Yesterday, I posted about how a young man used the retelling of the crucifixion of Jesus so that he could sin and take others with him in his sin.

Today, I want to share something beautiful from my experiences with the Easter Musical.  In this church that annually would share the Easter story with its community, there was always a special private showing of the final dress rehearsal.  

The final dress rehearsal was an invitation to individuals who were physically as well as mentally challenged.   The church would clear out much of the seating so that people using wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and canes could easily navigate into the auditorium.  This was a fun tradition in this community because these individuals got to see the musical before anybody else.  

In this final dress rehearsal that I am remembering, Jesus was being taken down from the cross. This is a very solemn and quiet scene, taking a good ten minutes or so.  Jesus is carefully removed from the cross, given to Mary, Joseph of Arimathea, John and Nicodemus.  They lovingly prepare Jesus' body for burial, wrapping him in cloths.  

Well, during this scene, one man in the audience who couldn't speak or walk due to his challenges, started weeping uncontrollably.   It was quite a poignant scene that was enhanced by this man's sensitivity.   I firmly believe that this man was so touched by this reenactment that he said yes to God's invitation to accept Jesus as his Savior.  Needless to say, this man's behavior affected many others not only in the congregation but many of the actors and orchestra members as well.  In my own heart, I felt a revival of my own commitment to serving Jesus.  I'm sure that many had a similar experience.  An unspoken revival of sorts happened right there because of this man's sensitivity to Jesus' gift of salvation.

I want to tell you that the man that was weeping was so much more of a man than many men I have ever met.  Especially, more so than that young man from yesterday who wanted to have sexual conquests to prove his manhood.  That weeping man allowed God to transform him.  Outside he was still the same but I believe that man left the church a new creation.

You may be wondering how the above picture of the extreme mountain climber fits into this story.  Well, I'm thinking that when this guy gets to heaven, he's gonna want to do the things he always wanted to do but couldn't because he was  in an earthly body that didn't work as he wanted.  I'm gonna find him and we're gonna do some extreme mountain climbing.  When we get to the summit, I'm gonna ask him, "remember when you were at that private showing of the Easter Musical?  I want to know what you were thinking."  I anticipate he will share with me his love for God and how the Holy Spirit worked in his life that night.

Together we will agree with the Roman Centurion, "Surely, this man was the Son of God!"  and we will spend a couple hundred years on that summit praising our Savior and recalling all the wonderful things that God did.  

Do you want to experience something beautiful?  

You can right now as you ask Jesus to lead your life, turn from your sinfulness and allow God to transform you. 

We want you to join us on that summit in eternity.

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

After reading yesterday's post a good friend of mine wrote me.  He is a professional dog trainer.  He said, "I may have said the dogs natural impulses are bent and conditioned to serve the purposes of the trainer, and maybe made a parallel from there. "  I really appreciate his feedback.  I'm gonna follow his lead.  Since we have dominion over creation, the natural impulses of animals, especially those that are domesticated , are to obey/fear us.  

However, we humans don't have a natural impulse to obey/fear God.  Rather, we have a natural impulse to obey our natural impulses.  We are handcuffed by our impulses.  That's why it is so important to get our impulses under the control of God.  God clearly talks about this.  "So put to death your worldly impulses:  sexual sin, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed..."  

If you feel overwhelmed by your impulses and feel defeated by your inability to resist temptation, know this:  For every temptation, there is a way out.  How do I know this?  Because the Bible reminds us that God is faithful.  He doesn't just create us and say, "Good luck!  I hope you can ignore sin."  

God wants to work in your life so that you don't react impulsively but respond the way that He desires.  God wants to remove that selfishness that's within you and transform you so that you learn to please Him.  You learn "to serve the purposes of your trainer."  

What does "serving the purposes of your trainer" look like?  Well, you change channels when Go Daddy puts up a sensuous commercial during the Super Bowl (since when do we need scantily clad women to sell website hosting?).   You have paid channels blocked when you check into a hotel.  You meet with men who hold each other accountable for godly behavior.  You dump your porn.

However, "serving the purposes of your trainer" goes beyond behavior.  It goes to a heart change.  God wants your sanctification.  Sanctification means that you permit God to change you from the inside out and reserve you for His special purposes.   Can you let that happen?  Yes, you can.  Are you humble enough to let God make you into a real man?  Yes, you are.

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

"I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son'. . . But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him."  Luke 15:18-20

It is difficult to think and feel about ourselves in Godly ways. Many of us think that the prodigal son got it right. He had a well-practiced speech: "I am no longer worthy". How like our speeches to ourselves! If you hear about your unworthiness often enough, especially in childhood, and if you internalize the speech thoroughly, it becomes a part of you. Many of us know this particular speech so well that we can feel unworthy for no particular reason. We do not feel unworthy because of something we have done or said. We feel unworthy because of who we are. Many of us even think that the more unworthy we feel, the more likely the Father will be to welcome us back home!

But the Father responds quite differently from the prodigal's expectations. The Father was 'filled with compassion' and he ran to his son and he kissed him. When the prodigal finally got his speech out, the Father did not spend time arguing the point. Instead he 'honored' the son with a robe, a ring and a feast. He treated the prodigal in ways designed to build a very different kind of self understanding.

Our goal is to learn to think and feel about ourselves in ways that are consistent with the way God thinks and feels about us. God's perspective is a surprising contrast to our own. God does not join our internal chorus which is so persistent at proclaiming our unworthiness. Instead God says "You are my child. You are loved!"

Lord, I have not learned to think and feel about myself in healthy ways.
Teach me to think and feel about myself 
in ways that are consistent with the way you think and feel about me!
Help me to listen when you say "I love you".
Help me to take it in.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan
National Association for Christian Recovery

God has a way of showing us that we don't know as much as we think we do.  He will act to show us that we do not know better than He does.

That's what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar, who had to learn some lessons in humility.  Talk about humbling:  For seven years the king was mentally ill and roamed the pastures outside the palace and chewed grass like a cow.  After paying the price for his pride, the once self-centered king declared:  "Now, I Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything He does is right and all His ways are just.  And those who walk in pride He is able to humble" Daniel 4:37.  In this confession, two words and one phrase are key for me:  everything, all, and His ways.  

These words speak to the king's new understanding of God's control and to the choice we must all make:  His way or my way.  Some men simply do not ask God, "How do you want me to handle this?" or inquire, "What does God's Word call me to do in this situation?"  The reasons for not asking those questions are simple ignorance or blatant ignorance.  Neither befits God's man, and both carry high price tags.

Taken from Every Man, God's Man

I was fortunate over the last three years to serve with our military in Germany.  My time there taught me two important lessons about being a gentleman.  One from a German and one from a U.S. Army Colonel.

I was on a German train traveling to a conference.  It was a bullet train and I reserved my seat (you have to pay extra to get a reservation).  When I got to my seat, a German man, a bit older than me, was sitting in my seat.  It didn't matter that there were other seats available, he was in MY seat and I had PAID for that seat.  I showed him my ticket and he got up and moved to an  empty seat.  What I didn't know was that he was sitting with his friends.  He moved across the aisle and continued his conversation.  I wasn't very friendly, I was upset that this guy could just sit in my seat.  But I put in my earphones, listened to my iPod and tried to not act angry.  As I sat there, listening to my CHRISTIAN music, God talked to me and said I was wrong.  I was full of myself and was not acting like Christ.  Finally, after several stops, I got up and went over to the man and apologized to him (in very broken German) and asked him to trade seats with me.  In perfect English, he said, "no, it was my fault.  It was my pleasure to let you sit there."  Now, I felt even more foolish.  This man said it was his "pleasure."  

On another occasion, I was at a US Military hotel in Seoul, Korea and I was standing at the deli, ordering a sandwich.  I noticed someone had taken the previous number and had thrown it on the ground.  I thought about picking it up, then I thought, "I didn't put it down there, I'm not picking it up."  I ordered  my sandwich and sat down.  Shortly after that, a Colonel came thru the line.  He saw the number that was on the ground and he bent over, picked it up and threw it away and then got back in line.  God spoke to me, He said, "so you thought you were too good to pick that up, huh?  Look at that Colonel.  Even though he is in charge and could have ordered a number of men to pick up that number, he did it himself."  Then I was reminded of the story of the Centurion in Matthew 8.  This Centurion was commended for his humility and faith.

So these two simple stories, I hope, help to spur you into thinking what it means to be a gentleman.  A gentleman thinks of others.  He doesn't get to thinking he is better than anyone else.  A gentleman doesn't think that he is above doing tasks that don't seem worthy.  

Yesterday at Target, when a woman ran over my toe with her shopping cart, I didn't erupt.  I told her not to worry about it.  When a man asked to sit next to me while I was waiting at the pharmacy for my prescription, I simply stated, "yes, it would be my pleasure."   

Are you willing to allow God to make you into a gentleman's gentleman?