Happy Father’s Day week. Do you know what a real man is? Are you a real man or do you have a real man in your life? Why is the world trying to emasculate men so they are no longer real? Let me share with you what I have learned about being a real man and how he brings hope.
I believe that the world around us is trying to destroy the proper understanding of men. They are removing them from his God given role in the world. In particular they are trying to remove him as the head of the family. I believe that this is happening because the world hates God and anything that He stands for is therefore wrong. They are trying to change the role of men; they are trying to change the sex of men. They are trying to change women’s idea of men in particular. It is interesting to me that in the United States there is estimated that there are 1.2 million men who have moved forward in some way to become a woman and only 200,000 women who are trying to be come men. I believe a sign of the efforts to emasculate men is part of the reason, though I have no evidence to support my beliefs. In part I believe this effort to destroy masculinity is because the world is in most part being held captive by the devil to do hos will. 2 Timothy 2:26 supports this idea, “and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (ESV) This verse is the conclusion of a statement about instructing people in the ways of God.
The Apostle Paul says in 1Corinthians 16:13-14, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (ESV) So what does Paul mean that we are to act like man. I started to explore the scriptures to see what I could find out about God’s view of man.
The Bible lays out the role of man very clearly. There are at least one-hundred passages that describe man’s role. The first being Genesis 1:26. One of my favorites in Psalms 1:1-6 because I truly believe if you follow what it says you will become a real man. It says,
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.” (ESV)
I believe the most important role for a man is being a father. I read an article today that gives evidence that my belief is correct. Fathers are Crucial for the Healthy Outcome of Children.
Pastor Troy Dobbs of Grace Church Eden Prairie gave a great message on godly masculinity for Father’s Day this week. If you have time, I would highly recommend it. As you can probably tell I could add numerous thoughts and ideas but I am outside my optimal length for my blog already.
Men if you are not already a real man or if you are not sure spend some time studying the one-hundred passages above. If you are a woman I would also encourage you to spend some time studying those same passages so you can gentle encourage your husband, and if you are not yet married you will have a great list of requirements for your future husband if you choose to marry.
As a man if you want to become a real man you must first understand the truth. I see that there are only two choices that we have in life. I can choose to accept God’s free gift of eternal life with Him or I can reject His gift and spend eternity separated from God and burn in the eternal fire. I pray you choose to accept His gift. You can learn how here.
I pray that you will find or become a real man. I know if you become a real man, you will make a profound difference in the lives of all those around you. You will lead them to a better understanding of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you cannot become a real man because you are a woman, the only two options, I pray that you will find a real man for your life who will be a Christ like figure in your life because he will bring you hope. He will teach you to trust the truth of the promises of God and realize the same love and hope that only comes from Jesus. It is through a relationship with God through Jesus that solves the problem of sin and brings us hope in the present and the future. I would also encourage you to seek Jesus for He is the only opportunity there is to have eternal life. This is to me the greatest source of hope. In doing so, I believe we will have hope and joy in our everyday lives. Understanding how Jesus Christ grants us access to eternal life, allows us to live in hope. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3 (ESV) At the same time understanding you will live eternally knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ will also bring you the greatest hope. Because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for sins. His payment satisfies all my sins from the past, the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because holiness shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
If you have not read my previous blogs, you can find them here.
You can watch book trailer about my book.
You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here.
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