And which of you by being anxiousĀ
can add a single hour to his span of life?āMatthew 6:27
Somethingās coming.Ā Doesnāt it always feel like that? Maybe itās something financial . . . maybe work-related . . . maybe health-related . . . definitely bad. And so, we worry. I mean, it almost feels like thatās just a part of being a man, worrying about whatās coming. We worry about all the bad things that could happen, to us and to our loved ones. We scheme about how to get o... moreGood day Templar family
And which of you by being anxiousĀ
can add a single hour to his span of life?āMatthew 6:27
Somethingās coming.Ā Doesnāt it always feel like that? Maybe itās something financial . . . maybe work-related . . . maybe health-related . . . definitely bad. And so, we worry. I mean, it almost feels like thatās just a part of being a man, worrying about whatās coming. We worry about all the bad things that could happen, to us and to our loved ones. We scheme about how to get out in front of all those things. Then we worry some more about whether weāre actually men enough to execute our schemes. All this worrying hangs over our lives. It haunts our thoughts and steals important momentsāmoments that should be joy-filled.
But, it would be irresponsibleĀ notĀ to worry, wouldnāt it? Weāve been trained to worry, all our lives. Weāve been trained that we with responsibilities areĀ supposedĀ to worry. Itās part of life
Or is it? Our King, Jesus Christ, teaches us that itās actuallyĀ not. You see, He didnāt come so that weād live lives haunted by fear. He came and died to set us free from such things (Galatians 5:1). He assures us, our Father God will take care of us, whether we worry or not (Matthew 6:26). We must, therefore, adopt a radical, new mindset: āWe donāt know whatās coming . . . but our Father God does. So, weāll leave it to Him.ā
Letting go of worry is tough. You must approach it not only intellectually, but practically too. You cannot simply command yourself, āworry less.ā That, by itself, doesnāt work so well. You must get practical by actually talking about worries with a spouse, a friend, with brothers in community. That does work (2 Corinthians 12:9). Getting your worries out into the open is as powerful as it is counterintuitive. So, brother and sisters, defy your instincts.
Have a blessed Thursday
God's blessings.
Priory of St.Miltiades (OMSDT)
Freedom in Christ (Libertas in Christo)
Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts:Ā
Consider your waysāHaggai 1:5
God loves us with fierceness and tenderness. The scope of His love is shocking. Itās infinite, in factābecause He is. It burns bright and hot and true. We couldnāt ever plot it on a graph, of courseābecause no one could draw a y-axis that high or an x-axis that long; no page, no screen could ever contain it. But if weĀ couldĀ plot His love, the line would be high and perfectly flat. It wouldnāt ... moreGood day Templar family
Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts:Ā
Consider your waysāHaggai 1:5
God loves us with fierceness and tenderness. The scope of His love is shocking. Itās infinite, in factābecause He is. It burns bright and hot and true. We couldnāt ever plot it on a graph, of courseābecause no one could draw a y-axis that high or an x-axis that long; no page, no screen could ever contain it. But if weĀ couldĀ plot His love, the line would be high and perfectly flat. It wouldnāt fluctuate over time. Not in response to our actions, our best or even our worst. Not even a little (Psalm 103:8;Ā Lamentations 3:22-23).Ā
But HeĀ doesĀ tell us what kind of actions He most prefers, the kind that bring joyāto us and to Him. And itās less about hours logged in pews on Sundays or how many times we read through the Gospels. What regulates His joyāand oursāis how we treat people around us. Itās if weāre kind, and how well we notice and meet the needs of people in our close proximity.
āBe easy on people; youāll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; youāll find life given back, but not merely given backāgiven back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosityāĀ (Luke 6:37-38 MSG).
Throughout your day, today, imagine a circleāone with a 2-meter radius, you at the center. Notice who comes into that circle. Learn their names. Treat them with care and notice their needsāfriendship, mercy, love, hopeāand consider howĀ youĀ might help meet those needs.
(Thereās nothing special about 2m. What matters is increasing intentionality. And, truly, a man could spend his entire lifetime just trying to meet the needs of people whoād come into his 2m circleāso, itās a good place to start.)
Have a blessed Monday
God's blessings.
Freedom in Christ
My brothers, show no partiality
as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus ChristāJames 2:1
We men tend toward partiality. Sometimes with forethought, many times with no thought, we give or withhold based upon characteristics of the potential recipients. We can, therefore, find ourselves directing all our time and attention, our kindness and generosity, toward only those who live, look, sound, spend, sin . . . like we do. This plays out in many areas of life and, theref... moreGood day Templar family
My brothers, show no partiality
as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus ChristāJames 2:1
We men tend toward partiality. Sometimes with forethought, many times with no thought, we give or withhold based upon characteristics of the potential recipients. We can, therefore, find ourselves directing all our time and attention, our kindness and generosity, toward only those who live, look, sound, spend, sin . . . like we do. This plays out in many areas of life and, therefore, many areas of faithāin service, giving, worship, and certainly in brotherhood.
But James, brother of our King, Jesus Christ, cautioned us to oppose this tendency:
āFor if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, āYou sit here in a good place,ā while you say to the poor man, āYou stand over there,ā or, āSit down at my feet,ā have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?ā (James 2:2-4).
So, whatās wrong with partiality? Well, intending to or not, we harm people. We harm them by disregarding them, those whom God wants us to impact or serve or befriend, but who donāt quite make our cut (Proverbs 28:21). God put us here for one another (Matthew 22:39). Partiality means we forsake people who need us. And if thatās not bad enough, we harm ourselves. We cut ourselves off from relationshipsāand often the weightiest. You see, those weāre meant to impact are meant to impact us, right back.
Howāre you doing with this, brother? The test is simpleālook around. Who are you spending time with? Whom are you serving? There should be people in your life whoāre nothing like you. Are there?
Have a blessed Sunday and week ahead
God's blessings.
Priory of St.Miltiades (OMSDT)
Freedom in Christ
We are saved by grace alone apart from works.Ā God desires perfection, but nobody is perfect. Christ became that perfection and HeĀ is who we put our trustĀ in. What no one seems to understand in this godless generation is if you are truly saved you will be converted.
There will be a renewing of your mind. You will grow in your hatred for the things that God hates and in your love for the things that God loves. Donāt tell me you are a Christian when your life contradicts t... moreGood day Templar family
We are saved by grace alone apart from works.Ā God desires perfection, but nobody is perfect. Christ became that perfection and HeĀ is who we put our trustĀ in. What no one seems to understand in this godless generation is if you are truly saved you will be converted.
There will be a renewing of your mind. You will grow in your hatred for the things that God hates and in your love for the things that God loves. Donāt tell me you are a Christian when your life contradicts that. Donāt tell me you love God when your life contradicts that.
Jesus Himself said most people who profess to be Christian are not getting into Heaven. The church has gone astray. Most people will hear, ādepart from Me I never knew you. Your life contradicts what you professed to be.ā In these dire times people donāt want God they just want to go to Heaven. Can a Christian struggle with sin and even fall into sin? Yes, but a Christian will never live a continuous life of sin because God will not let His children go astray. Some grow slower than others, but a true believer grows.
God will work in His childās life to make him into the image of Christ. Once again we are saved only by faith in the blood of Jesus. He is our only hope. He alone satisfied Godās wrath, but we must never forget the doctrine of regeneration
Our obedience to the Lord comes from our love for Him and our appreciation for the great price that was paid for us. Jesus calls us to obedience. In fact, obedience to God is an act of worship to Him.
Have a blessed Friday
God's blessings.
Freedom in Christ (Libertas in Christo)šæš¦
There have been many times where we just wanted to quit. āGod itās not going to work. God what am I going to do? God what good can come from this? Lord you said you would help me. Lord I canāt do it without you.ā
That is right you canāt do it without God. You can do nothing without the Lord. God will help us in all our trials. Sometimes I think to myself,Ā āwhy did you allowĀ this to happen God?ā Then, I find out why and feel stupid.
Donāt trust in your situation and don... moreGood day Templar family
There have been many times where we just wanted to quit. āGod itās not going to work. God what am I going to do? God what good can come from this? Lord you said you would help me. Lord I canāt do it without you.ā
That is right you canāt do it without God. You can do nothing without the Lord. God will help us in all our trials. Sometimes I think to myself,Ā āwhy did you allowĀ this to happen God?ā Then, I find out why and feel stupid.
Donāt trust in your situation and donāt look to what is seen. All the trials you go through in life areĀ making you stronger. You will see God working in your life if youāre a Christian. You wonāt remain in those trials. Donāt give up. You will go through trials and get out and then go back in them, but always remember the mighty hand of God is at work.
Donāt waste your trials go into that prayer closet and cry out to God. Glorify God in your suffering, ānot my will God, but your will.ā God will help you have faith. Yes it isĀ important to read His Word, but you must call on the Lord daily. You must build your prayer life. God will not leave His children.
Donāt take my word for it believe in His promises. When everything is going good in life you will probably boast in yourself. When things are going bad thatās when you will glorify God and trust in Him more because you know itās only the Almighty God that can help you and He gets all the credit when you get through it.Ā Pray and fast, sometimesĀ God doesnāt answerĀ in our way or our time, butĀ He answers in the best way and at the best time.
Have a blessed Wednesday
Priory of St.Miltiades (OMSDT)
Freedom in Christ
Look carefully then how you walk . . . making the best use of the time,
because the days are evilāEphesians 5:15-16
When sacred opportunities comeāopportunities to listen, to care, to encourage, to serve, to give, to tell others about our faithāwe men often use a tactic called ātoo busy, right now.ā We say the words out loud, sometimes. More often, we say them to ourselves and just keep moving. We then rationalize the dodge by using a second tactic, one called āmake ... moreGood day Templar family
Look carefully then how you walk . . . making the best use of the time,
because the days are evilāEphesians 5:15-16
When sacred opportunities comeāopportunities to listen, to care, to encourage, to serve, to give, to tell others about our faithāwe men often use a tactic called ātoo busy, right now.ā We say the words out loud, sometimes. More often, we say them to ourselves and just keep moving. We then rationalize the dodge by using a second tactic, one called āmake up for it later.ā That is, we imagine ourselves jumping into other, similar opportunities, eventuallyāwhen things slow down a bit maybe.
God knows weāre busy. He sees how busy we are, right now. And he calls us still. You see, these sacred opportunities donāt come by chance. He places them carefully in front of us. He knows weāre busy . . . and He knows what Heās doing. He knew what he was doing when he called Simon and Andrew, when the brothers were busy fishing (Mark 1:16-18). He knew what he was doing when he called James and John, when those brothers were busy mending nets (Mark 1:19-20). He knew what he was doing when he called Levi, when Levi was busy collecting taxes (Mark 2:14). He knows what heās doing when he calls us too, even when weāre busy. He doesnāt wait because he knows our time is scarce. He knows that we have none to waste.
āWe must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can workā (John 9:4).
What was your last sacred opportunity, brother and sisters? What did you do? Is the opportunity still open? If not, take a moment to decide what youāll do the next time a sacred opportunity comes. Commit to stepping into it and making the most of the precious time youāve been given.
Have a blessed Monday
God's blessings.
Priory of St.Miltiades (OMSDT)
Freedom in Christ
Jeremiah 17:7Ā Blessed is the manĀ that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
Have you recently trusted in Christ alone for salvation? Now itās time to start your journey. Your Christian journey will not be easy, but God will give you strength to press on daily and overcome any situation.Ā God promises to work in your life until the endĀ to make you more like Christ. The Christian life is like a huge adventure with Christ
You might have to take a few pit stops... moreGood day Templar family
Jeremiah 17:7Ā Blessed is the manĀ that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
Have you recently trusted in Christ alone for salvation? Now itās time to start your journey. Your Christian journey will not be easy, but God will give you strength to press on daily and overcome any situation.Ā God promises to work in your life until the endĀ to make you more like Christ. The Christian life is like a huge adventure with Christ
You might have to take a few pit stops, you might get a flat tire here and there, you might go through a fewĀ thunderstorms, but though all your experiences, fruit is being built. You are becoming stronger, and your faith and reliance in ChristĀ is growing.
God willĀ takeĀ out bad habits and sin from our life. God has given us various things to help us on our journey such as prayer. We mustĀ spend time with the Lord daily. We are to have an intimate relationship with God. We are given the Bible to help us walk uprightly.
Scripture will help us connect and focus on the Lord. It will protect us from many different situations in life and give us daily wisdom.Ā God has given believers the Holy SpiritĀ to help us on our walk of faith. He will guide us in the right direction.
He will show us what to do. He will convict us when weāre going the wrong way. He will show us things in our lives that are holding us back and more.
We can also pray to the Spirit for help,Ā peace, and comfort in times of trouble. We might be in the world, but we are not to follow the worlds desires. Allow your journey to glorify God.
Have a blessed Saturday
God's blessings.
Freedom in Christ (Libertas in Christo)šæš¦š¬šŖš®š±āļø
We love to measure things. And we have, at our disposal, highly accurate gauges for measuring just about anything, including the progress of our lives. I mean, we never have to wonder which careers are most prestigious; which jobs are most coveted; which neighborhoods are most exclusive; which vacations are most glamorous; which cars are most luxurious. Our culture makes sure its gauges remain well calibrated.
We love to measure things. And we have, at our disposal, highly accurate gauges for measuring just about anything, including the progress of our lives. I mean, we never have to wonder which careers are most prestigious; which jobs are most coveted; which neighborhoods are most exclusive; which vacations are most glamorous; which cars are most luxurious. Our culture makes sure its gauges remain well calibrated.
āListen carefully . . . and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world . . .āĀ (Mark 4:24 MSG).Ā
The problem is, such things are not proper for measuring the progress of any life. Thereās nothing wrong with careers or communities or cars, in-and-of themselves. Theyāre just not appropriate gauges in this context. Using them is like using a thermometer to measure the weight of a steel beam. It doesnāt work. Likewise, improper gauges wonāt work for us, for measuring our lives as men. We must create and calibrate new gauges, ones thatĀ canĀ properly measure our lives, because they measure the right stuffālike how weāre doing as husbands or wives, as fathers or mothers, as friends, as neighbors; and how weāre doing toward becoming the person God intends us to become.
Build new gauges for yourself, ones that measure things like . . . how many nights you are home for dinner; or how often you sit down and pray with your wife or girlfriend; or how often you have conversations with your sons or daughters about their dreams or their fears; or how often you meet with brothers in community; or how often you drop what youāre doing to spend time with friends in need. Get practical. Build a simple spreadsheet, for example. Or create a calendar. Do what makes sense for you, but start measuring, today.
Have a blessed Thursday
God's blessings.
Priory of St.Miltiades
Freedom in Christ (Libertas in Christo)šæš¦š¬šŖš®š±āļø
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christā James 2:1
We tend toward partiality. Sometimes with forethought, many times with no thought, we give or withhold based upon characteristics of the potential recipients. We can, therefore, find ourselves directing all our time and attention, our kindness and generosity, toward only those who live, look, sound, spend, sin . . . like we do. This plays out in many areas of life and, therefore, ... moreGood day Templar family
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christā James 2:1
We tend toward partiality. Sometimes with forethought, many times with no thought, we give or withhold based upon characteristics of the potential recipients. We can, therefore, find ourselves directing all our time and attention, our kindness and generosity, toward only those who live, look, sound, spend, sin . . . like we do. This plays out in many areas of life and, therefore, many areas of faithāin service, giving, worship, and certainly in brotherhood.
But James, brother of our King, Jesus Christ, cautioned us to oppose this tendency:
āFor if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, āYou sit here in a good place,ā while you say to the poor man, āYou stand over there,ā or, āSit down at my feet,ā have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?ā ( James
2:2-4).
So, whatās wrong with partiality? Well, intending to or not, we harm people. We harm them by disregarding them, those whom God wants us to impact or serve or befriend, but who donāt quite make our cut (Proverbs 28:21). God put us here for one another (Matthew 22:39). Partiality means we forsake people who need us. And if thatās not bad enough, we harm ourselves. We cut ourselves off from relationshipsāand often the weightiest. You see, those weāre meant to impact are meant to impact us, right back.
Howāre you doing with this,? The test is simpleālook around. Who are you spending time with? Whom are you serving? There should be people in your life whoāre nothing like you. Are there?
Have a blessed Tuesday
God's blessings.
Priory of St.Miltiades
Freedom in Christ (Libertas in Christo)šæš¦š¬šŖš®š±āļø
CAA Genova T. Spencer
Priory of the Calvary Cross
Faith in action, hope in heart