 All Of A Man's Ways.
by Jason Cruise There is a verse that continually provides me with real-time course correction. Proverbs 16:2 states, "All of a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord." While it's true that I'm forever gravitating my thoughts to the motive aspect of this verse, motive is just a mirror reflection of the first segment of this Scripture. All of a man's ways ... that brings to center stage our incredible, almost superhero-like ability to justify absolutely anything. Think about it. Time and time again, when you are faced with a decision, it is not overtly simple to justify a decision that elevates your preferred position in the outcome? It's human nature to want to be the winner, every time. In the end, what guides your process must be an all out rejection of self-justification. If you want to honor God with your decisions, you must surrender your will and pray yourself into a place where your heart wants no dream in it that isn't born in the heart of God.
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 The Purpose Of Providing.
by Jason Cruise God provides, and any man worth his spiritual salt would be quick to testify to such a truth. Understand, however, that God doesn't provide, over and over again, just to make life easier on you. When God's people were trekking through the wilderness out of Egypt, they were hungry. Hunting is hard enough, but I cannot imagine trying to feed a family on what you can drag home from the desert floor. God provided for His people something called "manna." Bread from heaven, as seen in Exodus 16. While God wanted to keep His people from starvation, the greater purpose of God proving manna to His people wandering in the desert was to teach them of His sovereign ability to provide not just food, but everything else they needed to make it through life. He wanted to teach them that He was the joy giver, and that life's provisions came from Him. God doesn't waste an experience. He takes you through all of life's experiences, giving you your own version of a cloud to follow by day and fire by night to navigate the unknown. He's showing you His strength for your future Jordan River moments of crisis when you will need to remember, based on experiences in your past, that He truly is able.  The Man Minute: "Sixty second investments in Christ-like manhood"
Guilt Or Guilt-Ridden ? by Jason Cruise Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7:10) There is no doubt that for those who are genuinely grafted into the vine of Christ, sin brings about guilt. If it doesn't, then a person has a much larger problem than the sin committed. Sin brings guilt, or "sorrow" that leads to repentance. Guilt from sin is your best friend, a guide in the vast wilderness of humanity, driving you to find shelter in the eternal heart of God that is fortified in forgiveness. If only a person could keep it that way. It seems that more often than not, we tend to let guilt take up residence in our lives, allowing it to stay in our dwelling places right along side us every day. When that happens, what is born is not a righteous guilt sprung forth from a heart inhabited by Christ. When this happens, "Godly sorrow" has become bondage, a bondage holding you hostage from the heart of God and the grace that's found there. When you sin, don't fight the guilt. Let it drive you to the heart of the Father. If, however, you find yourself still walking in shame and condemnation months later, change your prayer life from one seeking forgiveness to one that seeks freedom; the kind of freedom that is has learned from the experience and is resolved to leave it in the past.  The Man Minute- Sixty Second investments in Christ-Like manhood
Don't Bet On It. by Jason Cruise James 1:5 tells us that any man who wants wisdom from the heart of God simply must ask in order to get it, and God will certainly grant the request. However, James qualifies the issue by telling us that "he must ask in faith without any doubting ... for that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." (James 1:6-8) Usually when a man asks for wisdom, it's about a specific situation. Did you notice, however, that James says that a doubting man is unstable in not just one situation, but in "all his ways." A doubting, unstable man cannot be trusted. Do you hitch your wagon to someone who is forever reacting emotionally, always changing their mind, and never following through? Of course you don't. It's not wise. An unstable man is not just unstable, he's unwise. His doubting nature causes him to constantly be "tossed around" with indecision and lack of faith. Therefore, he can ask for wisdom, but he won't get wisdom, because, frozen by indecision, he'll simply waste it. Wisdom is a two-fold process. You ask for wisdom, and then you also ask that God would give you courage to follow through on what is revealed. After all, what's the point of God giving you direction if you fail to follow through? When you ask, ask God to reveal the next step, and when He does, do it, even if it doesn't seem logical. Do it, and do it in faith. Show the Lord that you are not a doubting man. Enter the situation with that sort of resolve, and you can be sure God will light your path.  The Man Minute "Sixty second investments to Christ-Like manhood".
The One That Got Away by Jason Cruise I was nine years old and had my eyes, and my heart, concretely fixed upon a new BB gun. The new pump action concept was a major step up from my Daisy lever action. I can still hear my dad negotiating the offer. "Clean out your grandfather's garden, and I'll buy you the BB gun you've been wanting." Sounds easy, unless you knew my grandfather. He did nothing half-way. By the best estimate of my nine-year-old mind, I figured the garden to be approximately one hundred and thirty-seven acres of corn, beans, okra, tomatoes, and squash. On top of that, this was hot work. De-weeding and de-bugging that garden was nothing short of prison labor. This was no doubt a week's worth of work, and I'd only been at work for about three hours and yet was exhausted. Halfway through it, I decided that I'd done enough to earn that BB gun. I quickly pulled a few weeds from the rest of the garden that I'd yet to work through, and called for my dad to come inspect my efforts. "Sorry son, but that's nowhere close to finished." Dad did let me quit, and I never got that BB gun. Love doesn't mean that I'm entitled to get what I want. My dad loved me too much to deceive me by letting me think that I can cheat my way through a contract and yet somehow reap an honest reward. He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. - Proverbs 13:18 |
Jason CruiseJason Cruise is the founder of Mission. Mission was created to "vindicate the fatherless" in a country known as Moldova. To learn more go to www.themissionvision.net Jason is a well known speaker traveling across the country sharing his love for Christ at wildgame dinners and conferences. Jason has created many valuable resources for the outdoorsmen to take them deeper into their walk with their Creator. These items include DVD's, Bibles, and Bible studies. Archives
July 2014
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