Boys to men

I was 'The Mandate' on Saturday.  It a men-only Christian conference, the speaker was Mark Driscoll with praise by Paul Balouche. 



Mark Driscoll



Mark Discoll is the Preaching and Theology Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle.  A church which started as a house group in the mid-nineties and now has around 10,000 members.  He has plently to say.  He's a bible man, he's blunt and forthright, some may say arrogant as well.  Driscoll is what might be descibed as 'not everyone's cup of tea'.

He challenged me though and for that I thank him.  He challenged me to be a better worshipper, husband, and warrior, to fulfill my duties, to man-up.

When does a man become a man? Driscoll bemaons the attitude of young men which tells them they are still boys, lads out for a good time.  No sense of reaponsibility, no need to work, save money, plan for the future.  No need to treat the women in their lives with respect and love.  Able to place their social life above their family, to refuse to be a good example to younger brothers and sisiters in the Lord, to sleep with their girlfriends, to get drunk.   Christian men acting like worldly boys.  Christian men acting like they have never met Jesus.

Last week I posted about a little boy dressed-up like a little girl.  Maybe the greater concern is that so many men are 'dressed-up' like little boys.

If you are reading this as a single woman demand from the boys around you that they grow-up.  Do not accept irresponsibility from them, do not accept them touching you inappropriately or treating you disrespectfully.  You are worthy of the best - demand the best.

It's to late for me to change how I behaved when I was a single man, I can only try to be a better married man.  Many still have the opportunity to become men while they are young; don't waste it.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

1 Corinthians 13:11

5 more minutes

Sleep deprivation is dangerous.

Lack of sleep can cause all sorts of problems; frayed tempers, bad decisions, car accidents.  In fact getting your rest is so important that secret moving-about-in-the-shadows types use sleep deprivation as a means to break the bad guys in interrogation situations.

I like to sleep, really like it. If I could sleep all day and all night I would but if I did I'd probably get a headache.  Any way my point is that you need your rest.

This is true spiritually as well.  God designed a system for us whereby we get enough physical and spiritual rest to keep us sane and healthy.  The Bible calls it Sabbath rest.  God gave us one day out of every week where we should not do any normal work.  One day when we focus on Him.  This of course doesn't mean that we pay no attention to God the rest of the time, it's just that our Sabbath is a focused, quality day with the Lord.

Britain still, just about, treats Sunday (the day most Christians use as their Sabbath) differently to other days. It tends to be less busy that other days for most people but that's starting to change.  There's more to Sabbath rest than just a lie in or leisurely walks in the afternoon.  The Sabbath was a gift from God, permission to spend time with Him, to rest in Him.  It is a terrible waste not to take advantage of it.

Many Christians too reject the gift of the Sabbath  by not taking the time to be in the company of God for more than a couple of hours.  We allow distractions to take over, it's a shame.  Of course if we get too legalistic over it that can cause problems as well but lets set aside rest time, God and me time.

Proper spiritual rest will aide decision making, calm tempers and produce growth. It is good, it is important, it is a gift - let's not waste it.

Morning has broken

It's early Monday morning, the day - the week - is full of hope and expectation. You've had a great weekend spent with you're other half indulging in your favourite things, having mini adventures, making memories.  Sunday is a highlight. Two great sermons, an afternoon and evening with most of the family, a walk ending with a dirty but happy dog and a good night's sleep (not to mention Everton crushing Liverpool 2-0).

You are ready. Ready for the world and all it can throw at you, ready to rise above trivial things, to spread hope and light where-ever you go.  This is a week for changing things, changing lives, changing the world!

And then you pour milk on your cereal and it comes out of the jug in lumps. Reality hits, hope turns to despair, fantasy to reality, magnificence to mundane, sublime to ridiculous.

Why is it that when we are flying highest we are so easily shot down? It happens so often in life and maybe especially in our spiritual walk.  Everything is going really well and then something happens.  It can be as little as a misplaced word from a loved one or a mistake of our own but the effect can be devastating.

We need to try and guard against these things. Slow steady improvement is what we need not exponential emotional highs.  Sounds thoroughly boring I know but it's true.  We need to work with the Holy Spirit to build our lives with bricks, not straw, so that it will last (1Corinthians 3:10-15).  The highs and lows will always be there of course but the fall will be less severe and the recovery a lot quicker if we are well supported by God, His word and His people.