Posts Tagged ‘Life’

Much has been written and spoken about Abraham, the Old Testament patriarch—and far more than can be covered with a single blog post.

Abraham is not only important to the Christian faith, but also to Muslims because he was the father of Ismael, who as mentioned in Genesis 16:12 below, was against everyone.

This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will live at odds with all his brothers.

Interesting verse, isn’t it? But let’s get back to Abraham because he did something in his life that caused God to award him with status that I know all of us would give anything to have. God saw something very different in Abraham that gave Him confidence to know that He could begin the Jewish nation. 

Abraham was clearly very special in God’s eyes and that has always struck me…what made him different? What did he do that would cause the Creator to think in his mind, “that is my guy”? “He is the one I am going to work with”.

When you read about Abraham you can tell right away that he is a man of action. He was a complete doer when the situation called for it. He wrestled with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He rescued his nephew Lot and his family when they were captured. 

But what I found most intriguing about Abraham was that his “believing,” not his “doing,” is what moved God. This is the central verse of this post is exactly why I wrote it.

Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:12

Think about that verse for a moment…for the very first time in the Bible, we see faith and righteousness mentioned together. Why is this important? Because of this statement:

By Abraham simply believing in God, God gave him a right standing or a “different” standing with Him.

God performed a transaction: Abraham’s belief = right standing with God

Abraham’s heart was turned toward God in an enduring trust, obedience, and submissive relationship. Because of that rock-solid belief, that changed his status with the Creator of this universe. 

Abraham didn’t conquer the greatest army in the world or climb the highest mountain. All he did was believe, and that belief caused his position with God…to be BETTER.

In nearly every post I’ve shared on IronManStrength, I’ve highlighted the challenges of navigating this world as a Christian man. This isn’t meant to discourage you, but rather to inspire you as we are on this incredible journey together.

What’s truly encouraging about Abraham’s story is his unwavering belief, even when faced with what his physical eyes told him was impossible. Imagine: God promised him offspring as numerous as the stars, starting with his own son. And yet, Abraham was over 100, and his wife a ripe 95, when God made this statement and yet he still believed.

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.”  He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then the Lord said to him, “So shall your offspring be. Genesis 15: 4-5

Guys, hear me out for a second…how does this really apply to you and me? How does the story of some old guy who lived over 2,000 years ago make a difference to any of us right now? 

  • Abraham had problems – we have problems
  • Abraham had struggles – we have struggles
  • Abraham had family issues – all of us have family issues
  • God spoke to Abraham – God can speak to us

The HUGE difference:

ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD

It all boils down to genuine belief, not just lip service—a true conviction inside of you that God is capable of fulfilling His promises.

When you believe God in your core that He can be trusted…your relationship with Him changes. When you are obedient and submissive toward God and not allow that arrogance inside all of us to show through…things will change.

I encourage you to take your own belief to the next level by trusting God.

Establish a “right standing” with Him…Do you Believe?

Until next time guys…

Many years ago, when my son was about 10 years old, he asked me a very interesting question that caused me to think about the person I was. He said, “Dad, do you think you and I would have been friends when you were younger”? 

I was completely surprised for a second because I was remembering that I was kind of a jerk when I was a kid….(allegedly). But of course my response back to him was quick to say “absolutely, I know we would have been friends”…but in my mind, I thought to myself, would we really?

Another time, I was over at a friend’s house picking up that very same son from a sleepover and the mother pulled me aside to tell me that my son was adamant that when he went to bed, that he be allowed to sleep without his shirt on because that is how his Dad sleeps. She thought that was great…I stood there in amazement thinking my little man is literally watching me all the time.

I don’t tell you these stories to get an “Ahh shucks” effect; I tell them to remind you that your children are watching you 24/7 and what you say and do now…I can assure you that in a couple of years they will also say and do…exactly like you.

Are you ok with that?

Look guys, for me, losing a child changed everything. It has made me realize how quickly time flies with my kids, and since then, I really tried to make the most of it. You just never know what he future holds and going through horrible experience has definitely taught me to be more focused on being present with them.

So here is some advice, don’t be left wishing you would have said something or did something when you could of…because that feeling sucks.

But if I were to narrow in on your own time management right now, where do you spend most of it? Are you focused more on your hobbies, or your business, or maybe your phone? It’s a simple question to answer and not anything you haven’t heard before.

The question is, do you really understand what your true legacy will be when you die? And trust me, it won’t be the time you spent at work or at play. It will be the family you helped create and what kind of people they grew up to be.

Guys, I can’t stress that fact enough. Your legacy is NOT your work but your family. Everybody will forget what you did rather quickly, but they won’t forget the people you made and the impact they ultimately had on others.

Again, I know you know this so I won’t beat this drum forever. Take some time and be the Dad your kids need you to be. Just hang out with them and make them laugh…those can be some of the best times ever and it’s so easy…you have it in you, I know you do…you just need to let that fun guy out now and then.

Honestly guys, this was probably one of the easiest posts I have ever done. Why? Because what I am telling you is NOT rocket science, it just Dad Stuff…

Until next time guys…

For some reason, I have always loved the word mindset. It is one of those words that identifies your clarity or focus for whatever the topic might be. As an example, he or she might have an engineering mindset, which gives us an idea of what their expertise is. But when you apply God to the word mindset, you come up with a completely different category.

The apostle Paul did the same thing. In fact, he wrote about it in the first chapter of second Corinthians, where he said “now this is our boast: our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have not done so according to worldly wisdom, but according to God‘s grace.“ 2 Cor. 1:12.

The easy translation to this verse is Paul is actually boasting that his life plan is to remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are familiar with Paul at all, you will remember that he worked overtime NOT to boast about anything. What I find interesting is then only time he decides to actually boast, he tells us up front. And what is he boasting about? His God mindset.

Paul tells you and me that he made a choice. He decided that he would serve God. Period. Moreover, his service to God required a mindset at a whole other level to be successful. One that was focused exclusively on the Lord Jesus Christ and if you’ve read Paul, you know that he suffered greatly in this role. He literally has multiple near death experiences; he was shipwrecked, jailed, bitten by snakes, punched, and spit on… You name it, he went through it.

But what can you and I learn from Paul’s mentaility? Is it possible to have a God mindset in 2025 even with everything going on in this world? What about all the chaos in the mayhem we see each day on the news? Shouldn’t we be thinking about just hunkering down and weathering the storm? 

Guys, my answer is simple… Not only is it possible, but it’s critical that you and I maintain a God mindset, especially during these difficult times.

I have said this before and I’ll say it again… Our enemy is alive and well and he is looking to devour and swallow both you and me whole. If you and I don’t make the intentional choice to be strong about our “God Mindset”; I can assure you, we will be swayed In the wrong direction. And we cannot allow that happen.

That is my charge to you guys today. Having a God Mindset is for you to be intentional and focused on your Christian walk by making choices that identify who you serve. Let me clear; make “who you serve” obvious so that there is no question what side of the fence you are standing. When people look at you or speak to you, they know. More importantly, be that strong intentional role model for your wife and family.

Be like the warrior Joshua when he said below:

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15

Until next time guys-

My wife and I sent our youngest son away to college in another state a few years ago. He wanted to attend that university because it was far from his parents. As his dad, I understand why that was important to him completely because I was very independent and did not want my parents around when I was his age. And this kid is independent with a capital “I”. It was all we could do to get him to text us back more than just one-word replies like yes, no, and sure even after he landed there as a freshman.

But as time passed, he got better with his texting and now we even FaceTime him and get to see his mug …which is very nice for my wife…and me.

I think what I enjoy the most has been watching him change and grow over these short few years. How many of us looked at our children and truly wondered if they would make it in this life? In my son’s case, other than playing sports and video games, he wasn’t interested in anything. I tend to be pretty handy around the house and I worked to get him to at least try to learn the basics; like how to change a tire or replace his car battery. I even went so far as to teach him to use a table saw and power drill because we all know those skills are required in his future.

To say he appreciates what he learned would be a lie, but I also know he is still at school and not out on his own…But maybe he will thank me someday…I digress.

I don’t know about you, but when I watch my son now, I look for the intangibles that I think will ultimately get him to the next level in life. These are the things that can’t always be seen, but they are there and will separate him from the pack…and that is where we get to the main point of this post. My son wears a cross around his neck, and I didn’t ask him to.

That last bit I added because it is true. And from my vantage point, that is the best part. I said nothing to him. He decided that wearing a cross was what HE wanted to do for himself. That was an intangible I may not have picked up from him when he left for college, but 4 years later as he gets ready to graduate in a few months, I can see it in him now.

What makes this even more remarkable is that none of his roommates or friends wear one. He is the only one. And he knows that. To solidify that point, he is the kid who doesn’t care what other people think and at 22, that is kind of amazing. Why? Because when we were his age, fitting in is ALL we cared about but for some reason, with him, that just doesn’t matter as much. By the way, I know the reason.

So as I watch from a distance, through texting and occasionally getting to see him on a tiny phone screen, I am reminded of this each time; my son wears a cross around his neck…and I could not be more proud of him.

Until next time Guys…

If you’re like me, the older I get, the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know…but that is a whole other blog. This post is about my continuing revelation of how God constructed this whole “personal relationship with Jesus” idea and why I think its so hard for men to stay consistent. 

News Flash, yours (and mines) personal relationship with Christ must begin with humility.

Yes, I said Humility. But the problem is that “being humble” works directly against how we feel about ourselves while we live on earth. 

Face it guys, it is HARD to be humble when all we see is ego exhibited everyday of our lives. It seems like very athlete just seems to call attention to themselves. Not everyone…but a lot of them. A baseball player hits a monster home run and he just stands there and admires it as it leaves the ballpark…A body builder stands in front of the mirror and just stares and stares…

We live in such a “Me ONLY” focused world that as Christian men, its so easy to assimilate into that culture. Look at it this way, if you get up each day and don’t think about your relationship with Christ and just start your day with you driving, I can easily say that over time, you will find yourself moving towards prideful behavior. The influence is that strong.

Listen to how The Message translation of the Bible talks about this in Proverbs 16:18, First pride, then the crash – the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. That is pretty self explanatory isn’t it? God doesn’t have any place for pride or egos in His Kingdom. Its all about HIM, not us.

What you and I see around us here on earth was NOT the plan God had in mind. Rather, sin got in the way and it corrupted everything (Genesis 3 to be exact). As hard as this may be to grasp, pride is NOT from God. It was NOT created by God but rather it is from Satan and he is the one selling that crap to all of us through television, or online, or at the gym…

It is everywhere and conditioning you slowly.

Pride IS a wall keeping you from a relationship with God and it blocks your ability to communicate with Him. Once you reach a point that you are so full of yourself that you don’t think you need God, then the enemy has you where he wants you.


Remember the Bible also tells us in James 4:10 to Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. As I have told you before, NOW IS THE TIME to get right with God Guys! You can see the signs all around you just as easily as I can. 

Satan is working overtime to pull as many men and their families down as he can. 

Where do you plan on spending eternity?

My “ask” of you today is don’t let your ego be the reason you walk away from God. You might be very good at something…your job, or a sport, or something else…but remember that skill is a gift from Him and if you thank Him for it rather than act like it came from you, who knows, we just might be playing a pick up game on that Heavenly court in the sky.

I’ll meet you there…

Until next time Guys-

God and me

I am sure that most people, whether Christian or non-Christian, would agree with me when I say that I do not understand why God does or doesn’t anything about what happens on this Earth. God is, and continues to be, a God who doesn’t behave like I would if I were Him…and that my friends, is the main point of this post.

Now, I would not consider myself a big theological guy like my friend, @JeremyRiley, but yet when it comes to God and how we think about Him or how He thinks about us, it might just take some real theology to get the answer we seek.

Let me explain; what I am saying here isn’t really a new revelation but it’s critical to understand this point about God; which is simply that all of us are bound by our “humanness”. What I mean is, because we are human we act accordingly, which means we act…well…like humans…and as a result, how we think about God is affected by our capacity to understand Him. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard friends or acquaintances exclaim, “why did God do that?” or “NOT do that?” and in my mind, I am saying, “what was God thinking?” Yet the answer is actually in scripture and is enlightening if you have never thought like this before…

God was thinking like God and NOT like us…Read this verse from Psalms:

These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like youPsalms 50:21

The only reason our natural inclination is to think that God would be like us is because what else would He be like? All we have ever been exposed to on this Earth is each other. Moreover, we know that He created us in His own image because the Bible tells us this fact in Genesis so it is reasonable to assume that God is like us right?

Wrong.

Let’s just start there. He clearly states this in the scripture above, ”YOU THOUGHT I WAS ALTOGETHER LIKE YOU”.

Well, He isn’t. God can only be HIMSELF. He is bound by His holiness to be who He is.

I think one of the biggest misconceptions that we have here on earth is that WE think God should behave as we do. Think about that for a second. I have seen people get very angry because they were truly upset that God didn’t intervene or fix a situation that in their minds, God could have taken care of in an instant…but He didn’t.

When this happens, it creates a huge gap between what we THINK we see God doing VERSUS what God is REALLY doing. Read this verse below from Isaiah to help me illustrate my point:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)

For some of us, it may take some humility for us to recognize this very simple fact; that Gods ways are higher and better than our own but again, starting right there with how we think about God.

It is critical for us to recognize our place changes everything for us in how we approach and ultimately come to grips with who He is.

Have you ever heard the expression that “God is God and I am not”? Well, that is a reality check for those of us who just assumed that He might act as we wanted Him too.

But I do have some good news for those who feel this information above might have been a reality check for you;

Gods plan was never about God becoming who we wanted Him to be…but rather it was always about mankind, meaning you and me, becoming more like Him. Take a look at this verse in Romans that illustrates this;

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2 ESV)

Think about this verse guys…

You can conform your heart and mind to be more like God’s and I can tell you that when this happens, it truly changes the way you think. Do you remember at the beginning of this post when I mentioned about being frustrated with God because He isn’t fixing or doing something as you think He should?…now you can see that when we think differently about God because of a renewal of our minds, suddenly, there is an understanding there that wasn’t there before.

Keep in mind that God is just being God and carrying out His plan for our lives and we just need to listen…

Until next time guys…

Donnas-sunset-cropped

For the last several years, I have had the pleasure of working with an atheist who is 100% adamant that there is no God, or any god, in this universe. Her premise is simple; she is here and she makes her own way through life and there really isn’t much after that. Our conversations about this topic tend to be very short because in her mind, there really isn’t another side to this argument. She refuses to accept the notion that there is a higher power and that He created this world from scratch. She tells me what she thinks sometimes, but it just sounds like a rationalized excuse.

Now it has never been my job to judge anyone because they have the beliefs they have. All I can do is share and then let God do the heavy lifting in their lives. What is always hard though is when you think about the physical examples that God has given us to recognize Him as we see in nature or as we learn more about the human body and how the microscopic world functions on our behalf. All these things that we didn’t know but have discovered along the way, they always were there but now discovered, are an example of the kind of Creator we serve.

All of these physical examples have not swayed my coworker into any acceptance of what she sees around here having any connection to a God.

Honestly, that fact alone scares the heck out of me because of these verses:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20

Please inspect these verses carefully and understand the critical nature of what they mean for you, for me, and my friend. God expects us to recognize Him by what we see around us. This verse explains that, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen and separated from what has been made.

In other words, what MAN has made versus what God has made.

Man builds a skyscraper. God creates a mountain. Man discovers DNA. God invented DNA. Man can perform surgery on the human body. God created the human body.

Do you see the difference?

Then there are the constant physical examples like Yosemite, or the Pacific Ocean, the miracle of birth with your own children…all these examples around you that if you wanted to, you can try and make an excuse, or labor to explain all of what you see because of just science, but I speak the truth when I say to you…You cannot go about your daily lives living in ignorance.

As the verse clearly explains…In Gods eyes, we are without excuse. We have our time here on earth to get this right. We don’t get a “do-over” and we certainly don’t get a chance to explain to Him why we didn’t choose to believe when we had the chance to. We have the here and now. One time through this world and that is it. We get to choose 100% of which direction we should go and where we spend eternity is determined by what we believe.

This post is NOT intended to upset you, but when I see Gods word communicated so clearly for this generation, I put it into a blog so you can see it also.

My only goal is that you too will look around you at the examples God has shown us as examples of His presence and see for yourself.

Would you do me a favor and look closely first and then make your decision?

 

Until next time guys…

 

 

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I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, (Ephesians 4:1 ESV)

 

I have a friend that always tells other men to “man up” when he thinks they are not acting in a manner worthy of their gender. He always laughs at their reaction because they are usually stunned when he tells them. Most recently, he surprised someone I know with this same declaration only this time it got me thinking about this idea that we have all been called by God to be something really special only many of us are just not living up to that call.

What I mean is, what this verse above actually says, “walk in the manner that is worthy of the calling”. Guys, this is Paul the Apostle talking. Remember him? He was a punching bag for almost his entire ministry but yet he continued to stand worthy of Gods calling throughout his many journeys. This guy was literally responsible for enormous church planting in the beginning in the early days of the gospel. Yet sometimes his message wasn’t received, and as a result, he was beaten, imprisoned or even worse…

Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; (2 Corinthians 11:23-25 ESV)

Here is a guy that honestly could have quit early on in his ministry solely based upon injuries alone…but he didn’t. He could have chosen to quit when his message was rejected…but he didn’t quit then either. Instead, he constantly made statements like “he rejoices in his sufferings…”

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. (Romans 5:3-4 ESV)

 

What is my point?

As a believer in Christ, you have been called to be His follower. That means something. That means you MUST act different than you did before you were a believer. Paul reminds us that we need to walk a walk that is truly worthy of His calling on our life.

Don’t assimilate into the culture… Separate yourself

It may cause some discomfort…but trust me…Christ has your back…

 

Until next time guys…

humility

In my own life, I have found that fear can be a very strange motivator. In the heat of the moment it can cause us to move towards both good and bad behaviors. Sometimes fear can cause the hero in us to come storming out of the depths of our core ready to take on anything…

Other times fear can also cause some of us to cower in the corner and be almost paralyzed. Either way, fear has very different reactions for each of us…with none of them predictable.

I have written about fear before in past posts but I felt the need to revisit it again because of some recent reading in the Bible where once again I learned more about the absolute might of our Lord God. It has always amazed me that God describes Himself as “Love” as well as our “sanctuary of refuge” yet throughout the Bible He reminds us that we need to fear and dread Him as well. Those have always seemed completely opposite to me, but then let me remind you of the love of your earthly father. On one hand he is the one who teaches and helps guide us along our path as we grow but yet when we do wrong, he is there to punish us and remind us that there is always a consequence for sin. At the same time, we experience both fear of the punishment and love from the same person because he is a father who loves his children.

The Lord God Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary. Isaiah 8:13-14a

But as I think about this world around me and our human nature I think that without actual fear in our relationship with God, humanity would become to comfortable and relaxed towards Him…oh wait…many of us ARE to comfortable and relaxed and that my friends, I believe, is a big mistake.

We cannot forget that no matter what is going on right now…He is God and we are not. Everyday the business of life piles up in front of us and we get distracted and diluted with our responsibilities. Trust me when I tell you this guys, I am speaking to myself just as much as my audience. We cannot be too busy to be humble in the sight of God…to recognize His might as well as His love for us.

This is simply a friendly reminder for all of us. If we can maintain that fear relationship with God, there is a humility there in all of us that God can use. When you focus on maintaining that condition of the heart, that Humility…well simply put, life is better because the joy of the Lord will be your strength.

Remember Proverbs 22:4

Humility and fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life…

I don’t know about you but I could use all three of those…

 

Until next time guys…

WTBtower-of-babel2Some of you may have read the Old Testament before and remember the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). To help you recall, this story comes right after the epic saga of Noah in Biblical sequence. What I have always found to be sad in this story is how in so few years after the flood, where we saw God destroy everyone and every thing because of evil everywhere on the earth (Genesis 6:5)… that here we see once again, the people of the earth essentially following the same path. When will they learn?

God had already promised to not destroy the earth again (Genesis 8:21) but when He comes down and sees what the people are doing and saying, I can only imagine what He was thinking, something like, “here we go again”. Possibly? But I would like to give you another perspective on this issue that I heard shared recently that I found enlightening.

All my life I just took this story at face value; In other words, God came down, saw these people full of themselves to the point that they decided to build a tower to Heaven. In their minds, they were working every day on this project and as it grew taller and taller, they hoped they would somehow meet God in the air? From our vantage point now, that idea seems extremely crazy but let’s go with it for a minute; In the meantime, God comes down, sees what they are doing and instead of wiping them out…again…He confuses them by changing their languages. In other words, one minute you can communicate with the guy next to you and the next minute he is speaking French. Very quickly after that happened, the people collected together in their language groups and then went off and settled elsewhere leaving the tower project unfinished.

I would like to submit the idea to you that on that day, when God confused them with different languages, He saved them from sure destruction. Think of this scenario this way:

  • These people were doing what THEY wanted to do and NOT what God wanted them to do…
  • By pursuing what they wanted to do, they excluded God.
  • Because their pursuit was for their own glory and NOT Gods, this is a quick ticket to a very bad place.

Guys, I share this with you because I know it is easy to get sidetracked along the way in our lives. The pursuit of what we want to do is a very powerful thing and can or will overwhelm us to the point of complete exclusion from God. That is exactly what these people from the tower began to say:

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4

I am telling you that God saved mankind that day by confusing them with different languages. They were on their way to sure destruction with the intent inside their hearts…

I am telling you the very same thing today. If your existence is to make a name for yourself at the exclusion of God, you too are on the wrong road and I caution you right now to recognize this and refocus back on Christ.

Let me leave you with this verse in Proverbs:

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3

An easier way to look at this verse is simply this:

Commit your plans to God FIRST…and they will succeed…

 

Until next time Guys…