A week or so ago, I was having dinner with my boss when I made a reference to something that was very Scandinavian in nature.
"That was such a Minnesota thing," he said while he ate his slice of pizza. "What other types of Minnesota-specific things are there?"
I thought for a second. "Well, there's fishing. Ice fishing. The funny vowels in words like 'aunt'. The Red Green Show---"
"The Red Green Show is flipping amazing," he said staring me in the face. "Is it really Minnesotan?"
"It's actually a Canadian show, but there aren't many differences," I replied. We continued to talk about the Red Green Show and how awesome it is for a while when I came to this realization:
My expectations of men came from the Red Green Show.
Think about it. To me, a man is a guy who meets these criteria:
Wears flannel. Regularly.
Is hairy.
Goes fishing.
Goes ice fishing.
Spends more time in his garage or truck than in the house.
Spends more time fixing your vehicles, lawnmower, weed-whacker, leaf-blower, snow-blower, and ice fishing hutch heater than fixing your dishwasher or air conditioner.
Knows 101 uses (and counting) for the handyman secret weapon: duct tape.
If duct tape doesn't solve it, WD-40 will.
His motto is "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."
Nearly every single character in Red Green meets these criteria.
No wonder Hoosiers think I'm weird. I subconsciously have these expectations which are incredibly culture based. Ahh!
A guy like that is hard to find in these parts, but so is a guy who meets Biblical standards of manliness. Bekah and I have frequently had conversations about the young men in our lives and how we feel, well, disappointed in them. Apart from SIL (which only meets during the summertime) I can only fill one hand with the young men I know who truly love the Lord and are walking in him. Sure, we know plenty of guys who claim to love Christ or claim to be good guys, but in reality they're no different. A young man who truly loves the Lord is about as scarce as a unicorn.
Where are you, young men? Are you working on becoming that Biblical male? Are you growing in the Lord and learning to love Him more? Are you asking for the Lord to give you a greater desire for Him and His Word? Are you becoming the man God wants you to be? Are you becoming the man that I need you to be?
I need you. Our country needs you. The lost need you. Future generations need you. How long will you be satisfied with less than God's best? How many more times will you pick up the remote control instead of your Bible? Brothers, a number of us have lost hope in your existence. We need you to guard us, to guide us, and to encourage us.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Basics. They're--- well, basic.
Faith.Grace.Prayer.Repentance.Forgiveness.Bible.Justification.
I'm assuming a number of you reading this blog have been Christians for quite some time. Some of you might not be, but I encourage you to continue reading anyway. What comes to mind when you see the seven words at the beginning of this post? Can you remember who told you what those words mean or where Scripture talks about them? Can you cohesively explain them to someone who's new in Christ?
After we've been a part of the Family for awhile, we tend to move on to 'more advanced' subjects like Free Will vs Predestination or Pedo vs Believers baptism or 'Do you receive the Spirit at birth or when you become saved?' All these subjects are important, but when it comes to courses in Christian basics, we tend to think we don't need them. 'Those classes are for infants in Christ.' Are they? When was the last time you thought about what the Bible basis for prayer was? Why prayer? How does prayer work? Who is prayer about? Even professional basketball players routinely practice basic skills (dribbling?).
For the past few weeks, I've been in a Sunday School class called Spiritual Bootcamp. The class has been a wonderful refresher for me. I've also learned a number of things about the subjects above and others. It doesn't mean I didn't know the fundamentals. It doesn't mean I didn't have a biblical foundation. But I've discovered there were places my biblical foundation needed to be refortified.
We can so easily discard the basics and fundamentals as 'easy' and 'no-brainers.' But how easy are the fundamentals? Is it easy to deal with the reality that you are a filthy sinner who deserves enduring the eternal wrath of God? Is it easy to believe a righteous God sent His ONLY Son to endure that wrath so you didn't have to? Is it easy to praise God in the storm of reality? Is it easy to leave the future of a loved one living in rebellion to God? Is it always easy to pray?
Brothers and sisters, we live in a broken, fall world. We are attacked on all sides and if we do not perform maintenance on our foundation, it will begin to rot. I encourage you to get back to basics. Talk about the concept of grace or faith or love with a pastor or spiritual leader. Take a course of Spiritual Bootcamp. When have you ever regretted strengthening the most important relationship you'll ever have? It may give you the tools you need to share your faith with someone. You may come to find out that you were not who you thought you were. Anyway you slice it, it's worth it.
<3
I'm assuming a number of you reading this blog have been Christians for quite some time. Some of you might not be, but I encourage you to continue reading anyway. What comes to mind when you see the seven words at the beginning of this post? Can you remember who told you what those words mean or where Scripture talks about them? Can you cohesively explain them to someone who's new in Christ?
After we've been a part of the Family for awhile, we tend to move on to 'more advanced' subjects like Free Will vs Predestination or Pedo vs Believers baptism or 'Do you receive the Spirit at birth or when you become saved?' All these subjects are important, but when it comes to courses in Christian basics, we tend to think we don't need them. 'Those classes are for infants in Christ.' Are they? When was the last time you thought about what the Bible basis for prayer was? Why prayer? How does prayer work? Who is prayer about? Even professional basketball players routinely practice basic skills (dribbling?).
For the past few weeks, I've been in a Sunday School class called Spiritual Bootcamp. The class has been a wonderful refresher for me. I've also learned a number of things about the subjects above and others. It doesn't mean I didn't know the fundamentals. It doesn't mean I didn't have a biblical foundation. But I've discovered there were places my biblical foundation needed to be refortified.
We can so easily discard the basics and fundamentals as 'easy' and 'no-brainers.' But how easy are the fundamentals? Is it easy to deal with the reality that you are a filthy sinner who deserves enduring the eternal wrath of God? Is it easy to believe a righteous God sent His ONLY Son to endure that wrath so you didn't have to? Is it easy to praise God in the storm of reality? Is it easy to leave the future of a loved one living in rebellion to God? Is it always easy to pray?
Brothers and sisters, we live in a broken, fall world. We are attacked on all sides and if we do not perform maintenance on our foundation, it will begin to rot. I encourage you to get back to basics. Talk about the concept of grace or faith or love with a pastor or spiritual leader. Take a course of Spiritual Bootcamp. When have you ever regretted strengthening the most important relationship you'll ever have? It may give you the tools you need to share your faith with someone. You may come to find out that you were not who you thought you were. Anyway you slice it, it's worth it.
<3
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