instrument of following comes not from Jesus, But the Holy Spirit who resides with you and communes with you. Since the Spirit lives inside you, you have a direct connection with the Eternal. All you have to do know is lift your needs, wants, desires and burdens up to God and HE WILL LISTEN.

It is important to Listen to the spirit and not to man. Listen to the Spirit in spite of the spiritual dogma of the church. The Bibles Heroes are not men who stood idly by and raising their hands in the pew. The men of God in the Bible stood up against their agreessors in acts of civil disobedience.

The stood in the face of death and allowed God to use their life for His purpose. Jesus turned the tables of the money changers in the temple. He raised a whip in righteous anger. A man of God trusts in the Lord. The more a man listens to God and not to man, the more great spiritual revivals we may see in our lifetime.