Last Wednesday Bucky covered Psalm 37 and 1Samuel 24 (where David spares Saul’s life). Please take a few minutes and read both of those before you continue. Remember, your relationship with God is only as good as what you put into it. I like how Bucky has connected a Psalm each week to a part of David’s story. These two (now that you’ve read them) relate because David’s prayer in Psalm 37 revolves around not paying evil with evil but leaving the revenge to the Lord. And, as usual, David speaks from experience. David knows if we repay evil with evil, evil will come back to us (our moment of power will be short-lived). If we truly trust God then we will trust in the justice of God. Bucky made it clear this Psalm is about one-to-one situations; it generally does not apply to nations. In other words, we must turn the other check and pray for the person, not seek out our own vengeance. This applies to our families, work, neighbors, etc. Bucky really threw me when he said David showed meekness when Saul entered that cave to “relieve himself” giving David the chance to kill him (it is amazing the restraint David showed because his men were urging him to kill Saul – a sign of a true leader). The word meekness just didn’t seem to fit, you know, like,” themeek shall inherit the earth,” from the Beatitudes. I always thought of the meekas being the wimpy, quiet, nerdy types. Then Bucky gave the following definition of meekness: meekness is power and aggression under control and channeled in a different way. Wow! David was showing his controlled power by cutting Saul’s robe to let him know he could have killed him. He was channeling his aggression by pulling back and letting Saul know, “I am not the bad guy here.” Even though David was on the run from Saul; even though David lost everything (remember the five things he lost from Bucky’s message on Sunday – his job, his wife, his best friend, his spiritual leader and his self respect), David did not repay evil with evil when he had the chance. David left justice up to God, and even though Saul pulled back in tears this time, he still pursued David and David went through more gut-wrenching situations before God brought that justice. After all, it is in God’s time, not ours, right? Imagine if we lived this way in our jobs, with our families and in our neighborhoods.
Tag Archives: men’s group
Start the New Year with a Resolution: A Daily Devotional
Now is the time to start a yearly devotional. It is imperative to our walk with Christ to be in a devotional daily. The secret to the best devotionals? Reading the Bible (And if you do this every year, one way to motivate you to keep going is to read through the Bible in a different translation than one that you usually read e.g. New Living Translation, New American Standard, God’s Word, to name a few):
1. The Discipleship Journal has several options (I am doing this one this year) AND I am using a different Bible translation: Holman Christian Standard Bible AND I am reading the Bible using The Apologetics Study Bible which is excellent for those with a lot of questions.
2. A One Year Bible is a great way to go
A few GREAT options for those who want to do a daily devotion but not read through the Bible:
1. The One Year Book of Church History (I just finished this one, and it was AMAZING! I HIGHLY recommend it.)
2. Promises by Bill Bright (I did this one years ago. It is excellent, but I think it is out of print.)
3. Our Daily Bread: You can download it to your PDA, read it online, or order a paper copy. (I have done this one for years, and it is simple, concise and FREE! They will send you a free copy FOREVER–even tracked me down when I moved across the country!)
4. The One Year Book of Bible Prayer is another great option.
5. walkthru.org has a eDevotion that is sent to you via email, and they have some GREAT paper devotionals
(Their Daily Walk will walk you through the Bible in a year, and their Closer Walk will walk you through the New Testament in a year–both are excellent.)
Finally there are some GREAT audio options:
1. The Bible Experience (you can buy on itunes via audiobooks or at their website) I have bought the book of John and the Psalms and listened through it. They are VERY good.
2. The Bible Podcast is a FREE audio version of the Bible that is also excellent.
It doesn’t matter what you do as much as doing SOME form of daily devotion. Ideally you are reading the Bible daily.
Brennan Manning #1: The Overwhelming Love of God
Brennan Manning spoke at Mariners Church in 1996. I have added this 4 part series to uberlumen for your listening pleasure. It is AMAZING! I have been sharing these lectures with men from my men’s group for years, and they ALL have been AMAZED and changed by his beautiful insights, humor, and stories. If you haven’t heard him speak or read any of his books please start NOW.
Some of my favorites:
Men’s Topic #10: Intimacy is BETTER than Sex
We had a GREAT time today listening and learning how to be a Christ like lover to our wives. We are called to love her–sacrafically and unconditionally–as Christ loved us. We discussed love languages, knowing your family of origin baggage allows healing and enlightenment into present struggles, and Drew’s ‘top 10’ marriage tips. Here is the outline and discussion questions.
Men’s Topic #8: Superhero’s
I had an ‘aha’ moment several weeks ago. Most of the successful men that I know are superheros. Yes men of steel. These men are able to detach in a moment’s notice, disengage from wives and family, and ‘puff up’ and plow through any situation.
These men come from wounded back grounds. Family of origin nightmares. A distant father and an overbearing mother. At least one of their parents is inevitably an alcoholic or worse. At a VERY early age these men hide behind perfection. When the drunk mom and the distant dad become too much, they amp up and shut off ANY emotions from the outside world and OVER achieve, over and over again.
Over and over again, I hear the same story–abandoned by dad and living with a crazy mom who must spend all her energy raising the prodigal younger brother so the eldest son emerges to save the day: captain of the football, track, AND wrestling team….and did I mention validictorian? abandoned by a distant dad and living with a drunk mom too spent to supervise the youngest and last kid in the house so this son rises up to MVP of the water polo team, etc. SAME story different details!
When these men grow up it is no surprise that they live Thoreau’s ‘quiet lives of desperation’ sealed off from any emotions from any chance of intimacy and deep meaningful relationships.
I was amazed by listening to the author of “The Shack” (a MUST read) who described himselft as just such a man hiding his baggage-his “shack”, as he called it, behind him while he hid his true brokenness from the world by perfectionism.
Please enjoy this presentation regarding so many men’s hidden secret: They are superhero’s.
Men’s Topic #7: TRUST in Him
Here is a GREAT summary from Dave about Men on the Path:
Let me start by saying I really miss seeing some of you guys on Wednesday mornings.
Bucky always gives us a little information about the culture of the time so we can better understand the meaning of the scripture verses we talk about. One part of his explanation really got my attention. Bucky explained how, in Jesus’ time, a man proposed to a woman by offering her a cup. If she drank from the cup, it meant she accepted, the engagement began and the man would then go home to build a room onto his father’s house. It made me think, so how did we go from offering a cup to a mandatory three carats? Why does a woman need such a big, bright, shiny object, and, why do we feel the need to give it to her?
Last Wednesday we discussed the first six verses of John 14, which starts with, “Do not let your hearts be troubled; Trust in God; trust also in me,” and ends with, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes through the Father except through me.” How do Jesus’ words bring comfort to your heart as you read and reflect on them? Think about it for a few minutes. For some on Wednesday, going to heaven meant seeing loved ones again while others talked about true freedom from worries and fears, and about seeing God’s face.
These verses are great messages for us as we live in Orange County – an area where so many are hearts are troubled because of their trust in the things of this world (i.e. the real estate and the stock markets). This is southern California, right? Aren’t we supposed to be “the place” where everyone wants to live so housing values should never decline? And the stock market; when is the last time it went spiraling downward like this? If we cannot trust in our real estate and stock markets then what can we trust in? Well, we can trust in God’s promise He has a plan for us that is bigger than anything this world has to offer. He has prepared a place for us in heaven. All we need to do is be born again; become a new creation. In reading, “My Utmost for His Highest,” this morning it said we are not born again and our souls are not saved unless our hearts no longer desire the things of the past. Quite a different approach than, pray a prayer and go to heaven. Personally, I choose to believe Oswald Chambers. When you believe in your heart, change will come and fears will subside. When God looks down is He able to tell the difference between your lifestyle and the non-believer’s? Maybe we should go back to offering cups.
In His Service,
Dave
Men’s Topic #6: Love the one you’re with
Our topic this week was about LOVING your spouse. In our OC world everyone is looking for more, coveting, and thinking that ‘the grass is always greener’. If you want a GREAT marriage, you have to stop looking at the other lawns and stop and water your own grass! i.e. a GREAT marriage takes SACRIFICE and HARD WORK and COMMITTMENT to LOVE her with CHRIST’S LOVE!
Our Scripture for this week is: Ephesians 5:25-33
Here is Dave’s summary email:
| I want to thank Robby for being a man of courage; it isn’t easy getting up in front of a bunch of men when you are the youngest and possibly the least experienced in the group regarding the topic you were speaking on. Robby spoke on Ephesians 5:25-33. If you haven’t read it in a while please do so. It offers great marital advice. Robby told us how he sees love – as an action word, not a feeling. Love, Robby said, is not about us but about other people. Verse 25 states, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Then, smack dab in the middle of those verses is the line, “He who loves his wife loves himself.” Wow, pretty powerful, huh?
Some things that went around the room during our discussion time were: – Love has nothing to do with the physical and everything to do with the heart – Jesus is our love coach – Marriages get neglected in the name of material success – Show love by praying with and for one another; you cannot be angry with someone if you are praying with/for them – Know your spouse’s “love language,” whether it is gifts, affirmation, physical touch, time or service (from Gary Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages) – Spend some quality, uninterruptible time on the couch with your spouse when you first get home from work (“couch time”) – Get rid of your television and your children’s cell phones – If together, we can keep our eyes focused on Jesus rather than the imperfect human beings we are, and ask Him to love our spouse through us, we will grow closer to Him and to our spouse – as you both grow closer to Christ you grow closer to each other…. As always, please share your thoughts/comments with us!
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Dave K interview Part #3
This is the 3rd and final part of the 3 part interview with Dave. This is the grand finale! Dave shares with us the conclusion to his incredible journey into the open arms of Jesus.
Please share with us your thoughts/comments below.
Men’s Topic #5: PRAYER
| Here are the notes from Dave on Men’s Group Topic #5: Prayer
On Wednesday we reviewed Luke 11:5-13 and Luke 18:1-7 (please read, or re-read them before continuing). Bucky makes so many great points each week it is a challenge to write about just one or two. I selfishly get to pick the ones that touch my heart and pray they will touch yours, too. We all know where Bucky’s heart is on the subject of prayer because he stated on Wednesday, “the best thing we could do is pray.” I’ve been blessed to be able to attend a few events with Bucky and one thing he makes sure happens is that prayer is part of the event. For example, after serving those in need at the City of Hope shelter a couple of months ago we stood in front of the door and Bucky led us in prayer. Bucky often says how he walks around the Northwood neighborhood and prays before service. So it did not surprise me when our discussion this week focused on prayer. When all is said and done if we do not become men of prayer we will never know God. We can “study” His word all we want but we will never know Him. Prayer is nothing more than talking to God; it is not ceremonial or ritualistic; it is a conversation with our Lord and Savior. Bucky said we can go through the routine of prayer but if it is just rote that is disconnected from your heart it will not accomplish anything. Prayer needs a willing and wanting heart. Getting on your knees at the beginning and/or end of each day and praying is something to be done not out of “duty” but out of desire. How else can you get to know God if you do not talk to Him? Another point Bucky made was that each morning when the disciples awoke they usually found Jesus out alone, praying. He was talking to His Abba. Jesus’ Abba is our Abba, too. The point of Luke 11:5-13, is to show us God isn’t a grouchy Father, but a Good Neighbor; the One we can talk to anytime, anywhere. If we knock, He will answer. God is always there for us. A little while back Bill Gaultiere had Cynthia and me demonstrate the “prayer hug” we do almost every morning. It is amazing how Cynthia looks forward to starting her day knowing I’ve cared enough to embrace her and whisper my prayer to God in her ear. As men, God wants us to be the spiritual heads of our households. The best thing we can do for our families doesn’t involve anything in this world (no college funds, hedge funds, mutual funds, etc.); it is prayer. Try it, and like the woman in Luke 18:1-7, do not give up; continue to pray. Remember it is in His timing not ours. |
Prayer is Invading the Impossible
I had the honor to teach at Men of Influence this week. This is the men’s group at Mariners Church that I used to go to until I moved over to Men on the Path at Pathways Church. It is an amazing group of men, and they have chosen an AMAZING book to go through: Prayer is Invading the Impossible by Hayford. We discussed these questions:
- Is God good? How do you know that God is good?
- Does Satan exist? How do you know?
- Why do bad things happen to good people? Where do bad things come from?
- What role do your prayers have in accomplishing God’s will?
I mentioned these 2 books as GREAT resources:
- Never Give Up! by Nancy Missler: A LIVE CHANGING book concerning trials and tribulations
- The Invisible War by Chip Ingram: What Every Believer Needs to Know about Satan, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare
Please enjoy my brief audio teaching and slides, and as always, please share your comments!
Men’s Topic #4: Servanthood
Please enjoy this audio of Bucky’s teaching about servanthood and here is Dave’s summary:
Please take a few minutes and re-read John 13. Then use your remaining time to reflect on what we learned from each other today:
- Verse 1 says, “…he showed them the full extent of his love.” Love always gives itself away for the benefit of another.
- You must receive service (from God and others) before you can serve others. You cannot give what you have not received. Bucky gave us a few great personal examples that would take up too much space here (if you’d like to know ask Bucky or someone that attended on Wednesday). God serves us by His grace in allowing us to enter into a relationship with Him now, as we are. We must spend time with God to further that relationship. No relationship lasts if time isn’t spent with the other person in the relationship. God is no different – if we want to know Him better, we must make time for Him.
- As usual, Jesus led by example. He did not ask His disciples to do anything He hadn’t already done. And, of course, it was done in complete humility. Humility is the absence of pride.
Can you see the correlation between our teacher and the disciples’ Teacher? Bucky leads by personal example with humility. That is why we all love and respect Bucky. He is transparent; he is not afraid to make his life an open book. We don’t see Bucky as “Super Pastor,” but as one of us. Well, Jesus desires that same love and respect from us. It just takes time guys; are you ready to give it?
Share what you learned this week with a friend, co-worker, neighbor or family member. When they see you lead with humility they will want what you have.
Men’s Topic #3: 3 Attacks on our Identity as men
Bucky taught us from Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus prepared Himself for his encounter with satan by fasting for 40 days and nights! We lose sight of the fact that ‘fasting IS feasting’ on God and His word. Fasting and prayer and meditation on His word doesn’t weaken us but strengthens us for battle.
There are 3 temptations/3 attacks that the world and satan use to attack our identity:
- performance trap: world tries to convince us that our identity is linked to our performance
- control trap: world tries to convince us that our identity is linked to how much power/control we have
- worldly possession trap: world tries to convince us that we are what we own
What is the cure for this pack of lies, attacks, temptations?
- Our identity DOES NOT come from what we do but who we are to God. We are His beloved!
- Our identity DOES NOT come from our power and control but our job is to submit and put our trust in God. We must give over our control to God.
- Our identity DOES NOT come from our stuff. We are NOT what we own!
note: we also talked about how the world and satan love to isolate men. Being in community, in fellowship with other men is essential!
As always PLEASE leave us your thoughts/insights etc by clicking on the “0 comments” in yellow at the bottom of this post and leave a comment.
Men’s Topic #2: Are you enough?
Topic #2 is based on the story of the prodigal son from Luke 15. This brief audio is about a LIFE CHANGING concept that will improve your marriage and relationships. We are all walking around with the ‘I am not enough’ wound that society and our parents have given us. This wound can only truly be healed by God, but our wives/s.o./friends can help heal this wound. Please add your thoughts, questions, and comments below this post!
Men’s Topic #1: Where is your treasure?
Here is a GREAT email from Dave summarizing Men’s Topic #1 (and I have added 2 audio’s–Bucky’s teaching points and the debrief insights time): Where is your treasure?
The passages from Matthew that we talked about Wednesday are among my all time favorites. (For those unable to attend we covered Matthew 6: 19-34. You may wish to take a moment and read it before going further.)
Bucky covered so much this morning as he talked about Jesus’ Life Investment Strategy:
- One of the key words in these passages is “treasure.” When we hear that word most of us think in terms of physical things – material possessions; but Jesus meant it as the order of the heart.
- We all have a treasure box – our hearts. What do you have in your treasure box? (“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”)
- We tend to organize our lives around our investment strategy. We need to organize it around God’s Kingdom and all else will follow. (“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you as well.”)
- It is impossible to treasure two things equally. We cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom. It does not work; one will eventually dominate. (“There shall be no other gods before me.”)
- The treasure isn’t something we get when we die (like some prize); it is here and now. The Book of Matthew is the Gospel of the Kingdom and it tells us the Kingdom of Heaven is here and now. We can have the eternal, abundant life today. Something Cynthia and I do each morning is pray together and one of the prayers we use is the one Dr. Bill G. gave us a few months back. Ask Bill or me if you’d like a copy.
So, what does God treasure? He treasures people, relationships and the creative order of things. As you re-read these passages look for how God tells us about how He takes care of all things that honor Him. Don’t be afraid to take that step. Tell God you want to turn your life over to Him (“thy will be done”). “You will find rest for your soul.”
Men on the Path: September 24
I hope to have a weekly summary post (hopefully with some audio) of our time together at our men’s group. I missed yesterday, but Dave has sent me a great summary! (Don’t forget to go to uberlumen.com and sign up for the updates by email and itunes podcasting):
As soon as I saw the scripture reading for the Men of the Path was about Peter walking on water (when Peter temporarily trusted in God and forgot about his fears) it reminded me of the John Ortberg book, “If You Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get Out of the Boat.” What a title, huh? If you haven’t read the book, I highly recommend it. Bucky took that passage on fear and turned it into a positive by leading us into a discussion about risk. As one member at our table so aptly put it, you have to be willing to give something up when you take a risk. Getting to know God personally, enjoying His presence here and now is a risk. Most of us are afraid of what God might do. Another person at our table reminded us that everything we have (career, family, etc.) belongs to God. God wants us to have those things (not to excess) but also know He can take it at anytime. So we are to worship and honor Him first; everything else (yes, even that thing that just crossed your mind) is secondary. So, how do you spend your day, your week? What are your priorities in life? Write down your schedule for a typical week. What are you willing to give up for God?
In His Service,
Dave
Why Go to Men’s Group? What is in it for me?
Join me in listening to an interview with Gene who gives a GREAT example and IMPORTANT reasons to join us at Men on the Path this coming Wednesday morning at 6:45am-8:00am.
- WHEN: Wednesday’s from 6:45am-8:00am
- WHAT: We are going to be looking at the TOP 10 things men need to know
- WHERE: North Park Community Center
Note: it is best to enter the housing complex off of Portolla because then when you go through the gate the club house where we are meeting is straight ahead of you. When you enter at the Portola gate tell Jim, the guard there, that you are attending the Pathways meeting.
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Men of Influence: Men’s Group on Friday’s
There are 2 men’s groups that I know and love. One meets Wednesday mornings and the other on Friday mornings–both meet from 6:45am-8:00am. The Friday morning group meets at Mariners Church, room 204 (see map). I have been a part of this amazing, life changing group for almost a decade. If you are free on Friday’s…join them! They are going to be looking at a GREAT book this season: Jack Hayford’s book, “Prayer is Invading the Impossible” The group starts September 19, 2008.
Evil and Suffering, Passing the Blame
It took me some time to see it (15 years), but it finally dawned on me as I observed another doctor do it. I saw a patient who was dying of end stage liver disease from alcoholism. The first question that the admitting doctor asked the patient was “When was the last time that you had a drink?” How is that relevant at the end of this patients life?
I have been guilty of this as well. I have seen patients dying of lung cancer that I have asked if they smoked and how much. WHY?!! There is no medical reason to ask. We ask these types of questions because it makes us feel better. We think to ourselves: 1. They are to blame for their demise and 2. I won’t get this horrible disease because I don’t smoke or I don’t drink.
The blame game does NOTHING to help with the suffering, the evil, the tragedies, the messes of life. We must rise above the blame game to ask ourselves how can I help others through this and to help heal the pain with God’s help.
We all play the blame game and look for someone to blame.
Prayer Request become a bone marrow donor
Please PRAY and consider becoming a donor for my friend’s sister-in-law:
Dear Friends,
As some of you know, my sister-in-law, Lisa, was diagnosed with blood cancer (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia) on June 21, 2008. Right now Lisa MUST have a bone marrow transplant in order to survive. An exhaustive search of current available donors has not produced a matching donor. Please see the two attachments for more information on becoming a donor. The process is fairly easy. We have teamed-up with DKMS (www.dkmsamericas.org) for a donor drive. First, you can check your eligibility at the DKMS website (donors cannot have diabetes, heart disease, etc). Second, there are two ways to register to become a donor: 1) come by our donor drive this Friday or Saturday at my father’s ministry office located at 3636 Westminster Ave, Santa Ana. Or, 2) go to the DKMS website and they will mail you a swab kit for free. Either way, it’s a simple process of rubbing a swab on your cheek. After the swab is analyzed (2-3 weeks) and a matching donor is found, the transplant is usually taken by blood. Eighty percent of the time, the needed cells are donated through blood. Please help us find a donor. Time is of the essence since only 20% of patients find a matching donor. Lisa must have a bone marrow transplant to survive. You or someone you know could save Lisa’s life. Please pray for Lisa. Please help us save her life.
With love,
Martin & Lela
Men on the Path at North Park Community Center
Men on the Path starts Wednesday, September 17 at 6:45am to 8:00am at North Park Community Center:
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