If I were to ask, what is the most important time of the day, I would probably get a number of different responses.  That due to the fact that we are in many different settings and circumstances.  But the one common denominator we have as men is that we are made in the image of God with a purpose to reflect His glory in the earth.  That being the case spending time with Him would have to rank very high in importance; as a matter of fact I would contend that it is first and foremost. 

It was most important to David when the Psalmist says in Psalm 27:4,  ”I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing:  To live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet (The Message).”  If you look at this in context, David understood that his perspective of life was controlled by the relationship which he developed with God through time spent in His presence.  Jesus likewise put this in perspective when in Luke 10 he chided Martha for worrying about “stuff” and said, “one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen the good part,”– that being spending time listening to Him.

So many fail to appreciate the strength that is gained in direct proportion to time spent with God in devotional times.  Most in our day don’t feel they have the time or just don’t take the time for devotions.  Yet we find time for other things we enjoy or consider important.  If we are too busy to spend time with God we are too busy.  If we, as Bill Gates, feel the time we spend with God could be more productively spent elsewhere, we again are misguided in our thinking.  Nothing really equals the potential for exponenial results as time spent with the Creator and sustainer of all that is.  No one knows the mysteries and times as does He.  And according to Paul, He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or think according to the power that is at work in us (Eph 3:20). 

We are sadly mistaken if we think we can wing it without His help.  I’ve been a duffer for quite some time.  I got tired of finishing last every time I played with a group, so I decided to take some golf lessons.  Sure enough, my swing was all wrong (with a capital A).  With only an introductory lesson I began to hit the ball straight (a miracle within itself).  Of course I will continue with follow-up lessons now that I see its value.  Don’t know yet if that will translate into my not finishing last, but I do beleive I have a better chance than before.  Now, just think how your service could be improved by fellowshipping with the One who knows it all?  Talk about confidence building; avoiding mistakes and escaping the “snare of the fowler;”multiplying results and on and on!  With possibilities like this, who could argue that this is not the most important use of our time and the most important time of the day is the time we spend devotionally in prayer, Scripture reading and meditation–communing with the Father?

Heads up guys!  Our fall portion of the Light for the Lost (LFTL) Tour is just around the corner.  I was speaking to Warren Wilson, our state LFTL Coordinator, and he reminded me of the four sections yet to hold their LFTL rally for this year.  They are scheduled as followed:

September 13       Section 1 (Southaven)-  Friendship A/G- Victoria, MS

September 14       Section 10 (Waynesboro)- Little Rock A/G- Waynesboro, MS

September 16       Section 6 (Jackson)- Southside A/G- Jackson, MS

September 17       Section 9 (Hattisburg)- Bethel A/G- Petal, MS

I want to encourage every pastor, men’s leader, and anyone else who will carry the torch for LFTL to get behind these services to bring the men of your church to be challenged for missions.  You will enjoy an excellent meal served by the host church and hear our own missionary to Malawi, John Easter, as he shares the value of LFTL he has experienced first hand on the field.  The meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. and Brother Wilson tries very hard to complete the service before 9:00 p.m. to allow you to return home at a reasonable hour.

Sometimes we balk at going to meetings where the bottom line is giving, but this is as fertile soil as it gets.  Paul told the Corinthians that bountiful giving will result in bountiful harvest.   I can’t imagine anything more important to God than missions–at home and abroad.  The salvation of the lost is the reason for the Great Commission.  Can you imagine Him not helping us in this most important  purpose?  Here is a wonderful opportunity to partner with God, and an awesome privilege to be on the team that gets this job done.  We can’t all go, but we can all give.  I encourage you to come and see how the seed we sow in LFTL produces a terrific harvest of men and women in the kingdom.  You will leave both inspired and humbled how one here and one there who responds to the need build a synergy that produces far and above what any one of us could have done by ourself.

The other day while working with the Ranger Trail Camp Committee I was reminded of how many opportunities exist for men to be involved in life changing ministries.  From workdays, to investing in boys through Royal Rangers, to financially supporting both the camp and ministry, indeed, opportunities abound.  Problem is we are often otherwise occupied or otherwise oriented in such a way as to not see or participate in these and other opportunities.  The otherwise occupied is not as problematic as the otherwise oriented because otherwise occupied may reflect that we are investing in other “fields” of endeavor or ministry. 

But otherwise oriented is a malady we all have to address.  Since the fall, we have an orientation to please ourselves rather than the purpose for which God designed us.  The Greek word most often used for sin carries the meaning of missing the mark.  To the degree our orientation to self causes us to miss the mark we fail in achieving the purpose God has for our lives–purposes as simple as spending a day working at camp, or a Wednesday evening teaching boys, or giving a few bucks to help with the power bill.  We are response(i)-able; by that I mean we have a choice.  We choose to invest in the Kingdom that pays dividends out of this world or we choose to squander time and resources on things that evaporate as quick as Mississippi dew in July. 

Paul offers us hope in Romans 8 when he tells us if we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.  The more spiritually minded we become the more apt we are to have ministry opportunities in our crosshairs.  Pull the trigger man!  Don’t wait on someone else to start something–you do it.  You’re on the wall–give a shout out when you see an opportunity.  And don’t wait until everyone can do something either–that’s an excuse too often used.  Gideon got the job done with way less than what some would have thought necessary.  Who knows but you might be the catylst that will set your men’s ministry on fire. 

Friday evening I was at Ranger Trails Camp to speak at the Mississippi District Royal Ranger Junior Training Academy.  Some thirty boys and young men working toward advancement in the Royal Rangers Ministry.  Thirty-something men were there as well to help those young men achieve their goals.  Those men were there not because they had nothing else to do; they were there because they want to make a difference in the next generation church.  Speaking of opportunity, only 40 of our churches are chartered with Royal Ranger Outposts; only 30 outposts showed up for Pow Wow this year.  Where were your boys, brother?  Hope they were there;  if not there is a wonderful opportunity right in front of you.

While fishing the other afternoon, I noticed the moon high in the afternoon sky.  As the afternoon faded into dusk the light from the moon became much more noticeable.  In later musings, my thoughts turned to some spiritual applications of this dynamic. 

Of course we know that the moon reflects the light from the sun.  It has no light of its own and is no comparison to the brilliance of the sun.  Similarly, we, as men, are made in the image of God and as such are to be a reflection of who He is.  We are as poor by comparison as the moon is to the sun—infinitely more in fact, nevertheless, God has ordained that we bear His image in this dark world.  That’s when I reflected further on the phases of the moon.  We all have experienced the difference between the light from a full moon and that of a sliver crescent as the moon waxes and wanes.  The difference is, of course, our location in relation to that of the earth and month in its orbit and the alignment of the moon to earth and to sun.   In other words how much of the earth blocks our view of the moon and the rays of the sun from reaching the moon.  Bam!—it struck me; to the end that we allow things to come between us and our purpose to reflect the glory of God, we like the moon will not be as bright as we could and should be.  Please know that I am not talking about gross sin, but rather anything that absorbs our time and attention, getting between us and our main calling to reflect the image of God in this dark world in which we live.  Remember in Exodus when Moses spent 40 days and nights in the presence of God?  When he came down to the people they said your countenance is so bright we can’t stand to look at you, so Moses put a veil over his face so that it didn’t hurt the people’s eyes.  Yet when Paul writes about this in 2 Corinthians 3, he says that Moses did this so the people would not notice that the glory was in fact fading.  Moses could tell already that absence from the presence of God had an effect on the reflected glory he bore.  Wow!!!  That tells me to the extent we spend time with God and/or let things get between us and our time with Him our reflection of Him will be affected.  So how’s your devotional life?

Guys we are responsible for the world’s perception of God.  That is heavy duty!  I’m not saying we can’t fish or golf or go to sporting events, (add your hobby or time taker here), but when our lives are out of balance and, in the main, consumed with things that perish, it will have an impact on how bright a reflection we give of our God.  If we are a good reflection, those around us will have a better chance of not stumbling in the dark without any light to guide them or give them hope.  True, we are not The light, but our reflection may serve to point them to the True Light, “which coming into the world enlightens every man” (John 1:9).

What might you do to allow more of His glory to be reflected in your life?

My appointment as District Men’s Director was confirmed at the recent District Council in May.  I am excited by the prospects of this appointment.  I see men as the most important part of the church family.  This is certainly not to disparage the importance of other members, but if a man begins to exercise his God given responsibility as the spiritual leader and the protector of his family he was intended to be, great things are on the horizon for that family.  With that as the basis and impetus for developing Honorbound Men’s Ministry, I will support, encourage, cheer on, help, work with, you name it, to see Men’s Ministry go forward in the Mississippi District.  I am available to Pastors, men’s leaders, or any man who desires to see his church have an active effective men’s ministry.  With God’s help, Honorbound Men’s Ministry will be the force it should be in every church in our District!

National Men’s Ministries

National Men’s Ministries exists to reach, teach and release men to grow to their full potential in Christ.

In achieving this vision, it is important that pastors and lay leaders pursue ministry to their men in a new and fresh way. Five building blocks that will contribute to the accomplishment of this goal are:

• Men’s ministry must be seen from a spiritual perspective. It must be bathed in prayer. It must be considered as much a part of the work of the Holy Spirit as any other area of ministry.
• There must be a balanced emphasis on being versus doing. In other words, what a man becomes versus what he does.
• There must be gender-specificity. There is a difference between how one ministers to men versus how one ministers to women. Activities targeted at men must be tailored for men. These activities and ministries must be goal oriented with a clear sense of achievement evident at their conclusion.
• Intentional focus is key – meaning that the outcome must be decided upon up front with a clear vision of what the major purpose is.
• Pastoral involvement is essential. This building block calls for pastors to become involved with their men, supporting ministry to and setting the example for their men.

National Men’s Ministries’ goal is to equip and empower the local church to effectively reach men in and outside the church walls.