You are helping a buddy move. You test the weight of a box he has packed. You squat. You grab. You say to yourself, “I think I got this” and then you start to lift. You realize very quickly you don’t have this! When something is heavy it is difficult to bear yourself. Here’s the thing with men in particular – we want to do it alone. Gravity kicks in, makes you feel the real weight of things, and we still attempt to carry “it” alone. We tell ourselves: “We got this!” Until we don’t, our pride wins, and something is damaged. Much of life is that way – heavy. We think “we got it” and try to carry the burdens we are experiencing alone until it’s too late and we end up being proven wrong. We never “had it” in the first place. But how wonderful it is when a second set of hands arrive! What was once heavy is now manageable – even doable. Lighter is better! You can feel the weight of the situation shift because someone is in it with you. God says that everyone you know is carrying some form of burden and they need a second set of hands that will help them feel the joy and relief of lightness. Heaviness is constant and everywhere. Choosing to make someone’s burden lighter is rare and powerful. In the spaces and places you occupy God’s Spirit says to God’s man: “Make that lighter.”
Life on earth will – at many points – make you feel alone in your circumstances. Maybe it is a physical condition we can’t fix that afflicts and isolates us. Maybe it is on an emotional level caused by some form form of loss. Many of us know the pain of relational loss, distance, or despair. And if you follow and love God, you will know spiritual pain and suffering caused by sin creating distance with God. Whatever the cause, the common denominator is the pain isolates us. You feel ALONE in it. You feel CONFUSED by it. You feel CONTROLLED by it. Or you feel FORCED to accept it. And the worst part of it is you CAN’T OVERCOME it by yourself. Add it all together and the result is the pain of isolation and how it attacks the mind and soul. We start thinking things that we have never thought to deal with the pain. Anger. Sadness. Revenge. Altered states. Ever heard those voices? Those suggestions? Given in?
God wants pain and the loneliness it creates RELIEVED and he has a plan to do it in your context. You.
You are not in charge in anymore. Everything changes now. There is a new normal, new status, and a new reality. Life as you were experiencing it has morphed. A stronger force has overtaken you and now controls you. People around you are asking: “What has gotten into you?” because they are seeking an explanation for the changes they see manifesting in you. Whatever it is, let’s just hope it’s a good thing or – better yet – a God thing. Jesus told his followers they would be OVERTAKEN and that this event was going to – literally – shock and rock their personal and present world. Now, as then, a violent wind is rushing and the fire is coming upon God’s men actively waiting on, seeking, and experiencing Holy Spirit impartation and ignition. God wants to set you loose in your personal world. Where you you live. Where you work. Where you pray. Where you play. He knows exactly what he wants to do. Do you? Join men’s expert and pastor Kenny Luck for this life changing and personal experience with the Holy Spirit.
What upsets you? What really makes your blood boil? We’d like to think it’s injustice, or sin or the oppression of the weak….but usually, when we’re honest…what bothers us most is whenever we’re inconvenienced. Whenever something doesn’t work out, I get overlooked….or something is just uncomfortable. The god of comfort desires our worship. He wants us to […]
During His life and ministry, Jesus made many outrageous claims. Incredible claims which were all proven true. Of everything He claimed to be, to do or know, of all the counter cultural truths he shared….none were as controversial as His claim in John 12. “I am the way, and the truth and the life.” No […]
We live in a culture that has elevated freedom, independence and self reliance to an unhealthy level. Above all, we desire to call the shots. We want to do what we choose when we choose it. We want the freedom to pursue our passions, the ability to decide for ourselves…..perhaps even to live for ourselves. […]
The wisest man who ever lived sought out to experience the “good things” in life. At the top of his list….was pleasure. Solomon denied himself no earthly thing… And yet he always came up empty. What can we learn from the life pursuits of Solomon? What promises does the ‘god of pleasure’ make that he […]
Who is it that we serve? Who do we worship? For the believer the answer sounds obvious…Jesus! Right?!!?! With our mouths we claim Christ, but what about our hearts? What consumes our thoughts? Our emotions? What are we most excited about? Most concerned about? Do our attitudes and actions prove that Christ is our greatest pursuit….or are there “idols” we are worshiping. Idols? As in small figures from far away pagan lands…yes, and no. Idols are much shinier, much more accepted, and far more common than we believe. What if idolatry isn’t an issue….what if it is the issue? What if we can pursue every false thought, pursuit and decision back to idolatry? Join us for “No other gods” as we unpack the lesser gods warring for our hearts!
