Be a man, Biblically

Men, are you the leader of your family? Not a leader in the “Do as I say, or you’re going to get it!” leader, but as in a father leading his family to be Godly people way. Do you respect and honor your wife as your co-heir? Does SHE feel that she is respected, satisfied and happy? Does SHE feel you are a good leader, provider and spiritual shepherd for your family? Do your children see you as a role model of how a Christian, moral, honest, family loving man should act?

In relation to God, do you need to be drug to church? Does your wife have to leave you and take your kids to go to Church? What do you think this teaches your children? These are all question we as men need to ask ourselves and our families to get answers to. We as men cannot be truly Christian husbands and fathers unless we spiritually lead our families. If you don’t lead them society will, and we see what that leads to.

Men, ask yourself, “How do I change?”, “How do I become a man of God?”, “How do I become a better husband, better father and better man?” Men, these questions should always be on your mind. This change is done in the form of striving to change from a Godless, worldly (as in secular or of “this” world) man to a man of God. We are told to conform to the image of God in Romans 8:29,  “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” -  Ephesians 5:25

Below is a list I could not improve on from a sermon, “Marriage and Men”, by Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hills Church:

“Ephesians 5:25 calls men to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. Men are not ready to be good husbands until they are a part of the Church and understand how Christ loves the Church by taking responsibility for her and sacrificing himself for her.

Men you need to understand that a wife’s fears (1 Pet. 3:6) are legitimate; men dominate the lives of women and children, for good or for evil. Honor your wife:

Honor your wife in marriage. Take a wife honorably. Establish right priorities, and be a one woman man—absolutely faithful to your wife.
Honor your wife physically. Be strong for your wife, not against her. Be protective of her and present with her.
Honor your wife emotionally. Be emotionally present and intimate. Take her on dates.
Honor your wife verbally. Speak honorably to her. Speak honorably of her, when she is present and absent.
Honor your wife financially. Provide for the financial needs of your family, organize your budget, and be generous towards your wife.
Honor your wife practically. Consider her needs and how you can serve her.
Honor your wife parentally.  Be “Pastor Dad” by shepherding your children (praying with them, teaching them about Jesus, reading the Bible with them, etc.).
Honor your wife spiritually. You initiate and lead prayer, Bible, chats, church attendance, etc. Take responsibility for your church.”

 “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.” -  (1 Pet. 3:7). Repent.

So men, humble yourselves, speak to your wives, speak to your children, man up and lead your family for good, not evil. You need to step up and not be little boys; do the job that was given to you by God and rise up and lead your Christian family. If you are not doing the job, repent; commit yourself to being a man and a family leader in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What happened to the John Christian Doe Bible Study Podcast?

Life happened or in other words it was O.B.E (Overcome by events). I have had a crazy last year and a half, good but crazy. I started a new job, had my 4th child and run over 1000 miles in training. I ran the Marine Corps Marathon, 5 other half marathons, plus 5 and 10k’s sprinkled in this year.

Oh and I have been teaching myself to weld because I am building a big ol' BBQ smoker out of 80 and 60 gallon air tanks....Yes, I love BBQ that much. Perfectly normal. I guess the running makes sense now.

I have really been looking forward to blogging and getting my Podcast back up and running. So yes, I am back now and should have content on the way. So back to 1 Peter and more! I look forward to providing a consistent bible study to you all. Thanks to all of you who have inquired and given me encouragement to get back to it. God bless.

Alive 2008 Quest Middle School Youth Conference

I just wanted to put a quick post about my trip I took in Late November with my Church's Middle School Youth Ministry Program, TNT (Teens in Transition) to Ocean City, Maryland. For those who live in Virginia, D.C or Maryland, you might be thinking “Fun, the beach in late November?!” Yes, I know, we did have the 30 degree weather and the 20 mile an hour winds so the Board walk was brutal, but the good thing is no one was there to see how insane we were to be there!

We were there to attend the Alive 2008 Quest Middle School Youth Conference Metro Maryland Youth for Christ. The event is very well done. It was well organized, the people were great and there was enough fun to go round for all ages. The band Leedland was phenomenal and they rocked the place all weekend in worship. Some of the speakers and entertainers were One time blind, Joel Sonnenberg, PureNRG, Runks and Leonard Sweet.

My personal favorites were Runks and Joel Sonenberg.

Runks is an insane, funny 6 foot 6 guy who really knows how to connect with everyone in the room. Runks grew up in Midland, Texas and is a graduate of McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. Runks received Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; he then served as a Youth Minister for 7 years and in January of 1998 began traveling the country communicating the gospel to teenagers, college students and adults. He tells stories that make you feel as thought you were right there with him. His presentation and delivery is funny, honest, and inspirational. Did I mention he is insane?

Now Joel Sonnenberg is a guy you would just like to hang out with and bask in the good feeling and passion for life he exudes. When Joel was almost 2 years old, he was involved in a devastating car accident on I95 when a Tractor trailer slammed into his family car at a toll booth that left him with burns over 85% of his body. The only part left unburned on Joel was the area where his wet diaper was. After the accident Joel had a 10% chance of living but, with a lot of faith, love and prayer from many, many people, Joel pulled through.

After a very long road of recovery, Joel has become international speaking minister. Joel’s story is one of heartbreak, love, pain, survival, faith and triumph. I recommend his book “Joel”- pick it up here at Amazon.

The activity section for the kids is packed with tons of things to keep the kids happy all weekend. There were also vendors selling books, T-shirts, music and many other items. They had a huge karaoke set up, Wii, temporary tattoos, hair painting, games and tons of other activities.

I had a great weekend and truly enjoyed ministering to my small group of kids. It was great to take our 55 or so kids and mix them up with 3500 other Christian middle schoolers. I would encourage Churches or anyone, if you have a chance and middle school student to attend this retreat next year. More info here: http://www.mmyfc.org/mmyfc/index.html

Thanks for checking in, God Bless.>>John